John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 32:13

"Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city." — Isaiah 32:13 (ASV)

There shall grow up the brier and the thorn. He confirms the previous verse and explains the cause of barrenness and famine: that the fields, which formerly were rich and fertile, will be uncultivated, desolate, and barren. This was a frightening change of affairs, for we know that that country yielded grain and fruits more plentifully than other countries, not so much by nature as by the blessing of God. For He had said, “I will give you a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8, 17; Exodus 13:5; Exodus 33:3). This was the cause of the abundance and fertility.

On the land of my people. By giving it this name, he meets an objection which they might otherwise have raised: that there was no reason to fear that the land which God had chosen would not produce fruits every year, because, although the kindness of God extends to all mankind, yet He was in a special manner the Father and supporter of that nation. It was therefore incredible that this land, which had been set apart for the children of God, would be covered with “briers and thorns;” and thus the Prophet reproves the Jews more sharply, because they not only made void the blessing of God by their wickedness, but also drew down His wrath, so as to spoil and deface the beauty of the land.

Even on all the houses of joy. The particle כי (ki) signifies even, though some think that it means “for” or “because”— “Because there is joy in their houses.” But that interpretation cannot be admitted, because בתי (bāttē), “houses of,” is in the construct state. This therefore appears to me to be an expansion of what he had just said, and to mean that this desolation will extend not only to the farthest corners of the land but “even in the houses of joy,”—that is, in the splendid and magnificent houses, which formerly were the abodes of the most refined luxury.

When the Prophet said this, he was undoubtedly ridiculed by the people of that age; people certainly did not listen to him amidst those luxuries by which they were blinded. Besides, they grew insolent on account of the promises of God and thought that they would never be in want of anything. Yet all that Isaiah foretold came to pass. From this example let us learn to be moderate in our use of prosperity and to depend on the blessing of God, so as to obey His word with a good conscience.