John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 8:4

"For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and, My mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried away before the king of Assyria." — Isaiah 8:4 (ASV)

Truly before the child have knowledge to cry. This is an interpretation both of the obscure saying and of the vision that was added to it; for although God did not intend to speak in direct language, it was still proper that obscurity should be removed. I interpret הנער, (hannagnar), the child, to mean not the Prophet’s son, but rather all who would be born soon afterwards. He declares that, before they are grown up, the two kings of Israel and Samaria will be destroyed.

Before the face of the king of Assyria. This means at the disposal, or at the will, of the king of Assyria, perhaps alluding to an ancient custom of carrying the spoils of enemies before the chariot of those who received a public triumph. In the same way, the spoils of Samaria and Damascus will be carried before the king of Assyria.

This makes it even more evident that the Prophet intended nothing other than to foretell the desolation of the kingdom of Israel and of Syria. He does this to comfort the godly and also to hold up to scorn the foolish dread of the wicked king, who could not endure that the Lord should assist him; for he rejected not only the promises but also the sign that was offered.

In consequence of this, the Prophet goes further and further in reproving his wickedness and that of the whole nation. He says, in effect: “You do, indeed, believe nothing, but the Lord will assist his own; and you will quickly see sudden and unexpected changes, by which the Lord will deliver his people.”

Yet these words were spoken not so much to the king as to godly men. From this, we should infer that the servants of God do not always speak so as to be believed by their hearers, for Isaiah here addresses wicked men, in whom he produces no conviction.

Why, then, does he speak to them? To convict them more and more of their unbelief and to reprove them for it; and next, to make the goodness of God more manifest: for who would not have thought that such aggravated wickedness would entirely shut the door against the mercy of God?

And yet the Lord, by His goodness, rises superior to the wickedness of both the king and the people. The Prophet’s object, therefore, is to reprove the ungodly for their rebelliousness and, at the same time, to show that God is always like himself.