Matthew Henry on Isaiah 44:9-20
Often before, God, by the prophet, had mentioned the folly and strange sottishness of idolaters; but here he enlarges upon that head, and very fully and particularly exposes them to contempt and ridicule. This discourse is intended, 1. To arm the people of Israel against the strong temptation they would be in to worship idols when they were captives in Babylon, in compliance with the custom of the country (they being far from the city of their own solemnities) and to humour those who were now their lords and masters. 2. To cure them of their inclination to idolatry, which was the sin that did most easily beset them and to reform them from which they were sent into Babylon. As the rod of God…
Read the whole note in the consoleJamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 44:14
Description of the material out of which the idol is formed.
cypress--rather, from Hebrew root, "to be hard," the holm oak," an evergreen abundant in Palestine [GESENIUS].
strengtheneth--literally, "and he getteth strength to himself in the trees of the forest;" that is, he layeth in a great store of timber [LOWTH]. Or, "chooseth," as "madest strong for thyself," that is, hast chosen (Psa 80:15, Psa 80:17) [GESENIUS]. But English Version gives a good sense: "strengtheneth"; that is, rears to maturity; a meaning suitable also to the context of Psa 80:15, Psa 80:17, where Israel is compared to a vine planted by Jehovah [MAURER].
rain doth nourish it--Though the man planted the tree, yet…
Read the whole note in the consoleJohn Gill on Isaiah 44:14
He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak,.... To make gods of, trees both pleasant and durable, but all unfruitful:
which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest; taking a great deal of pains in seeking out such trees as were most fit for his use, and a great deal of care in the growth of them, that they might answer his end, as well as exerting his strength in cutting of them down:
he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it; a tree that soon grows up, and which he plants for the purpose to make a god of; and this being watered and nourished with rain, which God vouchsafes, though designed for an idolatrous use, grows, and is fit for what it wa…
