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| 1 I have seen the Lord standing by the altar, and He saith: 'Smite the knob, and the thresholds shake, And cut them off by the head all of them, And their posterity with a sword I do slay, Not flee to them doth the fleer, Nor escape to them doth a fugitive. |
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| 2 If they dig through into sheol, From thence doth My hand take them, And if they go up the heavens, From thence I cause them to come down. |
Though they – Israel, as a nation or individually. E374
Dig into hell – Sheol, oblivion, death--not torment. R828:6*; E374
A figurative expression, but certainly pits of earth are the only hells men can dig into. R2599:3
Israel, as a nation, did dig its way toward national oblivion. Yet God shall prevent this. E374
Shall mine hand – My power. E374
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| 3 And if they be hid in the top of Carmel, From thence I search out, and have taken them, And if they be hid from Mine eyes in the bottom of the sea, From thence I command the serpent, And it hath bitten them. |
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| 4 And if they go into captivity before their enemies, From thence I command the sword, And it hath slain them, And I have set Mine eye on them for evil, And not for good. |
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| 5 And [it is] the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, Who is striking against the land, and it melteth, And mourned have all the inhabitants in it, And come up as a flood hath all of it, And it hath sunk like the flood of Egypt. |
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| 6 Who is building in the heavens His upper chambers; As to His troop, Upon earth He hath founded it, Who is calling for the waters of the sea, And poureth them out on the face of the land, Jehovah [is] His name. |
Stories – Chambers. (R.V.) R1812:2
Troop – Vault. (R.V.) Highly figurative and poetic language, as in the vaulted sky. R1812:2,3
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| 7 As sons of Cushim are ye not to Me O sons of Israel an affirmation of Jehovah. Israel did I not bring up out of the land of Egypt And the Philistines from Caphtor, and Aram from Kir |
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| 8 Lo, the eyes of the Lord Jehovah [are] on the sinful kingdom, And I have destroyed it from off the face of the ground, Only, I destroy not utterly the house of Jacob, An affirmation of Jehovah. |
Will destroy it – As a kingdom. R2357:5
Not utterly destroy – The people of Israel would be preserved as a separate people from others. R2357:5
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| 9 For lo, I am commanding, And I have shaken among all the nations the house of Israel, As [one] doth shake with a sieve, And there falleth not a grain [to] the earth. |
I will sift – Disperse. R107:2*
The house of Israel – Though scattered throughout the whole earth, they have not lost their identity. R2357:5
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| 10 By sword die do all sinners of My people, Who are saying, 'Not overtake, or go before, For our sakes, doth evil.' |
The evil – The evil the Lord creates and does is the calamities and judgment that he visits upon the ungodly nations in opposition to, and in condemnation of, the evil of sin, which is an abomination in his sight. R1299:6*
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| 11 In that day I raise the tabernacle of David, that is fallen, And I have repaired their breaches, And its ruins I do raise up, And I have built it up as in days of old. |
In that day – In the dawning of the Millennial day. E374
The restitution times, under the terms of the New covenant. R2357:6
This prophecy is about to be fulfilled. R3425:4
Quoted by the Apostle James in Acts 15:16,17. R3425:4, R2357:6, R2124:3
Will I raise up – Permanently. C257
The rebuilding of the tabernacle of David, which fell after Jesus left their house desolate, takes place at the second advent. R107:2*
The tabernacle – The house, royalty, or dominion. A81; C257
The standard. R2357:6
Of David – Of David's posterity, The Christ. C257
The throne of David was over all the tribes, and here represents the throne of the greater David--the Beloved Son of God--to be established after the taking out of a people for his name. (Acts. 15:14) R2124:3
Raise up his ruins – The ruins of fleshly Israel. B86; R3425:4
And I will build it – "And so all Israel shall be saved." (Rom. 11:26) B217
After the establishment of Messiah's Kingdom. R5817:5
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| 12 So that they possess the remnant of Edom, And all the nations on whom My name is called, An affirmation of Jehovah doer of this. |
That they may possess – Called to be members of the Body of Christ, the great Mediator, that through them the "residue of men might seek after the Lord." (Acts 15:17) R4512:2
To be no longer a house of servants under Moses, but the house of sons, under Jesus. R5817:5
The remnant of Edom – Christendom. D15
All the heathen – "All the Gentiles." (Acts 15:13-18) HG336:4
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| 13 Lo, days are coming an affirmation of Jehovah, And come nigh hath the ploughman to the reaper, And the treader of grapes to the scatterer of seed, And the mountains have dropt juice, And all the hills do melt. |
The plowman – The great time of trouble that will prepare the world for the Millennial seed-sowing. C216; R1162:1, R5761:2; Q74:2
In the time of trouble the Lord will run the plowshare of truth in every direction throughout the world. R2627:5
In the Jewish Harvest Jesus was the plowman and the reaper. A double work was being accomplished--reaping the Jewish people and preparing for a new dispensation. Q74:2
Shall overtake – Shall follow close after. R2627:5
The time of trouble will overtake the reaping work and bring it to a close. R5761:2
The Harvest will hardly have accomplished its intention of gathering the Church and Great Company until the plowman of trouble will be running his furrows through the world. Q74:2
The plowman will keep on plowing after all our reaping efforts have ended. R5761:2[R5761:13 (Sep. 1915)]
The plowman is already beginning, and he is overtaking the reapers. Q74:2, R1162:1[R1161:18]
So accurately timed is every feature of the divine plan that part fits to part, and work to work, closely. SM187:2
The reaper – The Lord. R5761:2
Gathering God's elect. R1162:4
Began with the presence of the Lord of the Harvest, 1874 AD. R1161:6
Treader of grapes – The forces engaged in the final combat. R1162:4[R1162:2]
Drop sweet wine – Referring to the blessed reinvigorating influence of the Lord's Kingdom. R1162:4
Hills shall melt – The mountain (Kingdom) of the Lord's house shall be exalted above the melting hills (kingdoms) of the old dominion. R1162:4
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| 14 And I have turned back [to] the captivity of My people Israel, And they have built desolate cities, and inhabited, And have planted vineyards, and drunk their wine, And made gardens, and eaten their fruit. |
I will bring again – After spiritual Israel has been developed (verses 11 & 12) favor shall return to natural Israel. R2357:6, R2358:1, R5817:5
My people of Israel – A scattered, homeless, desolate and persecuted people, they are still a distinct and homogeneous people. C245
The waste cities – In which they formerly lived. C245
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| 15 And I have planted them on their own ground, And they are not plucked up any more from off their own ground, That I have given to them, said Jehovah thy God! |
I will plant them – Not yet fulfilled in the return of the Jews to Palestine. Referred to by James in Acts 15:16 "I will build again the tabernacle of David." R2124:3
From 1878 AD onward. C259, C258
Their land – The land that God says he had given them, the land that he promised to Abraham. (Gen. 13:14-17; Gen. 17:8) C245
No more be pulled up – This could not refer to the return from the captivity in literal Babylon, since after that return they were again pulled down and plucked up. C259
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