The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 1 — Section 560

HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vere. 1-17.-7'7ie sins and punish-nt of Edom, The E«fomitcs appear in the blackest colours in the descriptions of the prophets. And in this oracle their punish- ment is represented in the horrible desolation of their land. I. THEIR ems. Their cruelty is above all stigmatized. At the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar they helped to plunder the city and slaughter the poor Jews. Their conduct on this occnsion was never forgotten (Pa. cxxxvii.). In Obadiah we '.have the feelings about them brought into the clearest light (10-16). They were akin to the Jew~, Esau the ancestor of the one, Jacob of the other. Their cruelty was accused as·" violence against a brother." They had entered the gate of the city on the day of their brethren's calamity, to exult over them, and to join hand in hand with the conqueror and the spoiler. But the day of vengeance has come, and their violent dealing is to be returned upon their own heads ( cf. eh. lxiii 1-4; J er. xlix. 17; Lam. iv. 21; Ezek. xxv. 13, 14; xxxv.; Amos i. 11, 12). . IT. THEIR PUNISHMENT. 1. The sword of Jehovah an emblem of Divine vengeance. So in numerous passages ( eh. xxvii. 1; xxxi. 8; xxxiv. 5; !xvi. 16; Deut. xxxii. 41, 42; Jer. xii. 12; xlvi. 10; xlvii. 6, 35-38; Zech. xiii. 7). It has been bathed in blood in heaven, that is, upon the objects of idolatrous worship, demons of the stars, etc. 2. Sacrifice ·as dl8o a figure of vengeance. A "sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom." So sacrifice and feasting connected with judgment in Zeph. i. 7; J er. xlvi. 10; Ezek. xxxix. 17-19. 3. Pictures of desolation. It is a volcanic land, ~nd the 11rophet sees it deluged with lava-floods, like the guilty cities of the plain (cf. Jer. xlix. 18; Rev. xiv. 10; xix. 3). The further features of the picture a.re sketched in the most gloomy colours-its castles and strong places in ruins and. over- grown with weeds; wild animals haunting the former abodes of man; and demons or fairies, such as are in popular superstition, hovering about the former scenes of human pride and power. • III. Enor.r AS TYPICAL OF THE UNGODLY WORLD. There seems reason for supposing; the prophet to have had this larger thought in mind. 1. All the nations are summoned to hear the judgmenls of God. 2. The desolation predicted is said to be eternal; and this is· four times. repeated. The general lessons, then, of Divine judgments may bt: repeated in connection with this awe-inspiring picture, 1. The particular exctmple oj Divine fudg=nt illustrates the general truth. 'l'hat which c:mcerns the people in this respect concerns mankind. The beam which strikes this or that object strikes many others in its rebound. 2. Destrv,ction and dism-imination in the jttdgments a.re the mark of Providence. When God strikes an individual, or a nation, the conclusion is'tha.t they were aimed at. 3. .An utter doom the consequence of utter sin. None can think of the doom of Sodom and Gomorrah, and of Edam, without a shuuder, without hearing the reverberations of the thunder from Sinai ; without attending to the appeal, "Break off your sins by righteousness!" "To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts! "-J. Vere. 1-15.-The Divine indignation. The strong, pictorial language of the prophet brings into bold relief some truths respecting God's indignation of which it is needful to be occasionally reminded. We learn- I. TEAT IT IS A CONSTANT FACTOR IN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE WORLD, "Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people; let the earth hear, and all that is therein . , , for the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations," etc. ( vers. 1, 2). It is seldom, perhaps never, the duty of the Christian minister. to employ such terms as those used in this prophecy (vers. 3, 5, 6). But it is his duty to make it clear that benevolence and its kindred attributes do not constitute the character of God; that, though it,is a truth of inestimable price that "God is love," it is also true that "our God is a consuming Fire;" that though it is a fact that" justice and judgment are his strange work," it is also a fact that God does pour out his indignation "upon all nations;" that "the band of the Lord is against them that do evil," that he will render "indignation and wrath . . . upon every soul of man that doeth evil." Religious doctrina, like all other truth, must be seen in its tme proportions, or it will  564 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. [011. XUIV, 1-17.