The Lord sent a word unto Jacob, and it lighteth upon Israel.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And all the people shall know [it], Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in pride and stoutness of heart,
The word God has just sent lands on the northern kingdom: Ephraim, its leading tribe, and Samaria, its capital. What lands is not comfort but exposure. God reads out the thought of their hearts, and that thought is pride.
Verse 8 picks up a song of judgment that Isaiah broke off chapters earlier. One writer traces the seam:
Isaiah 5 opens a new prophetic message… After six woes in verses 8-24, Jehovah declares that His hand is stretched out over them, and that solemn refrain of coming chastening begins (verse 25): "For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still."… Isaiah 6 interrupts the song for a moment, and so does Isaiah 7 – 9:7. Only at Isaiah 9:8 do we take up again the lament begun in Isaiah 5.
God had already struck this people. So why was His hand still stretched out?
God has chastised His people, but this has not yet dealt with their pride: they still trust in themselves (vv. 8-12). The anger of Jehovah is not yet turned away, but His hand is stretched out still, for the people do not turn to Him who strikes them, and have not recognised His hand. And until they see this, they resist and strengthen themselves in their own power.
The verse traces their trouble to "pride and arrogance of heart." The next verse gives that pride a voice: the ruins will be rebuilt better than before.
It is clear that so far the ten rebellious tribes are the object of judgement, and above all their pride of heart, which despises Jehovah's rebuke and trusts in their own powers. This is their cherished hope and empty boasting: they turn their loss into an occasion for greater strength and display than ever.
Another writer sets that boast beside a line from Malachi:
"Built of cedar" may well remind us how Ephraim and Samaria say in pride, "The bricks are fallen, but we will build with hewn stone" (Isaiah 9:9-10). Of such God says in Malachi, "They may build, but I will throw down."
Kelly points to where the blow fell — on the ally they had courted:
Had Syria's king, Rezin, joined them in an unholy league against Judah? Then Jehovah will set the adversaries of Rezin against him, the Syrians in front and the Philistines behind, and they will devour Israel with open mouth… So it always is. An unfaithful people seek the world's alliance against those who carry God's testimony, but they soon prove that the friendship of the world is not only enmity against God, but destruction to themselves.
Worse follows: not enemies outside only, but collapse inside.
The next view of their judgement (vv. 13-17) is not so much punishment from outside. Because they made light of His chastening, Jehovah gives Israel up to complete moral collapse within… The ruin falls in one day on every class, from the highest to the lowest in Israel, "palm-branch and rush": leaders and led alike plunged into one common destruction.
One writer sees the same hardness in every age, and reads the passage as pointing forward too:
Hard times seldom soften or improve the heart of a proud rebel against God. Still more rarely do we find a whole nation, or any large part of it, truly humbled by defeat… The same is written later of Israel, beaten by that same enemy, and there we surely have a prophecy of the still sharper tribulation of the last days [Isaiah 9:8-13].
The same instinct shows up in anyone who tries to rebuild what sin knocked down. One writer points to Jericho:
In the same way men often try to rebuild what their sins have brought crashing down (Isaiah 9:9-10). But all the cleverness of man could not lift the curse that lay on Jericho. The setting of the city was pleasant, yet the people living there had to admit "the water is bad, and the ground barren" (2 Kings 2:19). God is the great restorer; oh, that men could understand it!
The same warning fits our own plans:
"Who shall despise the day of small things?" was the prophet's encouraging word in the days of the rebuilding of Jerusalem… Those days of small things were just God's opportunity for doing great things. But let us, beloved, beware of attempting to do great things in a day of small things. It would be pretty much like the language of those Ephraimites and Samaritans in the days of Isaiah the prophet.
- Word sent. The song of judgment broken off after Isaiah 5 resumes here. The word lands on Ephraim and Samaria — the northern kingdom and its capital.
- Word resisted. Chastening came, but it never touched their pride. They did not turn to the One striking them, and so strengthened themselves in their own power.
- Word answered. Pride turned loss into a chance for a grander display. God's answer was enemies in front and behind, then leaders and led collapsing together in one day.
- Word repeated. Rebuilding what your own sin knocked down never lifts the curse; "they may build, but I will throw down."
- Word for us. A small day is God's opportunity, not our cue for hewn stone and cedar — He is the restorer, not us.
The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones; the sycamore trees are cut down, but we will replace them with cedars.
The words in this verse are not a prayer after disaster but a boast. Bricks and sycamore wood were the cheap materials. Dressed stone and cedar were the costly ones. God had struck the northern kingdom, and its people answer by promising themselves a grander building than before.
Isaiah names the speakers in the line before: Ephraim and Samaria, the ten tribes. They treat God's blow as a chance for an upgrade.
So far the ten rebellious tribes are the object of judgement, and above all their pride of heart. They despise the Lord's rebuke and trust in their own powers. This is their foolish hope and empty boasting: they turn the damage done to them into a chance for greater strength and display than ever.
God had already struck them. But the blow left their self-confidence untouched, so the discipline went on.
God has chastised His people, but this has not yet dealt with their pride: they trust in themselves (v. 8-12). The anger of Jehovah is not yet turned away. His hand is stretched out still, because the people do not turn to Him who strikes them, and have not recognised His hand. Until they see this, they keep resisting and strengthening themselves in their own power.
There is a repentance that stops just short. It admits the trouble came from sin, then tries a little self-improvement instead of going to God Himself.
Sometimes the heart admits that the chastening has come because of known evil, and then it only wants to reform itself a little. But the hand of God remains stretched out still. There is no return to Him who strikes; there is only an effort to appease God with a certain amount of hypocrisy. The conscience has not come into direct contact with God.
The plan sounds impressive. God has His own word about builders like this.
Ephraim and the people of Samaria speak in pride and in strength of heart. Of such God says in Malachi, "They may build, but I will throw down."
Men still speak this way when they look at fresh ruins.
God had chastised the ten tribes with much destruction. But in their pride they declared that it gave them the chance to rebuild on a much improved scale. They spoke then just as men speak today when they look at the destruction caused by the recent war. The Lord warned them that their ally, Rezin of Syria, would be overthrown, a sign of the overthrow coming on themselves.
The same instinct appears when people set out to rebuild the church.
Trying to rebuild the church is as hopeless as trying to build the tower of Babel, and must end in the same confusion. Men may say, "The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stones." It is all vanity.
A day of small things is not the time to try something big. Isaiah met that ambition in his own day.
Those days of small things were just God's opportunity for doing great things. But let us, dear friends, beware of trying to do great things in a day of small things. That would be much like the words of the people of Ephraim and Samaria in the days of Isaiah the prophet. In their pride and stubbornness of heart they said, "The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stones" (Isa. 9:9-10).
Jericho makes the point in stone. Men rebuilt the city, but the curse on it stayed.
In the same way men are often seeking to rebuild what has crashed as the fruit of their sins (Isa. 9:9-10). But all the wit of man could not lift the curse that lay upon Jericho. The situation of the city was pleasant; but the residents had to confess "the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful" (2 Kings 2:19). God is the great restorer; oh, that men could understand it!
- The boast. Bricks and sycamore fall; the answer is stone and cedar. They treat the damage as a chance for greater strength and display than before.
- The blindness. The blow was God's. They never recognised His hand or turned to the One who struck them, so His hand stayed stretched out.
- The counterfeit. A little self-reform after admitting sin leaves the conscience out of touch with God.
- The verdict. "They may build, but I will throw down." Human skill could not lift the curse on Jericho, and it cannot rebuild what God has pulled down.
- The cure. Do not try great things in a day of small things. Turn to the great Restorer, because small days are God's opportunity for great things.
And Jehovah will set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and arm his enemies,
God Himself stirs up the armies that will tear Israel apart. Why would He arm a nation's enemies against it, and why is the ally Israel chose no shelter at all?
The message lands on the ten tribes of the north. They had already felt a blow, and their answer was to boast about a grander rebuild:
Verses 8-12 renew the announcement of God's displeasure. It began with the sin of Jerusalem and Judah, as was fitting; now it passes to Ephraim and Samaria. It is clear that so far the ten rebellious tribes are the object of judgement. The chief thing is their pride of heart, despising Jehovah's rebuke and trusting in their own powers. This is their fond hope and empty boasting: they turn the breach made in them into an occasion of greater strength and display than ever.
Rezin of Syria was Israel's ally, not its enemy. One writer sets their proud boast beside what God announced:
The ten tribes had been punished with much destruction, but in their pride they declared that it gave them the chance to rebuild on a much better scale. The Lord warned them that their ally, Rezin of Syria, would be overthrown — a sign of the overthrow coming on themselves.
The same writer who traced their pride draws the lasting lesson out of that broken alliance:
So it always is. The unfaithful people seek the world's alliance against those who hold God's testimony. Before long they prove that the friendship of the world is not only enmity against God but destruction to themselves.
Israel faced enemies on both sides. Both were tools in a hand larger than their own, and not the last tool God would use:
God used the Syrians and the Philistines to "devour Israel with open mouth." He allowed tribal warfare between Ephraim and Manasseh, and also conflict between the ten tribes and the house of David (Isa. 9:12, 21). But the Assyrian was the chief instrument of God for the chastening of both the houses of Israel. In chapter 10 God says, "Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger… I send him… I command him… to tread them down like the mire of the streets" (Isa. 10:5-6). The proud Assyrian does not realise that he is God's instrument, and thinks he is accomplishing his own will.
The verse says Jehovah stirs the enemies up. Israel counted the armies and never counted the One behind them:
As to Israel, we read in Isaiah 9:13 that "the people did not turn to him who struck them." The Syrians and Philistines attacked them front and back. Their condition was bad enough under the blows of these opponents. But another hand was against them: unseen, unacknowledged, disowned, yet striking them all the same. To that striking hand they refused to turn. Things had to take their course.
Another writer says that response is the usual one, not the exception:
Rarely indeed is the heart of a proud rebel against God softened, or improved, by hardship. Still less often is a nation, or any large part of a community, truly humbled by setbacks.
Verse 11 is one stage in a series, and the series has an end that Israel's enemies do not decide:
In Isaiah 9:8 the Spirit, having given the great leading facts about Messiah, Immanuel, returns to the general history of Israel… The different phases of chastening or of distress are in verses 8-12, 13-17, 18-21, and Isaiah 10:1-4. The Assyrian then reappears as the true rod of Jehovah. When God has accomplished all that He determined about Zion, He will break the rod He has used. Then the remnant will seek Jehovah and will lean on Him… Jehovah's indignation, and His anger against Israel, which until now had never been turned away, will end when He destroys this rod that made itself great against the Lord who used it… It is a prophecy of the destruction of the Assyrian in the last days, when the indignation against Israel will cease.
One writer reads this section as reaching beyond Israel's own day, and begins from how rarely trouble alone changes anyone:
Rarely indeed is the heart of a proud rebel against God softened, or improved, by hardship. Still less often is a nation, or any large part of a community, truly humbled by setbacks… And again at a later day it is written, especially of Israel when suffering defeat at the hands of the same enemy, where we have no doubt a prophecy of the still sharper tribulation of the last days…
- Pride — Israel treated the earlier blow as a chance to build bigger, not as a rebuke. This judgment answers their trust in their own powers.
- Alliance — Israel leaned on Rezin against God's testimony, so God overthrew that partner first. The world's friendship destroys those who use it.
- Instruments — Syrians in front, Philistines behind, then the Assyrian. Each thinks it acts for itself, and each is a rod in God's hand.
- Blindness — another hand struck behind the armies, unseen and disowned. Israel would not turn to it, so things took their course.
- End — God breaks the rod once He has finished with Zion. Then the remnant stops leaning on allies and leans on Jehovah.
the Syrians on the east, and the Philistines on the west; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.
This verse names the enemies God stirs up on both sides of Israel, and it ends with a refrain that sounds three more times. Why do the blows keep falling, and what would make God lower His hand?
The words that end this verse are not new. They first sounded in chapter 5. After a long interruption, the prophet takes up the same line again.
After six woes in Isaiah 5:8-24, Isaiah declares that Jehovah's hand is stretched out over them, so that the hills tremble and their dead bodies lie like rubbish in the streets. There that solemn refrain of warning begins (5:25): "For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still." … Isaiah 6, already mentioned, breaks off the song for a moment, and so does Isaiah 7 — 9:7. Only at Isaiah 9:8 do we find the lament begun in Isaiah 5 taken up again.
Each repetition marks a fresh stroke, and the strokes do not stay level:
In Isaiah 5, woe was pronounced on them six times. Now we get the hand of God stretched out in wrath four times over — verses 12, 17, 21, and Isaiah 10:4. There seems to be an increase of severity as we go on.
The judgment falls on the ten tribes. Their sin is trust in their own strength after God has already struck them.
So far the judgement falls on the ten rebellious tribes, and above all on their pride of heart. They despise Jehovah's rebuke and trust their own powers. This is their fond hope and boastful arrogance: they turn the damage into an occasion for greater strength and display than ever. "The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stones; the sycamores have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place."
That reaction is not confined to the ancient world:
The ten tribes had been chastised with much destruction, but in their pride they declared that it gave them the opportunity to rebuild on a much improved scale. They spoke then just as men are speaking today as they view the destruction brought by the recent war.
Syria in front and Philistia behind are not random raiders. They are tools in a hand, and they are not the last tool God will pick up.
God used the Syrians and the Philistines to "devour Israel with open mouth." He allowed tribal warfare between Ephraim and Manasseh, and conflict between the ten tribes and the house of David (Isaiah 9:12, 21). But the Assyrian was God's chief instrument for the chastening of both houses of Israel.
There is a bitter irony in who does the devouring:
Then came God's repayment. Had Syria's king, Rezin, joined them in an unholy alliance against Judah? Now Jehovah would set Rezin's own adversaries against him, and the Syrians in front and the Philistines behind would devour Israel with open mouth. So it always is. An unfaithful people seek the world's help against those who hold God's testimony, but before long they prove that the friendship of the world is not only enmity against God but destruction to themselves.
Why does the anger not turn away? The blow lands, but the one struck never looks up at who struck him.
God has chastised His people, but this has not yet dealt with their pride: they still trust in themselves (v. 8-12). The anger of Jehovah is not yet turned away, and His hand is stretched out still. The people do not turn to Him who strikes them, and they have not recognised His hand. Until they see this, there is resistance, and self grows stronger in its own power.
There is a way of half-admitting the fault that still leaves God out:
Sometimes the heart admits that the chastening has come because of known evil. Then it would just reform itself a little. But the hand of God stays stretched out still, because there is no return to Him who strikes. There is only an effort to appease God with a certain amount of hypocrisy. The conscience has never come into direct contact with God.
The refrain does have an end point. It comes when God breaks the rod He has been using.
Until now the indignation of Jehovah, and His anger against Israel, had never been turned away. It will come to an end when God destroys this rod that boasted against the Lord who used it. Sennacherib was a picture of this. But it is a prophecy of the destruction of the Assyrian in the last days, when the indignation against Israel will cease.
- Refrain — The closing words come back from Isaiah 5:25. They sound four times in all (9:12, 17, 21; 10:4), and the severity grows at each return.
- Pride — The ten tribes met God's blows with plans for a grander rebuild in dressed stone and cedar. They trusted their own strength instead of hearing His rebuke.
- Rod — Syrians in front and Philistines behind were God's chosen instruments, and the friendship of the world became destruction. The Assyrian would be the chief instrument against both houses of Israel.
- Refusal — The hand stays raised because no one turns to the One who strikes. Admitting the fault and reforming a little still leaves the conscience out of direct contact with God.
- Release — The indignation ends only when God breaks the rod that boasted against Him. Sennacherib was the picture; the Assyrian of the last days is the fulfilment.