Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Isaiah 2:21

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Isaiah 2:21. Isaiah 2:19.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Jerusalem as it should be and as it is (2:1-22)

God’s people always looked for the day when Jerusalem would be the religious centre of the world, where people of all nations would go to be taught the ways of God. In that day there would be no more war, but contentment and prosperity (2:1-4). (A note on the new Jerusalem is included in the introduction to Chapters 40-66, where the subject of Jerusalem’s future glory is considered more fully.) Such hope for the future is all the more reason why Judah should walk in the ways of God now (5).
But the people of Judah, instead of leading other nations to know God and enjoy his peace, follow the idolatry and superstitious practices of those nations. Instead of trusting in God, they spend much energy building up their wealth and increasing their fighting force (6-8). Because they proudly trust in their own achievements, God will bring them low. God alone is to be exalted (9-11).
Israel and Judah had always hoped for the time when God would give them victory over all their enemies. Isaiah warns them that before God acts against their enemies, he must act against them (12). All the things they proudly trust in for security, whether natural resources, defence fortifications or prosperous trade, will be destroyed (13-16). Neither arrogant self-confidence nor devotion to idols will save them (17-18).
People will see the worthlessness of the things in which they have trusted, and will flee in a last desperate effort for safety when the day of God’s judgment comes (19-21). They will at last see the uselessness of putting confidence in anything of human origin (22).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"For there shall be a day of Jehovah of hosts upon all that is proud and haughty, and upon all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought low; and upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, and upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, and upon every lofty tower, and upon every fortified wall, and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant imagery. And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols shall utterly pass away. And men shall go into the caves of the rocks, and into the holes of the earth, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake mightily the earth. In that day men shall cast away their idols of silver, and their idols of gold, which have been made for them to worship, to the moles and to the bats; to go into the caverns of the rocks, and into the clefts of the ragged rocks, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake mightily the earth. Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for wherein is he to be accounted of?"

Human pride will be destroyed in the final judgment; "Proud men will be humbled by the destruction of the things that minister to their pride."J. R. Dummelow, J. R. Dummelow's Commentary, p. 415. The question of what, exactly, are those things to be destroyed is somewhat ambiguous. They are mentioned in pairs: Cedars of Lebanon and oaks of Bashan; high mountains and hills that are lifted up; the high towers and fortified walls; and the ships of Tarshish and all pleasant imagery. Of course, the cedars of Lebanon and the oaks of Bashan might stand for prominent and powerful men; but the other pairs resist such an explanation. Leupold thought that there is a mingling of literal and figurative language in this place; and this is probably correct. Certainly, there will be literal destruction of practically everything on "that day," as indicated in Zephaniah, who stated that even the fishes in the sea shall be destroyed (Isaiah 1:3).

That the destruction to come upon the earth in the final judgment will have cosmic dimensions is everywhere apparent in God's Word. Revelation speaks of every island and every mountain being moved out of its place (Rev. 12:6:12-17). The author of Hebrews also indicated that the shaking of the earth (mentioned twice in this paragraph) would ultimately refer to its removal (Isa. 12:26,27).

"Ships of Tarshish and all pleasant imagery" It is hard to be sure just what is indicated by this. The word used here for "pleasant imagery" also means "pleasant pictures"; and Dummelow stated that a word closely akin to this one is used for "idolatrous imagery" in Numbers 33:52 and for "idolatrous images" painted on walls in Ezekiel 8:12.Ibid. It seems fairly certain, "that works of art of some kind are meant,"G. Rawlinson, op. cit., p. 33. very likely related to idolatry.

As Dummelow suggested, the fact of these pleasant images or pictures being mentioned so closely in connection with "ships of Tarshish" might be a reference to an ancient custom of embroidering sails with attractive designs.

The casting away of all idols to the "bats and to the moles" shows how worthless will be those things which cater to the pride, vanity, and idolatrous worship of evil men.

"Cease ye from man" "This must be regarded as an appeal for Israel to give up their trust in man, from which trust had flowed all of their other errors."Ibid., p. 34. It will be remembered that the great apostasy of the Northern Israel was described as Ephraim's taking the place of God; and this has always been a temptation for men to follow human leaders instead of the God of heaven and earth.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

To go - That is, that he may go.

Clefts of the rocks - see the note at Isaiah 2:19.

Into the tops ... - The tops of such rocks were not easily accessible, and were, therefore, deemed places of safety. We may remark here, how vain were the refuges to which they would resort - as if they were safe from “God,” when they had fled to the places in which they sought safety from “man.” The image here is, however, one that is very sublime. The earth shaking; the consternation and alarm of the people; their renouncing confidence in all to which they had trusted; their rapid flight; and their appearing on the high projecting cliffs, are all sublime and terrible images. They denote the severity of God’s justice, and the image is a faint representation of the consternation of people when Christ shall come to judge the earth; Revelation 6:15-17.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

21.And they shall enter into the clefts of the rocks This repetition is not superfluous, though Isaiah again employs the same words which he had lately used; for what is so difficult as to impress on the minds of men sincere fear of God? Nor is it only in hypocrites that we perceive this, but in ourselves, if we bestow careful attention; for how many things are presented to us by which our minds ought to be deeply affected, and yet we are scarcely moved! More especially, it was necessary that this judgment of God should be earnestly placed before hypocrites, who took delight in wickedness. But now he points out the severity of God’s vengeance by this consideration, that the ungodly choose rather to be swallowed up by the deepest gulfs than to come under the eye of God. This, too, is the passage from which Christ borrowed the threatening which he pronounces on the Jews,

In that day shall they say to the mountains cover us; and to the hills, Hide us. (Luke 23:30.)

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 2

Now chapter 2 is introduced again.

The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem ( Isaiah 2:1 ).

And now God takes him off to the future.

And it shall come to pass in the last days [or in the latter days], that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow into it ( Isaiah 2:2 ).

So Isaiah goes from the dark, bleak history and now he jumps forward to a day yet future when Jesus Christ the Messiah comes and establishes the kingdom. And the Jews, as the scripture said, will look upon Him whom they have pierced, and they will recognize Him and they will weep over Him. Weep over their national blindness and their failure to recognize that He was their Messiah. And He will establish His kingdom there on the top of the mountains in Jerusalem.

Traditionally, it is felt that the top of Mount Zion will be the place of the throne of Jesus Christ in the Kingdom Age. And this is going ahead now to the Kingdom Age. All nations show flow unto it.

And many people shall go and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he shall teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem ( Isaiah 2:3 ).

So the Bible tells us in other passages that the kings of the earth will come to Jerusalem to offer their gifts unto the Lord and to just have celebrations there.

Now who are the kings of the earth that are referred to here? Now you're looking at King Charles. In Revelation, chapter 1, as he speaks of Jesus Christ he said, "Unto Him who loved us, and gave himself for us and hath made us unto our God kings and priests," and we shall reign with Him on the earth. To the church he said, "He that overcometh will I grant that he shall sit with Me on the throne of My kingdom, even as I have sat down at the throne of my Father's kingdom. And they shall rule over the earth with a rod of iron." And then in Revelation chapter 5, as the lamb takes the scroll out of the right hand of Him who is sitting upon the throne when the prayers of the saints are offered before the throne of God, the golden vials full of odors which are the prayers of the saints they sang a new song saying, "Worthy is the lamb to take the scroll and loose the seals, for He was slain and He has redeemed us by His blood out of all the nations, tribes, tongues and people and hath made us unto our God kings and priests and we shall reign with Him upon the earth."

So actually, it's talking about you when it says, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob and He will teach us of His ways and we will walk in His paths." Wouldn't it be exciting to go to Jerusalem and just sit down and let Jesus teach us for a while? You know that sounds so exciting to me. And that's just thrilling to me the concept and the whole idea to realize that we'll be having annual trips to Jerusalem just to sit there and to listen to the Lord expound the love, and the grace, and the goodness of God unto us. The law of the Lord. He will teach us of His ways. "For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."

And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: and nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD ( Isaiah 2:4-5 ).

Looking forward to that glorious day when Jesus is reigning and the military budgets are used for agricultural development, beating their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.

Last year over one trillion dollars were spent throughout the world forging swords and spears, weapons of war. Military budgets of the world totaled over a trillion dollars last year, and this year we're expanding our military budget. There are many who are warning that war is imminent. I have a personal friend who is a high-ranking officer who has kept in touch with me. He's back in the Pentagon right now going through briefings. And he said, "Chuck, we've never been closer to war before. We're on the verge." And he said, "Everybody is scared."

But a day is coming when no one is going to have to fear war anymore. We're not gonna have to fear mass destruction. You're not going to have to fear the exotic poison gases, neutron, hydrogen bombs. They'll study war no more; the war colleges will all be closed. The Lord will reign. Now this is the blessing that is to come, but before the blessing can come there is going to be some rough times.

Therefore thou has forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers. Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots: Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made ( Isaiah 2:6-8 ):

So the idea of man worshipping and serving the creature rather than the Creator is brought up here. Men worshipping the works of their own hands more than the Creator. What an apt description of humanism. And really, the materialism of the present day where man has placed his value upon the material objects, the works of his own hands rather than upon the Lord. God speaks of this time.

And the mean man bows down, and the great man humbles himself: therefore forgive them not. Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low ( Isaiah 2:9-12 ):

Now this could very well be referring to the time after the exodus of the church, for when the church makes its exodus out of the world, it's gonna be a time of great world prosperity, for a time. At the beginning of the reign of the man of sin, people are gonna be singing, "Happy days are here again," because this man is gonna come in with a program of peace and of economic prosperity, and they will move in to take the wealth of the church that has departed. So they're gonna have this twenty acres and these buildings, my house, my car. They can have it all. And suddenly they're gonna have all this extra thrown in to the whole economy and you won't have the housing shortage in Orange County. There will be a lot of empty houses for people to move into. People can grab a second car, and they're going to really get into a real materialistic kick because of all of these things that have been left. But then, after three and a half years, then God is gonna bring down the proud; God is gonna begin to smite the earth.

For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and they will be brought low; and upon all the cedars of Lebanon, those that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, and upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, and upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon the pleasant pictures. And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols he shall utterly abolish. And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD ( Isaiah 2:12-19 ),

Remember in Revelation in the sixth seal it said and they cry unto the rocks and the mountains, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of the Lamb, for the day of His wrath has come and who shall be able to stand"? Going into the holes of the rocks and the caves of the earth, for the fear of the Lord.

and for the glory of his majesty, when he arises to shake terribly the eaRuth ( Isaiah 2:19 ).

God said, "Once more I'm gonna shake this earth until everything that can be shaken shall be shaken until only that which cannot be shaken shall remain." And all of these lofty works of man... Man, I wouldn't want to be in downtown Los Angeles when this shaking takes place; all of these lofty works of man brought low.

In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he arises to shake terribly the eaRuth ( Isaiah 2:20-21 ).

You read how that in Athens and Italy there after the earthquakes the people were living outside. They were afraid to go back into the houses because of the shaking and all. It would be the same experience only on a worldwide basis where people will be afraid to move back in the houses. And they would get a cave or something to live in for a while for fear of the shaking that is taking place as God once more shakes the earth terribly.

Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils ( Isaiah 2:22 ):

In other words, don't trust in man. He has to breathe just like you do. Better to trust in God and put your confidence in Him.

for wherein is man to be accounted of? ( Isaiah 2:22 ) "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The results of trusting in people 2:5-22

This emphasis is a major one in Isaiah 1-39, and the prophet introduced it at this point. Many in his day-and this is still true today-preferred to trust in strong people, especially nations, rather than in the Lord.

The prophet’s first exhortation 2:5

In view of what the nations will do eventually, Isaiah appealed to the house of Jacob (Israel) to do the same thing immediately, namely: walk in the Lord’s light (presence and truth). Commit to following the Lord. This motivation is also applicable to present-day Christians (cf. Ephesians 5:8-20). Virtually all the commentators recognized that this verse is transitional. Some make it the end of the previous section and others the beginning of the next.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The effect of the problem: humiliation 2:10-21

Isaiah 2:10-21 are a poem on the nature and results of divine judgment. Note the repetition of key words and phrases at the beginnings and ends of the sections and subsections. This section breaks down as follows:

The Lord is exalted over man and the world (Isaiah 2:10-17)

The fact that the Lord is exalted and man is humbled (Isaiah 2:10-11)

The demonstration that the Lord is exalted over every exalted thing (Isaiah 2:12-17)

The Lord is exalted over idols (Isaiah 2:18-21)

The fact that the Lord is exalted and idols and man vanish (Isaiah 2:18-19)

The demonstration that the Lord is exalted and idols are exposed (Isaiah 2:20-21) [Note: Adapted from ibid., p. 57.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Even more explicit figures of speech picture Yahweh’s humiliation of the self-aggrandizing. Here the similarity of Isaiah’s description of the eschatological judgment is very close to the apostle John’s in the Book of Revelation (cf. Revelation 6:12-17). When God acts in judgment, all attempts to glorify the creation over the Creator will appear vain. Valuable idols will be cast aside to the bats and mice and consigned to the dark, unattractive places where those creatures live.

"Idols are precious. They are always our hard-won silver and gold. That’s why we prize them. They are beautiful, but also contemptible. J. R. R. Tolkien portrayed this in The Lord of the Rings. Everyone who wears the golden ring of power morphs into something weirdly subhuman, like Gollum, who cherishes it as ’My Precious.’ So for Middle-earth to be saved, the ring must be thrown into the fire of Mount Doom and destroyed forever. Tolkien understood that the key to life is not only what we lay hold of but also what we throw away." [Note: Raymond C. Ortlund Jr., Isaiah, p. 54.]

"This portrayal of the Lord’s day contains several parallels with ancient Near Eastern accounts of the exploits of mighty warrior kings and deities. First, the very concept of the Lord’s ’day’ derives ultimately from the ancient Near East, where conquering kings would sometimes boast that they were able to consummate a campaign in a single day. [Note: See Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, 2:36.] Ancient Near Eastern texts also sometimes associate cosmic disturbances and widespread panic with the king’s/god’s approach (cf. Isaiah 2:10; Isaiah 2:19-21)." [Note: Chisholm, "A Theology . . .," pp. 309-10.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

To go into the clifts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks,.... That is, the idolaters shall either go there themselves; or they shall cause their idols to go there, thither they shall cast them; though the former sense seems the best, because of what follows,

for fear of the Lord, &c. :- :-.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      10 Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.   11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.   12 For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:   13 And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,   14 And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up,   15 And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall,   16 And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.   17 And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.   18 And the idols he shall utterly abolish.   19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.   20 In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;   21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.   22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?

      The prophet here goes on to show what a desolation would be brought upon their land when God should have forsaken them. This may refer particularly to their destruction by the Chaldeans first, and afterwards by the Romans, or it may have a general respect to the method God takes to awaken and humble proud sinners, and to put them out of conceit with that which they delighted in and depended on more than God. We are here told that sooner or later God will find out a way,

      I. To startle and awaken secure sinners, who cry peace to themselves, and bid defiance to God and his judgments (Isaiah 2:10; Isaiah 2:10): "Enter into the rock; God will attack you with such terrible judgments, and strike you with such terrible apprehensions of them, that you shall be forced to enter into the rock, and hide yourself in the dust, for fear of the Lord. You shall lose all your courage, and tremble at the shaking of a leaf; your heart shall fail you for fear (Luke 21:26), and you shall flee when none pursues," Proverbs 28:1. To the same purport, Isaiah 2:19; Isaiah 2:19. They shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, the darkest the deepest places; they shall call to the rocks and mountains to fall on them, and rather crush them than not cover them, Hosea 10:8. It was so particularly at the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans (Luke 23:30) and of the persecuting pagan powers, Revelation 6:16. And all for fear of the Lord, and of the glory of his majesty, looking upon him then to be a consuming fire and themselves as stubble before him, when he arises to shake terribly the earth, to shake the wicked out of it (Job 38:13), and to shake all those earthly props and supports with which they have buoyed themselves up, to shake them from under them. Note, 1. With God is terrible majesty, and the glory of it is such as sooner or later will oblige us all to flee before him. 2. Those that will not fear God and flee to him will be forced to fear him and flee from him to a refuge of lies. 3. It is folly for those that are pursued by the wrath of God to think to escape it, and to hide or shelter themselves from it. 4. The things of the earth are things that will be shaken; they are subject to concussions, and hastening towards a dissolution. 5. The shaking of the earth is, and will be, a terrible thing to those who set their affections wholly on things of the earth. 6. It will be in vain to think of finding refuge in the caves of the earth when the earth itself is shaken; there will be no shelter then but in God and in things above.

      II. To humble and abase proud sinners, that look big, and think highly of themselves, and scornfully of all about them (Isaiah 2:11; Isaiah 2:11): The lofty looks of man shall be humbled. The eyes that aim high, the countenance in which the pride of the heart shows itself, shall be cast down in shame and despair. And the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, their spirits shall be broken, and they shall be crest-fallen, and those things which they were proud of they shall be ashamed of. It is repeated (Isaiah 2:17; Isaiah 2:17), The loftiness of man shall be bowed down. Note, Pride will, one way or other, have a fall. Men's haughtiness will be brought down, either by the grace of God convincing them of the evil of their pride, and clothing them with humility, or by the providence of God depriving them of all those things they were proud of and laying them low. Our Saviour often laid it down for a maxim that he who exalts himself shall be abased; he shall either abase himself in true repentance or God will abase him and pour contempt upon him. Now here we are told,

      1. Why this shall be done: because the Lord alone will be exalted. Note, Proud men shall be vilified because the Lord alone will be magnified. It is for the honour of God's power to humble the proud; by this he proves himself to be God, and disproves Job's pretensions to rival with him, Job 40:11-14. Behold every one that is proud, and abase him; then will I also confess unto thee. It is likewise for the honour of his justice. Proud men stand in competition with God, who is jealous for his own glory, and will not suffer men either to take to themselves or give to another that which is due to him only. They likewise stand in opposition to God; they resist him, and therefore he resists them; for he will be exalted among the heathen (Psalms 46:10), and there is a day coming in which he alone will be exalted, when he shall have put down all opposing rule, principality, and power,1 Corinthians 15:24.

      2. How this shall be done: by humbling judgments, that shall mortify men, and bring them down (Isaiah 2:12; Isaiah 2:12): The day of the Lord of hosts, the day of his wrath and judgment, shall be upon every one that is proud. He now laughs at their insolence because he sees that his day is coming, this day, which will be upon them ere they are aware, Psalms 37:13. This day of the Lord is here said to be upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up. Jerome observes that the cedars are said to praise God (Psalms 148:9) and are trees of the Lord (Psalms 104:16), of his planting (Isaiah 41:19), and yet here God's wrath fastens upon the cedars, which denotes (says he) that some of every rank of men, some great men, will be saved, and some perish. It is brought in as an instance of the strength of God's voice that it breaks the cedars (Psalms 29:5), and here the day of the Lord is said to be upon the cedars, those of Lebanon, they were the straightest and statliest,--upon the oaks, those of Bashan, that were the strongest and sturdiest,--upon the natural elevations and fortresses, the highest mountains and the hills that are lifted up (Isaiah 2:14; Isaiah 2:14), that overtop the valleys and seem to push the skies,--and upon the artificial fastnesses, every high tower and every fenced wall,Isaiah 2:15; Isaiah 2:15. Understand these, (1.) As representing the proud people themselves, that are in their own apprehensions like the cedars and the oaks, firmly rooted, and not to be stirred by any storm, and looking on all around them as shrubs; these are the high mountains and the lofty hills that seem to fill the earth, that are gazed on by all, and think themselves immovable, but lie most obnoxious to God's thunderstrokes. Feriuntique summos fulmina montes--The highest hills are most exposed to lightning. And before the power of God's wrath these mountains are scattered and these hills bow and melt like wax,Habakkuk 3:6; Psalms 68:8. These vaunting men, who are as high towers in which the noisy bells are hung, on which the thundering murdering cannon are planted--these fenced walls, that fortify themselves with their native hardiness, and intrench themselves in their fastnesses--shall be brought down. (2.) As particularizing the things they are proud of,in which they trust, and of which they make their boast. The day of the Lord shall be upon those very things in which they put their confidence as their strength and security; he will take from the all their armour wherein they trusted. Did the inhabitants of Lebanon glory in their cedars, and those of Bashan in their oaks, such as no country could equal? The day of the Lord should rend those cedars, those oaks, and the houses built of them. Did Jerusalem glory in the mountains that were round about it, as its impregnable fortifications, or in its walls and bulwarks? These should be levelled and laid low in the day of the Lord. Besides those things that were for their strength and safety they were proud, [1.] Of their trade abroad; but the day of the Lord shall be upon all the ships of Tarshish; they shall be broken as Jehoshaphat's were, shall founder at sea or be ship-wrecked in harbour. Zebulun was a haven of ships, but should now no more rejoice in his going out. When God is bringing ruin upon a people he can sink all the branches of their revenue. [2.] Of their ornaments at home; but the day of the Lord shall be upon all pleasant pictures, the painting of their ships (so some understand it) or the curious pieces of painting they brought home in their ships from other countries, perhaps from Greece, which afterwards was famous for painters. Upon every thing that is beautiful to behold; so some read it. Perhaps they were the pictures of their relations, and for that reason pleasant, or of their gods, which to the idolaters were delectable things; or they admired them for the fineness of their colours or strokes. There is no harm in making pictures, nor in adorning our rooms with them, provided they transgress not either the second or the seventh commandment. But to place our pictures among our pleasant things, to be fond of them and proud of them, to spend that upon them which should be laid out in charity, and to set out hearts upon them, as it ill becomes those who have so many substantial things to take pleasure in, so it tends to provoke God to strip us of all such vain ornaments.

      III. To make idolaters ashamed of their idols, and of all the affection they have had for them and the respect they have paid to them (Isaiah 2:18; Isaiah 2:18): The idols he shall utterly abolish. When the Lord alone shall be exalted (Isaiah 2:17; Isaiah 2:17) he will not only pour contempt upon proud men, who like Pharaoh exalt themselves against him, but much more upon all pretended deities, who are rivals with him for divine honours. They shall be abolished, utterly abolished. Their friends shall desert them; their enemies shall destroy them; so that, one way or other, an utter riddance shall be made of them. See here, 1. The vanity of false gods; they cannot secure themselves, so far are they from being able to secure their worshippers. 2. The victory of the true God over them; for great is the truth and will prevail. Dagon fell before the ark, and Baal before the Lord God of Elijah. The gods of the heathen shall be famished (Zephaniah 2:11), and by degrees shall perish, Jeremiah 10:11. The rightful Sovereign will triumph over all pretenders. And, as God will abolish idols, so their worshippers shall abandon them, either from a gracious conviction of their vanity and falsehood (as Ephraim when he said, What have I to do any more with idols?) or from a late and sad experience of their inability to help them, and a woeful despair of relief by them, Isaiah 2:20; Isaiah 2:20. When men are themselves frightened by the judgments of God into the holes of the rocks and caves of the earth, and find that they do thus in vain shift for their own safety, they shall cast their idols, which they have made their gods, and hoped to make their friends in the time of need, to the moles and to the bats, any where out of sight, that, being freed from the incumbrance of them, they may go into the clefts of the rocks, for fear of the Lord,Isaiah 2:21; Isaiah 2:21. Note, (1.) Those that will not be reasoned out of their sins sooner or later shall be frightened out of them. (2.) God can make men sick of those idols that they have been most fond of, even the idols of silver and the idols of gold, the most precious. Covetous men make silver and gold their idols, money their god; but the time may come when they may feel it as much their burden as ever they made it their confidence, and may find themselves as much exposed by it as ever they hoped they should be guarded by it, when it tempts their enemy, sinks their ship, or retards their flight. There was a time when the mariners threw the wares, and even the wheat into the sea (Jonah 1:5; Acts 27:38), and the Syrians cast away their garments for haste,2 Kings 7:15. Or men may cast it away out of indignation at themselves for leaning upon such a broken reed. See Ezekiel 7:19. The idolaters here throw away their idols because they are ashamed of them and of their own folly in trusting to them, or because they are afraid of having them found in their possession when the judgments of God are abroad; as the thief throws away his stolen goods then he is searched for or pursued. (3.) The darkest holes, where the moles and the bats lodge, are the fittest places for idols, that have eyes and see not; and God can force men to cast their own idols there (Isaiah 30:22; Isaiah 30:22), when they are ashamed of the oaks which they have desired,Isaiah 1:29; Isaiah 1:29. Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel,Jeremiah 48:13. (4.) It is possible that sin may be both loathed and left and yet not truly repented of--loathed because surfeited on, left because there is no opportunity of committing it, yet not repented of out of any love to God, but only from a slavish fear of his wrath.

      IV. To make those that have trusted in an arm of flesh ashamed of their confidence (Isaiah 2:22; Isaiah 2:22): "Cease from man. The providences of God concerning you shall speak this aloud to you, and therefore take warning beforehand, that you may prevent the uneasiness and shame of disappointment; and consider, 1. How weak man is: His breath is in his nostrils, puffed out every moment, soon gone for good and all." Man is a dying creature, and may die quickly; our nostrils, in which our breath is, are of the outward parts of the body; what is there is like one standing at the door, ready to depart; nay the doors of the nostrils are always open, the breath in them may slip away ere we are aware, in a moment. Wherein then is man to be accounted of? Alas! no reckoning is to be made of him, for he is not what he seems to be, what he pretends to be, what we fancy him to be. Man is like vanity, nay, he is vanity, he is altogether vanity, he is less, he is lighter, than vanity, when weighed in the balance of the sanctuary. "2. How wise therefore those are that cease from man;" it is our duty, it is our interest, to do so. "Put not your trust in man, nor make even the greatest and mightiest of men your confidence; cease to do so. Let not your eye be to the power of man, for it is finite and limited, derived and depending; it is not from him that your judgment proceeds. Let not him be your fear, let not him be your hope; but look up to the power of God, to which all the powers of men are subject and subordinate; dread his wrath, secure his favour, take him for your help, and let your hope be in the Lord your God."