ISAIAH
CHAPTER 1
Israel is apostate, rebellious, and corrupt; a very small remnant only is faithful—Their sacrifices and feasts are rejected—They are called upon to repent and work righteousness—Zion shall be redeemed in the day of restoration.
[The writings of Isaiah are considered difficult to understand by many people. However, Nephi, a Book of Mormon prophet, testifies that "the words of Isaiah ... are plain unto all those that are filled with the spirit of prophecy ... Yea, and my soul delighteth in the words of Isaiah." (2 Ne. 25:4-5.) Chapter 1 forms a general introduction and overview to the entire book of Isaiah. The themes initially presented here are addressed repeatedly in the subsequent chapters. Chapters in particular 50-66 address the same topics, but go into much greater detail, thus chapter 1 forms something of a summary of the book of Isaiah. It is entirely possible that chapter 1 was written after ch. 50-66. The contents of ch. 1 are a particularly harsh way of introducing the book. The tone is overwhelmingly negative and attacks Israel in general, but more specifically Judah as they were the leading tribe among Israel. Isaiah calls them a bunch of rebellious, hypocritical apostates. Isaiah uses many classical rhetorical devices established in the Torah (i.e. the Law of Moses), which anyone familiar with it would immediately recognize. The most blatant of which is his use of covenant based maledictions, or curses. Isaiah draws heavily on the litany of curses served up in Lev. 26 and Deut. 28, a set which any Israelite even remotely familiar with the Law would immediately recognize as being curses associated with failing to live the Sinaitic Covenant. The text can be arranged chiastically as follows: Introduction of speaker (v. 1) A - (v. 2-4) Rebellious Israel spurns the Lord B - (v. 5-6) All of rebellious Israel is covenant cursed C - (v. 7-9) Additional covenant curse, foreign invasion D - (v. 10-15) Their bloody hands are covered with iniquity and hypocrisy rivaling that of sodom and Gomorrah E - (v. 16) Wash yourselves clean E - (v. 17) Do good and be just D - (v. 18) Your bloody hands can be washed clean C - (v. 19-20) If you do good you will enjoy the land, but if you do not do good you will be eaten by foreign invaders B - (v. 21-23) Jerusalem and her leaders are playing the harlot, they are entirely corrupted A - (v. 24) The Lord deals with His enemies A - (v. 25) The Lord will smelt away the dross B - (v. 26) The Lord will restore Jerusalem and make her Zion C - (v. 27) Zion will be saved by justice and retribution C - (v. 28) Rebels and sinners will be annihilated B - (v. 29-30) Idolatrous gardens prepared for burning A - (v. 31) They will be burned up ]
[ Chapter one is an indictment of the wicked in Israel. Basically everybody has gone astray except for a "very small remnant". (Is. 1:5) These are the chosen seed, the Nephite types, who have been, or will be scattered. Included in the chosen are the prophets like Isaiah, and Jeremiah who remain. The Lord will get rid of his adversaries, (v. 24) by killing, by bondage, by scattering them and will restore them later through Joseph's seed who will bring them to Christ in the Latter-days.
Isaiah 1:1 The revelations of Isaiah, the son of Amoz. Not much is known of Amoz. It is thought by some scholars that he may have been the Brother of Amaziah, a king of Judah. Isaiah's ministry is stated here as being during the days of Uzziah, (811 B.C.) Jotham, (758 B.C.) Ahaz, (742 B.C.) and Hezekiah, (726 B.C.).
This would make Isaiah's ministry from 792 to 686 B.C. Debate continues as to exact
dating. ]
1 THE vision [ The vision. Although Isaiah’s prophetic ministry may have spanned fifty years, the singular term “vision” (hazon) defines Isaiah’s writings as one conceptually from beginning to end. This vision was about the people of Judah and Jerusalem in Isiahs day and they were of such great importance that Nephi said this of them "1 Ne. 19: 23 (23-24) 23 And I did read many things unto them which were written in the books of Moses; but that I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning.
3 Ne. 23: 1 AND now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah." ] of Isaiah [ The name Isaiah in Hebrew is Yeshayahu and means "Jehovah saves". ] the
son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and
Jerusalem [ Historically
referring to literal Judah and Jerusalem. Eschatologically referring
to those of spiritual "Israel" and "Judah",
or those who are supposed to be of the true faith. ] in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, [ The reigns of Uzziah (Azariah), Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah occurred in the late 700s BC. See 2 Kgs 14–21 and 2 Chr 26–32. Uzziah, Jotham, and Hezekiah are described as mostly righteous. ]
kings of Judah. [ The kings mentioned here indicate that
Isaiah prophesied between about 740B.C. to 720B.C. ]
2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: [ This is God pleading his case as if it were in court. ] for the LORD hath spoken, [ The Lord has given them a path on the Mount at Sinai - and heaven and earth stand to witness that fact - So the covenant is valid and Isreal & Judiah are held accountable. The heavens and the earth, were witnesses of the Sinai Covenant (Deuteronomy 4:26; 30:19). That is the covenant Jehovah made with Israel as a nation, through which the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob became a people of God (Exodus 6:7). The “heavens” and the “earth,” however, don’t refer simply to the physical heavens and earth but to those who reside in them. ] I have nourished and brought up [ The Hebrew verb romamti additionally alludes to being “elevated” to an exalted position—to possessing special duties or privileges compared to others of God’s children. Jehovah’s covenants with Israel as a nation as well as with individuals among them lend them special status. When they keep the law or terms of the covenant that the prophets have taught them, Jehovah blesses them more than other nations. Now, however, not only are they taking their blessings and privileges for granted, they are “revolting” or “transgressing” (pas‘u) against their source—Israel’s God. ] children, [ He is pleading his case as the Father of those children. The word “sons” (Hebrew banim) is a legal term common to covenants of the ancient Near East that denotes vassalship to an emperor. As the prophets from Moses to Malachi adopt the ancient Near Eastern emperor-vassal model to define Jehovah’s covenant relationship with Israel collectively and with persons individually, the word “sons,” as used in the present context, implies the breaking of covenant relationships by those with whom Jehovah has covenanted. The term “sons” may secondarily denote God’s “children.” ] and they have rebelled against
me. [ Israel and Judah are deliberately rebellious. Compare with D&C 76:1 HEAR, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth, and rejoice ye inhabitants thereof, for the Lord is God, and beside him there is no Savior.
and Deut. 32: 19 And when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters. "The people of Israel are God’s children—He is their Father. This is the doctrine they have forgotten, and they will be in no condition to receive it again until they have undergone the moral regeneration that is the burden of Isaiah’s preaching—Nibley" Isaiah often recorded the Lord’s words in a literary form called parallelism. Parallelism occurs when a writer expresses an idea and then repeats or contrasts the idea using a similar sentence structure with different words. “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth” (Isaiah 1:2) is an example of parallelism. With these words, Isaiah invited all people everywhere to listen to the words the Lord had given him. ]
3 The ox [ The ox is a ritually clean animal—because it divides the hoof and chews the cud (Leviticus 11:3)—the ass is not. Such dual imagery of beasts at times appears in Isaiah’s writings to represent (1) Israel’s natural or ethnic lineages; and (2) the nations of the Gentiles, or those lineages of Israel that assimilated into the Gentiles after its exile from the Promised Land. In an allegorical but not a contextual sense, therefore, this implies that Jehovah acknowledges a covenant relationship with both Israel’s ethnic lineages and those lineages that assimilated into the Gentiles. ] knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: [ HEB stall, or manger. a feeding trough or manger where an animal receives food and is cared for by jis master. In this verse, Isaiah contrasted the ox and donkey with the rebellious Israelites, who did not know the Lord, their Master, and were not aware of the spiritual nourishment He had provided them. ] but Israel
[ We learn from Isaiah’s multi-layered literary structures that Isaiah speaks on two distinct levels simultaneously, and that the “Israel” he addresses, therefore, is primarily two: (1) those who were Jehovah’s covenant people anciently; and (2) those who are Jehovah’s covenant people in the end-time. Accordingly, Isaiah’s linear structures enable us to read his prophecy as relating to Israel’s past, while his synchronous structures enable us to read it as relating to the end-time. In that end-time context, names such as “Israel” designate those who have covenanted with Israel’s God. ]
doth not know< [ What does Israel not know? Suggesting that they do not know what the ox knows which is who owns you. Further more you do not even know that things that a ass knows which is who is taking care of you. Isaiah is saying you guys are worse than dumb animals Israel. The verb “to know” (yada‘) is a theological term that expresses an intact covenant relationship—as when Adam “knew” his wife Eve and she conceived and bore a son (Genesis 4:1). Israel’s “not knowing,” on the other hand, implies that Jehovah’s people have broken the covenant with their God or voided their relationship with him (cf. Matthew 7:23). Although righteous individuals among them may come to know Jehovah personally—as he manifests himself to those who love him—in this case most appear unwilling to do what it takes (cf. Matthew 25:12). ] ,
[ Israel is said to be less intelligent than an ox and
a mule, they "do not know" and "take no thought" like an
animal. Oxen and mules can be very stubborn and deliberate once they make their mind up it can be very hard to get them to change direction. What is it they do not know? See 29:9-14 That doctrine they have rejected. They refuse to hear it. They are not as smart as the ass and the ox for at least they know where they get their nourishment from. ] my people [ Showing that Israel has a personal relationship with God. ] doth not
consider.
4 Ah sinful nation, [ Natural man, Not Spiritually Reborn. Seekers of wordly things and traditions. ] a people laden with iniquity, [ He has used beasts of burden as examples, and here he suggests that Israel is also heavily burdened because they will not get rid of their burdens, or sins. They just carry them with them. They will not repent. ] a seed of evildoers, children [ See Isa 57:4 "are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood," ] that
are corrupters: [ Not just corrupted, but corrupters those who entice and bring others into corruption. D&C 38: 11 (10-12) For all flesh is corrupted before me; and the powers of darkness prevail upon the earth, among the children of men, in the presence of all the hosts of heaven— ]
they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel [ Nephi's favorite title for the Lord. The title of “Holy One,” together with “Valiant One” (v 24) designates Israel’s God more than thirty times in the Book of Isaiah. In this case, it contrasts Jehovah’s holiness with his people’s unholiness. Still, it points to what Jehovah’s people should become—“holy” or “sanctified,” like their God. Both titles—“Holy One” and “Valiant One”—characterize Israel’s God as his people’s exemplar. We observe this in an instance in which Jehovah exempts a righteous remnant of his people called his “holy ones” and “valiant ones” from a worldwide destruction (Isaiah 13:3). ] unto anger, [ Because they can’t live with the doctrine in their sinful state, they have run away from it. This is inexcusable; God does not look upon it with forbearance. He knows that they are quite capable of understanding and living by the gospel. Accordingly, He is more than displeased; He is angry. ]
they are gone away backward. [ They are moving in the wrong direction. Hebrew nazoru ahor signifies that Jehovah’s people have become entirely “estranged” from him. They have “gone backwards” to what they used to be before they became Jehovah’s covenant people, when they didn’t know their God. In effect, they have become godless again like the world’s heathen nations, but now more so because they have rejected the light they once had. The apostasy into which they began to backslide a generation ago is now complete. As a consequence, instead of enjoying the blessings of the covenant, they must suffer its curses. ] [Can
you imagine being told something like this in general conference? How
would you respond? Do you suppose that your response would be based on
your spirituality? -
Not so spiritual people would say that message was give by a lunatic -
The more spiritual would say he is really speaking the truth here we
need to repent. ]
5 ¶ Why should ye be stricken any
more? [ HEB smitten. with curses that are designed to compel Israel to be humble and to return to the Lord. To be “smitten” of God—through plagues, misfortunes, natural disasters, and enemies—constitutes Jehovah’s final attempt to bring his people back to a state of blessedness by influencing or inducing them to repent of evil. Instead, their persistent waywardness compounds their plight (Isaiah 42:18-25; 59:8-10). Illness and disease become rampant, reflecting a society sick in mind and body. Allegorically, the people’s “head” or leadership, and their “heart” or core institutions—in short, their entire establishment, political and religious (Isaiah 7:8-9; 9:14-16)—has degenerated to a pathological state. ] ye will revolt more and more: [ Why do you rebell more and more? ] the whole head is sick, and the whole heart [ The head and the heart. The places of thought and emotion (soul). Suggesting that they are complete in their sickness. ] faint. [ HEB diseased. Yet it is not He who has been giving them a hard time. They decided to go their own way, openly revolting against Him. And their system is simply not working because it is sick with the teaching of man. They are not able to cope with the situation mentally, nor do they have the spirit to carry it through. Men on their own are pitiful objects. Why are they so sick? The answer begins in verse 3 it is because they have such bad spiritual eating habits that they are sick. ]
6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: [ Isaiah is holding up a mirror for them to reflect upon, saying do you see what I am seeing here? Look at yourselves, it is not good my friends. Do you not see it? ] they have not been closed, [ HEB squeezed out. If you do not find a physician and get these sore taken care of you are in deep trouble. ] neither bound up, neither mollified [ HEB softened. The whole thing is sick, sick, sick. Every attempt to correct the situation fails miserably. Nothing works. ] with ointment.> [ What do they anoint them with? Oil; the priestly anointing oil that will heal, from the anointed one or Christ in Greek. You are completely sick …and you don’t even care; you won’t try the simplest first aid. No balm in Gilead for these people. The idea of being “soothed with ointment,” which is denied the wicked, Jehovah doesn’t deny the righteous. We observe his healing and anointing his repentant people later in the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 30:26; 57:18-19; 58:8; 61:3). Isaiah's prophecy before he presents Jehovah’s glorious promises, all doesn’t end in gloom and doom. If Jehovah’s people repent in time, they may yet qualify for his divine blessings. ]
[ One of the verses quotes by the angel Moroni to the prophet Joseph Smith. ]
7 Your country is desolate, [ For those who have not taken hold of the sickness line of reasoning, Isaiah switches to military to show the state they are in. ] your cities are burned with fire: [ As determined by Isaiah’s network of synonymous parallels, the terms “fire” (v 7) and “sword” (v 20) possess dual meanings. Besides their literal meaning, these terms designate persons who personify Jehovah’s fire and sword, who serve as his instruments in punishing the wicked. In a historical context, one such person is the “king of Assyria”—who also appears under his idolatrous title “king of Babylon”—whom Isaiah represents as conquering the world (Isaiah 10:5-14; 13:4-5; 14:4, 6; 37:18). In an end-time context, a similar archtyrant—a modern-day Antichrist—likewise conquers the world. ] your land, strangers [ Aliens . . . foreigners. Conceptually, in the Book of Isaiah, invasive aliens and foreigners identify the Assyrian alliance that conquers the world (Isaiah 5:26-29; 10:5-7, 28-32; 13:4-5; 28:11, 22; 33:19; 62:8). From the way the Hebrew prophets portray world affairs, we learn that the rise of Assyria as a superpower occurs in direct proportion to the apostasy of Jehovah’s covenant people, in the end-time as anciently. Without that precondition foreign nations could not dominate the world stage nor invade the lands of Jehovah’s people. ] devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. [ Strangers would be anyone from outside of Israel. Resulting in internal depression and international disaster. The countries which have been given to the house of Israel have been destroyed and overrun. If Israel is in any of the lands they were to inherit, they have been devoured by the gentiles. One reason to quote this verse to Joseph is that the reclamation of these lands will be effected by the restoration of the gospel through Joseph Smith. Isaiah knew of Joseph Smith's position and of the latter-day condition of the whole house of Israel when he made the statement. ]
8 And the daughter of Zion [ Israel/Zion personified, refering to Jerusalem and her inhabitants. When defining Israel’s relationship to its God, the Hebrew prophets commonly characterize Israel as a woman and Jehovah as her husband within the marriage covenant. Because Jehovah’s people as a whole have apostatized, however, persons among them who survive Assyria’s destruction comprise but a small remnant of Jehovah’s people. Called “Zion” or the “Daughter of Zion” (Isaiah 37:22; 52:2; 62:11), these survivors represent a higher spiritual category of Jehovah’s people than the “Israel” category because of their faithfulness to his covenant through many trials. ] is left [ Signifies the survival of a remnant of Jehovah’s people at the time the rest perish. It underscores the dire conditions under which some survive. Word links in the Book of Isaiah identify those who are “left” as persons who return from exile in a new exodus to Zion (Isaiah 11:11, 16), who survive Assyria’s siege of Jerusalem (Isaiah 37:4), who remain “as a flagstaff on a mountaintop, an ensign on a hill” (Isaiah 30:17), whose names are “inscribed among the living at Jerusalem” (Isaiah 4:3), and who are called “the holy offspring” (Isaiah 6:13). ] as a cottage [ The cottage/lodge/booth/hut is also a predictive symbol of the remnant/survivors which will remain of Israel after the Lord's retribution. Just as a booth stands alone in the midst of the field after the harvest is over, so will the remnant stand alone after the "harvest" of the wicked. This is a representation of a flimsy shack at best it is there to provide shade but little else. Sybolicially referring to the beleaguered and dilapidated condition Israel and her cities are in as a result of being covenant cursed. A shelter in a vineyard. While Jehovah’s “vineyard” denotes the Promised Land (Isaiah 5:1-7), in the millennial age it extends to the entire earth (Isaiah 27:2-6). The “shelter” refers to Jehovah’s cloud of glory that protects a remnant of his people as it did ancient Israel (Exodus 14:19-20, Exodus 14:19-20, 24): “Over the whole site of Mount Zion, and over its solemn assembly, Jehovah will form a cloud by day and a mist glowing with fire by night: above all that is glorious shall be a canopy. It shall be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, a secret refuge from the downpour and from rain” (Isaiah 4:5-6; cf. 25:4-5). The idea of a “hut” suggests the presence of a watchman who guards the field against thieves and wild animals. A synonym of the term “shelter”—which appears in parallel with it—the “hut” further connotes protection from the elements, such as a rainstorm or the heat of the sun, whose imagery alludes to Jehovah’s Day of Judgment (Isaiah 17:13; 18:4-6; 25:4-5; 28:2, 14-19; 32:19; 40:24; 49:10). As a watchman’s role includes sounding the alarm when danger approaches (Isaiah 21:6-10), so those who heed the watchman’s warning are persons most likely to survive. ] in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, [ These last three are examples of how bad it will be. All three are examples of low population density, one cottage in a big field of grapes or cucumbers. Isolation, desolation, and solitude which is exactly what the northern kingdom of Israel will look like once the Assryians come and scatter them. Israel is left as unprotected as a garden of cucumbers because they have forsaken the Lord. In otherwords they are left to fend for themsleves with all of the elements with no protection. ] as a besieged city. [ The “city” motif—which here appears in parallel with the “shelter” and “hut”—provides another metaphor of Jehovah’s people. Ultimately there emerge two cities in the Book of Isaiah that represent Jehovah’s covenant people: one wicked, the other righteous; one destroyed, the other delivered (v 21; Isaiah 24:10-12; 26:1-6; 33:20; 52:1-2; 66:6). The expression “under siege” (nesurah), moreover, possesses a double meaning in Hebrew: (1) “under siege”; and (2) “preserved.” In other words, although the righteous city may come under siege by enemies, Jehovah preserves it. ]
9 Except the LORD of
hosts [ Jesus is the Lord God of Hosts in the sense
that he is the God of the host of Israel, the Lord over the righteous,
and is the King who leads his armies in righteous battles against the
wicked. the title is an authority symbol, compare D&C 95:7. ] had
left unto us a very small remnant, [ A type or precedent of the “few survivors” of Jehovah’s people who are “left” after the destruction are Lot and his two daughters who escaped God’s ancient destruction of sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24-30). Representing a pattern of what happens in the end-time, when Jehovah sends his angels to escort Lot and his family out of sodom, his sons-in-law consider it foolish while Lot’s wife looks back and perishes (Genesis 19:12-23; cf. Matthew 24:31). Or the Remnant of Israel. The Lord did not allow Judah to be entirely destroyed, but he intended a remnant to continue, possibly symbolized by the solitary shelter. The very small remnant referred to here are the righteous, the chosen seed. It is this righteous remnant, that keeps the whole house from being destroyed. The historical example of the this in the House of Israel, was when Abraham bargained with the Lord to spare sodom and Gomorrah if he could find a certain number of righteous in the city. God agreed to spare the cities if a certain number of the righteous could be found, knowing all the time that only Lot and his family could qualify. Similarly, before the city of Ammonihah was destroyed, all of the righteous were taken out. Up until that time they were spared only because of the righteous like Amulek and his family who were in it. The Lord has promised that a "little leaven leaveneth the whole lump". A few righteous strategically placed, can cause great blessings to come to many others. ]
we should have been as sodom, [ The Assryians are coming and they will leave us in waste, the same as was left of sodom and Gomorrah except in this case the Lord will spare a small remnant - this small group of people. If the Lord did not do this there would be no survivors. Remember God would have saved those cities if 10 righteous could have been found. Isaiah is warning of a simiular destruction with Israel because of their righteousness. ] and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
[ For Israel to be compared to sodom and Gomorrah is about the worst insult you could have used to compare them too. It indicates just how ripe they are for destruction. The curse here is derivative of the one appearing in Deut. 29:9-28, esp. note v. 22. See also Hosea 11:8 for a similar equation. The names sodom and Gomorrah remind us of those ancient cities and their inhabitants and what they came to symbolize. In their perverse lifestyle their residents grew so aggressive that they attempted to violate the angels of God who were Lot’s guests (Genesis 19:1-11). Isaiah’s drawing on this type when predicting the end-time lets us know that once they lose God’s light his people start to resemble those ancient inhabitants of sodom and Gomorrah. When his people’s devotion to Jehovah becomes but a shallow version of his law and word, it lacks the power to withstand evil.
The names sodom and Gomorrah additionally function as word links to Babylon: “And Babylon, the most splendid of kingdoms, the glory and pride of Chaldeans, shall be [thrown down] as God overthrew sodom and Gomorrah” (Isaiah 13:19). Isaiah’s structurally developed concept of a Greater Babylon—resembling John’s “Babylon the Great”—identifies it as an evil world conglomerate on the eve of its destruction (Isaiah 13-23, 47; Revelation 17-18). That a wicked majority of Jehovah’s people suffers the same fate Babylon does implies that it too has become identified with Babylon. ]
10 ¶ Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, [ First he calls their attention to Hear the word of the Lord, then he asks them to really listen. Are you awake yet. Knowing that Jehovah does nothing unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets (Amos 3:7), he sends a warning voice before destroying his people. In the Book of Isaiah, that warning voice is Jehovah’s servant, of whom Isaiah is a type. Pointing them to Jehovah’s “law” and “word—to the terms of his covenant—the servant directs them to the one thing that has the power to reverse their circumstances. Replacing current aberrant religious practices with keeping Jehovah’s law and word remains his people’s only hope. ] ye people of Gomorrah.
[ In essence he is saying that you are no better than the people of sodom and Gomorrah - so that would have no doubt have made them a little mad. To call Jehovah’s people and their leaders by the names sodom and Gomorrah is to compare their moral degeneracy to that of those cities’ ancient inhabitants. As the leaders of a people generally reflect the people themselves, and as the political and ecclesiastical leaders of Jehovah’s people parallel each other in the Book of Isaiah, their spiritual condition holds little hope for the rising generation. When things reach that point, Jehovah’s people are fortunate indeed if Jehovah offers them a last warning. For those who accept it, there may yet be a chance of deliverance; otherwise, their destruction is assured. ]
11 To what purpose [ In other words - why do you even bother to offer sacrifices? What good do your offerrings do me if you do not attempt to be a righteous people? He is suggesting that they are for naught, they are worthless. If you are doing them only because they are required under the law but have no spiritual signifigance in your life then you are no pleasing God in any way. It is not what you do, but it is what you do because of what you feel about what you believe. If you do not believe it, and feel it then your sacrifice means nothing to God either, and why should it as it means nothing to you. Isaiah describes in detail how his people are performing empty rituals. This counterfeit obedience is blasted by the Lord. Paul mentioned the same worthless offerings in 1 Cor. 13, as did Moroni, and of course Jesus in the sermon on the mount. If we do religious acts to be seen, to be heard, then we have our reward. There will be no reward in Heaven for those who do the right things but for the wrong reason. Those are offerings such as Cain offered. Elder Dallin H. Oaks expressed this very well in a conference address entitled "Why do We Serve?" Do we ever take the sacrament without reflecting on the spiritual signifigance? While the worship of Jehovah goes on as if nothing has changed, its rituals have become a substitute for spirituality. As when Samuel rebukes Saul: “Does Jehovah delight in burnt sacrifices and offerings as much as in heeding the voice of Jehovah? Listen up! To obey is better than sacrifice and to comply than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22). The purpose of temple worship—and the measure of one’s devotion to God—isn’t to multiply ordinances. It is to keep the terms of his covenant that assures Jehovah’s people the same privileges enjoyed by ancestors who walked and talked with him. ] is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. [ You are just going through the motions. Reflecting their ancient use as temple sacrifices—may seem to preclude their relevance to the end-time. Isaiah, however, uses ritually clean beasts as a metaphor of Jehovah’s people (Isaiah 34:1-7; 40:11; 53:7; 60:3-9). In other words, just as sacrificial animals anciently served as proxies for Jehovah’s people who transgressed—thereby forestalling God’s justice—so their end-time relevance applies to the temple-goers themselves: their proxy rituals are no longer acceptable. ]
12 When ye come to appear before me, [ And where do we come to appear before him? In the Temple. If we attend the temple for another purpose then it does not count for much. That reveals an appalling paradox: instead of going to see Jehovah, his people resemble the dumb animals that were anciently brought for sacrifice, which were unaware of their reason for being there. ] who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? [ The first time they were asked for what purpose do you come to the temple and make sacrifices. Of coarse the answer is God, he knows that, but do you? God is teaching them that this is the reason for his rejection - they cannot answer the why or the who, they only know the what they need to do. Here it asked the question who asked you to do it? “Who authorized you to be such hypocrites?” Instead of making an offering of their whole souls to God—as symbolized by the burnt offerings and shedding of the animals’ which gave their life in the worship, while in contrast his people trudge about the temple’s courts defiling it. ]
13 Bring no more vain oblations;
[ Vain suggesting that the sacrifices from them are without purpose. Are you doing these things so that you are seen of men maybe? In addition to the three divinely appointed feasts Lev
23 the Jews added several additional feast days. So the meaning here is that
rather than adding to the required oblations - just keep the ones that you
already have. ] incense is an abomination unto me; [ Wait a minute; Jehovah commanded the offering of incense in Exodus 30:1-8; 40:26-27. So what is he implying here? Incense is symbolic of the prayers of the righteous ascending to his presence (Psalm 141:2; Revelation 8:3-4)—the idea of "incense is an abomination" likens it to a nauseating odor. Their sacrifices have become “worthless” because they aren’t backed up by personal righteousness (Isaiah 61:8). ] the new moons and sabbaths, [ The law appointed that at the new moon special sacrifices should be offered (Num. 10:10; see also 1 Sam. 20:5–6, 29; 2 Kgs. 4:23; Amos 8:5).all of the holy days occur on the new moon. Sabbaths aren't necessarily saturday only, all of the holy days (passover, weeks, tabernacles, &c.) are considered sabbaths as well. Also referenced in this verse is the issue of hypocrisy in covenant making, cp. 58:13-14.The prophets often speak of “new moons” along with “Sabbaths.” As the days for all Jewish feasts were reckoned by the moon, the exact time of the appearance of the new moon was of great importance—Bible Dictionary: New Moon ]
the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; [ He is so disgusted in them that he cannot even finish his sentence here. Here the Lord is suggesting that He is tired of them adding feasts (or liturgy in general) and would prefer them to simply keep the Law. ] it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
14 Your new moons [ In the ancient Israelite calendar, the new moon marked the beginning of each month, and the law of Moses decreed that certain sacrifices were to take place with each new moon. The “appointed feasts” (Isaiah 1:14), or annual feasts, included the Passover (or the Feast of Unleavened Bread), the Feast of Weeks (or the Feast of Pentecost), and the Feast of Tabernacles (or the Feast of Ingathering). (See Bible Dictionary, “Feasts.”) During these religious ceremonies, Isaiah observed that the people were not giving their offerings with pure hearts or genuine sincerity. Thus, he explained that the Lord does not delight in or accept the emptiness of going through the outward motions of obedience without real intent. ] and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: [ Why does God hate them going to their Sabbath and monthly meetings? It is because the people have become accustomed to measuring their personal righteousness with God by their attendance at the meetings instead of having a personal commitment to do what he has asked them to do. ] they are a trouble unto me; [ So they become a trouble to the Lord because people feel that they are doing good in his eyes, instead of repenting and keeping the commands of God. ] I am weary to bear them.
[ Word links show what kinds of things burden and weary Jehovah, but also that by repenting of evil his people may become clean: “You have burdened me with your sins, wearied me with your iniquities. But it is I myself, and for my own sake, who blot out your offenses, remembering your sins no more” (Isaiah 43:24-25). ]
15 And when ye spread forth your
hands, [ Temple imagery worship? ] I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
[ Corruption; HEB bloods; i.e., bloodshed. Isa. 59:2 (2–3). The word “blood” not only implies extreme injustice (Isaiah 26:21; 59:3, 7), it encapsulates injustices in general. Although “hands filled with blood” alludes to murder and abortion, it further epitomizes societal failings and abuses whose ripple effects include suicides to which an unrighteous people contribute. In short, the worship of Jehovah by those whose hearts aren’t broken, whose spirits aren’t contrite (Psalm 51:16-17). ]
16 ¶ Wash you,
[ "Wash yourselves", make yourselves clean, the Hebrew word here means "immerse" and can be taken to be referring to the Jewish "tevillah", a ritual ablution involving complete immersion in water in a "mikvah". This practice was common among ancient Jews, and is still in practice today among contemporary Jews. It is most commonly observed in preparation for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. ] make you clean;,
[ Repent. ] put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; [ Since God's sees everything, here he is suggesting that if they will repent they can escape the covenant curses. ] cease to do evil; [ Stop the bad. Check yourself and get on the right path. Notice how quickly the Lord gets to his message after he has called out their unrighteousness. Repent and come back to me, return to righteousness, to loving me and doing things for the right reasons because you love me and want to be like me. ]
17 Learn to do well; [ Start the good. Keep the terms of your covenant with God. And here is how to do that. ] seek judgment, [ Seek justice for the oppressed, those who cannot help themselves ] relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead [ The words “demand,” “stand up for,” “plead,” and “appeal” go beyond passively noticing others’ needs to actively intervening on their behalf. ] for the widow.
[ The oppressed, the fatherless and the widow are the protected classes. ]
18 Come now, and let us reason together,
[ I don't want this to be just a I am telling you what to do relationship, I want it to be very much a relationship where we discuss what needs to happen and we together come up with solutions to solve the problem, together, as a team, so we are both in sync, and we understand each other. If and when we understand that why then we move to a different level of commitment. Oh and by the way if you think that you have sinned too much and that you have gone too far, let's sit down so that you understand that you have not done so, I can still save you. And then he give this promise to them if they will do so. ] saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; [ Yes it does snow at times in Israel so they would have known what snow was. So the fist comparison is from red to white. ] though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. [ Again the comparison this time reversing the process from red to white. Suggesting that no one would want to be red. We would in todays age say go from black to white, but i suppose that the Lord might have chosen red to signify blood, since he has suggested that they already have blood on their hands. Wool; that is not exactly white in my opinion, so does the white snow suffice, or is there still the suggestion that try as hard aas they want they will never be perfect as a people, but that does not matteer to the Lord it is the direction in which they are headed that matters. Wool also is representative of the lamb who is the only one who will save them in the end. Cloth dyed with scarlet is color-fast (but) even though you think your sins are “colorfast,” the Atonement can cleanse you—a long process is required to get wool white, but it can be done. Snow falls infrequently in Jerusalem, creating a pristine blanket of white. Scarlet is the color of blood. The image of white wool could refer to lambs washed for sacrifice. The statement "though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" has frequently been misinterpreted, according to Joseph Fielding Smith:
This quotation from Isaiah [1:18] is quite generally misunderstood. It is clear from a careful reading of this first chapter in Isaiah, that this remark had no reference to individuals at all, but to the House of Israel. The first verse states clearly this prophecy is what Isaiah saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, and in succeeding verses we have the following: [Isaiah 1:4, 7-9, 17. ]
The promise now follows. If you, a rebellious nation, will repent and turn again unto the Lord, your sins, "though as scarlet, they shall be as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." [Isaiah 1:18.] so, we see, this is not an individual promise, but one to a rebellious nation. No matter how many prophets the Lord sent to Israel and Judah, and how many times he pleaded with them, all through their history they were rebellious.
Here we find a promise that if they would return to the Lord, their past sins would be forgotten, and he would again receive them as his people and bless them abundantly, and they should continue to be his covenant people. So we see that this passage does not apply to individuals and individual sins.
If you will read through Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others of the prophets, you will discover that Israel and Judah did not repent; they were finally driven from their cherished land and have suffered through the ages for their iniquities. (AGQ 2:179-80.) Answers To Gospel Questions Joseph Fielding Smith 2:179-180 Two possibilities exist for interpreting this verse. First—as Hebrew has no question marks—Jehovah is asking, “With blood on your hands, do you still imagine you can become clean? Do you assume I will readily pardon you though you are guilty of the unpardonable sin?” Do Jehovah’s people pretend that the God who said, “Whoever sheds a man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed” (Genesis 9:6), will simply overlook their crimes so long as they go to church and put on a good appearance? That kind of hypocrisy is indeed characteristic of a sodom-and-Gomorrah type of society (vv 9-10). Second, in this verse’s larger context of Jehovah’s people’s repenting of transgression and purifying their lives, they may even now become clean of gross crimes. They shouldn’t assume, though burdened with guilt, that they are too far gone, that there exists no further hope of recovery. The “test” Jehovah presents is whether or not they will repent of doing evil. While “scarlet” and “crimson”—the color of “blood”—allude to murder, abortion, etc. (v 15), they also signify the stain of wickedness in general. Jehovah is willing to forgive those who “cease to do evil” and “learn to do good” (vv 16-17). ]
This quotation from Isaiah [1:18] is quite generally misunderstood. It is clear from a careful reading of this first chapter in Isaiah, that this remark had no reference to individuals at all, but to the House of Israel. The first verse states clearly this prophecy is what Isaiah saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, and in succeeding verses we have the following: [Isaiah 1:4, 7-9, 17. ]
The promise now follows. If you, a rebellious nation, will repent and turn again unto the Lord, your sins, "though as scarlet, they shall be as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." [Isaiah 1:18.] so, we see, this is not an individual promise, but one to a rebellious nation. No matter how many prophets the Lord sent to Israel and Judah, and how many times he pleaded with them, all through their history they were rebellious.
Here we find a promise that if they would return to the Lord, their past sins would be forgotten, and he would again receive them as his people and bless them abundantly, and they should continue to be his covenant people. So we see that this passage does not apply to individuals and individual sins.
If you will read through Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others of the prophets, you will discover that Israel and Judah did not repent; they were finally driven from their cherished land and have suffered through the ages for their iniquities. (AGQ 2:179-80.) Answers To Gospel Questions Joseph Fielding Smith 2:179-180 Two possibilities exist for interpreting this verse. First—as Hebrew has no question marks—Jehovah is asking, “With blood on your hands, do you still imagine you can become clean? Do you assume I will readily pardon you though you are guilty of the unpardonable sin?” Do Jehovah’s people pretend that the God who said, “Whoever sheds a man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed” (Genesis 9:6), will simply overlook their crimes so long as they go to church and put on a good appearance? That kind of hypocrisy is indeed characteristic of a sodom-and-Gomorrah type of society (vv 9-10). Second, in this verse’s larger context of Jehovah’s people’s repenting of transgression and purifying their lives, they may even now become clean of gross crimes. They shouldn’t assume, though burdened with guilt, that they are too far gone, that there exists no further hope of recovery. The “test” Jehovah presents is whether or not they will repent of doing evil. While “scarlet” and “crimson”—the color of “blood”—allude to murder, abortion, etc. (v 15), they also signify the stain of wickedness in general. Jehovah is willing to forgive those who “cease to do evil” and “learn to do good” (vv 16-17). ]
19 If ye be willing [ With open ears - teachable. ] and obedient,[ Willing and obedient are these not the two principles upon which all covenant blessings are based? The doubling of the Hebrew verbs “willing” and “obey” causes the first to modify the second. An alternative translation, therefore, is “If you willingly obey, you shall eat the good of the land.” ] ye shall eat the good of the land:
[ The increase of the land and the land itself constitute covenant blessings (Deuteronomy 19:8; ]
20 But if ye refuse and rebel,
ye shall be [ So if you do not choose to do as I asked you in the previous verse to be obedient and teachable. Then here this will be the result. ] devoured with
the sword:[ Covenant curse meaning foreign invasion,
cp. 65:11-12. A spiritual interpretation would be that of damnation as the
word of God is frequently called a sword. Their refusal to repent results in Jehovah’s empowering their enemies against them. Like the term fire (v 7), the term sword has a dual meaning. In its present context, it identifies the king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah’s fire and sword. As Jehovah’s instrument for destroying the wicked, he cleanses the earth before Jehovah comes to reign: “With fire and with his sword will Jehovah execute judgment on all flesh, and those slain by Jehovah shall be many” (Isaiah 66:16; emphasis added). ] for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. [ Your warning is official as it comes from God himself —what their divine Judge decrees will indeed come to pass. As chapter 1 shows, however, Jehovah’s people as a whole don’t heed his warning. Many are beyond responding positively to a call to repent. Because Jehovah’s servant who prepares the way before Jehovah’s coming to reign on the earth serves as his mouth or mouthpiece, it is he who delivers Jehovah’s final warning. Still, most ignore their peril and few survive the archtyrant’s destruction of the world (Isaiah 10:5-7; 42:24-25; 48:18-19; 65:12). ]
21 ¶ How [ God is lamenting. In other words, the prophet is asking, “How could this tragedy have happened? How is it that this people didn’t repent in time? How could those who were once righteous become so wicked?” ] is the faithful city [ There was a time when Jerusalem itself was a faithful city, most notably when Melchizedek was the king of (Jeru)Salem. There was a time when the house of Israel was righteous, namely with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph. Now however it has allowed itself to become mixed. The silver, or chosen of the Lord, are mixed with the "sons of men, and daughters of men;" they have perverted the marriage covenant and the sealing powers connected with it. They married gentiles out of the covenant. Instead of binding children to them by sacred covenants, the parents were sacrificing their children to false Gods. They joined the world. How will God handle this situation? Verses 24,25,26 give us the answer. These, again, were quoted by Moroni to Joseph Smith.
1:24,25,26. The Lord will "ease" himself of these adversaries. It will be a gradual process over many centuries. Since His Silver and Wine is "mixed" with evil, he will install a process of purging which will take away evil, and will restore the Silver in its purity, and the Judges and Counselors who have been taken away in the scattering process, like Lehi, and Nephi. Since Moroni is telling this to Joseph Smith, he, too, must have part in the message of these verses. The house of Israel will become "faithful", and they as "Zion" will be "redeemed" when they repent, and they will bring all their "converts" with them.
Could it be that the Lord "mixed" the house of Israel with the gentiles and that the House of Israel by their own sins, mixed their "silver" with the sons of men, or tin, and that through a purging process, over years, God brings blood lines back together, and merges them into one. As one searches genealogical lines, it seems that this does happen. ] become an harlot! [ A harlot is not faithful to any man, as she neither makes nor keeps covenants. The Lord is presented as the husband to Israel, and when Israel strays from the Lord by idolatry it is akin to adultery see Hosea 1-3 Hence a harlot is often used as a symbol for those who have prostituted their covenant relationship with God. ] it was full of judgment; [ “Justice” (mispat) ] righteousness lodged in it; [ “Justice” (mispat) and “righteousness” (sedeq)—the basis of all covenant blessings and the underpinnings of a law-abiding society—have given way to injustice and unrighteousness. The term righteousness additionally identifies Jehovah’s end-time servant who acts as an exemplar of righteousness to Jehovah’s people (Isaiah 41:2, 25; 46:11-13) and whom Jehovah appoints to restore justice in the earth (Isaiah 42:1-4). ] but now murderers. [ Suggesting the level of wickedness to which Jehovah's people have sunken. ]
22 Thy silver [ a Hebrew term for money. ] is become dross,
[ Becomes worthless, full of impurities the things that make metal brittle and soft. ]
thy wine ["Wine" is
symbolic of the deeds of the people according to the Qumran Damascus Rule,
see_Dead Sea Scrolls in English_ by Vermes, Penguin Books. ] mixed with water: [ Wine mixed with water becomes weak, diluited. In summary; the people are lacking what they once had. His imagery of common, semi-precious, and precious metals and stones, for example, denotes three ascending spiritual categories of people (Isaiah 60:17). In other words, some people who were in an elect category (“silver”) have become “dross,” which isn’t a metal at all. Having fallen from grace, they have joined Isaiah’s Perdition category.
Your wine diluted with water. Besides its literal meaning, the idea of “wine” metaphorically signifies spiritual nourishment: “You who have no money, come, buy wine and milk with no money and at no cost” (Isaiah 55:1). Those who teach God’s word, in effect, have watered it down until it no longer nourishes his people: “Their heart ponders impiety—how to practice hypocrisy and preach perverse things concerning Jehovah, leaving the hungry soul empty, depriving the thirsty [soul] of drink” (Isaiah 32:6). What passes for God’s word has become but a diminished version of his gospel in its fullness.
]
23 Thy princes [ Those who are in government. ] are rebellious,
and companions of thieves: [ Secret combinations. ] every one loveth gifts,
[ Bribery. ]
and followeth after rewards: [ The rulers are described as materialistic and self seeking. Persons in government, whose task is to protect society from predators, have turned into predators themselves. ] they judge [ HEB “do not do justice to.” The would-be administrators of justice perpetrate injustice. ] not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them. [ They do not use the resources from the taxes to help those in need but rather they take the money for themselves and for their own projects. They are only looking out for themselves. In essence they are in violation of what they are elected to do, and they have violated other's rights in order for personal gain. They are not protecting the very groups that God always warns about protecting. ]
[ One of the verses quotes by the angel Moroni to the prophet Joseph Smith. ]
24 Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of
hosts, the mighty One of Israel, [ Title expresses his omnipotence and greatness. Expresses his divine attribute of valor. Alludes to the legions, heavenly and earthly, he has at his disposal to implement his decrees. ] Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, [ The apostate ecclesiastical leaders (v 10) and corrupt politicians (v 23; cf. Isaiah 5:7, 24-25; 10:1-6). ] and avenge me of mine enemies:
[ One of the verses quotes by the angel Moroni to the prophet Joseph Smith ]
25 ¶ And I will turn my
hand upon thee , [ HEB return; i.e., repeatedly chastise. Here the Lord's hand is not for punishment but is rather for salvation. Also interrupted as “restores” (’asiba). This he does through the agency of his servant who prepares the way before his coming to reign on the earth (cf. Matthew 17:11; Acts 3:21). As Jehovah’s hand or right hand (Isaiah 11:10-12, 14-15; 41:2, 10, 13; 49:1-3), the servant restores Jehovah’s people and their lands (Isaiah 49:5-6, Isaiah 49:5-6, 8) and deals with his people’s enemies (Isaiah 50:10-11). ] and purely purge away thy dross, [ The “dross” and “alloy”—the lowest spiritual categories of his people—Jehovah purges away in his Day of Judgment (cf. Malachi 3:1-5). The Lord's role has changed here from
supporter of Israel, as was identified in v. 2-3, to the One who's responsability
it now is to preserve and draw out a righteous remnant from the generally
rebellious Israel. Thus the Lord's relationship with Israel changes as
Israel changes. see also Mal. 3:3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. ] and
take away all thy tin: [ Tin is a lesser metal than Gold and silver. He is trying to purify the metal will you let me. ]
[ One of the verses quotes by the angel Moroni to the prophet Joseph Smith ]
26 And I will restore thy
judges [ Wicked rulers are replaced by the surviving
righteous remnant and the Lord personally arranges the government of
Zion. The two parallel statements—“I will restore” (’asibah) (vv 25-26)—signify not only that both restorations form a part of the same event but that one flows out of the other. In other words, the refinement “as in a crucible” (v 25) that results in pure silver or gold leads to the appointment of righteous leaders “as at the first” and “as in the beginning” (v 26). That leadership of Jehovah’s people follows the pattern of Moses and Israel’s judges (Exodus 18:13-26), who established a theocratic government: “A king shall reign in righteousness and rulers rule with justice” (Isaiah 32:1; cf. Jeremiah 23:1-5). ] as at the first, and thy counsellors as
at the beginning: [ Back to the point where they would give righteous council. ] afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, [ Zion is now granted a new name of "City of Righteousness", for more of Zion's new names cp. 62:4. Hephzi-bah or "my desire is in her" a faithful city. While the once-faithful “city” becomes a “harlot”—a place in which “righteousness” no longer abides (v 21)—Jehovah’s cleansing results in a city of righteousness grounded in principles of righteousness and founded by righteousness—Jehovah’s servant (Isaiah 41:2; 46:11-13). That city, called “Zion” (v 27), Jehovah preserves from a sodom-and-Gomorrah type of destruction (vv 8-9). Two “cities” thus emerge in the Book of Isaiah: one wicked, the other righteous; one destroyed, the other delivered (Isaiah 25:2; 26:1-6; 33:20). ] the faithful city. [ Or the way that you were supposed to be before you became unfaithful, just like a harlot. ]
27 Zion shall be redeemed [ While the verb “ransomed” (pdh) applies largely to the physical deliverance of Jehovah’s people, its synonym “redeemed” (g’l) applies to their spiritual salvation (Isaiah 44:22). In effect, he who “redeems” is Jehovah, while he who “ransoms” is his servant. ] with judgment, [ HEB justice, righteousness. ] and her converts [ That is, those of Jehovah’s people—his wife within the marriage covenant—who repent. The repentant and the just will be among the survivors in Zion. Her Converts refers to not just all of Israel but specifically those who are repentent and living on a higher spiritual level. ] with
righteousness. [ Since God is the one delivering the justice or judgement he reestablishes his justice, and his endtime servant is the one whom Jehovah sends to retore that justice on the earth. ]
28 ¶ And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners [ Those who forsake Jehovah. ] shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed. [ All the rest will have to go, but not because God chooses to throw them out. They will walk away from safety right into destruction; with eyes wide open they will forsake the Lord and be consumed. ]
29 For they shall be ashamed of the oaks [ The gardens - groves used for idol worship. 29–31. These verses are the only references to paganism—popular cults that will wither and be burned up—not be destroyed, however, because they follow pagan manners or forms, as the doctors, ministers, and commentators love to tell us, but because they were part of the cover-up for avaricious, hard, and immoral practices. Israel was specifically commanded to eliminate and keep these things out of their land, cf. Deut. 7:1-11, Deut. 13. Then will be the time when they will have forsaken all the
sins of the Fertility cults that inhabited the land when Joshua brought them across Jordan, that they didn't destroy as they should. So it will be with us. We must remove all false Gods from our life and serve the true and living God with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength. The word “oaks” (’elim) is also a metaphor for elite persons in society, moreover (Isaiah 61:3), additional meanings of these terms suggest that those whom Jehovah’s people fancy include persons of wealth, power, or position who are popular with the masses, persons whom they idolize as “gods” (’elim) or toward whom they “express fawning adulation” (hamadtem). ] which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen. [ The counterfeit place of false Gods, whos fruit is not saving or lasting, but is bitter. Why garden? Well the place were it all started was from the source of God in the Garden of Eden. Here he proclaims that they have become confounded and lost their direction in seeking the wrong garden, a garden which will not bring you back into the presence of God. The difference between Gods garden is the cheribum and the flaming sword was placed at the gate to keep us out until we had experienced life that we needed to. Satans garden ahs devils guarding it as well but they are there to keep you in, that is why sin is so addictive. ]
30 For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water. [ Without water there is no growth, so here he paints the imagery of Israel dying spiritually. Images portraying the transient nature of the materialistic pleasures of men and their might. They may be mighty and having fun at the moment, but when the Lord exposes their sin pleasure will be turned to misery. ]
31 And the strong [ The “mighty”—the icons of society—become but burnt refuse as Jehovah cleanses the earth of wickedness. ] shall be as tow, [ Kindling that catches fire very easily. As a growing bunch of grasses or close-set plants making them very acceptable to catch fire or have the covenant curses applied to them like drought, searing winds, and dying vegetation overtake the wicked (Isaiah 17:13; 27:8; 33:9), causing lakes and rivers to evaporate and dry up (Isaiah 19:5-7; 42:15). ] and the maker of it [ The people who are in charge, those that decide who the winners and losers are in society. ] as a spark, [ Compare Isiah 50:10-11. Their “works” or institutions are the spark that sets off the conflagration. “Refuse,” a chaos motif, signifies the disintegration of the old society before the new—the community of Zion or Jerusalem—takes its place (Isaiah 2:2-4). Jehovah appoints the king of Assyria/Babylon as his instrument for burning up the wicked of his people and the nations (v 7; Isaiah 9:18-19; 10:5-7; 33:1, 12-14; 47:14). ] and they shall both burn together,
[ What happens when tow and spark come together? The result of their sin will be a burning of their spirit for which there is nothing to quench it. IN otherwords they did not use the atonement and repent when they were able to now they are left to suffer. ] and none shall quench them. [ In essence it is a fatal combination. ]