the hair of the head, and beard, and feet; he shall sweep all away, as the leper, when he was cleansed, shaved off all his hair, Lev. xiv. 8, 9. This is done with a razor which is hired; which God has hired, as if he had none of his own; but what he hires, and whom he employs in any service for him, he will pay for: see Ezek. xxix. 18, 19. Or which Ahaz has hired for his assistance. God will make that to be an instrument of his destruction, which he hired into his service. Note, Many are beaten with that arm of flesh which they trusted to rather than to the arm of the Lord, and which they were at a great expense upon; when by faith and prayer they might have found cheap and easy succour in God.
4. The consequences of this general depopulation:
(1.) The flocks of cattle shall be all destroyed; so that a man who had herds and flocks in abundance, shall be stripped of them all by the enemy, and shall with much ado save for his own use a young cow and two sheep; a poor stock, (v. 21.) yet he shall think himself happy in having any left.
(2.) The few cattle that are left, shall have such a large compass of ground to feed in, that they shall give abundance of milk, and very good milk, such as shall produce butter enough, v. 22. There shall also be such want of men, that the milk of one cow and two sheep shall serve a whole family, which used to keep abundance of servants, and consume a great deal, but is now reduced.
(3.) The breed of cattle shall be destroyed; so that they who used to eat flesh, (as the Jews commonly did,) shall be necessitated to confine themselves to butter and honey; for there shall be no flesh for them, and the country shall be so depopulated, that there shall be butter and honey enough for the few that are left in it.
(4.) Good land, that used to be let well, shall be all overrun with briers and thorns; (v. 23.) where there used to be a thousand vines planted, for which the tenants used to pay a thousand shekels, or pieces of silver, yearly rent, there shall be nothing now but briers and thorns, no profit either for landlord or tenant; all being laid waste by the army of the invaders. Note, God can soon turn a fruitful land into barrenness; and it is just with him to turn vines into briers, if we, instead of bringing forth grapes to him, bring forth wild grapes, ch. v. 4.
(5.) The instruments of husbandry shall be turned into instruments of war, v. 24. The whole land being become briers and thorns, the grounds that men used to come to with sickles and pruning-hooks to gather in the fruits, they shall now come to with arrows and bows, either to hunt for wild beasts in the thickets, or to defend themselves from the robbers that lurk in the bushes seeking for prey, or to kill the serpents and venomous beasts that are hid there. This bespeaks a very sad change of the face of that pleasant land. But what melancholy change is there, which sin will not make with a people?
(6.) There where briers and thorns were wont to be of use, and to do good service, even in the hedges, for the defence of the enclosed grounds, they shall be plucked up, and all laid in common. There shall be briers and thorns in abundance, there where they should not be, but none where there should be, v. 25. The hills that shall be digged with the mattock, for special use, from which the cattle used to be kept off with the fear of briers and thorns, shall now be thrown open; the hedges broken down for the boar out of the wood to waste it, Ps. lxxx. 12, 13. It shall be left at large for oxen to run in, and lesser cattle.
See the effect of sin and the curse; it has made the earth a forest of thorns and thistles, except as it is forced into some order by the constant care and la bour of man: and see what folly it is to set our hearts upon possession of lands, be they ever so fruitful, ever so pleasant; if they lie ever so little neglected and uncultivated, or if they be abused by a wasteful careless heir or tenant, or the country be laid waste bv war, they will soon become frightful deserts. Heaven is a paradise not subject to such changes.
CHAP. VIII.
This chapter, and the four next that follow it, (to ch. 13.) are all one continued discourse or sermon; the scope of which is, to show the great destruction that should now shortly be brought upon the kingdom of Israel, and the great disturbance that should be given to the kingdom of Judah by the king of Assyria, and that both were for their sins; but rich provision is made of comfort for those that fear God, in those dark times, referring especially to the days of the Messiah. In this chapter we have, I. A prophecy of the destruction of the confederate kingdoms of Syria and Israel by the king of Assyria, v. 1..4. II. Of the desolations that should be made by that proud, victorious prince, in the land of Israel and Judah, v. 5..8. III. Great encouragement given to the people of God in the midst of those destructions: they are assured, 1. That the enemies shall not gain their point against them, v. 9, 10. 2. That if they kept up the fear of God, and kept down the fear of man, they should find God their Refuge, (v. 11..14.) and, while others stumbled, and fell into despair, they should be enabled to wait on God, and should see themselves reserved for better times, v. 15..18. Lastly, he gives a necessary caution to all, at their peril, not to consult with familiar spirits, for they would thereby throw themselves into despair, but to keep close to the word of God, v. 19..22. And these counsels, and these comforts, will still be of use to us in time of trouble.
1.MOREOVER the Lord said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 2. And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. 3. And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived and bare a son. Then said the Lord to me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz: 4. For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and My mother, the riches of Damascus, and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria. 5. The Lord spake also unto me again, saying, 6. Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son: 7. Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks: 8. And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over; he shall reach even to the neck: and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.
In these verses we have a prophecy of the successes of the king of Assyria against Damascus, Samaria, and Judah; that the two former should be laid waste by him, and the last greatly frightened. Here we have,
I. Orders given to the prophet to write this prophecy, and publish it to be seen and read of all men, and to leave it upon record, that when the thing came to pass, they might know that God had sent him; for that was one end of the prophecy, John xiv. 29. He must take a great roll, which would
