Israel’s Coming Age:
It’s Commander & Its Characteristic

Pastor Bill Farrow

Isaiah 2:4

4   He shall judge between the nations,
And rebuke many people;
They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore. 

And he shall judge - Or he shall exercise the office of a judge, or umpire. This “literally” refers to the God of Jacob (Isa. 2:3), though it is clear that the meaning is, that he will do it by the Messiah, or under his reign. One office of a judge is to decide controversies; to put an end to litigations, and thus to promote peace. The connection shows that this is the meaning here. Nations that are contending shall be brought to peace by the influence of the reign of the Messiah, and shall beat their swords into plowshares. In other words, the influence of the reign of the Messiah shall put a period to wars, and reduce contending nations to peace.  the chief controversy that shall be settled is the controversy they have with the Father concerning their sins.  Christ shall act as judge over their relationship with Him – over the basis upon they claim that rightness exists.  He will determine if that rightness is valid and adequately based or not.  If it is rooted in the finished work of Christ – then it will stand.  If it is rooted in the human righteousness that men invariably want to put forth, then it will not stand.  God shall be the judge, and no human, variable standard.

And shall rebuke – One writer translates this: “Shall “reprove” them for their contentions and strifes”.  and another: “shall work conviction in many peoples.” Yet a third offers: “He shall be a judge of the nations, And an umpire of many kingdoms.”  He shall show them the evil of war with Him; and by reproving them for those wicked passions which cause those (and other) wars, shall promote universal peace. This the gospel everywhere does; and the tendency of it, if obeyed, would be to produce universal peace. In accordance with predictions like these, the Messiah is called the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6); and it is said that of his peace there shall be no end; (Isa. 9:7).  The chief aspect of peace in mind is not human peace, though that logically follows.  The chief kind of peace is the judicial peace that follows after salvation.

And they shall beat … - They shall change the arts of war to those of peace; or they shall abandon the pursuits of war for the mild and useful arts of husbandry; (compare Ps. 46:9; Hos. 2:20). A similar prophecy is found in Zech. 9:10. The following extracts may serve to illustrate this passage: ‘The Syrian plow, which was probably used in all the regions around, is a very simple frame, and commonly so light, that a man of moderate strength might carry it in one hand. One writer states that in Syria it is often nothing else than the branch of a tree, cut below a split, and used without wheels. The plowshare is a piece of iron, broad but not large, which tips the end of the shaft. So much does it resemble the short sword used by the ancient warriors, that it may, with very little trouble, be converted into that deadly weapon; and when the work of destruction is over, reduced again to its former shape, and applied to the purposes of agriculture.’

Their spears - Spears were much used in war. They were made of wood, with a sharpened piece of iron or other metal attached to the end. The pruning-hook, made for cutting the limbs of vines or trees, is, in like manner, a long piece of wood with a crooked knife attached to it. Hence, it was easy to convert the one into the other.

Pruning-hooks - Hooks or long knives for trimming vines. The word here, however, means anything employed in “reaping or mowing,” a sickle, or a scythe, or any instrument to “cut with,” as well as a pruning-hook. These figures, as images of peace, are often used by the prophets. Micah (Mic. 4:4) has added to this description of peace in Isaiah, the following:

But they shall sit
Every man under his vine,
And under his fig-tree;
And none shall make them afraid:
For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.

Joel (Joel 3:10) has reversed the figure, and applied it to war prevailing over peace:

Beat your plowshares into swords;
And your pruning-hooks into spears.