John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 21:11

"The burden of Dumah. One calleth unto me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?" — Isaiah 21:11 (ASV)

The burden of Dumah. It is evident from Genesis 25:14 that this nation was descended from a son of Ishmael, to whom this name was given, and therefore his descendants are called Dumeans. The cause of their destruction, which is foretold here, cannot be known with certainty, and this prophecy is obscure because of its brevity.

Yet we should always remember what I have previously remarked: that it was fitting for the Jews to be fortified against the dreadful stumbling blocks that were approaching. When so many changes take place, particularly if the world is turned upside down and if there is a rapid succession of events, we are perplexed and doubt whether all things happen at random and by chance, or are regulated by the providence of God.

The Lord therefore shows that it is He who effects this revolution and renews the state of the world, so that we may learn that nothing here is of long duration, and may have our whole heart and our whole aim directed to the reign of Christ, which alone is everlasting.

Since, therefore, these changes were near, it was fitting that the Jews should be forewarned, so that when the event followed, they would call them to mind, contemplate the wisdom of God, and strengthen their faith.

Besides, there is no doubt that the Jews were harassed by various thoughts when they saw the whole world shaken on all sides and desired some way to avoid those storms and tempests, for we always wish to be safe and beyond the reach of danger.

Some might have wished to find new dwellings, so that they might better ensure their own safety; but when storms raged all around, they were reminded to remain at home and to believe that no safer dwelling could anywhere be found than in the company of the godly.

This example should also be a warning to many who separate themselves from the Church through fear of danger and do not consider that a greater danger awaits them outside of it. These thoughts might therefore distress the Jews, for we have seen in the eighth chapter that their minds were restless.

When they were thus tossed about in uncertainty and fleeing to foreign nations, they would naturally lose heart. This, I think, is the chief reason why the destruction of the Dumeans is foretold: namely, that the Jews might seek God with their whole heart and, above all things, commit to His care the safety of the Church.

Let us therefore learn to keep ourselves within the Church, though she is afflicted by various calamities, and let us bear patiently the fatherly chastisements that are inflicted on children, instead of choosing to go astray and thus drink the dregs that choke the wicked (Psalms 75:8; Isaiah 51:17).

What will become of strangers and reprobates, if children are chastised in this way? (1 Peter 4:17–18). Yet it is possible that the chosen people suffered some affliction from the people of God, when their neighbors assailed them on every side.

Out of Seir. Mount Seir, as we learn from the book of Genesis, was a mountain of the Edomites (Genesis 14:6; Genesis 32:3; Genesis 36:8, Genesis 36:9). Under the name of this mountain He includes the whole kingdom. In this place He represents, as in a picture, those things that called for an earnest address.

Watchman, what of the night? It is probable that the Edomites, who asked the question, were not at a great distance from them, and that they were concerned about the danger as one in which they themselves were involved.

He introduces them as inquiring of the watchman, not through curiosity, but for their own advantage, what he had observed in the night, just as when one person has asked a question, a second and a third person follow him, asking the same thing.

This is the meaning of the repetition: that the inquiry is made not by one individual only, but by many people, as commonly happens in cases of doubt and perplexity, when everyone is afraid for themselves and does not believe what is said by others.