John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 5:26

"And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss for them from the end of the earth; and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly." — Isaiah 5:26 (ASV)

And he will lift up an ensign to the nations. In this and the following verses, he describes the nature of the punishment which the Lord would inflict on His people; namely, that they were about to suffer from the Assyrians a similar, or even a heavier calamity, than that which their brothers, the Israelites, had recently endured. They themselves had indeed suffered many distresses from the Assyrians, although the kingdom of Judah was not yet overturned. Besides, what had happened to the kingdom of Israel might be viewed as a mirror in which they could see God’s wrath and righteous chastisement.

And yet this prediction, although it was accompanied by clear proofs, must undoubtedly have seemed incredible; for at that time they enjoyed peace, and the slightest truce of any kind easily lulled them to sleep. He says, therefore, that this calamity will come to them from distant nations, from which nothing of this kind was expected; and he sounds an alarm as if the enemy were already near.

It is not for the sake of soothing their fear that he uses those words, from afar, and from the end of the earth; but, on the contrary, he speaks in this manner for the express purpose of informing them that they should not judge the anger of God from what meets the eye, for we are accustomed to judge dangers from the outward appearance of things. Now, if the enemies are not so near, or if other circumstances prevent them from causing us immediate trouble, we give ourselves no concern. Thus the people were lulled into a profound sleep, as if there were no danger to be feared.

But Isaiah says that this will not prevent the Lord from erecting a banner and instantly commissioning the Assyrians to slaughter them. The expression is metaphorical; for when a banner is displayed, it is customary for soldiers, at the command of their general, to advance in hostile array and rush into battle.

He will hiss to it. Although a change of number frequently occurs in Scripture, it is on solid grounds that the Prophet, by changing the number, makes many nations into one nation. The meaning is that when it pleases God to assemble various nations and form them into one body, it will not be a confused multitude but will resemble a body that has a visible head that rules and guides. He chose to use the word hiss rather than a word of greater importance, such as sound a trumpet, or anything of that sort; to show that God does not need to sound a trumpet to call the enemies to battle, and that He has no difficulty in inflicting punishment when the time for taking vengeance is fully near, for by a mere nod He can accomplish the whole.

And lo, it will come speedy and swift. This confirms still more what I have already observed: that we should not judge the anger of the Lord from the present appearance of things, for although everything appears to give assurances of peace, yet suddenly war will break out from a direction from which we do not expect it. Even though we think that we are defended on all sides by friends, God will stir up enemies from the farthest corners of the earth, who will break through every obstruction and overtake us with ease, as if the way were plain and smooth. This should be carefully observed, so that we may not allow ourselves to be blinded by vain presumption and foolish confidence.

We should also observe that wars are not started accidentally, or by human arrangement, but by the command of God, as if He assembled the soldiers by the sound of a trumpet. Whether, therefore, we are afflicted by battle, famine, or pestilence, let us know that all this comes from the hand of God, for all things obey Him and follow His direction.

And yet it was not the intention of the Chaldeans to obey God, for they were hurried on by their eagerness to obtain wealth and power, while He has quite another object in view: but God uses their agency for executing His judgments. Hence arises a remarkable and illustrious display of the power of God, which is not limited by the will of men or dependent on their decisions, but leads them, although contrary to their wish or without their knowledge, to obey Him.

And yet it is no excuse for the ungodly that they are drawn contrary to the disposition of their mind and do not willingly serve God, for they aim at nothing else than fraud, cruelty, and violence; and by their cruelty, God punishes the transgressions and crimes of His people.