SALT & LIGHT God versus Oppression: God calls out sin to humble us

15 Man is humbled, and each one is brought low,

and the eyes of the haughty are brought low.

John Gill

Man is humbled—To hell, or the grave, as well as the rich and noble:

And each one is brought low—Laid low in the dust, and be equal to the poor; for, in the grave, princes and peasants are alike; or they shall be all alike, in the same low and miserable condition:

And the eyes of the haughty are brought low—When famine and distress, ruin and misery, come upon them, then shall the pride of those be abased, as it was; who boasted of their riches and honour, of their descent and parentage, as the children of Abraham, and as being free men, and never in bondage; of their righteousness and good works; not submitting to the righteousness of Christ; but despising it, and looking with disdain upon, and treating with contempt, such as they thought less holy than themselves. The scribes and Pharisees, the members of the council, and rulers of the people, together with the whole body of the nation, are meant; who were all of the same cast and complexion, being conceited of themselves, and proud boasters.

Rashi

Man is humbled . . . and the strong of men shall be weakened. after Jonathan. According to the Midrashic interpretation (Sotah 48a), this is the Holy One, blessed be he. They caused him to appear as a man who is stunned. The expression originates in Jer 14:9. And so Scripture states (Deu 32:18): “The Rock that begot you, you have weakened (תֶּשִׁי),” interpreting the word as originating from תָּשׁ, weak, and Scripture states further (Ecc 10:18): “Through slothfulness, the one who frames his upper chambers will become impoverished.”

Sotah 48a:21

After listing the sin of those who drink wine with musical accompaniment, the verse states their punishment: What is written afterward? “Therefore my people have gone into exile for lack of knowledge” (Isa 5:13), meaning that they cause exile to the world; “their honored men go hungry” (Isa 5:13), as they bring famine to the world; “and their multitude is parched with thirst” (Isa 5:13), that they cause the law, which is compared to water, to be forgotten by those who learn it. “Mankind is humbled, and each one is brought low” (Isa 5:15), that they cause the enemy of the Holy One, blessed be he, i.e., God himself, to be brought down, as “man” in the phrase “and man is brought low” means nothing other than the Holy One, blessed be he, as it is stated: “The Lord is a man of war” (Exo 15:3). The verse continues: “And the eyes of the haughty are brought low” (Isa 5:15), that they cause the Jewish people to be brought down. These are the five retributions.

9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation,

John Gill

Let the lowly brother—By “the brother” is meant, not one in a natural, but in a spiritual relation; one of Christ’s brethren, and who is of that family that is named of him; of the household of faith, and is in church communion: and whereas he is said to be “lowly,” or “humble,” this regards not the affection of his mind, or his conduct and deportment, he being meek and lowly, and clothed with humility, as every brother is, or ought to be; but his outward state and condition, being, as to the things of this world, poor, and mean in his outward circumstances, and so humbled and afflicted. This appears from the rich man, who, in the next verse, is opposed unto him, and distinguished from him; see Psa 62:9 such is advised to

Boast in his exaltation—Or to “glory in his exaltation;” in that high estate, to which he is advanced; for a person may be very low and mean, as to his worldly circumstances, and yet be very high, and greatly exalted in a spiritual sense: and this height of honour and grandeur, of which he may boast and glory, amidst his outward poverty, lies in his high birth and descent, being born from above, and of God, and belonging to his family; in being an adopted son of God, and so an heir of God, and a joint-heir with Christ, and of the heavenly inheritance and kingdom; in the present riches of grace he is possessed of, as justifying, pardoning, and sanctifying grace; and in the high titles he bears, as besides the new name, the name better than that of sons and daughters of the greatest potentate, even that of a son of the Lord God Almighty, his being a king, and a priest unto God, and for whom a kingdom, crown, and throne are prepared; and also in the company he daily keeps, and is admitted to, as of God, and Christ, and the holy angels: and this height of honour have all the saints, be they ever so poor in this world, who can vie with the greatest of princes for sublimity and grandeur.

10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away.

11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. JAS 1:9-11

Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 1PE 5:5

16 But the Lord of hosts is exalted in justice,

and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.

John Gill

But the Lord of hosts is exalted in justice—By the “Lord of hosts” is meant Christ, the Lord of the armies, and of the inhabitants of the earth, of angels, and of men; who, though in our nature, in his state of humiliation, was brought very low, yet is now highly exalted; and which exaltation of his is seen and known, as it is here foretold it should be, by his judgments inflicted on the Jewish nation, for their contempt and rejection of him; see Psa 9:16 so Kimchi interprets judgment of the judgment which the Lord would inflict on the ungodly of Israel: thus Christ’s exaltation is seen in their humiliation, and his kingdom and power in their destruction:

And the Holy God—Christ is truly and properly God, God over all, blessed for ever; and he is holy, both as God and man; as God he is essentially and perfectly holy; and, as man, without sin original or actual; he is the Holy One of God, and the Holy One of Israel; and of him it is said, he

Shows himself holy in righteousness—Or be declared to be holy; by the obedience and righteousness of his life, wrought out for his people, whereby he becomes their sanctification and righteousness; and by his justice, in punishing his and his people’s enemies. Were all this to be understood of Jehovah the Father, it might very well be interpreted, as it is by Cocceius, of his being exalted and honoured by the condemnation of sin in the flesh of Christ; and of his being “glorified,” as the Arabic version renders it, by the obedience and righteousness of his Son, whereby his justice is satisfied, and his law magnified, and made honourable; and by the faith of his people, laying hold on that righteousness, and receiving it to the glory of God; in all which the purity, holiness, and justice of God appears.

Rashi

But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted through justice—When he executes justice upon them, his name shall be exalted in the world.

Through justice—Jostise justice in O.F.

And the Holy God shows himself holy among the righteous remaining of you.

But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. ROM 2:5

17 Then shall the lambs graze as in their pasture,

and nomads shall eat among the ruins of the rich. ISA 5:15-17

John Gill

Then shall the lambs graze as in their pasture—That is, the people of God, the disciples of Christ, either apostles and ministers of the gospel, whom he sent forth as lambs among wolves (Luk 10:3), who fed the flock of Christ in their usual pasture, and as directed by him; even with knowledge and understanding, by the ministry of the word, and administration of ordinances; or the people of God fed by them, who are comparable to lambs for their harmlessness and innocence; and who feed in green pastures, “according as they are led;” as the word used may be rendered; or “according to their word;” the doctrine of the ministers of the gospel, by whom they are instructed and directed to feed on Christ, as he is held forth in the word and ordinances. The Targum is,

“and the righteous shall be fed as is said of them;”

and so Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it of the righteous:

And nomads shall eat among the ruins of the rich—That is, the Gentiles, who are aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise; the other sheep that were not of the Jewish fold (Joh 10:16; Eph 2:12), these shall come in the room of the rich of the land of Judea, the rulers, elders, scribes and Pharisees; and feed on those pastures which were despised and left desolate by them; enjoy the gospel they put away from them, and the ordinances of it, which they rejected. The Targum is,

“and they shall be multiplied, and the substance of the ungodly shall the righteous possess.”

Rashi

Then shall the lambs graze as in their pasture—The righteous who are compared to a flock of ewes.

As in their pasture—Heb. כדברם. According to their habit, with equity and with a measure, guiding their affairs with justice, like these lambs. Variant reading: According to their habit, with equity and of their own, for there will no longer be wicked people in the world, who will rob them. Our Rabbis expounded כְּדָבְרָם to mean: According to all that was spoken regarding them, i.e., the consolations spoken for them.

And . . . the ruins of the rich—The houses of the wicked, who are rich.

Nomads shall eat—The righteous, who are like nomads, shall eat them.

Rich—Heb. מֵחִים, meaning “fat,” as (Psa 66:15): “Burnt offerings of fatlings will I offer.”

God’s calling out of the arrogant and oppressive is intended to humble them. He shows his holiness through his righteousness and justice, which we can never have apart from him. His call to humility always has redemption and restoration in mind. We have a choice on how to respond: to harden our hearts and continue to exalt ourselves, or yield to him as God. Jas 4:6 says that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. We will find ourselves going against him if we keep a disposition of arrogance. But when we choose the route of humility, we will experience his grace and even be channels of his grace to the world. Is God still first in your heart? What are some things that take first place in your heart?

But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” JAS 4:6

3 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me.

John Gill

So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh—As the Lord commanded them, for what is before said to Moses was designed for Aaron also, his prophet and spokesman:

And said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews”—As the ambassadors of the God of Israel, and in his name said:

How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?—To acknowledge his offence, lie low before God, and be subject to his will; he had humbled himself for a moment, but then this did not continue; what God expected of him, and complains of the want of, was such a continued humiliation before him, and such a subjection to him, as would issue in complying with what he had so often demanded of him, and is as follows:

Let my people go, that they may serve me—See Exo 9:1, 13.

Rashi

לֵעָנֹת Translate as the Targum: to humble yourself, and it is derived from עָנִי. You have refused to be humble and lowly before me.

4 For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country,’ ” EXO 10:3-4

John Gill

For if you refuse to let my people go—He threatens him with the following plague, the plague of the locusts, which Pliny calls “denrum irae pestis;”

Behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country—According to Bishop Usher this was about the seventh day of the month Abib, that this plague was threatened, and on the morrow, which was the eighth day, it was brought; but Aben Ezra relates it as an opinion of Japhet an Hebrew writer, that there were many days between the plague of the hail, and the plague of the locusts, that there might be time for the grass and plants to spring out of the field; but this seems not necessary, for these locusts only ate of what were left of the hail, as in the following verse.