ained itself for centuries, the
most prominent members of which gave themselves up to such enthusiastic
imprudence and rashness? Moreover, it is overlooked that afterwards, to
Hezekiah, our Prophet grants that in reality which here he offers to
Ahaz in vain,--[Hebrew: hemq] and [Hebrew: hgbh] are _Infin. absol._
"going high," "going low." The Imperat. [Hebrew: walh] must be
understood after [Hebrew: hgbh] also. Some explain [Hebrew: walh] by
"to hell," "down to hell;" but this is against the form of the word,
which it would be arbitrary to change. Nor does one exactly see how, if
we except, perhaps, the apparition of one dead, Isaiah could have given
to the king a sign from the Sheol; and in other passages, too (comp.
Joel iii. 3 [ii. 30]), signs in the heavens and in the earth are
contrasted with one another. _Theodoret_ remarks that both kinds of
miracles, among which the Lord here allowed a choice to Ahaz, were
granted by Him to his pious son, Hezekiah, inasmuch as He wrought a
phenomenon in _heaven_ which affected the going back of the shadow on
the sun-dial of Ahaz; and on _earth_, inasmuch as He, in a wonderful
manner, destroyed the Assyrians, and restored the king to health.
_Jerome_ farther remarks, that, from among the plagues in Egypt, the
lice, frogs, &c., were signs on earth; the hail, fire, and three day's
darkness, were signs in the heaven. It is on the passage before us that
the Pharisees take their stand, when in Matt. xvi. 1 they ask from the
Lord that He should grant them a sign from heaven. If even the Prophet
Isaiah offered to prove in such a manner his divine mission, then,
according to their opinion, Christ was much more bound to do this,
inasmuch as He set up far higher claims. But they overlooked the
circumstance that enough had already been granted for convincing those
who were well disposed, and that it can never be a duty to convince
obstinate unbelief in a manner so palpable.

[Pg 42]

Ver. 12. "_And Ahaz said: I will not ask, neither will I tempt the
Lord._"

Ahaz declines the offer by referring to Deut. vi. 16., and thus
assuming the guise of reverence for God and His commandment. "He
pretends," says _Calvin_, "to have faith in the words of the Prophet,
and not to require anything besides the word." The same declarations of
the Law, the Lord opposes to Satan, when the latter would induce Him to
do something for which he had no word of God, Matt. iv. 7. That would
really have been a temp