Isaiah 1:20

But if ye refuse and rebel,.... The Targum is, "and do not receive my Word"; the Messiah, when come, neither his person, nor his doctrines and ordinances: ye shall be devoured with the sword; of the Roman armies, as they were under Titus Vespasian; see Mat 22:7. for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it; now, by Isaiah, as well as in former times, Lev 26:25.

Ye shall be devoured with the sword “Ye shall be food for the sword” - The Septuagint and Vulgate read תאכלכם tochalchem, “the sword shall devour you;” which is of much more easy construction than the present reading of the text. The Chaldee seems to read בחרב אויב תאכלו bechereb oyeb teachelu, “ye shall be consumed by the sword of the enemy.” The Syriac also reads בחרב beehereb and renders the verb passively. And the rhythmus seems to require this addition. - Dr. Jubb.

WHAT Isaiah said was therefore spoken by Jehovah. It was audibly the utterance of a man. But, really, it was the utterance of the Lord Himself. The lips which delivered the words were those of Isaiah but yet it was the very Truth of God that, "The mouth of the Lord has spoken it." All Scripture, being inspired of the Spirit, is spoken by the mouth of God. How ever this sacred Book may be treated nowadays, it was not treated contemptuously, nor negligently, nor questioningly by the Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and Lord.

WHAT Isaiah said was therefore spoken by Jehovah. It was audibly the utterance of a man. But, really, it was the utterance of the Lord Himself. The lips which delivered the words were those of Isaiah but yet it was the very Truth of God that, "The mouth of the Lord has spoken it." All Scripture, being inspired of the Spirit, is spoken by the mouth of God. How ever this sacred Book may be treated nowadays, it was not treated contemptuously, nor negligently, nor questioningly by the Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and Lord. It is noteworthy how He reverenced the written Word. The Spirit of God rested upon Him personally, without measure and He could speak out of His own mind the Revelation of God and yet He continually quoted the Law and the Prophets and the Psalms. And always He treated the Sacred Writings with intense reverence, strongly in contrast with the irreverence of "modern thought." I am sure, Brethren, we cannot be wrong in imitating the example of our Divine Lord in our reverence for that Scripture which cannot be broken. I say, if He, the Anointed of the Spirit and able to speak Himself as God's mouth, quoted the Sacred Writings and used the holy Book in His teachings, how much more should we. We who have no spirit of prophecy resting upon us and are not able to speak new revelations must come back to the Law and to the Testimony and value every single Word which "The mouth of the Lord has spoken." The like valuation of the Word of the Lord is seen in our Lord's Apostles. They treated the ancient Scriptures as supreme in authority and supported their statements with passages from Holy Writ. The utmost degree of deference and homage is paid to the Old Testament by the writers of the New. We never find an Apostle raising a question about the degree of inspiration in this book or that.

But if ye refuse, ye shall be devoured with the sword - Your enemies shall come in, and lay waste the land. This prediction was fulfilled, in consequence of their continuing to rebel, when the land was desolated by Nebuchadnezzar, and the nation was carried captive to Babylon. It illustrates a general principle of the divine government, that if people persevere in rebelling against God, they shall be destroyed. The word devour is applied to the sword, as if it were insatiable for destruction. Whatever destroys may be figuratively said to devour; see the notes at Isa 34:5-6; compare Isa 5:24; Lam 2:3; Eze 15:4; Joe 2:3; Rev 11:5 - where fire is said to devour. The mouth of the Lord - Yahweh Himself. This had been spoken by the mouth of the Lord, and recorded, Lev 26:33: And I will scatter you among the heathen, And will draw out a sword after you; And your land shall be desolate And your cities waste. On these points God proposed to reason; or rather, perhaps, these principles are regarded as reasonable, or as commending themselves to men. They are the great principles of the divine administration, that if people obey God they shall prosper; if not, they shall be punished. They commend themselves to people as just and true; and they are seen and illustrated every where.