Matthew Henry on Isaiah 28:1-8
Here, I. The prophet warns the kingdom of the ten tribes of the judgments that were coming upon them for their sins, which were soon after executed by the king of Assyria, who laid their country waste, and carried the people into captivity. Ephraim had his name from fruitfulness, their soil being very fertile and the products of it abundant and the best of the kind; they had a great many fat valleys (Isa 28:1, Isa 28:4), and Samaria, which was situated on a hill, was, as it were, on the head of the fat valleys. Their country was rich and pleasant, and as the garden of the Lord: it was the glory of Canaan, as that was the glory of all lands; their harvest and vintage were the glorious beauty…
Read the whole note in the consoleJamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 28:2
strong one--the Assyrian (Isa 10:5).
cast down--namely, Ephraim (Isa 28:1) and Samaria, its crown.
with . . . hand--with violence (Isa 8:11).
John Gill on Isaiah 28:2
Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one,.... That is, a powerful king, with a mighty army, meaning Shalmaneser king of Assyria; whom the Lord had at his beck and command, and could use at his pleasure, as his instrument, to bring down the towering pride of Ephraim, and chastise him for his sensuality:
which as a tempest of hail; that beats down herbs and plants, and branches of trees, and men and beasts:
and a destroying storm; which carries all before it, blows down houses and trees, and makes terrible devastation wherever it comes:
as a flood of mighty waters overflowing; whose torrent is so strong there is no stopping it: so this mighty and powerful prince
shall cast down to the…
Read the whole note in the consoleJohn Calvin on Isaiah 28:2-3
Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one. This may refer to the Assyrians, as if he had said, that they will be ready at God's command to fight under his authority, as soon as they shall be called. Yet I prefer to take it without a substantive, to mean either "a staff," or some other instrument, by which the Lord will cast them down from this lofty pride.
As a deluge of hail. He compares it to "a deluge" or to "hail," by which both herbs and flowers are thrown down, and all the beauty of the earth is marred. Thus he continues the metaphor of the "fading flower," which he had introduced at the beginning of the chapter; for nothing can be more destructive to flowers than a heavy shower o…
