Isaiah 40:18-20
18. Which of the heathen idols, then, is to be compared to this Almighty God? This passage, if not written (as BARNES thinks) so late as the idolatrous times of Manasseh, has at least a prospective warning reference to them and subsequent reigns; the result of the chastisement of Jewish idolatry in the Babylonish captivity was that thenceforth after the restoration the Jews never fell into it. Perhaps these prophecies here may have tended to that result (see 2Ki 23:26, 27).
19. graven—rather, an image in general; for it is incongruous to say "melteth" (that is, casts out of metal) a graven image (that is, one of carved wood); so Jer 10:14, "molten image."
spreadeth it over—(See on Isa 30:22). chains—an ornament lavishly worn by rich Orientals (Isa 3:18, 19), and so transferred to their idols. Egyptian relics show that idols were suspended in houses by chains.20. impoverished—literally, "sunk" in circumstances.
no oblation—he who cannot afford to overlay his idol with gold and silver (Isa 40:19). tree . . . not rot—the cedar, cypress, oak, or ash (Isa 44:14). graven—of wood; not a molten one of metal. not be moved—that shall be durable. Isaiah 44:9-20
9. (Isa 40:18, 20; 41:29).
delectable things—the idols in which they take such pride and delight. not profit— (Hab 2:18). they are their own witnesses—contrasted with, "Ye are My witnesses" (Isa 44:8). "They," that is, both the makers and the idols, are witnesses against themselves, for the idols palpably see and know nothing (Ps 115:4-8). that they may be ashamed—the consequence deducible from the whole previous argument, not merely from the words immediately preceding, as in Isa 28:13; 36:12. I say all this to show that they are doomed to perish with shame, which is their only fitting end.10. Who . . . ?—Sarcastic question: "How debased the man must be who forms a god!" It is a contradiction in terms. A made god, worshipped by its maker (1Co 8:4)!
11. his fellows—the associates of him who makes an idol; or of the idol (see De 7:26; Ps 115:8; Ho 4:17).
they are of men—They are mortal men themselves; what better, then, can the idol be than its maker? gathered together . . . stand up—as in a court of justice, to try the issue between God and them (see on Isa 41:1; Isa 41:21). yet—wrongly inserted in English Version. The issue of the trial shall be, "they shall fear," &c.12. tongs—rather, "prepareth (to be supplied) an axe," namely, with which to cut down the tree designed as the material of the idol. The "smith" (Hebrew, "workman in iron") here answers to the "carpenter" (Hebrew, "workman in wood"). "He worketh it (the axe, not the idol, which was wood, not metal) in the coals," &c. The axe was wrought, not cast. The smith makes the axe for the carpenter.
hungry . . . drinketh no water—so eager is he to expedite his work while the iron is hot. If the god were worth anything, it would not let him grow "faint" with hunger and thirst. WILLIAMS, the missionary, states that the South Sea islanders when they make an idol abstain from food and drink.13. After the smith's work in preparing the instruments comes the carpenter's work in forming the idol.
rule—rather, "line" [BARNES]. with a line—rather, a "pencil," [HORSLEY]. Literally, "red ochre," which he uses to mark on the wood the outline of the figure [LOWTH]. Or best, the stylus or graver, with which the incision of the outline is made [GESENIUS]. planes—rather, "chisels" or "carving tools," for a plane would not answer for carving. compass—from a Hebrew root, "to make a circle"; by it, symmetry of form is secured. according to . . . beauty of a man—irony. The highest idea the heathen could form of a god was one of a form like their own. JEROME says, "The more handsome the statue the more august the god was thought." The incarnation of the Son of God condescends to this anthropomorphic feeling so natural to man, but in such a way as to raise man's thoughts up to the infinite God who "is a spirit." that it may remain in . . . house—the only thing it was good for; it could not hear nor save (compare Wisdom 13:15).14. Description of the material out of which the idol is formed.
cypress—rather, from Hebrew root, "to be hard," the holm oak," an evergreen abundant in Palestine [GESENIUS]. strengtheneth—literally, "and he getteth strength to himself in the trees of the forest;" that is, he layeth in a great store of timber [LOWTH]. Or, "chooseth," as "madest strong for thyself," that is, hast chosen (Ps 80:15, 17) [GESENIUS]. But English Version gives a good sense: "strengtheneth"; that is, rears to maturity; a meaning suitable also to the context of Ps 80:15, 17, where Israel is compared to a vine planted by Jehovah [MAURER]. rain doth nourish it—Though the man planted the tree, yet he could not make it grow. In preparing to make an idol, he has to depend on the true God for rain from heaven (Jer 14:22).15. The same tree that furnishes the material for the god is in part used as fuel for a fire to cook his meals and warm himself!
thereto—rather, "he falleth down before them," that is, such images [MAURER].16. part . . . part—not distinct parts, but the same part of the wood (compare Isa 44:17).
eateth—that is, cooks so as to eat (Isa 44:19). I have seen—I feel its power.18. he, &c.—God hath given them over to judicial blindness; not His direct physical, but His providential agency in administering His moral government, is meant (Isa 6:9, 10). "Shut," literally, "daubed," plastered up; it is an Eastern custom in some cases to seal up the eyes of offenders.
19. considereth—literally, "layeth it to heart," (Isa 42:25; Jer 12:11).
abomination—the scriptural term for an idol, not merely abominable, but the essence of what is so, in the eyes of a jealous God (1Ki 11:5, 7).20. feedeth on ashes—figuratively, for the idolater delights in what is vain (Pr 15:14; Ho 12:1). "Feedeth on wind." There is an allusion, perhaps, also, to the god being made of a tree, the half of which was reduced to ashes by fire (Isa 44:15-17); the idol, it is implied, was no better, and could, and ought, to have been reduced to ashes like the other half.
deceived heart—The heart and will first go astray, then the intellect and life (Ro 1:28; Eph 4:18). lie in . . . right hand—Is not my handiwork (the idol) a self-deceit?