TRUST WORTHY God’s Passion: God is majestic

2 It shall come to pass in the latter days

that the mountain of the house of the Lord

shall be established as the highest of the mountains,

and shall be lifted up above the hills;

and all the nations shall flow to it,

3 and many peoples shall come, and say:

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

to the house of the God of Jacob,

that he may teach us his ways

and that we may walk in his paths.”

For out of Zion shall go forth the law,

and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

TRUST WORTHY God’s Salvation: God desires for us to learn his ways

The rest of the passage shows what will take place in the house of God: that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths. God desires for his people to learn his ways. When we put our faith in him, we will learn his ways, and if we walk in his paths by obeying him and listening for his correction, we will become more and more like him. As a result of knowing God more and more, what are some things in your life that have changed?

The Lord sends forth from Zion

your mighty scepter.

Rule in the midst of your enemies! PSA 110:2

John Gill

The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter—His royal and powerful scepter, called the scepter of righteousness (Psa 45:7), and is no other than the gospel, the power of God to salvation; and which is mighty through him, for the reducing souls to the obedience of Christ; when it comes with power, and works effectually. This was first preached in Zion, or Jerusalem, and went out from thence into all parts of the world; the first ministers of it had their commission there, and were sent from thence to publish it all over the world; see Isa 2:3; Luk 24:47; Act 1:4; 8:4, by means of which the kingdom of Christ was set up and spread in the world; with this scepter in his hand, he went forth with his ministers, conquering and to conquer (Rev 6:2). The Jews own this scepter to be a scepter in the hand of the Messiah, which they seem to understand literally; and have a fabulous notion of its being the same that Jacob, Judah, Moses, Aaron, David, and so every king of Judah, had, down to the destruction of the temple: the Targum in the king’s Bible is,

“the Word of the Lord shall send”

the essential Word.

Rule in the midst of your enemies—Or, “you shall rule,” as the Targum and Arabic version; in the hearts of those who, in their unregenerate state, are enemies: but the arrows of his word being sharp in them, they are brought to submit to him; the everlasting doors are caused to open; he enters in, takes possession of their hearts, and rules there. Or this may be understood of his church in the world, which is his kingdom, and lies surrounded with enemies on all hands; but, in spite of them, and all their opposition, he will support his kingdom and interest.

Rashi

The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter—When you return from the war and your men are weary and in pursuit, the Lord will send you Melchizedek king of Salem, to bring out bread and wine (Gen 14:14).

Scepter—This is an expression of support, as (above 105:16): “all supply of bread.”

Rule in the war.

In the midst of your enemies safely.

For there shall be a day when watchmen will call

in the hill country of Ephraim:

“Arise, and let us go up to Zion,

to the Lord our God.” JER 31:5

Rashi

Watchmen will call—The lookouts at the tops of the lofty towers to announce with a voice heard a distance away. Another explanation: נֹצְרִים is like “He keeps (נֹצֵר) lovingkindness” (Exo 34:7), an expression of keeping. That is to say: There is a day when they will call those who kept the law and say, “Arise . . .” And so did Jonathan render: There are many days and much goodness that is destined to come to the righteous who kept my law from days of old.

4 In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, weeping as they come, and they shall seek the Lord their God.

John Gill

In those days and at that time, declares the Lord—When Babylon shall be taken and destroyed, then what follows shall be accomplished; which, as it respects the conversion of the Jews, shows that this prophecy is not to be restrained to literal Babylon:

The people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together—Upon the taking of Babylon, in a literal sense, by Cyrus, the children of Israel, or the ten tribes, carried away by the Assyrians, did not return; only the children of Judah, or the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, with the Levites, and a few of the other tribes, that might be mixed among them: but when mystical Babylon is fallen, then the whole body of the Jews will be converted, and return to their own land, Israel and Judah; which is foretold in other prophecies, as here, which speak of their general conversion; see Jer 30:3, 9; Eze 37:16-25; Hos 2:2;

Weeping—Which is another circumstance, which shows that this does not respect the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity; for that was attended with joy, and not with tears; see Psa 126:1-2; unless it is to be understood of weeping for joy, and of tears of joy, as Kimchi interprets it; but it is better to understand it of that godly sorrow and mourning for sin, which will appear in the Jews at the time of their conversion; particularly for their fathers’ ill treatment of the Messiah, their unbelief and rejection of him, and their continued obstinacy and perverseness, and other sins; see Jer 31:8; Zec 12:10;

As they come, and they shall seem the Lord their God—Even David their king, the true Messiah, who is Lord and God; to him they shall seek for peace, pardon, righteousness, and eternal life; and acknowledge him to be the Messiah, their Lord, and their God; embrace his gospel, and submit to his ordinances; see Jer 30:9; Hos 3:5. The Targum is,

“when they were carried captive, they went weeping; but when they return from the land of their captivity, they shall seek the worship of the Lord their God.”

5 They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, saying, “Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.” JER 50:4-5

Rashi

Turned toward it—Toward this place, Jerusalem, they shall direct their faces when Babylon will be destroyed and they will leave it with the sanction of Cyrus, king of Persia.

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. MAT 7:24

But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” LUK 11:28

John Gill

But he said—Christ said “to the woman,” Persic version reads, as correcting her, though not denying it, nor reproving her for it, but improving upon it:

Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it—Intimating, that though his mother was happy in bearing and suckling such a son, yet it was a far greater happiness to hear the word of God; meaning either himself, the eternal “Logos,” so as to embrace him, believe on him, and have him formed in the heart; or the gospel preached by him, so as to understand it, receive it as the ingrafted word, and bring forth fruit, and act in obedience to it, observe it, and abide by it, and never relinquish it. This is a greater happiness than to be related to Christ in the flesh, though ever so nearly. The Ethiopic version reads, “who hear the word of God and believe and keep it”: for faith comes by hearing, and shows itself in doing. Barely to hear the word, and even give an assent to it, will be of little avail, unless what is heard and believed is put in practice.

If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. JOH 7:17

John Gill

If anyone’s will is to do God’s will—Meaning, not one that perfectly fulfils the law, which is the good, and perfect, and acceptable will of God; for there is no man that does this, or can do it; nor is it so said here, “if anyone do God’s will,” but “if anyone’s will is to do” it; that is, is desirous of doing it; who has it wrought in him both to will and do, of the good pleasure of God, by his grace and Spirit; with whom to will is present, though, he has not power to perform, and so is a spiritual man; and who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, which is one branch of the will of God; and who depends upon the Spirit and grace of God, and acts from a principle of love to God, and in the exercise of faith on Christ:

He will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority—Not a man of mere natural knowledge and learning, or a man of theory and speculation, is a judge of doctrine; but he that leans not to his own understanding, and implores the assistance of the Divine Spirit, and who is for reducing doctrine into practice: he knows by the efficacy of the doctrine upon his heart, and the influence it has on his life and conversation; by its coming not in word only, but in power; and by its working effectually in him, whether it is divine or human, of God or of man.

So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord. ACT 10:33

5 O house of Jacob,

come, let us walk

in the light of the Lord.

Rashi

O house of Jacob . . .—The nations will say this to them, and this verse refers back to the verse commencing with, “And many peoples shall come . . .”

Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord—They will say this to them. Jonathan, however, renders: And those of the house of Jacob will say, “Come, let us walk in the teaching of the law of the Lord.”

Blessed are the people who know the festal shout,

who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face, PSA 89:16

Rashi

Who know the festal shout—Who know how to appease their Creator on Rosh Hashanah with the blasts, upon which they arrange the blessings of “malchuyoth” (manifestations of God’s dominion), “zichronoth” (remembrances), and “shofaroth.”

10 Who among you fears the Lord

and obeys the voice of his servant?

Let him who walks in darkness

and has no light

trust in the name of the Lord

and rely on his God.

John Gill

Who among you fears the Lord? Not with a slavish fear of the awful majesty of God, or of his tremendous judgments, or of wrath to come, but with a filial fear, a fear of the Lord, and his goodness, which is an internal principle in the heart, a reverential affection for God, a godly fear of him; is attended with faith in him, and joy of him; which makes holy, and keeps humble, and takes in the whole worship of God: of men of this character there are but few, and especially there were but few among the Jews at this time which the prophecy refers to; the greatest part were rejecters of Christ, before spoken of, and to; and from whom the Lord turns himself, and addresses these few. There are none that naturally fear the Lord, only such who have the grace bestowed on them; their number is but small, but there are always some in the worst of times, and these are taken notice of by the Lord (Mal 3:16-17, 20),

And obeys the voice of his servant—Not the prophet, as the Targum adds, and as it is commonly interpreted by the Jewish writers, and others; though some of them say this is “Metatron,” a name of the Messiah with them; and indeed he is meant, before spoken of as the Lord’s servant, and represented as an obedient one, and afterwards as righteous; see Isa 49:3; 50:5-6; 53:11 and by his “voice” is meant either his gospel, which is a soul quickening and comforting voice, a charming and alluring one; and which is obeyed, heard, and listened to, by his people, externally and internally, when they receive it by faith, and in the love of it; or else his commands, precepts, and ordinances, which love constrains his people to an obedience to; and where there is the fear of God, there will be hearing of his word, and submission to his ordinances:

Let him . . . trust in the name of the Lord—Not in himself, nor in any creature, but in the Lord himself; in the perfections of his nature, his mercy, grace, and goodness; in the name of the Lord, which is a strong tower, and in whom is salvation; in Christ, in whom the name of the Lord is, and whose name is the Lord our righteousness; and to trust in him, when in the dark, is a glorious act of faith; this is believing in hope against hope.

Who walks in darkness—Not the Lord’s servant, but the man that fears the Lord, and obeys his servant’s voice, such an one may be in darkness, and walk in it; or “in darknesses,” as in the original; not only in affliction and misery, often expressed by darkness in Scripture, but in desertion, under the hidings of God’s face; and which may continue for a while:

And has no light—Or “shining”: not without the light of nature, nor without the light of grace, but without the light of God’s countenance shining upon him; without the light of spiritual joy and comfort shining in his heart; and this must be a very distressing case indeed.

And rely on his God—Covenant interest continues in the darkest dispensation; God is the believer’s God still; and faith is a staying or leaning upon him, as such; a dependence upon his power to protect, on his wisdom to guide, and on his grace, goodness, and all sufficiency, to supply.

Rashi

The voice of his servant—The voice of the prophets.

Who walks in darkness—Even if trouble comes upon him, let him . . . trust in the name of the Lord, for he shall save him.

11 Behold, all you who kindle a fire,

who equip yourselves with burning torches!

Walk by the light of your fire,

and by the torches that you have kindled!

This you have from my hand:

you shall lie down in torment. ISA 50:10-11

to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace. LUK 1:79

John Gill

To give light to those who sit in darkness—God’s elect among the Jews, who were not only in a state of unregeneracy, which is a state of darkness, ignorance, and unbelief; but in the darkness of the legal dispensation, and at this time under more than ordinary darkness and ignorance; having lost the knowledge of the righteousness of God, and of the spirituality of his law, the true sense of the Scriptures, and right notions of the Messiah; being led by blind guides, the scribes and Pharisees;

And—Were as it were also,

In the shadow of death—In a state seemingly irrecoverable, when Christ, the great light arose, and shone upon them; and communicated spiritual light, life, and heat to them; see Isa 9:3 compared with Mat 4:13-16 though Christ is also a light, to lighten his chosen ones among the Gentiles (Luk 2:32), but the Jews seem chiefly to be intended here:

To guide our feet into the way of peace—Which we knew not: not that he came to teach us how to make our peace with God, but to make peace for us, by the blood of his cross; and so by his Spirit and word, lead us into the true way of enjoying spiritual peace here, and eternal peace hereafter.

20 In that day mankind will cast away

their idols of silver and their idols of gold,

which they made for themselves to worship,

to the moles and to the bats,

21 to enter the caverns of the rocks

and the clefts of the cliffs,

from before the terror of the Lord,

and from the splendor of his majesty,

when he rises to terrify the earth. ISA 2:2-3, 5, 20-21

Isaiah painted a vivid picture of mankind cowering in the great splendor of the Lord. In light of his majesty and holiness, people would realize that everything they put their trust in is worth nothing. God is a jealous God (Exo 34:14), and in his love he will strip away the things we trust in to show us what truly matters. Again, in spite of our shortcomings, he is faithful to the covenant he made with us and invites us to come and walk with him in his light (Isa 2:5). This is where we can experience his power and guidance, his eternal presence, and his holy majesty. How has walking in the light of the Lord been different for you? How has it changed your life and revealed things about you?

(for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), EXO 34:14