Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 2:3

"And many peoples shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem." — Isaiah 2:3 (ASV)

And many people shall go - This denotes a prevalent "desire" to turn to the true God and embrace the true religion. It is remarkable that it speaks of an inclination among them to "seek" God, as if they were convinced of the folly and danger of their ways and felt the necessity of obtaining a better religion. In many cases, this has occurred. Thus, in modern times, the people of the Sandwich Islands threw away their gods and remained without any religion, as if waiting for the message of life. Thus, too, the pagan infrequently come from a considerable distance to missionary stations to be instructed and to receive the Bible and tracts.

Perhaps this will largely be the way in which Christianity is to be spread. God, who has all power over human hearts, may excite the pagan to anxious inquiry, may show them the folly of their religion, and may lead them to this "preparation" to embrace the gospel, and this disposition to "go" and seek it. He has access to all people.

By a secret influence on the understanding, the heart, and the conscience of the pagan, He can convince them of the folly of idolatry and its vices. He can soften their prejudices in favor of their long-established systems, can break down the barriers between them and Christians, and can dispose them to receive with joy the messengers of salvation. He can raise up, among the pagan themselves, reformers who will show them the folly of their systems.

It cannot be doubted that the universal triumph of the gospel will be preceded by such a remarkable preparation among the nations—by a secret, silent, but most mighty influence from God on the pagan generally, that will loosen their hold on idolatry and dispose them to welcome the gospel. And the probability that this state of things exists already, and will increasingly, should be an inducement to Christians to make more vigorous efforts to send everywhere the light of life.

He will teach us of his ways - He will teach us His will and the doctrines of the true religion.

For out of Zion - These are the words of the "prophet," not of the people. The prophet declares that the law would go from Zion; that is, Zion would be the center from which it would be spread (see the note at Isaiah 1:8).

Zion here represents Jerusalem and means that the message of mercy to mankind would be spread "from" Jerusalem. Hence, the Messiah commanded His disciples to tarry in Jerusalem until they should be endued with power from on high (Luke 24:49). Hence, also, He said that repentance and remission of sins should be preached among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem—perhaps referring to this very passage in Isaiah (Luke 24:47).

The law - This term here signifies the doctrines of the true religion in general. The law or will of God, under the reign of the Messiah, would proceed from Zion.

The word of the Lord - The message of His mercy to mankind; that which He has "spoken" concerning the salvation of men. The truth taught here is "that Zion or the church is the source of religious truth and the center of religious influence in the world." This is true in the following respects:

1. Zion was the source of religious truth to the ancient world. Knowledge was gained by travel. Indeed, it can be demonstrated with considerable clarity, much like many facts of ancient history, that a significant part of the knowledge about God in ancient Greece was obtained through contact with the sages of distant lands. The truths held in Zion or Jerusalem thus radiated from land to land and from mind to mind.

2. The church is now the center of religious truth to the world around it.

   • The world, by its philosophy, never originates a system of religion worth retaining that conveys any just view of God or the way of salvation.

   • The most crude, unsettled, contradictory, and vague opinions on religion prevail in this community called "the world."

   • If "in" this community there are any opinions that are true and valuable, they can in most instances be traced to "the church." They are due to the influence of the pulpit, to early training in the Bible, to early teaching in the Sabbath school, to the instructions of a pious parent, or to the "general" influence that Christianity exerts on the community.

3. The church holds the power of "reformation" in her hands; every moral cause advances or regresses as she engages in the work or withdraws from it.

4. The pagan world is dependent on the church for the knowledge of the true religion. There are "no" systems of truth that spring up on pagan soil. There is no elastic energy in a pagan mind. There is no recuperative power to bring it back to God. There is no "advance" made toward the truth in any pagan community. There is no wellspring of life to purify the soul. The effect of time is only to deepen the darkness and to drive them further from God. They only worship mere shapeless blocks; they bow down before worse-looking idols; they enter less elegant and more polluted temples.

   The idols of the pagan are not constructed with half the skill and taste shown two thousand years ago, nor are their temples built with such exquisite art. No idol of the pagan world now can compare with the statue of Minerva at Athens; no temple can be likened to the Parthenon; no sentiment of paganism in China, India, or Africa can be compared with the views of the sages of Greece.

   The pagan world is becoming worse and worse, and if it is ever to be brought to better views, it must be by a "foreign" influence. That influence will not go forth from philosophy or science, but "from the church."

   If light is ever to spread, it is to go forth from Zion. The world is dependent on "the church" for any just knowledge of God and of the way to life. The law is to go forth from Zion; and the question whether the millions of the human family are to be taught the way to heaven is just a question of whether the church can be roused to diffuse abroad the light that has arisen on her.