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"If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass
which they trespassed against Me, and that also they have walked contrary unto Me; and
that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their
enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then ACCEPT of the
PUNISHMENT of their iniquity; then will I remember my covenant" (Lev. 26: 40-42).
Here the word "accept" is the Hebrew ratsah, and the word "punishment" is the
Hebrew avon, which two words appear respectively as "pardon" and "iniquity". This
same word ratsah supplies us with "the acceptable year of the Lord" (Isa. 40: 2), and the
acceptance of the offerer because of the vicarious sacrifice (Lev. 1: 4), which facts have
their place in the final and complete acceptance, in grace, of this disobedient and
gainsaying people.
We have not yet arrived at Isa. 53:, and must therefore expound Isa. 40: 2 by
principles of truth, and not by feelings and wishes. If the reader will read the prayer of
Nehemiah (Neh. 1:), and of Daniel (Dan. 9:), he will perceive that these two men of God
knew and understood the principles of God's dealing with His ancient people that are
implied in the translation of Isa. 40: 2 offered in this article. Moreover, the reader may
be glad to see another example of the dual meaning that attaches to such words as
"iniquity", "acceptance", "punishment" and "pardon", by referring to Gen. 4: 3, "And
Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear", and consulting the
margin, which reads: "Or, Mine iniquity is greater than that it may be forgiven." We do
not propose, however, to enter into the question of Gen. 4: and its interpretation, but
merely draw the reader's attention to the fact that these dual meanings are recognized by
all Hebrew scholars. We can at least learn one lesson from this feature, namely, that, in
the eyes of the Lord, "iniquity" and "punishment" are but two sides of one subject, even
as are "pardon" and "acceptance".
ISAIAH.
#19. The Forerunner (40: 3-5).
The relation of John the Baptist with Elijah considered.
pp. 38 - 42
Is there any evident connection between verses 2 and 3 of Isa. 40:? The new section
(verse 3) commences with the words, "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness".
Whose is this "voice", and what connection is there between his message and that already
written in verses 1 and 2? To answer the question we must look back to these verses and
note their content. The passage that supplies the link is that which we found it necessary
to retranslate "That accepted hath been her punishment", and the word translated
"comfort", which we discovered was many times translated "repent".
At first glance we may not see the principle embedded in this evangelical prophecy
and consequently miss the point. God made it abundantly clear to Israel that His attitude
to them would be a reflection of their attitude to Him. He is a "God of recompenses"