Isaiah 1:29

“For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, &c.] Though there is a change of persons in the words, the same are intended; and design such, who being convinced of the idolatries of the church of Rome they have been fond of, and delighted in, will be ashamed of them, and relinquish them, and come out of Babylon a little before the destruction of it; for under oaks, and such like green trees, idolatry used to be committed, to which the allusion is; (see <240220>Jeremiah 2:20 3:6) and so the Targum interprets it of “trees of idols”; that is, under which idolatry was practised: and ye shall be confounded for the gardens ye have chosen; where also idolatrous practices were used,…”

“ashamed-- (Rom 6:21). oaks--Others translate the "terebinth" or "turpentine tree." Groves were dedicated to idols. Our Druids took their name from the Greek for "oaks." A sacred tree is often found in Assyrian sculpture; symbol of the starry hosts, Saba. gardens--planted enclosures for idolatry; the counterpart of the garden of Eden.”

“For they shall be ashamed - That is, when they see the punishment that their idolatry has brought upon them, they shall be ashamed of the folly and degradation of their worship. Moreover, the gods in which they trusted shall yield them no protection, and shall leave them to the disgrace and confusion of being forsaken and abandoned. Of the oaks - Groves, in ancient times, were the favorite places of idolatrous worship. In the city of Rome, there were thirty-two groves consecrated to the gods. Those were commonly selected which were on hills, or high places; and they were usually furnished with temples, altars, and all the implements of idolatrous worship. Different kinds of groves were…”

“The oaks - Which, after the manner of the Heathen, you have consecrated to idolatrous uses. Gardens - In which, as well is in the groves, they committed idolatry. Isaiah 1:31”

“1:29-30 The rebels (1:28), who practiced idolatry in groves of sacred oaks and in gardens dedicated to idols, would become like drought-stricken oaks and gardens. They would lack the nourishing vitality of the true God’s presence. Those who followed the Canaanite fertility religion of Baal treated gardens and trees as sacred, believing that they brought blessings. Instead, they brought spiritual death.”

“ashamed: Isa 30:22, Isa 31:7, Isa 45:16; Eze 16:63, Eze 36:31; Hos 14:3, Hos 14:8; Rom 6:21 the oaks: Isa 57:5 \*marg. Eze 6:13; Hos 4:13 the gardens: Isa 65:3, Isa 66:17; Jer 2:20, Jer 3:6 Isaiah 1:30”

“Isa 1:29 declares how God's judgment of destruction would fall upon all of these. The v. is introduced with an explanatory "for" (Chi): "For they become ashamed of the terebinths, in which ye had your delight; and ye must blush for the gardens, in which ye took pleasure." The terebinths and gardens (the second word with the article, as in Hab 3:8, first binharim, then banneharim) are not referred to as objects of luxury, as Hitzig and Drechsler assume, but as unlawful places of worship and objects of worship (see Deu 16:21). They are both of them frequently mentioned by the prophets in this sense ( Isa 57:5; Isa 65:3; Isa 66:17): Châmor and bâchar are also the words commonly applied to an…”