appears here as still
future. In chap. lvii. 2: "They enter in peace, they rest in their beds
who have walked before themselves in uprightness," the "peace" forms
the contrast to the awful condition of suffering which the survivors
have to encounter.--In chap. lvii. 9, it is said: "And thou lookest on
the king anointed with oil, and increasest thy perfumes, and sendest
thy messengers far off, sendest them down into hell." The apostacy from
the Lord their God is manifested not only in idolatry, but also in
their not leaving untried any means to [Pg 178] procure for themselves
human helpers, in their courting human aid. The personification of
Israel as a woman, which took place in the preceding verses, is here
continued. She leaves no means untried to heighten her charms; she
makes every effort to please the mighty kings. The king is an ideal
person comprehending a real plurality within himself A parallel
passage, in which the seeking for help among foreign nations is
represented under the same image, is Ezek. xvi. 26 ff., comp. Hos. xii.
2 (1). It occurs also in immediate connexion with seeking help from the
idols, in chap. xxx. 1 ff. The verb [Hebrew: wvr] means always "to
see," "to look at;" and this signification is, here too, quite
appropriate: Israel is _coquetting_ with her lover, the king. The
reproach which the Prophet here raises against the people has no
meaning at all in the time of the exile, when the national independence
was gone. We find ourselves all at once transferred to the time of
Isaiah, who, in chap. xxxi. 1, utters a woe upon them "that go down to
Egypt for help,"--who, in chap. xxx. 4, complains: "His princes are at
Zoar, and his ambassadors come to Hanes,"--who, in chap. vii., exhibits
the dangerous consequences of seeking help from Asshur. The historical
point at issue is brought before us by passages such as 2 Kings xvi. 7:
"And Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser, king of Assyria, saying: I
am thy servant and thy son; come up and save me out of the hand of the
king of Aram, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who rise
against me."--In chap. lvii. 11-13, the thought is this: Israel is not
becoming weary of seeking help and salvation from others than God. But
He will soon show that He alone is to be feared, that He alone can
help; that they are nothing against whom, and from whom help is sought.
The words in ver. 11: "Am I not silent, even of old; therefore thou
fearest me not," state