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here. Every faculty mentioned is seen to have reached perfection. Eyes "shall not be
dim", or "be dazzled". Ears shall not only "hear" but shall "hearken", meaning an
obedient hearing in place of that "hearing" which "heard" but did not understand. Hearts,
once hard and hasty, shall "understand knowledge", and stammering lips shall speak
"elegantly" (margin).
In contrast with this blessed growth under the reign of peace, is placed the character of
the vile and the churl, who shall then be seen in their true colours. The words "The vile
person will speak villainy" make one think of the pronouncement of Rev. 22: 11. "He
that is unjust, let him be unjust still." The solemn possibilities as to the nature of sin and
the limits of repentance, that Isa. 32: 6 and Rev. 22: 11 indicate, are great.
"Thorns and briers", emblems of the primeval curse, come up upon the land where
villainy and carelessness go hand in hand, and Isaiah adds that the
"palaces shall be forsaken; the multitudes of the city shall be left; the forts and towers
shall be for dens for ever . . . . . until the spirit be poured upon us from on high"
(Isa. 32: 13-15).
"For ever . . . . . until."--The association of these two expressions is impossible if the
orthodox interpretation of "for ever" be the truth, for every exponent of the eternity of
punishment stresses its everlasting and unchanging character. Olam, the Hebrew word
translated "ever", is derived from alam, to hide or to conceal, therefore something secret
(Psalm 90: 8); (II Kings 4: 27), and olam refers to a period of time, the beginning, end,
or character of which, is "hidden" from the observer. It is used of time past (Gen. 6: 4);
or time future, and in many occurrences it is evident that such future time is limited
(Deut. 15: 17). The word "until" is the translation of the Hebrew cd, as it occurs in the
phrase "for ever"; consequently we could translate the passage "The . . . . . towers shall
be for dens until the age . . . . . until the spirit be poured", which gives good sense and
does no violence to word or grammar. If the judgment here described is to be eternal,
then there can be no subsequent "until". But there is a subsequent "until", and we are
therefore compelled to conclude, either
(1)
The orthodox translation "for ever" is an error and should be abandoned, or
(2)
Isaiah made a mistake, and there will not be, because there cannot be, any
subsequent blessing, because the eternal nature of punishment precludes the idea.
Most of our friends who hold the orthodox view, are happily neither consistent nor
logical. They appear to be able to believe both the eternity of punishment, and the
inspiration of Isaiah. Perhaps it is a case of where ignorance is bliss it is folly to be wise,
but such blissful ignorance is hardly the qualification that one looks for in critic or
teacher.
This blessed restoration, when "the wilderness shall be a fruitful field", is the result of
Israel's true Pentecost. To this blessed day the prophet Joel devotes practically the whole
of his prophecy. Just as Isaiah speaks of the wilderness being turned into a fruitful field,
when the spirit shall be poured out from on high, so Joel uses another great figure of
restoration.