Isaiah 50:2

“Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? &c.] The Targum is, “why have I sent my prophets, and they are not converted?” And so Aben Ezra and Kimchi interpret it of the prophets that prophesied unto them, to bring them to repentance: the Lord might be said to come by his prophets, his messengers; but they did not receive them, nor their messages, but despised and rejected them, and therefore were carried captive, (<143615>2 Chronicles 36:15,16), but it is best to understand it of the coming of Christ in the flesh; when there were none that would receive, nor even come to him, but hid their faces from him, nor suffer others to be gathered unto him, or attend his ministry; they would neither…”

“I--Messiah. no man--willing to believe in and obey Me (Isa 52:1, Isa 52:3). The same Divine Person had "come" by His prophets in the Old Testament (appealing to them, but in vain, Jer 7:25-26), who was about to come under the New Testament. hand shortened--the Oriental emblem of weakness, as the long stretched-out hand is of power (Isa 59:1). Notwithstanding your sins, I can still "redeem" you from your bondage and dispersion. dry up . . . sea-- (Exo 14:21). The second exodus shall exceed, while it resembles in wonders, the first (Isa 11:11, Isa 11:15; Isa 51:15). make . . . rivers . . . wilderness--turn the prosperity of Israel's foes into adversity. fish stinketh--the very judgment…”

“Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? - That is, when I came to call you to repentance, why was there no man of the nation to yield obedience? The sense is, that they had not been punished without warning. He had called them to repentance, but no one heard his voice. The Chaldee renders this, ‘Wherefore did I send my prophets, and they did not turn? They prophesied, but they did not attend.’ When I called, was there none to answer? - None obeyed, or regarded my voice. It was not, therefore, by his fault that they had been punished, but it was because they did not listen to the messengers which he had sent unto them. Is my hand shortened at all? - The meaning of this is, that it was not…”

“Wherefore - The general accusation delivered in the last words he now proves by particular instances. When - When I, first by my prophets, came to call them to repentance. No man - That complied with my call. To answer - To come at my call. Is my hand - What is the reason of this contempt? Is it because you think I am either unwilling or unable to save you? A wilderness - As dry and fit for travelling as a wilderness. Isaiah 50:3”

“50:2 Why didn’t anyone answer: The people had not responded to God’s repeated call to trust in him and repent of their sins. They were deaf and stubborn (see 6:9-10; 29:18; 35:5; 42:18-19). • The Lord came and called the people through the prophets (see also 65:1-3). • Is it because I have no power to rescue? God was fully able to rescue Israel and Judah from the Assyrians and Babylonians, but he first had to deal justly with his people’s sinfulness (see 59:1). • speak to the sea and make it dry: This was an allusion to the parting of the Red Sea during the exodus from Egypt (Exod 14:21-22).”

“when I came: Isa 59:16, Isa 65:12, Isa 66:4; Pro 1:24; Jer 5:1, Jer 7:13, Jer 8:6, Jer 35:15; Hos 11:2, Hos 11:7; Joh 1:11, Joh 3:19 Is my: Isa 59:1; Gen 18:14; Num 11:23 have I: Isa 36:20; Ch2 32:15; Dan 3:15, Dan 3:29, Dan 6:20, Dan 6:27 at my: Psa 106:9; Nah 1:4; Mar 4:39 I dry: Isa 42:15, Isa 43:16, Isa 51:10, Isa 63:13; Exo 14:21, Exo 14:29; Jos 3:16; Psa 107:33; Psa 114:3-7 their fish: Exo 7:18, Exo 7:21 Isaiah 50:3”

“The radical sin, however, which has lasted from the time of the captivity down to the present time, is disobedience to the word of God. This sin brought upon Zion and her children the judgment of banishment, and it was this which made it last so long. "Why did I come, and there was no one there? Why did I call, and there was no one who answered? Is my hand too short to redeem? or is there no strength in me to deliver? Behold, through my threatening I dry up the sea; turn streams into a plain: their fish rot, because there is no water, and die for thirst. I clothe the heavens in mourning, and make sackcloth their covering." Jehovah has come, and with what? It follows, from the fact of His…”