Isaiah 65 · The Lantern

"I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me. I was near to those who did not seek me. I said, 'Here I am! Here I am!' to a nation that did not call on my name.

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Who then, one might say to the Jews, is he that was made manifest? For if it is the prophet, let them say just when he was hid, afterward to appear again. And what manner of prophet is this, who was not only openly made manifest from obscurity but also stretched out his hands on the cross?

They have sought me. Here the judge, namely, God, gives the sentence of the separation of the wicked from the good, in the reception of the promised salvation. And this is divided into two parts: in the first, he pronounces the sentence of separation; in the second, he determines the manner of execution: thus says the Lord (ch. 66). Concerning the first, he does two things.

I have spread out my hands all the day to a disobedient and obstinate people, who walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts;

It is the nations who did not have a prophet sent to them who recognize their maker and benefactor, whereas those who received all sorts of care gained no profit but continued in their sinful habits.

Second, he sentences separation: I have spread forth my hands. And first, he sentences the separation of the wicked from the good, because of sins of transgression; second, because of sins of omission: and you, that have forsaken (Isa 65:11).

a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens, and burning incense on bricks;

who sit among the graves, and lodge in the secret places; who eat pig's flesh, and the broth of abominable things is in their vessels;

who say, Stand by yourself, do not come near to me, for I am holier than you. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burns all the day.

Here is the power that avenges. It is said that he, hearing these things, is minded to comfort us in our ignorance. For since the memory is maintained for us from writings of actions in the past that encourage us to remember and almost bring to life in our minds those actions of long ago, this is what he teaches. Now all these things are known to God and before they happened.

So insofar as they say, "Do not touch me, because I am pure," they are like this Pharisee who had invited the Lord and who thought [the Lord] did not know the woman, just because he had not stopped her touching his feet. But in another respect the Pharisee is better, in that while he thought Christ was only a man, he did not believe that sins could be forgiven by a man.

Fourth, as to their contempt for the just: that say, namely, to those who do not adore idols: he is grievous unto us (Wis 2:15); or that say, to God: who say to God: depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of your ways (Job 21:14). These shall be smoke. Here he threatens punishment.

"Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, yes, I will recompense into their bosom,

your own iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together," says the Lord, "who have burned incense on the mountains, and blasphemed me on the hills; therefore will I first measure their work into their bosom."

Thus says the Lord, "As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one says, 'Do not destroy it, for a blessing is in it:' so will I do for my servants' sake, that I may not destroy them all.

Once again the richness of the loving nature of God is shown clearly in this simile. For just as mature wine is found on the vine for whose sake the whole is saved, spared and is not cut off by anyone, so too [God says], "If I find anyone serving me, I will spare them all, just as I swore to Abraham.

If anyone finds one ripe grape in a bunch, he spares the whole bunch on its account, in order to present to God the firstfruits. In the same way, since I promised to Abraham to bless all the nations in his seed, I maintained the seed of all Israel when they sinned, and I did not overlook their slavery in Egypt.

Thus says the Lord. Here he promises rewards to the good. And first, as to their preservation from evils: as if a grain, of a grape; it is a blessing, that is, it pleases God for it to be reserved for a blessing; for the sake of my servants, your fathers; that I may not destroy the whole, people of the Jews, above: it shall be as when one gathers (Isa 17:5) clusters in the vint…

I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains; and my chosen shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.

(Verse 9) And I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, and from Judah those who possess my mountains; my chosen ones will inherit it, and my servants will dwell there. They will pasture their flocks in the open fields and find rest in the valley of Achor, for my people who have sought me.

Those who have attained the summit of perfection have as their harbor not life, or the resurrection or any of these admirable things but the desired One himself, for whose sake they counted misfortune a delight, and weary toil the sweetest repose, and time spent in the desert more desirable than city life, and poverty fairer than wealth and irksome slavery sweeter than any posi…

Second, as to their advancement in good things. And first, as to the multiplication of their seed: and I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, above: except the Lord of hosts had left us seed, we had been as Sodom (Isa 1:9).

Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down in, for my people who have sought me.

"But you who forsake the Lord, who forget my holy mountain, who prepare a table for Fortune, and who fill up mixed wine to Destiny;

If a person, because he is too tenacious of life or too weak in the face of suffering, or because of the apparently convincing arguments of such as seek to induce us to accept the evil choice, has denied the one and only God and his Christ and borne testimony to demons or goddesses of fortune, then this person must realize that in doing this he is "setting," as it were, "a tabl…

In the former wilderness and chaos. In the lands of the Gentiles there will be sheepfolds, that is, the Churches of all believers from the whole world.

And you, that have forsaken. Here he separates the wicked from the consolation of the good, because of their sins of omission. And first, he threatens punishment for the wicked; second, he promises rewards for the good: because the former distresses are forgotten (Isa 65:16). Concerning the first, he does two things.

I will destine you to the sword, and you shall all bow down to the slaughter; because when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen; but you did that which was evil in my eyes, and chose that in which I did not delight."

Therefore thus says the Lord God, "Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be disappointed;

(Verse 13, 14.) Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Behold, my servants will eat, and you will be hungry. Behold, my servants will drink, and you will be thirsty. Behold, my servants will rejoice, and you will be put to shame.

In all these things, whatever has been predicted only, not promised, pertains to the persons of the wicked. Nor should that which because of the merit of wickedness, severity threatens to be inflicted, be said to have been promised by the generosity of goodness.

And he threatens the punishment of separation. First, in satisfaction of the body: therefore thus says the Lord God: behold my servants shall eat, and you shall be hungry: the rich have wanted, and have suffered hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not be deprived of any good (Ps 33:11[34:10]).

behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but you shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall wail for anguish of spirit.

You shall leave your name for a curse to my chosen; and the Lord God will kill you; and he will call his servants by another name:

But even if we are clearly something new, and this truly recent name of Christians has only recently been known among all the nations, our life and manner of conduct in accordance with the very teachings of our religion have not been recently fashioned by us, but, as it were, from the first creation of humanity have been established by the natural concepts of the God-favored pe…

(Vers. 15, 16.) And you shall dismiss your name in the oath to my chosen ones, and the Lord God will kill you, and He will call His servants by another name, in which whoever is blessed on earth will be blessed in God, amen: and whoever swears on earth will swear in God, amen. LXX: For you shall abandon your name to my chosen ones.

Third, in difference of name, and first, he sets out the sort of name the impious shall have: and you shall leave your name for an oath to my elect, that they might confirm their words thus: if it is not so, so shall it happen to me as happened to them: by the sword, and by the famine shall they die: and they shall be for an oath, and for a wonder, and for a curse, and for a re…

so that he who blesses himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he who swears in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hidden from my eyes.

"For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

Isaiah also, declaring prophetically that there will be a new heaven and a new earth, undoubtedly suggests a similar view.

(Verse 17, 18.) Because the former troubles have been forgotten and hidden from my eyes. For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.

And as to the restoration of goods: for behold I create new heavens, new help from heaven, and a new earth, new benefits from the earth; or this refers to the day of judgment, when the world will be renewed to the glory of the saints: the former things are passed away (Rev 21:4).

But be you glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

For it will not be fitting that in the city of Jerusalem, the people of God, who will receive the eternal creature of exultation and joy, should any longer hear the voice of weeping and shouting; when pain, sorrow, and groaning have departed. For indeed, opposites cannot be present at the same time.

Instead of the former affliction, the prophet says, "they shall find in her joy and exultation." To what does "in her" refer? Without a doubt it can be said that it refers to the church of Christ. It must be noted that some commentators refer this passage not to the period of our earthly life but to the one that is to come after this present age.

Second, in particular: for behold I create Jerusalem. And first, as to cheerfulness of heart: Jerusalem, earthly Jerusalem, but more, the heavenly Jerusalem; <a rejoicing, that is,> rejoicing, emphatically, so that all things are absorbed in joy, above: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and mourning shall flee away (Isa 35:10).

I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people; and there shall be heard in her no more the voice of weeping and the voice of crying.

"There shall be no more there an infant of days, nor an old man who has not filled his days; for the child shall die one hundred years old, and the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.

Long age will be given generously to them with nobody who died an untimely death … for he who has reached one hundred years will be just as the one who has died prematurely as a youth. But the sinner will be prone to judgment for his whole life and crosses into the lot of the cursed.

"The young" means the people from among the Gentiles … and all will be mature, having grown into the measure of the fullness of Christ.

Second, as to length of life: there shall no more be an infant of days there, nor an old man that shall not fill up his days, dying before his time, but the child shall die a hundred years old, that is, when he will have reached such an age; and, if he be a sinner, although he will have lived to such an age, he shall be subject to a curse: Abraham died in a good old age (Gen 25…

They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.

They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

The dwelling and plantation of the righteous will be eternal, so that the days of the life of my people may be compared to the days of the life of the tree, about which it is said in the Psalms: The righteous will flourish like a palm tree (Psalm 92:13), triumphing over their adversaries daily and displaying the emblem of victory.

For us the saving cross is the tree of life. For it received like fruit the life-giving body by which those who stretch out their hands and pick the fruit will live life eternally.

And he assigns the reason: for as the days of a tree, that is, because they will live a long time just as the wood of a tree lasts a long time, the works of their hands shall grow old, that is, they shall remain in their use until old age: he shall be like a tree which is planted near the running waters (Ps 1:3).

They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for calamity; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.

It shall happen that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

The earth will freely give its produce, and all evil will be removed, just as Isaiah said … for God has refashioned such a world in his kingdom just as it had been made in the beginning before the first-made human being ruined it, who after he had disobeyed the word of God all things were spoiled and ruined and cursed by God's word: "the earth will be cursed in your works." The…

"And the serpent shall eat dust as bread." This is the food that the righteous Judge has assigned to it from the beginning: "On your breast and belly you shall go, and you shall eat earth all the days of your life." And so Isaiah calls the common enemy of humanity a serpent. He has subjected him to the ancient curse.

Fourth, as to the hearing of their prayers: and it shall come to pass, that before they call, with their mouth, above: at the voice of your cry, as soon as he shall hear, he will answer you (Isa 30:19).

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain," says the Lord.

The elders who saw John, the disciple of the Lord, related that they had heard from him how the Lord used to teach in regard to these times, and say: The days will come, in which vines shall grow, each having ten thousand branches, and in each branch ten thousand twigs, and in each true twig ten thousand shoots, and in each one of the shoots ten thousand clusters, and on every…

(Verse 25) The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent's food. They shall do no harm, neither shall they kill in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord. LXX: The wolf and the lamb shall feed together: the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and the serpent shall eat dust like bread.

Fifth, as to the tranquility of peace: the wolf and the lamb, for those who formerly were tyrants and evildoers will abide peacefully with others, above (Isa 11:6) has the same.

Isaiah65