Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son;
In the days of Ahaz Judah refused God's quiet provision and gentle rule and put its trust and joy in a political confederacy with Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel instead of trusting the Lord. Because they refused the softly going waters of Shiloah, the Lord brings upon them the strong and many waters of the river, even the king of Assyria with his armies overflowing his banks to pass through Judah even to the neck and filling the breadth of the land. The softly flowing stream stands opposite the great rushing river, picturing a quiet, refreshing, meek and gentle working against torrent noise and force. A holy life is like those waters, not lightning or noisy display or one great act, but quiet, steady, persevering obedience in countless small constant acts and words that refresh and endure like a fixed star. That refusal warns against earthly combinations and religious confederacies to uphold human purposes against God's law, whose conspiracies then are types of those that prepare the world for Armageddon and leave a people open to Satan's final deception.
Waters and Historical Setting
The waters of Shiloah are the small stream issuing from the Pool of Siloam southeast of Jerusalem near or within the Tyropoeon Valley and finding its way through the king's gardens. They go softly in a gentle flow that still continues, laden with blessing, watering vegetable gardens and olive groves, plantations of figs and pomegranates, vineyards and fields of grain, and making the vale a green paradise. This same Siloam water was brought by a Levite in a golden pitcher for the service of the last great day of the feast commemorating the water that flowed from the rock in the wilderness. It is the water Jesus pointed to when He stood in the temple on that day and cried for the thirsty to come to Him and drink.
The verse belongs to the reign of King Ahaz and to the account of his stubbornness, in which Judah rejected God's quiet provision and trusted Rezin and Pekah instead. It belongs to a conspiracy against Judah, in which the king reproved the people for their lack of faith in God. At that time the nation dwelt in moral and physical darkness, on the verge of destruction as a nation in the very shadow of death.
The softly going waters picture God's gentle government and quiet guidance, His mercy and provision. This people refused that gentle rule and reliance on the Lord, while rejoicing in and trusting Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, Remaliah's son and king of Israel at Samaria. Their rejoicing was a political confederacy with apostate Israel of the north in place of trust in the Lord.
Waters in Scripture symbolism represent peoples and nations. The verse shows one of God's ways of describing nations in prophecy, by naming the river upon which the country is situated. The same method is used in the sixth trumpet, where naming the Euphrates identifies the Ottoman Turkish power.
The pool of Siloam was a reservoir built to bring fresh water into the city, supplied by a subterranean aqueduct from a fountain gushing out of the rock of Ophel, whose waters go softly with a gentle flow. In the successive calamities that befell Jerusalem the fountain and its channel were blocked up with stone and rubbish, and Siloam became a stagnant pool. In 1881 the aqueduct was uncovered and the rubbish was cleared away, so the waters of Siloam again flowed softly and the wayfarer refreshes himself at the brook.
Rejection Brings Overwhelming Judgment
By refusing the gentle rule pictured by the softly going waters, the people chose human alliance over reliance on the Lord, rejoicing in Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, Remaliah's son and king of Israel at Samaria. Their political confederacy with apostate Israel of the north replaced trust in the Lord's quiet guidance and quiet, gentle provision. Because of that rejection they brought upon themselves the judgment described in the following verse. The Lord brings upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, which are wrath in the form of the king of Assyria and all his glory with his armies. Those waters come up over all his channels and over all his banks to pass through Judah, overflowing and going over even to the neck, with the stretching out of his wings filling the breadth of Immanuel's land in forceful invasion and destruction.
The passage belongs to the part of Isaiah 8 that makes clear the call to obey God, showing that God has given sufficient light to those willing to obey. The chapter warns of earthly combinations being brought together to uphold human laws and purposes against the law of God and in support of the beast power. It gives a most emphatic warning against religious confederacies. As military alliances prepared the nations for the great European conflict, so religious confederacies prepare the religious world for Armageddon.
The king's reproof of the people's lack of faith amid the conspiracy against Judah makes those conspiracies types of conspiracies that will arise in the last days. Such rejection of quiet provision leaves a people vulnerable to Satan's final deception. Even when the nation in the reign of King Ahaz dwelt in moral and physical darkness on the verge of destruction as a nation in the very shadow of death, in that low depth of sin and darkness there were rays of light and hope for the future in the Messiah. The chapter contains the same expressions as Isaiah 10:3 and locates its day of visitation and desolation which shall come from far.
As the blocked Siloam was cleared of rubbish that made it stagnant and restored to its soft flow, so Jesus cleared the Sabbath and restored it to its primitive terms as a divine law. Siloam was the reservoir built to bring fresh water into the city, supplied by a subterranean aqueduct from a fountain gushing out of the rock of Ophel, whose waters go softly with a gentle flow. In Jerusalem's successive calamities the fountain and its channel were blocked up with stone and rubbish and Siloam became a stagnant pool, until in 1881 the aqueduct was uncovered and the rubbish was cleared away so the waters again flowed softly for the wayfarer to drink. In like manner Jesus tore away the Toldoth traditions with which religious leaders had encumbered the Sabbath, not to destroy or abrogate the Sabbath law but to clear it.
Quiet Waters and Holy Life
The gently flowing waters of Shiloah are a symbol of a quiet, refreshing influence and a meek, gentle mission. They picture refreshment given softly and steadily, not imposed by display. They stand opposite the great and mighty rushing river waters that come with torrent noise and force.
A holy life is like those softly flowing waters, quiet and steady and refreshing. It is formed through countless small, constant acts rather than by dramatic deeds or forceful displays. It works by little words and little deeds, like a constant little sunbeam and unlike lightning. It does not consist in eloquent speeches, miracles, battles, noisy displays of force or greatness, or one great act of martyrdom.
Holiness pictured by that constant flow is steady, enduring, persevering obedience. It is not brief bursts of intense resolve or occasional zeal that soon fades. Its continuance brings lasting gladness, like a fixed star shining through a corrupt age. The waters are a sacred, living source. From them Zion's inspired poets drank and found themes for songs of faith during their pilgrimage.
In the days of Ahaz Judah refused God's quiet provision and gentle rule and put its trust and joy in a political confederacy with Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel instead of trusting the Lord. Because they refused the softly going waters of Shiloah, the Lord brings upon them the strong and many waters of the river, even the king of Assyria with his armies overflowing his banks to pass through Judah even to the neck and filling the breadth of the land. The softly flowing stream stands opposite the great rushing river, picturing a quiet, refreshing, meek and gentle working against torrent noise and force. A holy life is like those waters, not lightning or noisy display or one great act, but quiet, steady, persevering obedience in countless small constant acts and words that refresh and endure like a fixed star. That refusal warns against earthly combinations and religious confederacies to uphold human purposes against God's law, whose conspiracies then are types of those that prepare the world for Armageddon and leave a people open to Satan's final deception.
Waters and Historical Setting
The waters of Shiloah are the small stream issuing from the Pool of Siloam southeast of Jerusalem near or within the Tyropoeon Valley and finding its way through the king's gardens. They go softly in a gentle flow that still continues, laden with blessing, watering vegetable gardens and olive groves, plantations of figs and pomegranates, vineyards and fields of grain, and making the vale a green paradise. This same Siloam water was brought by a Levite in a golden pitcher for the service of the last great day of the feast commemorating the water that flowed from the rock in the wilderness. It is the water Jesus pointed to when He stood in the temple on that day and cried for the thirsty to come to Him and drink.
The verse belongs to the reign of King Ahaz and to the account of his stubbornness, in which Judah rejected God's quiet provision and trusted Rezin and Pekah instead. It belongs to a conspiracy against Judah, in which the king reproved the people for their lack of faith in God. At that time the nation dwelt in moral and physical darkness, on the verge of destruction as a nation in the very shadow of death.
The softly going waters picture God's gentle government and quiet guidance, His mercy and provision. This people refused that gentle rule and reliance on the Lord, while rejoicing in and trusting Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, Remaliah's son and king of Israel at Samaria. Their rejoicing was a political confederacy with apostate Israel of the north in place of trust in the Lord.
Waters in Scripture symbolism represent peoples and nations. The verse shows one of God's ways of describing nations in prophecy, by naming the river upon which the country is situated. The same method is used in the sixth trumpet, where naming the Euphrates identifies the Ottoman Turkish power.
The pool of Siloam was a reservoir built to bring fresh water into the city, supplied by a subterranean aqueduct from a fountain gushing out of the rock of Ophel, whose waters go softly with a gentle flow. In the successive calamities that befell Jerusalem the fountain and its channel were blocked up with stone and rubbish, and Siloam became a stagnant pool. In 1881 the aqueduct was uncovered and the rubbish was cleared away, so the waters of Siloam again flowed softly and the wayfarer refreshes himself at the brook.
Rejection Brings Overwhelming Judgment
By refusing the gentle rule pictured by the softly going waters, the people chose human alliance over reliance on the Lord, rejoicing in Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, Remaliah's son and king of Israel at Samaria. Their political confederacy with apostate Israel of the north replaced trust in the Lord's quiet guidance and quiet, gentle provision. Because of that rejection they brought upon themselves the judgment described in the following verse. The Lord brings upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, which are wrath in the form of the king of Assyria and all his glory with his armies. Those waters come up over all his channels and over all his banks to pass through Judah, overflowing and going over even to the neck, with the stretching out of his wings filling the breadth of Immanuel's land in forceful invasion and destruction.
The passage belongs to the part of Isaiah 8 that makes clear the call to obey God, showing that God has given sufficient light to those willing to obey. The chapter warns of earthly combinations being brought together to uphold human laws and purposes against the law of God and in support of the beast power. It gives a most emphatic warning against religious confederacies. As military alliances prepared the nations for the great European conflict, so religious confederacies prepare the religious world for Armageddon.
The king's reproof of the people's lack of faith amid the conspiracy against Judah makes those conspiracies types of conspiracies that will arise in the last days. Such rejection of quiet provision leaves a people vulnerable to Satan's final deception. Even when the nation in the reign of King Ahaz dwelt in moral and physical darkness on the verge of destruction as a nation in the very shadow of death, in that low depth of sin and darkness there were rays of light and hope for the future in the Messiah. The chapter contains the same expressions as Isaiah 10:3 and locates its day of visitation and desolation which shall come from far.
As the blocked Siloam was cleared of rubbish that made it stagnant and restored to its soft flow, so Jesus cleared the Sabbath and restored it to its primitive terms as a divine law. Siloam was the reservoir built to bring fresh water into the city, supplied by a subterranean aqueduct from a fountain gushing out of the rock of Ophel, whose waters go softly with a gentle flow. In Jerusalem's successive calamities the fountain and its channel were blocked up with stone and rubbish and Siloam became a stagnant pool, until in 1881 the aqueduct was uncovered and the rubbish was cleared away so the waters again flowed softly for the wayfarer to drink. In like manner Jesus tore away the Toldoth traditions with which religious leaders had encumbered the Sabbath, not to destroy or abrogate the Sabbath law but to clear it.
Quiet Waters and Holy Life
The gently flowing waters of Shiloah are a symbol of a quiet, refreshing influence and a meek, gentle mission. They picture refreshment given softly and steadily, not imposed by display. They stand opposite the great and mighty rushing river waters that come with torrent noise and force.
A holy life is like those softly flowing waters, quiet and steady and refreshing. It is formed through countless small, constant acts rather than by dramatic deeds or forceful displays. It works by little words and little deeds, like a constant little sunbeam and unlike lightning. It does not consist in eloquent speeches, miracles, battles, noisy displays of force or greatness, or one great act of martyrdom.
Holiness pictured by that constant flow is steady, enduring, persevering obedience. It is not brief bursts of intense resolve or occasional zeal that soon fades. Its continuance brings lasting gladness, like a fixed star shining through a corrupt age. The waters are a sacred, living source. From them Zion's inspired poets drank and found themes for songs of faith during their pilgrimage.