I am found, &c. Quoted in Romans 10:20 , Romans 10:21 . Behold Me. Figure of speech Epizeuxis. See note on Isaiah 24:16 . a nation that was not called by My name. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 32:21 ), and to the Dispensation of the Acts. read more
This chapter, along with the final chapter, deals with a number of different subjects, regarding some of the most remarkable of the themes Isaiah has discussed throughout the prophecy.Regarding the divisions of this chapter, we have (1) God's reply to the complaints visible in Israel's prayer for deliverance (Isaiah 65:1-7); (2) regardless of the total destruction awaiting the irreligious majority, a faithful remnant shall be redeemed (Isaiah 65:8-12); (3) a mingling of threats to the... read more
Isaiah 65:1. I am sought, &c.— I am made known to those that asked not for me, &c. Lowth. You observe here the Divinity introduced, urging an argument of his grace, in calling the Gentiles to his communion, and soon after complaining of the obstinate disobedience of the refractory Jews, who had for so long a time despised the divine power. I have spread out my hands, in the next verse, signifies, "I have taught, intreated, or called;" to each of which actions spreading out of the hands... read more
1. I am sought—Hebrew, "I have granted access unto Me to them," c. (so :-, "Should I be inquired of" :-). found— :- renders this, "I was made manifest." As an instance of the sentiment in the clause, "I am sought," c., see John 12:21 of the sentiment in this clause, Acts 9:5. Compare as to the Gentile converts, Ephesians 2:12; Ephesians 2:13. Behold me— (Ephesians 2:13- :). nation . . . not called by my name—that is, the Gentiles. God retorts in their own words (Ephesians 2:13- :) that their... read more
God replied that He had been gracious in allowing a nation to call on Him-and to obtain responses from Him-since that nation did not normally pray to Him. The Apostle Paul applied this verse to the Gentiles, people to whom God had responded before they called (cf. Romans 10:20). This was the "nation" that Isaiah had in view when he originally gave this prophecy."To pray in God’s name means to submit to him and to pray in terms of his revealed character and will." [Note: Watts, Isaiah 34-66, p.... read more
Superficial righteousness 65:1-7 read more
The divine response 65:1-16The Lord responded, through the prophet, to the viewpoint expressed in the preceding prayer (Isaiah 63:7 to Isaiah 64:12)."The great mass [of the Israelites] were in that state of ’sin unto death’ which defies all intercession (1 John Isaiah 65:16), because they had so scornfully and obstinately resisted the grace which had been so long and so incessantly offered to them." [Note: Delitzsch, 2:474.] read more
The Punishment of Apostate and Reward of Faithful IsraelIsaiah 65:1-10. Israel’s obduracy to Jehovah’s appeals, and persistent idolatry, which He will surely punish; yet a faithful remnant shall be preserved. 11-25. The fate in store for the unfaithful. The glories of the coming age for God’s faithful people.Isaiah 66:1-4. The danger of trusting in externals; a merely formal worship is an abomination to Jehovah. 5. A message of comfort for the faithful who axe persecuted. 6- 14a. The wonderful... read more
1. Render, ’I have offered answers to those who asked not; I have been at hand to those who sought me not.. a nation that hath not called upon my name.’ The v. refers to the Israelites who neglected Jehovah’s appeals so often made. St. Paul (Romans 10:20) applies the passage by inference to the heathen world.3. Gardens] the scenes of idolatrous rites in the pre-exile period (Isaiah 1:29; Isaiah 57:5). Upon altars, etc.] RV ’upon bricks,’ i.e. perhaps the tiled roofs of houses (2 Kings 23:12).... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Isaiah 65:1-16
God’s people: servants or rebels? (65:1-16)It was God’s desire that Israel seek him and enjoy his blessings, but instead the nation rebelled against him and stubbornly went its own way. Only a minority within Israel, along with those of Gentile nations who turned to Israel’s God, were really God’s people (65:1-2). As for the people of Israel as a whole, they had throughout their long history repeatedly made God angry. They sacrificed to other gods, consulted the spirits of the dead and ate... read more