Then shall the Assyrian fall— The history of the Assyrian overthrow fully explains these verses. The meaning of the phrase, His young men shall be discomfited, is, that those of Sennacherib's soldiers who should escape in flight, should melt through fear in the way, and should be so dispersed and so distressed, that the greater part of them should perish. The first clause of the ninth verse should be read, And he shall pass by his strong-hold in a fright; that is, "Sennacherib shall be struck with so great fear, on account of the slaughter inflicted upon his army by God, and the report of the approach of Tirhakah, chap. Isaiah 37:9 that he shall in his flight pass by his fortifications in the borders of his empire, as not daring to trust himself to them:" And his princes shall be afraid of an ensign; that is, "They shall be seized with such terror, that every ensign of war lifted up, shall cause consternation and fear to them." The latter clause refers to the perpetual fire which was kept up in the temple, which was a symbol of the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in the hearts of believers, and also of the holy and pure will of God, whereby every sacrifice offered to him was to be approved. See Vitringa.
REFLECTIONS.—1st, Repeated woes are denounced to awaken the sinners in Zion; if still they persist in their wicked way, surely their blood will be on their own heads.
1. The charge laid against them, is their recourse to Egypt, and neglect of God. The numerous hosts of Pharaoh, his chariots and horsemen, seemed to afford greater security to the eye of sense than the word of promise; and therefore they are more solicitous to engage his friendship, than to spread their case before the Holy One of Israel. Note; They who consult with sense, take a bad guide.
2. The folly and danger of their conduct are exposed. If they wanted wisdom, lo! God is all wise, and they should consult him: if they wanted might, God was almighty, and could protect them; but when he was slighted and neglected, his wisdom and power, which might have been engaged for them, were armed against them: and what then can the wisdom or power of Egypt do to save them? he will counteract all the schemes of their allies, and execute the threatening, that he hath pronounced against the workers of iniquity; and, by sad experience, they shall be taught the vanity of that strength of Pharaoh, which they idolized. The Egyptians shall be found men, frail, false, foolish, and not God, as they, by their confidence in them, seemed to make them, and their horses flesh and not spirit; and, therefore, when the Lord should stretch forth his hand, they and their unprofitable helpers would fall together. Note; (1.) They who affect to be wiser than their Bibles, will only in the end expose their own folly. (2.) The more we know of men, the more we shall see cause to cease from human dependance; the more we know of God, the more shall we be engaged to trust him. (3.) There are many truths evident and allowed by all, and yet, in practice, we are apt glaringly to contradict them. (4.) The sinner in the day of wrath shall find little comfort or help in his companion, when they shall fall together, and receive the reward of their iniquities.
3. Those in Zion, who, without having recourse to Egypt, trusted God for their safety should find him a sure refuge in the day of calamity: as a lion seizing his prey, who cannot be intimidated by the shouting of the shepherds, who, daring not to approach him, seek to fright him with their noise; so impotent will be the army of the Assyrians, when the lion of the tribe of Judah shall come to light for his Zion: swift as the eagle will he fly to their succour, and safe preserve them, when the destroying angel shall pass over to smite their enemies, and by their destruction deliver Jerusalem. Note; In the midst of danger they are safe whom God with tenderness unutterable covers under his wings as a hen gathereth her chickens, and defends with an arm of almighty and irresistible power. Oh, that we did but trust him!
2nd, We have,
1. A gracious call to repentance. God had not utterly cast them off, though they had barely forsaken him, and deeply revolted from him: he calls them children of Israel as a reproach for their ingratitude, to beget conviction of their baseness, and engage their hope; seeing, though they deserved to be disowned, he still regarded them in a national sense as his sons and daughters, and invited them to turn to him with assurances of kind acceptance. Note; It is never too late to return to God; the deepest revolters will find their king, on humble submission, ready to forgive.
2. A blessed reformation wrought. In that day, when their deliverance should appear so evidently the work of God's hand, they would cast away their idols of gold and silver, the work which their own hands had made: (so bent were they upon idolatry, that no cost or pains was spared; but) now their sin is their burden, and their idols detested and abhorred. Note; (1.) In a day of repentance our tempters to sin will be loathed more than ever they have been loved. (2.) Every man has by nature his peculiar idol lust, the indulgence of which will be his bitterest burden when God awakens his conscience, and against which he must place an especial guard.
3. A glorious victory obtained. The Assyrian shall fall, not by an arm of flesh, but by the immediate stroke of God: and, while the army is discomfited, their king in terrors shall flee, and his princes, the few who escape with him, shall pass over to his strong-hold for fear—his mighty warriors who were left hasted to return, lest they should be pursued by the Jews in their flight, and dreading that fiery furnace of wrath which burns so hot against the enemies of Zion. Note; (1.) When God contends, he will overcome. (2.) If present judgments be so terrible, what must be the fire of hell, and the furnace of eternal wrath! (3.) The same God who is a consuming fire to his enemies, is a wall of fire around his people to protect them, and a fire of love within their hearts to comfort them.