The Mystery of Ephraim

The Russian bear seems to have bitten a porcupine which has now got stuck to its mouth, unable to swallow it nor to dislodge it, creating lots of distractions.

Many believe Russia was and still is the main threat to the United States. Others, like warmonger John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago, give incredible speeches around the world saying China is the main enemy.

And Mearsheimer brilliantly emphasizes the United States are protected by fish to the left and fish to the right, but foolishly negates to address America’s broken border in the South; and that the Scriptures say that America’s main “enemy” comes from the unprotected and porous South! (for more, click here)

Isaiah 25

¹ O Lord, Thou art my God. I will exalt Thee, I will praise Thy name, for Thou hast done wonderful things; Thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. — O Yehovah, thou art my God — In covenant with me: my friend, my father, my portion. Isaiah speaks in the name of the whole elect. I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name, Yehovah. Those that have Yehovah for their God are in duty bound to praise him;

— for thou hast done wonderful things. Thy counsels of old, signifying not only counsels long before taken, but which thou hast from time to time revealed to thy prophets, which were of old, being conceived from all eternity, are true and firm, and shall certainly be accomplishe;

— God’s name is the four-letter Hebrew word יהוה‎ YHVH Yehovah (not Jehovah since the letter J wasn’t around but only after the sixteenth century; more on this at the end).

² For Thou hast made of a city a heap, of a fortified city a ruin, a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be rebuilt. — Thou hast made of a city an heap; the city spoken of as “the palace of strangers” was, probably identified with the oppressors and destroyers of his people—that is, Nineveh, Babylon or Rome; but that city was also for him the representation of the world-power which in every age opposes to the Kingdom of God;

— it shall never be rebuilt; their cities and palaces have been or shall be utterly and irrecoverably destroyed.

³ Therefore shall the strong people glorify Thee; the city of the terrible nations shall fear Thee. — therefore shall the strong people fear thee; thy stoutest enemies, observing thy wonderful works, shall be forced to tremble before thee.

⁴ For Thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall. — for thou hast been a strength to the poor; hast defended thy poor and helpless people against the fiercest assaults of their enemies.

⁵ Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place, even the heat with the shadow of a cloud; the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low. — Thou shalt bring down the noise; the tumult; the sound which they make in entering into battle; or the note of triumph, and the sound of revelry.

⁶ And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. — and in this mountain, that is, in Mount Zion, Jerusalem, very frequently meant by the names of Zion and Jerusalem; a feast of fat things, of the ultimate glory of the saints in heaven; which is sometimes represented by a feast; and the participation of it, by sitting down with the saints at a table in the kingdom of God, and by drinking wine there.

⁷ And He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. — this mountain, in Mount Zion; the covering of the face, or the veil, of their ignorance of God, and of the truth; cast over all people; which then was upon the Gentiles and all people. This is a manifest prophecy concerning the illumination and conversion of the Gentiles;

— For I, brethren, would not have you be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits: that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. Romans 11:25

⁸ He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces, and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth; for the Lord hath spoken it. — He will swallow up death in victory, or rather, He will abolish death for ever;

— and will wipe away tears; take away from his people all sufferings and sorrows, with all the causes of them, which deliverance is begun here and perfected in heaven. The rebuke of his people; the reproach and contempt cast upon his faithful people;

— for the Lord hath spoken it; therefore doubt it not, though it seem incredible to you.

⁹ And it shall be said in that day: “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” — it shall be said in that day; the speakers are obviously the company of the redeemed, the citizens of new Jerusalem;

— we have waited for him; amidst many trials, persecutions, and calamities, we have looked for the coming of our God to deliver us, and we will rejoice in the salvation that he brings.

¹⁰ For in this mountain shall the hand of the Lord rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under Him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill. — for in this mountain, in Mount Zion, Jerusalem, God will dwell with men again, in his new Sanctuary;

— and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill; by Moab are meant all the enemies of his Kingdom.

¹¹ And He shall spread forth His hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim; and He shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands. — the Septuagint renders it, ‘Upon whatsoever he lays his hands,’ that is, God shall humble the pride of Moab in respect to everything on which he shall lay his hands;

— the word signifies snares, ambushes, craft; and then by the plunder or spoils which he had obtained by snares and ambushes; that is, their “craftily acquired spoils” would all perish with Moab and the land would thus be completely subdued.

¹² And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall He bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust. — and the fortress of the high fort of thy walls; as interpreted to be Moab as the stronghold of the nations. Beyond this they predict a like destruction of every stronghold, every rock-built fortress of the great world-power of which Moab was for the time only a type.

Isaiah 26

¹ In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. — the prophet Isaiah appears once more as in the character of a psalmist, that the land of Judah is destined for nothing less than the worship of the heavenly King; the walls of the city are not built of stone or brick, but are themselves as a living force; there is no need for other defenses.

² Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. — open the gates of the celestial city, New Jerusalem. The righteous nation which keeps the truth; literally, a righteous nation; and these will be a set of men that “will keep the truth” or as the Targum renders it,” who keep the law with a perfect heart,” that is, the truth is about keeping the law, the perfect law, which is the truth.

³ Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee. — thou wilt keep him, etc; literally, the steadfast mind thou wilt keep in peace, in peace; that is “in perfect peace”  peace at all times, and under all circumstances; thou shalt preserve (it, namely, the righteous nation) in perpetual peace.”

⁴ Trust ye in the Lord for ever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. — trust ye in the Lord for ever; the sense is, ‘Let your confidence in God on no occasion fail. Let no calamity, no adversity, no persecution, no poverty, no trial of any kind, prevent your reposing entire confidence in him.’ 

⁵ For He bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, He layeth it low; He layeth it low, even to the ground; He bringeth it even to the dust. — for he will bring down them that dwell on high, the lofty city, so the accents require the words to be rendered; and accordingly the Targum is, “for he will bring low the inhabitants of the high and strong city” he layeth it low: he layeth it low, even to the ground; he brings it even to the dust; all which expressions denote their utter destruction.

⁶ The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor and the steps of the needy.” — the foot shall tread it down; trample upon it when brought down, laid low, and level with the ground, as mire is trodden in the streets, and straw for the dunghill; as grapes in the winepress, or grass by the feet of cattle;

— the righteous as the Targum paraphrases it; the saints of the most High, to whom the kingdom and dominion under the whole heaven will now be given, and who will be just come out of great tribulation.

⁷ The way of the just is uprightness; Thou, Most Upright, dost weigh the path of the just. — the way of the just is righteousness; the just proceed steadily on in the practice of the various duties of righteousness, which they owe to God and man.

⁸ Yea, in the way of Thy judgements, O Lord, have we waited for Thee; the desire of our soul is to Thy name and to the remembrance of Thee. — to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee; the “name” of God is, as always, that of Yehovah.  God’s name is the four-letter Hebrew word יהוה‎ YHVH Yehovah (not Jehovah since the letter J wasn’t around but only after the sixteenth century; more on this at the end).

⁹ With my soul have I desired Thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek Thee early; for when Thy judgements are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. — with my soul have I desired Thee in the night; by desiring God in the night (in captivity), and by seeking him early, is meant that the desire to seek him was unremitted and constant. The prophet speaks of the pious Jews who were in captivity in Babylon; and says that it was the object of their unremitted anxiety to please God, and to do his will.

¹⁰ Let favor be shown to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord. — let favour be showed to the wicked; if thou dost spare them, when thou chastise thy own people, and grant them health, prosperity and other blessings; yet will they not learn righteousness, they will not be led to repentance by thy goodness; and therefore it is requisite thou shouldest send thy judgements.

¹¹ Lord, when Thy hand is lifted up, they will not see; but they shall see and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of Thine enemies shall devour them. — when the arm of the Almighty, the symbol of His power, was simply lifted up for the protection of His people, the evildoers closed their eyes and would not see it. A time will come when judgements shall fall on them, and so they shall be made to see;

— the Targum says, “Lord, when thou shall be revealed in thy power to do good to them that fear thee, there will be no light to the enemies of thy people” but they shall see; whether they will or not; the judgements of God will be manifest, both in his vengeance and in glorifying his own people.

¹² Lord, Thou wilt ordain peace for us; for Thou also hast wrought all our works in us. — Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us; that is, henceforth thou wilt give us an existence of perfect peace, untroubled by adversaries. For thou also hast wrought all our works for us. The “work” intended seems to be the work of deliverance.

¹³ O Lord our God, other lords besides Thee have had dominion over us; but by Thee only will we make mention of Thy name. — but by thee only will we make mention of thy name; this may be better rendered, ‘but only thee, thy name will we henceforward commemorate.’ 

— God’s name is the four-letter Hebrew word יהוה‎ YHVH Yehovah (not Jehovah since the letter J wasn’t around but only after the sixteenth century; more on this at the end)

¹⁴ They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise; therefore hast Thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish. — they shall not rise; those tyrants and enemies are utterly and irrecoverably destroyed, so as they shall never live or rise again to molest us; the Targum says, “they worship the dead, who do not live; and their mighty men, who shall not rise;”

— destroyed them and made all their memory to perish; thou hast destroyed both them and theirs, and all the monuments or memorials of their greatness and glory.

¹⁵ Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord, Thou hast increased the nation. Thou art glorified; Thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth. — Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord, thou hast increased the nation; the righteous nation, Isaiah 26:2 the Kingdom of God by the numerous conversions of Jews and Gentiles; when the Kingdom of God shall be born and the fulness and forces of the Gentiles are brought in.

¹⁶ Lord, in trouble have they visited Thee, they poured out a prayer when Thy chastening was upon them. — O Lord, amidst the various calamities brought upon them for their correction and especially in their captivity, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.

¹⁷ As a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain and crieth out in her pangs, so have we been in Thy sight, O Lord. — like as a woman with child; by this simile are set forth the great distresses and afflictions of the birth of the Kingdom of God before redemption and deliverance before the yoke comes.

¹⁸ We have been with child, we have been in pain; we have, as it were, brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth, neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen. — we have been with child; like women with child, we have been full of hopes and expectations of great things, of deliverance from our enemies, and of the kingdom of God being at hand.

¹⁹ Thy dead men shall live; together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. — the answer to these utterances of disappointed hopes is the promise of the Resurrection.

²⁰ Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be past. — when dangers threaten, it is good to retire and lie hid; when we commend ourselves to God to hide us, he will hide us somewhere under heaven or in heaven. Thus we shall be safe and happy in the midst of tribulations. It is but for a short time, as it were for a little moment; when over, it will seem as nothing. 

²¹ For, behold, the Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. — for, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. The earth will vomit and cast out the innocent blood, which it has drunk, that it may care for vengeance against the wicked.

~~~

More on God’s name, Yehovah.

God’s name is the four-letter Hebrew word יהוה‎ YHVH Yehovah, which are embedded in the Masoretic text over 6000 times, yet when translated into our English language most had been translated as Lord, or LORD, which are titles, but not his name. His name is יהוה‎ Yehovah, or YEHOVAH (but there are no capital letters in Hebrew).

It wasn’t until 1524 that Gian Giorgio Trissino, an Italian Renaissance grammarian, invented the letter J that this new letter started to take a hold in the writings of western Europe. Even in 1611 when the English Bible the King James has our subject of study by the prophet Jeremiah, he was known as Ieremiah. So Jehovah is a very late comer.

The following verses with the LORD erred in translation. His name Yehovah should be used:

I am the LORD; that is My name. And My glory will I not give to another, neither My praise to graven images. Isaiah 42:8

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call. Joel 2:32

“I am sought of them that asked not for Me; I am found of them that sought Me not. I said, ‘Behold Me, behold Me,’ unto a nation that was not called by My name. Isaiah 65:1

When we call our God, the LORD, we err, because his name is not the LORD, which is a title. His name is YEHOVAH! May We all ask for his forgiveness, and may Our merciful God forgive us all.

~ by Joel Huan on March 8, 2022.

Posted in Isaiah