“The ironsmith fashions it.
He works it over the coals.
He shapes it with hammers.
He forges it with his strong arm.
He becomes hungry.
His strength fails.
He drinks no water.
He is faint.”
Second Isaiah calls out the ironsmith for special attention. He has to work hard to produce this idol. He uses coal, hammers, and a strong arm. However, this blacksmith gets hungry and thirsty, so that his strength fails and he faints.
“The coastlands have seen this.
They are afraid.
The ends of the earth tremble.
They have drawn near.
They come.
Each one helps the other.
They say to one another.
‘Take courage!’
The artisan encourages the goldsmith.
The one who evens the surface
With the hammer
Encourages the one
Who strikes the anvil.
He says of the soldering.
‘It is good.’
They fasten it with nails
So that it cannot be moved.”
The people on the Mediterranean coastline are afraid since all over the earth the land is trembling. They are getting together to help each other. They try to encourage each other, especially in their occupations. The artisan and the goldsmith get together. Those who work with metals try to work together with those who use hammers and anvils. Those that solder and nail work together also. They want to make sure that things stay the same.
“Your foes have roared
Within your holy place.
They set up their emblems there.
At the upper entrance
They hacked the wooden trellis with axes.
Then they smashed all its carved work
With hatchets and hammers.
They set your sanctuary on fire.
They desecrated the dwelling place of your name.
They said to themselves.
‘We will utterly subdue them.’
They burned
All the meeting places of God
In the land.”
Asaph then presented a detailed description of the destruction that took place. The enemies of God roared in God’s holy place. They set up their own emblems within the Temple. At the entrance to the Temple they hacked down the wooden trellis with axes. They smashed all the carved works with hatchets and hammers. Then they set the sanctuary on fire. They manually smashed and hacked away until they set it ablaze. They said to themselves that they had subdued the Israelites because they had burned their Temple and all the other meeting places of God. This might be later since originally there was only one Temple.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 