For this [is as] the waters of Noah unto me: for [as] I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.
9, 10. The permanence of the new covenant relation is illustrated first by the promise made to Noah, of which the rainbow is the perpetual token, and then by the steadfastness of the unchanging hills.
For this is as the waters of Noah unto me ] Or, according to the reading of several MSS. and the ancient versions (though not the LXX.), As the days of Noah is this (i.e. the present juncture) to me (see R.V. marg.). The difference of reading is very slight, consisting merely in the conjunction of two words which the received text separates ( for ). The second alternative is better.
for as I have sworn &c. ] as I have sworn &c. (omitting “for”). Comp. Gen 8:21 f., Isa 9:11-17. The absence of any mention of an oath in the narrative is immaterial.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For this is as the waters of Noah unto me – As it was in the time of the flood of waters, so shall it be now. I then solemnly promised that the waters should not again drown the earth, and I have kept that promise. I now promise with equal solemnity that I will bestow perpetual favor on my true people, and will shed upon them eternal and unchanging blessings. The waters of Noah, here mean evidently the flood that came upon the world in his time, and from which he and his family were saved. Lowth, on the authority of one manuscript and of the Vulgate, Syriac, Symmachus, and Theodotion, reads this, In the days of Noah? But the authority is not sufficient to change the Hebrew text, and the sense is as clear as if it were changed.
As I have sworn – Gen 8:21-22. God appeals to this not only because the oath and promise had been made, but because it had been kept.
That I would not be wroth – The idea seems here to be that no calamities should spread over the whole church, and sweep it away, as the waters swept over the world in the time of Noah, or as desolation swept over Jerusalem and the whole land of Canaan in the time of the exile at Babylon. There would be indeed persecutions and calamities, but the church would be safe amidst all these trials. The period would never arrive when God would forsake the church, and when he would leave it to perish. One has only to recollect how God has guarded the church, even during the most dangerous periods, to see how remarkably this has been fulfilled. His covenant has been as sure as that which was made with Noah, and it will be as secure and firm to the end of time.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 54:9
For this is as the waters of Noah unto Me
The Lord no more wroth with His people
I.
WHAT MEN HAVE MOST TO FEAR. All men who are unsaved ought, with fear and trembling, to dread the wrath of God–the wrath present, and the wrath to come. The text speaks of the Lords being wroth, as of an evil to be feared. Man has cause to be afraid of the rebuke of God–that stern rebuke of the Holy One which is the prelude to the lifting-up of His unsheathed sword, and the destruction of His adversaries.
1. Gods wrath is matter for fear, because to be in union with God is necessary to the happiness of the creature.
2. This wrath of God is to be feared all the more because there is no escaping from it. A man who is under the wrath of a monarch can escape to another kingdom; a man who has incurred the anger of the most mighty enemy can find, somewhere in this great world, a nook wherein he can conceal himself from his relentless pursuer. But he that has exposed himself to the wrath of God cannot save himself from the Almighty hand.
3. There is this also to be dreaded in the wrath of God, that there is no cure for it. Nothing can possibly give a man ease or safety when the rebuke of God has gone forth against him. He may be surrounded with temporal comforts, but his riches will only mock his inner poverty. Friends may utter words of cheer, but miserable comforters shall they all be. Instead of the mercies of this life becoming any comfort to him, when a man has the wrath of God resting upon him, it is written, I will curse all your blessings.
4. The rebuke of God, if we live and die impenitent, is one against which we cannot harden ourselves. We cannot gather strength to endure when God strikes at the heart and dries up the spirit.
5. Remember the overwhelming fact that the wrath of God does not end with death.
II. WHAT THE SAINTS NEED NEVER FEAR. Dreadful as it is, and more than sufficient to overwhelm the spirit with dismay, a fear of the wrath of God need never disturb the believers heart. God has sworn that He will never be wroth with His people. He does not say that He will never be so angry with their sins as to chasten them sharply; for anger with our sins is love to us. He does not say that He will not be so angry as to punish us; although there would be great mercy even in that; but He goes much further, and says that He will never be so wroth with His people as even to rebuke them. What! say you, then doth not God rebuke His people? Ah, verily, that He doth, and chasten them too! but those rebukes and those chastisements-are in love, and not in wrath. The text before us is to be read thus: I will not be wroth with thee so as to rebuke thee in indignation. There shall never be so much as a word of wrath from the lips of God, touching any one of His servants whose righteousness is of Him.
1. This, to make us sure of it, is first of all confirmed by an oath. We ought to believe Gods bare word: we are bound to accept His promise as certainty itself; but who will dare to doubt the oath of the Eternal?
2. As if further to illustrate the certainty of this, He is pleased to draw a parallel between His present covenant oath and that which He made in the days of Noah with the second great father of the human race.
(1) The covenant made with Noah was a covenant of pure grace. This covenant is paralleled by the covenant in your ease.
(2) The first covenant with Noah was made after a sacrifice. The same reason so works with God that He will not be wroth with you, nor rebuke you.
(3) That covenant which God made with Noah was openly propounded in the ears of the whole race. Noah and his sons heard it, and we have all heard it. Now, when a man makes a promise, if it is in private he is bound by it, and his honour is engaged thereto; but when his solemn promise becomes public, he stakes his character among men upon the fulfilment of his word. Now, since the Lord has made public this gracious word–I will not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee, does He not intend to do as He has said?
(4) God never has broken the covenant which He made with Noah. If the Lord be so faithful to one covenant, why should we imagine, even in our worst moments, that He will be unfaithful to His other word which He has spoken concerning our souls?
3. If this be the ease, that God will not be wroth with us, nor rebuke us, then the greatest fear that can ever fall upon us is gone, and it is time that all our lesser fears were gone with it. For instance, there is
(1) the fear of man. When we clearly understand that God is not wroth with us, we feel raised above the rage of mortals.
(2) So, too, we need not fear the devil. If God will not be wroth with me, nor rebuke me, why should I fear though all hells legions should march against, me? If God will never be wroth with us, nor rebuke us, we need not fear any of the chastisements which His may lay upon us. There is a vast difference between a blow that is given in anger and a pat that is given in love.
(4) How this alters the look of death. If death be a punishment to a believer, then death wears gloomy colours; but if death itself has changed its character, Show delightful is this!
(5) After death shall come the judgment, and in that last great day the Lord will not be wroth with His people; if the reading out of all His peoples sins before an assembled world must imply a rebuke, then it shall not be done, for He will not rebuke them. So then, what should we fear? What indeed? The Lord grant us to be afraid of being afraid!
Conclusion: If it be so, that God has sworn that He will not be wroth with us, then–
(1) Believe it.
(2) Rejoice.
(3) Be resigned.
(4) Impart. If you have learned this love in your own heart, then tell it out to others. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 9. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me – “The same will I do now, as in the days of Noah”] kimey, in one word, in a MS., and some editions; and so the Syriac, Chaldee, Vulgate, Symmachus, Theodotion, Abarbanel, Sal. ben Melec, and Kimchi acknowledge that their copies vary in this place.
It is certain that these two words ki mey, were written formerly as one. Taken as two ki mey, they signify for as the waters – when as one, kimey, they signify as the days. This latter reading is found in about four of Kennicott’s and De Rossi’s MSS. In one of my own it appears to have been intended as one word: but he who added the points, which are by a much later hand than the MS. itself, has pointed the letters so as to make the two words which are commonly found in the text. For the waters, Symmachus, Theodotion, the Syriac, Vulgate, and Arabic have days. The former seems to make the best sense; and the ancient Versions, except the Septuagint, support it.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This is as the waters of Noah unto me; this covenant of grace and peace made with thee shall be as certain and perpetual as that which I made with Noah, that there should never be another flood of waters to drown the world; of which see Gen 9:11.
Would not be wroth with thee, to wit, so as I have been, or so as to forsake thee utterly.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. I am about to do the same inthis instance as in Noah’s flood. As I swore then that it should notreturn (Gen 8:21; Gen 9:11),and I kept that promise, so I swear now to My people, and willperform My promise, that there shall be no return of the deluge of Mywrath upon them. LOWTH, oninsufficient authority, reads (the same will I do now as), “inthe days of Noah.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For this is as the waters of Noah unto me,…. Some copies, as Kimchi and Ben Melech observe, read these two words, , as one, thus, , “as the days of Noah”; and this is followed by the Targum, Vulgate Latin, and Syriac versions; both readings may be kept, and joined in one, and the sense be, “for this is as the waters that were in the days of Noah unto me”; so Kimchi and Menachem join them. The meaning is, that God’s dispensation towards his people, at the time the prophecy refers to, is like that of his to Noah and his family; and the love he bears to them is like that which he bore to him; and the covenant he has made with them is as that he made with him:
for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; he gave his word for it, which is as firm as his oath; he made a covenant with Noah, and confirmed it by a rainbow, that the waters should no more go over the earth as they had, and that the world should be no more destroyed by a flood, Ge 9:9:
so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee; for though the Lord’s people are by nature children of wrath, as others, he has not appointed them to it, nor will he suffer it to fall upon them, but saves them from it through the righteousness of Christ, who has borne it for them; and though he rebukes by his Spirit, by his word and ministers, and by his providences, yet not in wrath, but in love; and of this he has given the strongest assurances; he has not only said it, but swore to it in covenant, Ps 89:3. The Jews r refer this prophecy to the times of the Messiah.
r T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 99. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The ground of this “everlasting kindness” is given in Isa 54:9: “For it is now as at the waters of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah should not overflow the earth any more; so have I sworn not to be wroth with thee, and not to threaten thee.” The commencement of this v. has been a fluctuating one from the earliest times. The Sept. reading is ; that of the Targ., S., Jerome, Syriac, and Saad., ; and even the Codd. read sometimes , sometimes (compare Mat 24:37, .. – a passage which appears to derive its shape from the one before us, with the reading , and which is expounded in Luk 17:26). If we read , the word must refer to the present, as the turning-point between wrath and mercy; but if we read , denotes the pouring out of wrath in connection with the captivity. Both readings are admissible; and as even the Septuagint, with its (from the water), gives an indirect support to the reading as one word, this may probably merit the preference, as the one best sustained. is ubi , quum , as in Num 20:13; Psa 95:9, etc., although it might also be taken as the correlate of the ken which follows, as in Jer 33:22 (cf., Isa 48:8); and in accordance with the accents, we prefer the former. The present turning-point resembles, in Jehovah’s esteem, the days of Noah – those days in which He swore that a flood should not any more come upon the earth ( min as in Isa 5:6 and many other passages): for so does He now confirm with an oath His fixed purpose that no such judgment of wrath as that which has just been endured shall ever fall upon Jerusalem again ( denotes threatening with a judicial word, which passes at once into effect, as in Isa 51:20). Hendewerk has the following quibbling remark here: “What the comparison with the flood is worth, we may gather from the alter history, which shows how soon the new Jerusalem and the renovated state succumbed to the judicial wrath of God again.” To this we reply: (1.) That the prophecy refers to the converted Israel of the last days, whose Jerusalem will never be destroyed again. These last days appear to the prophet, according to the general character of all prophecy, as though linked on to the close of the captivity. For throughout all prophecy, along with the far-sightedness imparted by the Spirit, there was also a short-sightedness which the Spirit did not remove; that is to say, the directly divine element of insight into the future was associated with a human element of hope, which was nevertheless also indirectly divine, inasmuch as it subserved the divine plan of salvation; and this hope brought, as it were, the far distant future into the closest proximity with the troubled present. If, the, we keep this in mind, we shall see that it was quite in order for the prophet to behold the final future on the very edge of the present, and not to see the long and undulating way between. (2.) The Israel which has been plunged by the Romans into the present exile of a thousand years is that part of the nation (Rom 11:25), which has thrust away the eternal mercy and the unchangeable covenant of peace; but this rejection has simply postponed, and not prevented, the full realization of the salvation promised to Israel as a people. The covenant still exists, primarily indeed as an offer on the part of Jehovah, so that it rests with Israel whether it shall continued one-sided or not; but all that is wanted on the part of Israel is faith, to enable it to exchange the shifting soil of its present exile for the rocky foundation of that covenant of peace which has encircled the ages since the captivity (see Hag 2:9), as the covenant with Noah encircled those after the flood with the covenant sign of the rainbow in the cloud.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Vs. 9-10: THE STEDFASTNESS OF GOD’S COVENANT
1. God will not fail to fulfill the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David and the prophets concerning the nation, (Jer 31:35-36; Jer 33:17-26; Psa 89:36-37).
a. Its fulfillment is as certain as the covenant to Noah – of which the rainbow is a perpetual reminder, (Gen 9:11-17).
b. So, the Lord will not, forever, be wroth with His once rebellious people, (vs. 9; Isa 12:1; Eze 39:25-29).
2. Mountains may depart, and hills be removed – symbolic language, suggesting the fall of mighty kingdoms and nations (Psa 46:2; comp. Isa 51:6); yet, God’s faithfullness toward Israel will not fail.
a. He will not withdraw His loving-kindness, (comp. Psa 89:33-37).
b. Nor will His covenant of peace be removed from her, (Isa 55:3; Isa 59:21; Isa 61:8-9).
c. Jehovah is EVER MERCIFUL toward His beloved people (Isa 49:10; Isa 49:13)!
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
9. For the waters of Noah, or, As the days of Noah. There are two readings of this passage; for if we read it כי מי (ki me), כי (ki) must be translated for; and if we read it כימי, (kime,) כ (caph) must be translated As, and ימי (yeme) must be translated Days. (70) As to the general meaning, it makes little difference; and therefore we ought chiefly to consider what the Prophet meant, for commentators do not appear to me to have caught his meaning. They explain it generally, that the Lord promised to: Noah by an oath, that there would never be a deluge, and that this oath would perpetually remain in force. (Gen 9:10) But for this, the good man might have trembled, and, at the approach of rain, might have dreaded a similar calamity, if the Lord had not sworn that this should never again happen. In like manner, when afflictions are at hand, we might dread that we should be ruined, if the Lord did not promise that the Church would be safe.
But I think that this ought to be limited to the period of the Babylonish captivity. He compares that captivity to a deluge, which destroyed the face of the earth; for it appeared as if the Church was utterly ruined. The people had almost entirely passed over to another nation, and had no kingdom and no civil government of their own; they underwent very hard bondage, and thought that their name was wholly extinguished. And at that time was actually fulfilled what the Prophet formerly declared,
“
If the Lord had not left to us a seed, we should have been like Sodom and Gomorrah.” (Isa 1:9)
Justly, therefore, does he compare that calamity to “the waters of Noah,” that is, to the deluge; and on this account I rather agree with those who read כי מי (ki me) that is, “For the waters;” for I consider that reading to rest on better evidence than the other, and it is generally adopted by Jewish writers.
This is to me. I think that we ought carefully to inquire into the meaning of these words, which are slightly passed over by commentators. He means that this calamity will resemble the deluge; so that, as he was satisfied with a single deluge, and would never again send another, so he is satisfied with this one destruction, so to speak, of the Church, and will never again permit the face of it to be destroyed. Such is therefore the manner in which I think that we ought to explain this passage and apply the metaphor, that the desolation of Judea will be to God like the deluge which happened in “the days of Noah;“ for as he swore at that time that he would never afterwards inflict such punishment on the crimes which stripped the earth of its inhabitants, so he will not again destroy the Church, as he did in the Babylonish captivity. And indeed, whatever might be any confused state of affairs that afterwards followed, still the Church retained some name, and preserved some form, until, at the manifestation of Christ in the flesh, the seed of the Gospel was everywhere scattered, that it might bring sons to God out of all nations. In a word, the Lord promises that henceforth he will restrain his wrath, and will not punish his people with so great severity.
It will be objected, that since that time the Church sustained very grievous calamities; from which it might be concluded, either that this oath failed of its accomplishment, or that this is not the Prophet’s meaning. I reply, the Church did not sustain so grievous a calamity as to have its face altogether destroyed, which happened when the people were carried away into Babylon. For although Antiochus and other tyrants brought upon it dreadful calamities, although afterwards there also happened those apostasies which Paul foretold, (2Th 2:3; 1Ti 4:1,) and everything was defiled by innumerable superstitions, so that the Christian name was nearly buried; yet still there remained some form of a Church, however disfigured, and the building was not in so ruinous a condition that there did not exist some remnants of Christianity above the deluge, so that this oath was in full force.
That I will not be wroth with thee. This must not be taken in an absolute, but in a comparative sense. He contrasts this clause with the preceding; for he promises that he will never chastise his people so severely as not to mitigate the severity of the punishment. Although therefore tyrants indulge in wanton and unbridled rage, and Satan employ his utmost efforts in attacking the Church, and the Lord give him a loose rein, in order to punish our ingratitude, yet he will never suffer the Church to be ruined.
(70) מי, ( me,) “waters of,” is the construct form of מים, ( maim,) “waters;” and ימי, ( yeme,) “days of,” is the construct form of ימים, ( yamim,) “days.” Ed. “ On peut lire ceci en deux sortes, assavoir comme nous l’avons traduit, Car ceci m’est comme les eaux de Noe, ou, Ceci m’est comme les jours de Noe.” “This may be read in two ways, namely, as we have translated it, This is to me as the waters of Noah, or, This is to me as the days of Noah.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
2. REGALED
TEXT: Isa. 54:9-17
9
For this is as the waters of Noah unto me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I will not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.
10
For the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed; but my lovingkindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall my covenant of peace be removed, saith Jehovah that hath mercy on thee.
11
O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will set thy stones in fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.
12
And I will make thy pinnacles of rubies, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy border of precious stones.
13
And all thy children shall be taught of Jehovah; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
14
In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression, for thou shalt not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near thee.
15
Behold, they may gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall because of thee.
16
Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the fire of coals, and bringeth forth a weapon for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
17
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of Jehovah, and their righteousness which is of me, saith Jehovah.
QUERIES
a.
What do the waters of Noah have to do with this text?
b.
Why mention her stones?
c.
How shall their righteousness be from Jehovah?
PARAPHRASE
Your redemption from captivity and salvation through the coming Servant is certain. The covenant relationship through the Servant is as sure as the covenant I made in the days of Noah when I swore that the waters would no more destroy the earth. So I have now sworn to turn away My anger from you through the atoning work of the Servant. In fact, My covenant through the Servant is even more certain than that! Even if the mountains and hills and the earth pass away, My covenant of reconciliation in the Servant shall never pass away. O you helpless and oppressed Zion, I am going to make you beautiful. I will lay your foundations with sapphires, your towers with rubies, your gates will be built of stones that shine and glow like fire and I will build your walls with precious stones of all kinds. All of your children shall have the privilege of being taught by God Himself. He will come directly from heaven to earth in the flesh. He will bring great peace and prosperity to all your children. You shall be vindicated and declared righteous, O Zion, and you shall be delivered from spiritual oppression and fear; the terror of guilt and judgment shall never come to you again. You will survive all your enemies even though they may conspire to destroy you; they do so against My will and I will destroy them. I create and control those who build weapons; I also create and control those who use weapons against My people. I will not let any weapon or any army completely destroy My Zion. There will be no accusation permitted to stand against you then, because your righteousness shall be imputed to you from Me. This is what I am going to give you, Zion, says the Lord.
COMMENTS
Isa. 54:9-10 PERMANENCE: The future reconciliation promised in Isa. 54:1-8 is, of course, predicted on the condition that Zion will enter into covenant relationship with Jehovah through the Suffering Servant who is to come. This covenant relationship will be as intimate and precious as a marriage; for that, in fact, is what it will bethe Lord married to His bride (the church) Zion. In the verse before us now, the permanence or certainty of that relationship is declared. When the Lord predicts that He will enter into a covenant of reconciliation with Zion, it is as certain to come to pass as His promise not to destroy the world by a flood again.
Gods covenant sign to Noah was the rainbow. Gods covenant sign of reconciliation was the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The Jews of Jesus day were not satisfied by the evidence of His miracles that He came to fulfill the covenant promises made through the prophets. Jesus told them that one great sign would be given them (the sign of Jonah; Mat. 12:38-42; Luk. 11:29-32) confirming that He was the Messenger of the Covenant (cf. Mal. 3:1-4). The writer of Hebrews said that when God desired to demonstrate the immutability of His promise of covenant reconciliation, He interposed (emesiteusen, Gr., Heb. 6:17) with an oath. What God actually did was interpose Himself as that oath, incarnate in Jesus Christ. All the promises of God find their verification, validation, confirmation and authentication (Yes or Amen) in Christ (cf. 2Co. 1:18-20). The new covenant is one of a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1Pe. 3:3-5). The surety of Gods new covenant does not originate subjectively within man. It does not have its basis in mans ability to earn surety through self-righteousness. The surety of Gods reconciliation is in Gods objective, historical interposition in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We appropriate it by faith and may experience it subjectively, but its certainty is in its objectivity and historicity! The confirmation of Gods new covenant is even more certain than the confirmation of the covenant made to Noah. Mountains and hills, heaven and earth, rainbows and clouds may pass away (and most certainly will), but Christ conquered death and lives forever. The Word of God, confirmed by the resurrection of Christ, abides forever (Mat. 5:17-20; Mat. 24:35; 1Pe. 1:22-25). God through Isaiah, is promising Zion that she shall be cast off for a little while but she will be reconciled to Him later (through the Servant) in an eternal marriage. He has sworn it will come to pass. God does not lie. His word is sure!
Isa. 54:11-12 PRECIOUSNESS: When this marriage takes place between God and His new Zion, the bride (the church) will be regaled in beauty. The old Zion, having degraded itself with idolatry and paganism (Jer. 18:12-17, etc.), is about to be taken captive and made a byword among the nations. The old Zion will suffer shame, humiliation and mocking. The old Zion will be loathed as a harlot (cf. Eze. 16:1-52), but Jehovah will restore her fortunes and make her the beautiful, new Zion (Eze. 16:53-63).
The Hebrew word puk in Isa. 54:11 is translated fair colors but might be more accurately translated antimony because the Hebrew word apparently refers to a mineral powder used as an eye pigment (cf. 2Ki. 9:30) which was also mixed with a liquid to make a cement or paste in which stones or jewels might be set. This puk would make a setting that would enhance the beauty of the jewels. That is the point of the passage. Peniyniym is the Hebrew word for rubies (they are red); sappiyriym are sapphires (they are blue-green); aekeddakh is Hebrew for carbuncles (they are also brilliant red) and the word more literally means simply, sparkling. The new Zion will be beautiful and precious. Peter must have had this in mind when he wrote 1Pe. 2:4-10! Christs church is precious and pure (Eph. 5:25-27) The best human words available to John to describe the extravagant beauty of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:9-21) were words describing jewels and precious stones. Of course, the precious stones will be purified, sanctified Christians who are living stones in whom the Spirit of the living God abides (cf. Eph. 2:19-22).
Isa. 54:13-17 PROTECTION: The phrase, . . . taught of Jehovah is quoted by Jesus (Joh. 6:45) in His sermon on The Bread of Life. It is therefore a prediction of the Messiah. Isaiah was predicting the Incarnation! Jesus Christ was the bread come down out of heaven. The new Zion would be established and continually sustained by eating the incarnated Bread from Heaven. The new Zion would have the privilege of being taught directly by God in the flesh. The old Zion had only divers portions and divers manners of Gods revelation through the prophets (Heb. 1:1), but in the messianic age the new Zion would be spoken to by God Incarnate in the Son. Anyone taught by Jesus is taught by God Himself.
The protection God is promising Zion here is essentially spiritual. It should be clearly understood by any student of the New Testament that Christians are never promised complete deliverance from wars, sicknesses, trials and tribulations. All who live godly in this world will suffer persecution (2Ti. 3:12). The prophets never promised the Jewish people a time when they would be free of physical tribulation on this earth. The promise that Zion shall be far from oppression is a promise of freedom from spiritual oppression (guilt, fear of judgment). The new Zion will be founded in righteousness (cf. Isa. 2:1-4; Isa. 9:6-7; Isa. 11:1-16, etc.). The imputed righteousness of God because of the atoning death of Christ will free the new Zion from guilt and fear of judgment. The Lord will protect His church and the gates of eternal death shall never prevail against it because Christ will partake of flesh and blood and destroy the power of the devil which is the fear of death (cf. Heb. 2:14-18; Isa. 25:6-9). In Isa. 54:15-17 the prophet clearly predicts that Zion will suffer physical attacks as well as judgmental accusations (probably referring to the chief slanderer himself, the devil), but none of it shall prevail against Gods new Zion. God is the Creator of everything and everyone. He is able to control all His creation and use it to fulfill His ultimate purpose which is the redemption of those who come into covenant relationship to Him through the Servant. And He will do so! Zions future righteousness cannot be gainsaid. The accuser of all mankind cannot hurt Gods new Zion with his accusations. The heritage of new Zion shall be the perfect righteousness of God Himself, which God has given her by His grace through His Servant. The Hebrew word tsedek is able to be translated righteousness or justness. The meaning in this text apparently has more of the flavor of justification, vindication or exoneration. Gods new Zion will be cleared of all guilt and be given Gods righteousness through her covenant marriage in the Servant.
QUIZ
1.
Upon what is the future reconciliation of Zion to the Lord predicated?
2.
How certain is the Lords promise of reconciliation toward Zion?
3.
What is the sign of that reconciliation?
4.
How did God swear an oath of that reconciliation in the New Testament?
5.
How does Isaiah speak of the future beauty of new Zion?
6.
How will God vindicate and justify and protect the new Zion?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(9) This is as the waters of Noah.Interesting (1) as showing the writers knowledge of the book of Genesis (see Isa. 51:2); (2) as one of the few references to the Deluge, outside that book, in the Old Testament. Strictly speaking, Gen. 9:11 speaks of a covenant, not an oath, but it would be idle to find a difficulty in the use of words which, as referring to a Divine act, are almost or altogether interchangeable. It is obvious that the words have found their fulfilment not in any earthly city but in the heavenly Jerusalem.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9, 10. As the waters of Noah unto me And such perpetuity is as certain as the divine oath can make it; as certain as that the earth shall no more be deluged; the rainbow sign in the heavens being an eternal pledge thereto. Gen 8:21-22. This is here alluded to, not only because the oath and promise had been made, but because it also had been kept. Not be wroth, etc. Because the everlasting Messianic covenant, made between Jehovah and his Church, secures that; though the Church may often be persecuted and disciplined, it shall never be swept away. Other things, as mountains and hills, shall be removed, but God’s kindness and covenant of peace never. We are ever to keep in mind that the Church is the renovated spiritual Jerusalem. That shall stand, though of the walls of the literal city “there shall not be left one stone upon another.” Mat 24:2.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 54:9-10. For this is as the waters of Noah To confirm the promise above given, a beautiful emblem taken from the deluge is here set forth; for, as God then swore that the waters should no more cover the earth, to destroy the human race, in like manner he assures his church that no persecutions or afflictions should so come upon it in this world, as to overwhelm and utterly destroy it; which also he corroborates by a new emblem in the 10th verse, taken from the mountains and hills. The last clause of the 9th verse may be rendered, So have I sworn that I will not foam out upon thee, or overflow thee in wrath, nor be harsh with thee.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
The Lord is here pleased to make use of two very striking representations, to show the unalterable nature of his covenant promises in Christ to his people, namely, the covenant made at the deluge, and the durableness of mountains. To this hour the former holds good; for though so many generations have passed, every day again proves God’s faithfulness, Gen 8:21-22 ; the latter may be more easily accomplished, by the removal of mountains, than that God’s promises in Christ should fail; Psa 89:30-35 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 54:9 For this [is as] the waters of Noah unto me: for [as] I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.
Ver. 9. For this is as the waters of Noah. ] Gen 9:9 ; Gen 9:11 .
For as I have sworn,
So have I sworn.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Isa 54:9-10
9For this is like the days of Noah to Me,
When I swore that the waters of Noah
Would not flood the earth again;
So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
Nor will I rebuke you.
10For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,
But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,
And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,
Says the LORD who has compassion on you.
Isa 54:9-10 These two verses must be describing the new covenant of Jer 31:31-34 (cf. Eze 36:22-38) because the Israelites who returned continued to sin (cf. Malachi).
Isa 54:9 This verse is a direct allusion to the Flood of Genesis 6-9 (esp. Gen 8:21; Gen 9:11).
The Hebrew waters of Noah can easily be like the days of Noah (NASB) with DSS and other ancient versions, but not the LXX which has from the waters at the time of Noah.
Isa 54:10 My covenant of peace This is probably another way of referring to the everlasting covenant (cf. Isa 55:3; Isa 59:21; Isa 61:8; Gen 17:7; Psa 105:10; Jer 32:40; Jer 50:5). This time period is described often in Ezekiel (cf. Eze 16:60; Eze 20:37; Eze 34:25; Eze 37:26; for more study see my commentary on Ezekiel online at www.freebiblecommentary.org ). The problem is that YHWH broke His covenant with Abraham’s seed by the destruction and exile of Jerusalem and the abandonment of the Temple (Ezekiel 8-10). Part of our problem is with the English word forever or everlasting (see Special Topic: Forever (‘olam) ). The other part of our problem in interpreting texts like this is the two covenants! Something really significant happened in Christ. He is the fulfillment of all OT promises. The NT is about Him and those who believe in Him, not about national Israel. This is difficult for us to accept because of our love and trust of the Bible and the powerful nature of these texts. However, neither Jesus nor any NT writer ever reaffirms a promise to national Israel (see Special Topic: Why are OT Covenant Promises so Different from NT Covenant Promises? ).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
the waters of Noah. Reference to Pentateuch (Genesis Chapters 6-9). See App-92.
thee. Supply Ellipsis, “thee [for ever]”. Some codices, reading one word instead of two,with Aramaean, Syriac, and Vulgate read “the days of Noah. . . .when [I sware, &c.]”.
I have sworn = when I sware. Reference to Pentateuch. (Genesis 8-9). Noah is nowhere else mentioned in the O.T. except in lCh 1:4. Eze 14:14-20. See App-92. thee. Supply Ellipsis (App-6), “thee [for ever]”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Isa 54:9-10
Isa 54:9-10
“For this is as the waters of Noah unto me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I will not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed; but my lovingkindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall my covenant of peace be removed, saith Jehovah that hath mercy on thee.”
What is this? It is God’s promise that the New Covenant, of which Christ is the Mediator, shall never be taken away, and as Jesus said, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Mat 28:18-20).
“Words of comfort like this are not to be taken as a blanket promise that all Jews, penitent sinners and impenitent rogues alike, are to be forgiven, The glorious descriptions such as we find here (and in the final paragraph) assume penitence and obedience on the part of the people to be blessed.”
The glorious promises here certainly include the Divine Pledge that God’s people will never again go into captivity; and some have complained that God did not keep this promise because Israel was destroyed, 1,000,000 of them murdered, and 30,000 of them sold into slavery in Egypt at the conclusion of the war in 70 A.D.; but God is faithful, and like all of his other promises, he has kept this one also. As Rawlinson explained:
“Much as the Christian Church has suffered from the world, it has never been with them like it was with captive Jews in Babylon. Here the prophet views the Jewish Church as absorbed and continued in the Christian Church, into which all the better and more spiritual members passed at the first preaching of the gospel.”
This alleged “failure” of God to keep his promise to the Jews, indicates that merely racial Jews were no longer “heirs of the promises” to Abraham, but that all of those precious promises were henceforth the inheritance of the saved “in Christ Jesus,” a fact that Paul stated categorically in Gal 3:29.
Isa 54:9-10 PERMANENCE: The future reconciliation promised in Isa 54:1-8 is, of course, predicted on the condition that Zion will enter into covenant relationship with Jehovah through the Suffering Servant who is to come. This covenant relationship will be as intimate and precious as a marriage; for that, in fact, is what it will be-the Lord married to His bride (the church) Zion. In the verse before us now, the permanence or certainty of that relationship is declared. When the Lord predicts that He will enter into a covenant of reconciliation with Zion, it is as certain to come to pass as His promise not to destroy the world by a flood again.
Gods covenant sign to Noah was the rainbow. Gods covenant sign of reconciliation was the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The Jews of Jesus day were not satisfied by the evidence of His miracles that He came to fulfill the covenant promises made through the prophets. Jesus told them that one great sign would be given them (the sign of Jonah; Mat 12:38-42; Luk 11:29-32) confirming that He was the Messenger of the Covenant (cf. Mal 3:1-4). The writer of Hebrews said that when God desired to demonstrate the immutability of His promise of covenant reconciliation, He interposed (emesiteusen, Gr., Heb 6:17) with an oath. What God actually did was interpose Himself as that oath, incarnate in Jesus Christ. All the promises of God find their verification, validation, confirmation and authentication (Yes or Amen) in Christ (cf. 2Co 1:18-20). The new covenant is one of a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1Pe 3:3-5). The surety of Gods new covenant does not originate subjectively within man. It does not have its basis in mans ability to earn surety through self-righteousness. The surety of Gods reconciliation is in Gods objective, historical interposition in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We appropriate it by faith and may experience it subjectively, but its certainty is in its objectivity and historicity! The confirmation of Gods new covenant is even more certain than the confirmation of the covenant made to Noah. Mountains and hills, heaven and earth, rainbows and clouds may pass away (and most certainly will), but Christ conquered death and lives forever. The Word of God, confirmed by the resurrection of Christ, abides forever (Mat 5:17-20; Mat 24:35; 1Pe 1:22-25). God through Isaiah, is promising Zion that she shall be cast off for a little while but she will be reconciled to Him later (through the Servant) in an eternal marriage. He has sworn it will come to pass. God does not lie. His word is sure!
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Isa 12:1, Isa 55:11, Gen 8:21, Gen 9:11-16, Psa 104:9, Jer 31:35, Jer 31:36, Jer 33:20-26, Eze 39:20, Heb 6:16-18
Reciprocal: Gen 5:29 – he called Gen 6:17 – bring Gen 8:22 – seedtime Gen 9:9 – General 1Ch 1:4 – Noah Job 11:16 – as waters Job 26:10 – until Psa 6:1 – rebuke Psa 89:37 – and as Psa 148:6 – He hath also Isa 49:18 – As I live Eze 16:42 – and will Rom 3:3 – shall Heb 6:17 – the immutability Rev 4:3 – a rainbow Rev 10:1 – a rainbow
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE WATERS OF NOAH
The waters of Noah.
Isa 54:9
Gods faithfulness. Faithful to His Word, of promise and of threatening. The waters of Noah speak to us. The floods have lifted up their voice.
I. The waters of Noah speak to us of judgment.(1) Of judgment threatened. (a) Threatened on account of sin; (b) against light; (c) against mercy. (2) Of judgment executed. Their cup of iniquity was full. (a) Their ruin was inevitable; (b) appalling; (c) universal.
II.The waters of Noah speak to us of mercy.(1) Of mercy promised; promised to Noah; a test of his faith and obedience; had nothing but Gods bare word; enough. (2) Of mercy granted; Christ our Ark; the only place of safety; room for all; still open; free.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Isa 54:9-10. For this is as the waters of Noah This covenant of grace and peace made with thee shall be as certain and perpetual as that which I made with Noah, that there should never be another flood of waters to drown the world. So have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee Namely, so as I have been, or so as to forsake thee utterly. For the mountains shall depart, &c. The mountains and hills shall sooner depart from their places than my kindness shall depart from thee. Nay, the time will come when all the mountains shall depart, and all the hills be removed, and even the whole earth, and all the works that are therein, shall be burned up, but then the covenant of peace between God and his church shall continue in the everlasting happiness of all the true and spiritual members of it. God will not cast off the Christian Church, as he cast off the Church of the Jews; the new covenant being established upon better and surer promises than the old; see Heb 8:6-7. Saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee Who acts thus toward thee, not for thy merits, but through his own grace and mercy.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
54:9 For this [is as] the {i} waters of Noah to me: for [as] I have sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more overflow the earth; so have I sworn that I will not be angry with thee, nor rebuke thee.
(i) As sure as the promise that I made to Noah, that the waters would no longer overflow the earth.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Yahweh’s restoration of His people to Himself would be permanent; they would never again experience estrangement from Him. As the Lord kept His promise to spare humanity from another universal flood, so He would keep His promise to spare humankind the judgment of separation from Him again. He would neither flood them with His anger nor rebuke His people. This looks toward an eternal change in the relationship between the Lord and His people. One covenant premillennialist wrote the following.
"Since the Jews actually were driven into exile again after their revolt against the Romans in A.D. 135, this can only mean that God accounts the Christian Church as true Israel." [Note: Archer, p. 648.]
Covenant premillennialists, like amillennialists, believe the church will fulfill God’s promises to Israel. But unlike amillennialists, covenant premillennialists believe in an earthly millennial reign of Christ. Dispensational premillennialists believe that Israel will fulfill God’s promises to Israel.