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12. And he will lift up an ensign to the nations. This verse contains nothing more than the explanation of the former verse. The language is metaphorical, and admits of two meanings; either that, by giving an ensign, he will terrify adversaries, so that they will not dare to prevent his people from returning, or that he will give an ensign to the wretched exiles not to hesitate to make preparations for their return. But even at the present day this doctrine is highly useful among us; for as an ensign is lifted up in the army, that the soldiers may assemble, and that every one may follow and may keep his proper place, so a banner is here held out to us, that we may assemble to it, namely, the gospel, which the Lord has lifted up among the Gentiles, by which Christ is preached to us. ¹⁸⁸¹⁸⁸     “Set up his standard on an eminence, the signal for the soldiery to assemble round their commander. Caesar terms it vexillum proponere, quod erat insigne, cum ad arma concurri oporteret. B. Gall. See Ammian, Hist., 27:10.” — Rosenmuller.

And will gather together the dispersions of Judah. Hence we ought to conclude, that we cannot be gathered by the Lord unless we assemble to this ensign, and be joined to him by faith; for there is no other way in which he acknowledges us to be his sheep, than when, after having been scattered, we are gathered together, and meet in the same assembly under this ensign; as he says,

My sheep hear my voice and follow me. (John 10:27.)

The word gather is repeated. He will gather together the outcasts of Israel, and will gather together the dispersions of Judah. He shows how efficacious God’s calling will be; for as soon as he shall give the slightest indication that such is his pleasure, he will restore the people. Dispersion is a collective noun, for it means the Jews scattered in all directions; and he appears to allude, as he often does elsewhere, to similar passages in the writings of Moses, in which the Lord promises that he will gather the people, though they were scattered to the farthest parts of the world, and to the four winds of heaven. (Deuteronomy 30:3, 4.) Now, this was done under the direction of Christ. Under the same leader we ought at the present day to expect the restoration of a wretched and scattered Church; for there is no hope of gathering the remnant but by the elect looking to this ensign. We ought frequently, therefore, to call to remembrance those promises, that by relying on them we may more and more strengthen our hearts.

13. And the envy of Ephraim shall depart. Here he promises that the Church will be in such a state of peace, that neither will the Israelites and the Jews contend in civil broils, nor will they suffer any annoyance from their enemies, and that they will not be liable to hatred or envy, as they formerly were. Not that there will be no wicked men, but the Lord will at length cut off and destroy them. But we ought chiefly to observe what he adds about allaying domestic quarrels, that henceforth the children of Abraham may not harass each other, but unite in the same religion, and in the pure worship of God; for it was a disgraceful and shocking spectacle that their mutual strife and hostilities had been so long maintained.

With good reason does he point out the source of quarrels, namely, envy, in consequence of which the descendants of Abraham have torn each other, while the tribes of Judah and Ephraim strive with each other for renown. This horrible torch has always kindled wars in the world, while every man is unwilling to yield. In short, the Lord here promises outward and inward peace, which is a very great and most desirable blessing.

It will be objected that this was never accomplished, and that the very opposite of this took place; for as soon as the gospel began, it was followed by various wars, commotions, and dreadful persecutions, and nearly the whole world was disturbed and shaken. And inwardly what peace did the Church enjoy? Among Christians themselves, Satan, by his tares, (Matthew 13:25,) has raised up dreadful disturbances, so that no enemies were more ferocious and destructive than those which were brought up in the bosom of the Church.

I reply, the Prophet here includes the whole of Christ’s kingdom, and not merely a single age or century. In this world we taste but the beginning of Christ’s kingdom; and while the Church is harassed by enemies both within and without, still the Lord defends and preserves her, and conquers all her enemies. Besides, this prediction properly belongs to the true and lawful children of Abraham, whom the Lord has purified by the cross and by banishment, and has constrained to lay aside ambition and envy; as those who have been tamed in the school of Christ cease to be desirous of renown. Thus the promise which Isaiah makes in this passage has already been in part fulfilled, and is fulfilled every day. But we must proceed in these exercises, and must fight earnestly within and without, till we obtain that everlasting peace which it will be our happiness to enjoy in the kingdom of God.

14. And they shall fly on the shoulders of the Philistines. He means that there is also another way in which the Lord will assist his people; which is, that he will conquer their enemies, and subdue them under his dominion. Having spoken of the safety of the Church, he now declares that she will be victorious over her enemies. He mentions those nations with which the Jews incessantly carried on wars; for on the one hand the Philistines, and on the other the Ammonites and Moabites, to whom they were bound by the tie of relationship and kindred, were continually molesting and attacking them. On one side also were the Edomites, who were not restrained by blood-relationship from being most determined enemies; for they were descended from Esau, (Genesis 25:25, 26, 36:1,8, 9,) the brother of Jacob; and the remembrance of this ought to have dissuaded them from enmity and hatred. The Lord, therefore, promises that the Church, though she is not absolutely without enemies, will gain advantage over them by suffering, and in the end be victorious.

Edom and Moab shall be the stretching out of the hands. ¹⁸⁹¹⁸⁹     They shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab. (Heb. Edom and Moab shall be the laying on of their hand.) — Eng. Ver. The stretching out of the hands means the dominion which the Church obtained over her enemies; for by the word hand is usually meant power; and the Hebrews use the phrase, to stretch out the hand, instead of “to place this or that under subjection.” Thus it is said,

I will set his hand in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers.
(Psalm 89:25.)

The stretching out of the hand, therefore, is full power to rule; and, on the other hand, he adds the obedience which the enemies will yield to her: and the children of Ammon shall be their obedience ¹⁹⁰¹⁹⁰     And the children of Ammon shall obey them. (Heb. the children of Ammon their obedience.) — Eng. Ver.

The Jews, who dream of an earthly kingdom of Christ, interpret all this in a carnal sense, and apply it to I know not what external power; but they ought rather to judge of it according to the nature of Christ’s kingdom. Partly, no doubt, the accomplishment of this prediction was seen, when the Jews returned from captivity, and God brought them into moderate prosperity, contrary to the wish, and in spite of the opposition, of all the neighboring nations; but believers were led to expect a more splendid victory, which they at length obtained through the preaching of the gospel. Although we must continually fight under the cross, yet we vanquish our enemies, when we are rescued from the tyranny of the devil and of wicked men, and are restored to liberty by Christ, that the flesh may be subdued, and our lusts laid low, and that thus we may live to him, and in patience may possess our souls, (Luke 21:19,) calmly and patiently enduring everything that happens. And thus we even heap coals on the head (Romans 12:20) of enemies, to whose attacks and reproaches we appear to be subject.

15. And the Lord will utterly destroy. In this verse he means nothing else than that the Lord, by his amazing power, will open for his people a way, which formerly appeared to be shut up. He speaks figuratively. What he calls a tongue is “a bay of the sea;” for when the sea penetrates into the land, and occupies a part of it, there is a resemblance to a person putting out his tongue. He therefore means the Egyptian sea and Egypt itself, as he afterwards more fully explains. But he chiefly mentions the sea and the rivers, because they protect the countries and shut up every entrance.

And will stretch out the hand over the river in the strength of his wind. He undoubtedly means the Nile, which waters the whole of Egypt, and divides it into many parts, and might thus interrupt the march of the people when returning to their native country. I have no doubt that רוח (ruach) here denotes wind, though he adds the Lord’s; for all the winds are the Lord’s, because he regulates and guides according to his pleasure; and more especially this phrase is employed when it is miraculously agitated by a violent whirlwind. He alludes to the former deliverance of his people, by which he brought them out of Egypt; for when the Lord was pleased to open up a way for them, he dried up the sea by the force and violence of the winds. (Exodus 14:21.)

True, the Lord did not need the assistance of the winds, for he might have done it by an immediate exertion of his power. But when he makes use of outward means, let us learn, first, that all creatures are ready to yield obedience to him; for though they have a natural course, yet they are in his power, so that he can direct their force and violence in whatever way he pleases. For instance, when a wind arises, its beginning proceeds from a natural cause, and each of the winds has its properties. The south wind is moist, and the north wind is cold, and completely similar are the effects which proceed from them; for the south wind moistens bodies, and the north wind dries them. By extraordinary miracles the Lord shows that he possesses an authority far above these natural causes, so that they are governed, not by nature, (that is, by that succession of events or chain of causes which irreligious men imagine to exist,) but by God alone.

Secondly, he shows that he changes the nature and order of events whenever he pleases, that he may be acknowledged to be their only Lord; because such a change exhibits more clearly his authority and dominion. On this account Isaiah called it not simply the wind, but the wind of the Lord, that we may perceive that it is not directed or moved by chance, but by the power of the Lord.

And shall smite it in the seven streams. Some render it torrents, and explain it thus: “he will divide the Nile into seven parts.” Though this exposition has been universally adopted, yet I do not approve of it; and I think that it has arisen from forgetfulness, rather than from ignorance, on the part of its authors, who are learned men notwithstanding, and deeply skilled in the perusal of the ancient writers. It is well known from history that the Nile had seven mouths. There are others which are little mentioned, because they had no names, and are therefore called false mouths. Whatever, then, is the number of the mouths or branches, it appears to form that number of streams or rivers; and these might have been so many hinderances to retard their journey. The Prophet expressly mentions them, because the river was highly celebrated.

And shall make them be shod with shoes. ¹⁹¹¹⁹¹     And make men go over dry-shod. (Heb. in shoes.) — Eng. Ver. The river being deep, he says that he will dry it up, so that it will not be necessary to pull off their shoes in crossing it, though this would have been necessary if only a small portion of water had remained.

By these metaphors, therefore, the Prophet means nothing else than that nothing will stand in God’s way, when it shall be his pleasure to rescue his people from captivity. He glances at the history of a former deliverance, that they may learn that it will be the same with that which they formerly enjoyed. On this account he wished to place it, as it were, before their eyes; for the means of this deliverance was not seen. If this promise had been stated in plain terms, it might not have produced so deep an impression on their minds as by holding out this remarkable example.

16. And there shall be a path. ¹⁹²¹⁹²     An highway. — Eng. Ver. This verse contains nothing new, but explains the former verse. The people would perceive the same power of God in the deliverance from Babylon as they had perceived in the deliverance from Egypt. He had opened up a way through seas, (Exodus 14:29; Psalm 77:19,) through untrodden deserts, (Deuteronomy 8:2, 29:5,) and through Jordan; (Joshua 3:16, 17.) In like manner, Isaiah says, that by an unexpected and astonishing method he will again open up a way for his people to go out. Accordingly, what the Lord has once performed let us also expect for the future; and for that purpose let us ponder the ancient histories. This ought also to direct our thoughts to the final deliverance of the Church, by which we shall all be delivered from all troubles and distresses; so that, though what we are told about a resurrection and immortal life may appear to be incredible, and the means of accomplishing them are not seen by us, still the Lord will easily find a way.