(21) Who hath begotten me these . . .?--Better, who hath borne . . .? The widowed daughter of Zion cannot believe that these crowding children are her own, and asks, Who then is their mother? She, the widowed one, the prisoner, dragged hither and thither, could not claim them.

Verse 21. - Who hath begotten me these? The Jewish Church is astounded at the influx of the Gentiles, and asks, "Where did they come from? Who has made them my children? Who has trained them?" That they are not her natural children she is sure, since she knows that she has been for a long time "bereaved and unfruitful" (Cheyne) - a captive, and a "wanderer" (Kay). It is certain that the Jewish Church did not at first altogether welcome the incoming of the Gentiles (Acts 11:1-3; Acts 15:1-11; Galatians 2:11-14, etc.). But the guidance of the Holy Spirit surmounted the difficulty (Acts 15:28).

49:18-23 Zion is addressed as an afflicted widow, bereaved of her children. Numbers flock to her, and she is assured that they come to be a comfort to her. There are times when the church is desolate and few in number; yet its desolations shall not last for ever, and God will repair them. God can raise up friends for returning Israelites, even among Gentiles. They shall bring their children, and make them thy children. Let all deal tenderly and carefully with young converts and beginners in religion. Princes shall protect the church. It shall appear that God is the sovereign Lord of all. And those who in the exercise of faith, hope, and patience, wait on God for the fulfilment of his promises, shall never be confounded.Then shalt thou say in thine heart,.... In, a way of admiration, secretly within herself, astonished at the numerous crowds flocking in;

who hath begotten me these? not their natural parents, nor they themselves;

for they are not born of blood, nor of the will of man, nor of the will of the flesh; nor ministers of the Gospel, though they are instruments, yet not the cause; but God only, Father, Son, and Spirit, to whom regeneration is only ascribed: regeneration is a wonderful work of God; it is unaccountable to the natural man; it is amazing to the saints themselves; and it is matter of astonishment to the church of God; especially when on a sudden, and without means, and in great numbers, men are born again; and particularly when these come from among the Gentiles, which seems to be the case here:

seeing I have lost my children; by captivity and the sword, by the tyranny and cruelty of the man of sin:

and am desolate; or alone, as if without a husband, or any to take care of her: this represents the church in the wilderness, during the reign of antichrist, Revelation 12:14, while she seems to be forsaken of the Lord her husband, though she is not:

and a captive; to the Romish antichrist; see Revelation 13:10,

and removing to and fro; being forced to flee from place to place, by reason of persecution: there is, no doubt, an allusion in all this to the case of the Jews in the Babylonish captivity:

and who hath brought up these? the same that begot them, even the Lord himself; who nourishes and brings up his children with the milk of the Gospel, and the breasts of Gospel ordinances; so that they are brought up from children to young men, from young men to fathers, till they become perfect men; even the church in the wilderness, with her children, are nourished by him, for a time, and times, and half a time, Revelation 12:14 which is wonderful:

behold, I was left alone; seemingly without husband or children, in a desolate and wilderness state:

these, where had they been? in the ruins of Adam's fall; in a state of darkness; in the graves of sin; in a pit wherein is no water; in the hands of Satan, and among wicked men; even in Babylon itself, but now called out; see Revelation 18:4.