17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem 'The throne of Yahweh;' and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of Yahweh, to Jerusalem. Neither shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
We now understand more clearly what I have already said, -- that the Prophet promises here that there would be concord between the ten tribes and the kingdom of Judah, when both returned from exile; as though he had said, that their condition would be better than it ever had been; for the seed of Abraham had been torn as it were asunder; and the people whom God intended that they should continue in a holy union had become divided in the most shameful manner. We indeed know that there had been inveterate hatred between the Jews and the Israelites. As then there had been such disgraceful division for a long time between the children of Abraham, the Prophet now shews what would be the fruit of exile; for after having been for a time chastised by the Lord, they would return to their own country, not to entertain the same emulation as had existed, but to unite together in calling on God, in order that the Jews might be as brethren to the Israelites, and the Israelites might cultivate mutual concord with the tribe of Judah.
The throne of the Lord - Yahweh's throne shall not be the ark, but Jerusalem, i. e., the Christian Church Revelation 21:2; Galatians 4:26.
To Jerusalem - The Septuagint and Syriac are probably right in omitting this word.
Imagination - Stubbornness (margin). A word always used in a bad sense, for "obstinacy."
They shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord - The new Jerusalem, the universal Church of Christ, shall be God's throne: and wherever he is acknowledged as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, there God sits on his throne, and holds his court.
At that time they shall call Jerusalem (r) the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
(r) Meaning, the Church, where the Lord will be present to the world's end, (Matthew 28:20).
At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord,.... That is, the Gospel church, the heavenly Jerusalem, the Jerusalem above, that is free, and the mother of us all; which is Christ's kingdom, where he has his throne and subjects, and where he sits and reigns as King of saints; and where they yield a cheerful and ready subjection to him, signified by calling the church his throne:
and all the nations shall be gathered unto it: which shows that Jerusalem, literally understood, cannot be meant, but the church of Christ; to which the Gentiles, being converted, should join themselves in great numbers in all nations, as they have done; and which will be more largely accomplished and verified in the latter day, Isaiah 2:2.
to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem; to name his name, to trust in his name, to call upon it, and to worship him in Jerusalem, in his church, and among his people; and so the Targum,
"and all nations shall give themselves to worship in it the name of the Lord, in Jerusalem:''
neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart; for the Gospel being preached to all nations, according to Christ's commission, by the pastors he promises, and that being blessed to the turning of the Gentiles from their idols to serve the living God, they shall no more worship the gods they chose for themselves, and their evil hearts devised.
Jerusalem--the whole city, not merely the temple. As it has been the center of the Hebrew theocracy, so it shall be the point of attraction to the whole earth (Isaiah 2:2-4; Zac 2:10-11; Zac 14:16-21).
throne of . . . Lord--The Shekinah, the symbol of God's peculiar nearness to Israel (Deuteronomy 4:7) shall be surpassed by the antitype, God's own throne in Jerusalem (Psalm 2:6, Psalm 2:8; Ezekiel 34:23-24; Zac 2:5).
imagination--rather, as Margin, "the obstinacy" or stubbornness.
The throne - Instead of the ark, the church typified by Jerusalem, shall be the place of God's residence, where by his spirit he will rule and act in his word and ordinances. Jerusalem - Dwelling in Jerusalem, or where the Lord placed his name, of old in Jerusalem, but now in the church. Neither - Both Jews and Gentiles shall now conform themselves to the will of God.
*More commentary available at chapter level.