The great subject of the introduction to this prophecy is the way in which Jehovah presents Himself after declaring their state of ruin. There is a day of Jehovah on all the earth, and if there were not a remnant, all the people would be like Sodom and Gomorrah. The hand of Jehovah will be against all that the world exalts. Everything or one that is lifted up shall be brought low: Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day (Isa. 2:1717And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. (Isaiah 2:17)). God will purify the earthly people by His judgments. The rest will be the object of a terrible judgment (Isa. 2:18, 2118And the idols he shall utterly abolish. (Isaiah 2:18)
21To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. (Isaiah 2:21)).
I desire to consider the character of the prophecy as given to the Jews. It takes in a circle much greater and concerns the nations as well as Israel.
There is an important principle to notice, namely, that every prophecy supposes ruin of the state of things in which the prophecy is presented. When all goes according to the mind of God, there is no need of warning. It is manifest here in a striking way. Prophecy reveals all the hopes that belong to the faithful when the dispensation breaks down. It announces the failures, and the judgments on what man essays to do because of the evil.
A Remnant
The mass of the Jews is not saved, but (here is a remnant saved in the midst of them. The Church is but a remnant. We begin as a remnant the same as where the Jews end. This supposes that the state of the world is bad and that the world has not gone on well. God sends threatenings and warnings to the mass when all goes ill, and He makes promises to the faithful remnant to sustain and encourage it. When Israel failed, or the priesthood in Eli. God raised up the prophet Samuel. It was when all failed under the kings even of the house of David, that God raised up Isaiah. Ahaz had introduced idolatry into the house of God, and the testimony of Isaiah was sent to announce, not a remnant only, but the Messiah. The state of what God established in the presence of the glory of God shows that the people cannot stand before this glory (Isa. 6:55Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. (Isaiah 6:5)).
God sends prophet after prophet and chastisement after chastisement during seven centuries, and He only struck fully when the Son was cast out of the vineyard and slain. Meanwhile, the promise of the Messiah sustained the hope of the faithful. They felt the state of things while waiting for redemption. Anna spoke of the infant Jesus to all those that looked for redemption.
Light Beforehand
The principle of such immense importance in prophecy is that because of the unfaithfulness of the mass, God rejects that which He has Himself established. He announces that He is going to replace what is ruined by something which is infinitely better. God in His goodness gives the light beforehand to brighten up the hearts of the faithful. The goodness of God treats them as friends and fills them with confidence.
If one recognizes the prophecy, one must recognize that God had judged and condemned that which exists. If God had not set aside man, there were no need of a new Adam. If the Ark of the Covenant had not been in the hands of the Philistines, there would have been no need of Samuel the prophet any more than of Isaiah if the house of David were not fallen. Therefore prophecy is called a charge or "burden.”
It will facilitate the understanding of Isaiah if one points out the divisions of the book: Chapters 1-4 are the introduction and blessing at the end. Chapter 1 speaks of the Jews, chapter 2 of the Gentiles. Chapter 5 is a prophetic discourse which compares thy state of the vineyard with that which God had done for Israel at the beginning, interrupted by chapter 6. Chapter 6 compares it with the glory of Christ. It is thus God judges His people. The prophet is installed in his work. Chapters 7 to 9:7 are a prophecy of Immanuel and of the remnant of Immanuel's land, and of the Assyrian when Immanuel is there. Chapters 9:8 to 12 resume prophecy about Israel. Chapters 13 to 27 look at the nations and the circumstances of Israel in the last days (chap. 18) among the nations. Chapters 28 to 35 are details about Israel, each prophecy closing with a blessing. Chapters 36 to 39 are a history of Hezekiah and the Assyrian as typical of the dead and risen Son of David, and the Assyrian of the last days, closing with a prediction of the Babylonish captivity. Chapters 40 to 66 are the restoration of Israel, witness against the idolatry of the nations, but idolatrous and rejected because of rejecting the Messiah. Israel is found at last among the rebellious when Jesus shall come back, the remnant being kept on the earth for the glory of Jehovah.
J.N. Darby