Chapter 1

In the first verse of this chapter, Isaiah tells us that the visions given to him, and recorded by him, were not given him in a single showing; but were given at different times over a time period covering at least parts of the reigns of four kings. We would not think that the time of their being given would span the entire reigns of all four. For that would encompass about one hundred, thirteen years. Since no one knows Isaiah’s age, this may have been the case; for with the LORD all things are possible. Yet it seems likely that it began in the later years of the reign of Uzziah, and continued into, but not necessarily through that of Hezekiah. Jotham reigned sixteen years, and Ahaz reigned sixteen years. So, without question, these visions were given over a period of more than thirty-two years.

(Verse 2) Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me.

Isaiah’s first call is to both the heavens and the earth, including all that dwell in both. They are called to hear and consider, because the message is that spoken by the LORD, and is therefore worthy of consideration by all created beings and things. The LORD’S declaration is, “I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me.” This message itself shows that, although God did not create man and give him complete freedom to do as he pleases, He does give him some autonomy and, within certain parameters, freedom to choose a course of action, Though He will call man to account for all of his actions. In this situation His reference is to Judah and Jerusalem though it also includes the whole nation of Israel, the nation which He chose, delivered from the Egyptian bondage, and nourished, not only through the long journey to the Promised Land, but even up to the time of this declaration. Remember that He made choice of Israel before Israel even existed except, as the Apostle Paul tells us, “in the loins of Abraham.” For it was Abraham whom He chose, and to whom He made the promises. This is all set forth in chapters twelve through forty-five of Genesis. The remainder of Genesis tells of the Israelites in Egypt until the death of Joseph. Through the next four books of the Bible we are shown God’s wonderful works in delivering Israel from the Egyptian bondage, leading, protecting, and nourishing them through their wilderness journey, and bringing them to the land He had promised Abraham and his seed after him. A continued study of God’s word will show how by His great power He “nourished and raised up” these children, and developed them into a great kingdom in the days of David and Solomon. Then comes the sad story of their rebelling against Him, and deteriorating to the level they had reached in Isaiah’s time. Of course, they continued their rebellious ways until they reached the point at which they are today. But let us not sit back and point the finger of condemnation and scorn at them. For we have followed, and are following the same path.

Before there was a nation known as “The United States of America,” a few people from England and other locations in Europe, driven by a desire for freedom to worship God according to His word, came forth, and established settlements along the eastern shores of this, to them, “new world.” No one would argue that every one of them came for the purpose of worshipping God any more than that every individual among the Israelites was a sincere worshipper of Jehovah. The seeds of rebellion will always be found among any group of people until our Lord returns and takes away all sin. Nevertheless, a true desire to worship God was the motivation of many of them. And in spite of the many hardships they suffered, the LORD blessed them to find freedom to serve Him. When one studies the rise of this nation from the few little settlements established on the eastern coast of this continent to the world power it was at the end of World War II, he can not fail to see the hand of God at work in the matter, just as it was in the rise of Israel from the Egyptian bondage to the great glory of Solomon’s reign. True enough, Israel suffered many reverses during the time of her rise, and all of them because of her disobedience. The same thing can truly be said of the experience of our nation. From the time of Solomon until the Diaspora, Israel was on the decline, with only a few times of respite, when God would deliver them from the bondage of their enemies. Some will say that our nation is still the greatest and richest nation in the world. Yet it takes only a glance to see that the wealth of this nation is built upon credit. Only a foundation of sand! Our trade deficit with other nations runs into many billions of dollars. It is also costing us an untold amount to try to police the world. And, by our doing that, we are losing whatever respect other nations have had for us. We are trying to force our ideas upon all other nations, while at the same time, we either cannot, or will not, enforce our own laws at home. The worst part of the whole scenario is that, as a people, we have become morally bankrupt. We hypocritically try to destroy the people of other nations who are producing drugs for sale to our people who demand them, while we make no headway toward lowering the demand for drugs. If we would shut off the demand, the supply would dry up for lack of profit. Throughout our nation, and even in some of what are called “Christian” Churches, great effort is being made to make homosexuality acceptable, and even so called “same sex marriages” are by some considered honorable. All who have ever read the Bible know that God long ago condemned such. Murder, theft, rape, incest, violence of every kind, and all other evils are running rampant throughout the country. Comparatively few parents know, or apparently, even care, where their teen-age children are, or what they are doing, until some tragedy occurs. Then the cry is, “I do not know how my child could be involved in such a thing. He, or she, never had anything to do with such.” For those whose children have already reached this point, it is a bitter thing to realize, but the only thing you can do for them now is to pray that God will turn them back to the way you neglected to teach them in the first place. Without His intervention it is too late for your teaching. But to those whose children are still in their arms, now is the time to begin teaching them the truth in love, and showing them by your actions that you believe what you teach. Many years ago, when my children were small, an old black man made a statement to me that I pass on for your consideration. “While they are little like that, they get on your nerves. But when they get older is when they get on your heart.” If there is to be any worthwhile future for our nation, it is in our children. They must have the truth taught to them. And the teaching must begin early in life, and continue all the way. Remember that, to teach the truth effectively, it must be reinforced by example. The LORD said of Israel , “I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me.” Surely, the same thing can be said about The United States of America.

(Verse 3) The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, My people doth not consider.

Most farmers we know today do not have a beast of burden on their place, such as an ox, an ass, a mule, or a horse. They use tractors for their farming operations. If they have horses or mules, they are mostly for show. But when I was a child, we used mules and horses to pull our wagons, plows, and other farm implements. And even today, in some parts of the world, people still use oxen or donkeys to do their plowing and hauling. No doubt these animals get tired of working all the time, and would like very much to go wherever and whenever they please. Yet I have never seen one of them that did not recognize his master, or one that did not know where his master’s crib was, especially at feeding time. I have worked with some mules and horses that were a little contrary about doing what I wanted them to do, but never one that didn’t know where to find his feed trough at mealtime. The LORD says that these “dumb animals” are wiser than Israel . They know their owner and his crib; “but Israel doth not know, My people doth not consider.” Even though God is their owner, not only because He created them, but also because He redeemed them from Egypt’s bondage, led them to Canaan, fed and protected them all the way, and built them into a great kingdom. Yet they do not know Him, nor do they consider that He is the source of every good thing they have ever had, and that had He not fed and protected them, they would long before have perished in the wilderness, or even back in Egypt . Such is the LORD’S appraisal of Israel .

And does this not also describe our nation, and what is worse, many who claim to be Christians, but are so caught up in an effort to be “politically correct” that they do not know which way to turn? It is high time that we all take stock of the situation, and consider the proposition Elijah set before Israel , in I Kings 18:21. “And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, ‘How long halt ye between two opinions? If the LORD be God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him.’” Inasmuch as it is altogether by the grace and power of God that our nation arose to the position it held before the start of the decline, we are in dire need of a return to His principles for the governing of our nation. How much more should we, who believe that it is only by His grace and mercy, given us in His Son, Jesus, that we are redeemed from our sins, repent of all our faults, failures, and sins, turn back to Him, and honor Him as God! There is no other hope for either our nation, or for us as individuals.

(Verse 4) Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

This is a terrible indictment against the nation God had chosen, nourished, and brought up. The whole nation is sinful. The people are loaded down with iniquity, and are the seed, or descendants, of evildoers. This evil did not just start with the present generation, but with generations before, so that it is of long standing. They are children that not only are corrupt, but even worse, they are corrupters. They corrupt everything they attempt to do. They have completely forsaken the LORD, and in so doing they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger.. The LORD has declared Himself a God of mercy, and slow to anger. But the evils of the people have gone on so long that He is finally provoked to anger. They have not just simply strayed from His teachings, but have “gone away backward.” That is, they have deliberately turned directly against His commandments, as if to try to show Him that they will do as they please, in spite of Him. There is no more dangerous course for a man, or for men, to follow.

We look upon this, and say, “ Israel had committed terrible sins against God. He would surely be justified in bringing them to utter destruction.” But, in all honesty, does not Isaiah’s description of them fit us exactly as it did them? Our government is advocating the murder (abortion) of all unwanted babies. We have thrown truth out the window. Even our president lies to the courts, to congress, and to everyone else, and when he is caught, nothing is done about it. With complete disregard for law and order he hinders lawful investigations, and almost everyone thinks he has the right to do so. In perfect harmony with the last clause of verse 4, some churches are even taking those whom God has long ago condemned, and trying to place them in positions of honor, sometimes even as gospel ministers. This is indeed going “away backward.”

(Verses 5 through 9) Why should ye be stricken anymore? Ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate as overthrown by strangers. And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom , and we should have been like unto Gomorrah .

It is certainly not with any joy that we read this declaration against Israel . Neither is it any pleasure to us to realize just how closely our experience and situation as a people compare to theirs. The LORD says that, further punishment will be counterproductive. Instead of causing repentance, it will only bring on more rebellion against Him. The problem is that the whole head is sick, and the whole heart is faint, or weak. This also certainly fits our nation. Our leaders have so long tried to please everyone except the LORD, that, they are themselves so confused they do not know which way to turn. One outstanding example of this is that, while congress pretends to open its sessions with prayer, it forbids prayer in our schools. So surely the whole head is sick. The churches and spiritual leaders, “the heart,” have become so weak that few, indeed, have the courage to stand forth and declare the word of God, lest they be found to offend someone. Certainly the Lord has instructed us to, as much as possible, live peaceably with all men; but not at the expense of catering to them when they are denying His word. Today almost everyone seems to think that he must be “politically correct,” Had the Apostle Paul done that, “The Acts of The Apostles” would never have been written. Because there would have been nothing done worth writing about. And had Jesus done that, He would not have been crucified, and you and I would still be hell-bound, because there would be no Savior. Our whole nation is as one who has been bruised and wounded all over, and because of neglect, the wounds have become badly infected. There may be a cure for these wounds; and there may not be. There is at present no indication of one. The description given in verse 7 is very graphic. “Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.” Someone will surely say, “That cannot be applied to us. We have not been overthrown by strangers, and our cities are not burned with fire.” One must remember that, since this is only the beginning of Isaiah’s prophecy, and it was given to him over a period of possibly fifty or more years, it did not at this time literally fit Israel either. Yet God speaks of it as if already done, because He had determined it, and no one could change it. It actually comes nearer fitting our nation than it did Israel at that particular time. For the past several years there has been in many places great concern about the Japanese, and other foreign interests buying up much of the prime real estate in our cities. At the same time we are constantly hearing of great fires in our cities, as well as in rural areas also. And many of these fires are the work of arsonists. In many areas the desolation is already great. One can hardly keep track of all the big protests that are being organized against one thing or another. And many of them turn violent. How long can such continue, before breaking forth into open warfare? In verse 8 Isaiah gives a description of “the daughter of Zion ,” which refers not to Israel as a whole, but to the true worshippers of God among them. “And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.” This picture might not be so clear to one who knows nothing about grapevines or cucumber vines. But grapevines that are not kept pruned will grow so fast and so extensively, that they would soon completely cover a cottage, or small house. And a “lodge,” such as he mentions is nothing more than a few bushes cut and leaned against the fence, or against each other to provide a temporary shade in a garden. In a garden of cucumbers that has been neglected, such would soon be so covered by the vines that it would not be recognizable. So both of these metaphors have the same meaning. The LORD’S people are so hidden away as to be completely unnoticed by the passerby. Further, they are always under siege by the enemies of the LORD. In fact, the situation is so bad that, had not God, in His grace and mercy, “left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom , and we should have been like unto Gomorrah .” This description may not fit us perfectly today, but neither did it fit Israel perfectly at the time of Isaiah’s receiving the vision. But look at Israel from the beginning of the Diaspora until now; and you will see that it surely fits in all details. This also can come upon us, if we follow the same path they took. Were it not that God in His mercy left a small remnant of Israel , there would be no Israel today. By His mercy that remnant still survives. Surely then we should take to heart what the Apostle Paul has told us. (Romans 11:17-21) “And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, ‘The branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.’ Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: for if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest He also spare not thee.”

(Verse 10) Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom ; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah .

Here the LORD addresses the rulers and the people of Israel by names not at all complimentary to them. He calls their leaders, “rulers of Sodom ,” and the populace, “people of Gomorrah ,” because of the sinful and rebellious state to which they had fallen. If we but look around, we will find that such an address very adequately describes us as well. So, instead of smugly patting ourselves on the back for our “faithfulness to the LORD,” and pointing the finger of accusation at Israel for her short comings, let us “take our medicine” as this applies to us, and “Hear the word of the LORD” and “Give ear to the law of our God.” The only benefit we can derive from this by applying it to Israel , is as an example of what we can expect if we continue to follow our present course.

(Verses 11 through 15) To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me? Saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or he goats. When ye come to appear before Me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread My courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto Me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hateth: they are a trouble unto Me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide Mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

Of course, we could sit back in our self-righteousness and say, “All of that applies to Israel , because of their sins, and their thinking that they could bring sacrifices to the LORD and make an atonement for their sins and shortcomings. We don’t offer sacrifices today. And we don’t have the special services at the new moons, and do all the ritual things Israel did. So there is no way this could apply to us.” If that is our attitude, we might as well throw away the entire Bible, because we have no love, nor even respect for God. And all our pretending (for that is all it is with such an attitude as that) is worthless. True enough, this was written to a people that practiced a service based upon sacrifices, burnt offerings, blood offerings, and special assemblies. But remember that these were commanded by the law of God. Yet for them to be acceptable to God, they had to be offered in faith; not just ritualistically. We should consider this in the light of how it can apply to us today. First, however, let us look at a conversation between Samuel, the prophet of the LORD, and Saul, the king of Israel , who had just returned from an excursion upon which God had sent him. To fully understand the conversation, it is necessary to consider several verses. (I Samuel 15:17-23) “And Samuel said, ‘When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel , and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel ? And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, “Go and utterly destroy the sinners of the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.” Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?’ And Saul said unto Samuel, ‘Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD thy God in Gilgal.’ And Samuel said, ‘Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? BEHOLD, TO OBEY IS BETTER THAN SACRIFICE, AND TO HEARKEN THAN THE FAT OF RAMS. FOR REBELLION IS AS THE SIN OF WITCHCRAFT, AND STUBBORNNESS IS AS INIQUITY AND IDOLATRY. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, He hath rejected thee from being king.’” As has been pointed out before, we do not attempt to hold to the practice of offering sacrifices to God as did the Israelites. We believe that the Christ has fulfilled that of which those sacrifices were the type. Nevertheless, we do often try to change the word of God from what He literally says to an interpretation that we think is better. How can this be? Do we not believe that He knew what He was saying? Do we think we know better than He what will work in our present situation? Today we usually follow “I believe” more than “Thus saith the LORD.” Just to use what many would consider as one of the least examples of this, and indeed one that most would consider unimportant, consider this. (James 4:13-16) “Go to now, ye that say, today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, ‘If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that’ But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.” The immediate answer to this is, “There is no need to say that. Everyone knows that only the LORD has control of the future.” That is nothing but a “cop out.” The truth is that everyone does not know this, and the real reason many do not say it is that they do not believe it. Another reason is that they think others will think them “strange” if they say such things. They are afraid they will not “conform” to modern fashion. But consider what the Apostle Paul says, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:2) As said before, many consider this as unimportant, even frivolous. But since it is a direct statement, and will cost us so little to do it, why is it so neglected? There are many other things, which we neglect just as badly, and probably for the same reasons. We think the Lord did not mean that we should take His word exactly as He said it, but should interpret it in the light of what He should have meant. That is exactly what Saul thought about the matter. But his changing from the literal message to what he thought ought to be done was rebellion, and is as the sin of witchcraft, even if he did intend to sacrifice the sheep and oxen to the LORD. God had not required sacrifice, but obedience. We seem to think that we can interpret the word of the LORD to suit ourselves, or even to suit someone else, and it will be all right, if we are very liberal in giving to the church, which is about the equivalent of what Saul intended. Make no mistake about it, I am not advocating that we should live in a nice modern house, and attend church in an old, almost rotted down log cabin, or clapboard shack. Certainly, our meeting house should be one of which we would not be ashamed. But some go to an extreme, for nothing but vanity. I once knew of a large church in a fair sized city. This church was planning a new building. Their building committee, on instruction from the church, told the architect, “You are free to design the building as you think proper for its use, with one exception. That is, that we must have the tallest steeple in the city.” This was done, and within a few months after they had completed their building, another church about a block away from them built a new building with a steeple taller than theirs. This, obviously, is going too far. Sometimes churches plan to have some special meeting. No matter how able the ministers are in their locality, they feel that they must invite some minister, who is no better than those who can be found locally, but who lives quite a distance away. Since he comes quite a distance, everyone is expected to dig a little deeper in his pockets to contribute to his expenses. One might think, “Surely, the Lord will be pleased with my sacrifice.” While thinking this, he forgets that just a day or so before, he passed a man on the street, who asked for a “hand-out” that he might get a bite to eat. Instead of contributing to him, he passed on by, thinking, “It is his fault that he is begging. If he would get a job he would not have to beg. I doubt that he is worthy of help. He probably wants the money to buy liquor, or drugs.” Would it not have been more pleasing to God for him to feed the hungry stranger, even if it left him with nothing to give to the big meeting? Our Lord has told us, “Give to him that asketh of thee, and from him that would borrow of thee, turn not away.” (Matthew 5:42) He did not tell us to judge the worthiness of the man. If such a question arises in our mind, it can be settled with one question. “Am I worthy of what my Lord has done for me?” We all know the answer to that question. I certainly have no objection to planning a meeting, preparing for it, and, if necessary, making some sacrifices for it; but not at the expense of disregarding the commandments of our Lord. He has commanded us to give to the poor just as surely as he commanded Saul to utterly destroy the Amalekites and everything they owned. Of course this is not the only thing in which this principle works. There is a multitude of ways in which we are disobedient to our Master. But no amount of sacrifice on our part will exonerate us. He has promised chastisement, and that we shall receive. At the same time, His Apostle John has told us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9) Not only did Saul disobey the commandment of God, but he aggravated the situation by declaring, “Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me.” He was just like so many of us today. He considered the word of the LORD, and decided it needed interpretation instead of literal application. When we do that, all of our sacrifices are in vain. The LORD asks, “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me?” He tells us that He does not want any more of them. Then He asks another question, “When ye come to appear before Me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread My courts?” In short, the message is, “If you are going to change My word to fit what you want to do, don’t come into My courts, because I have not required this at your hand, nor invited you to do it.” He continues, telling us to bring no more such sacrifices, because even our solemn meetings have become a cause of weariness unto Him. So, when we pray, He will hide His eyes, and refuse even to listen to our prayers. “When ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.” Many times I have mentioned some small item of the practice of the church to some brother as not being exactly as the scriptures set it forth. And invariably I get the same answer. “I know that is not exactly as the scriptures set it forth. But we have practiced it so long that I believe it is all right the way we do it.” Does it not seem reasonable that, if God had not purposed it to be done as it is set forth in His word, He would have told us a different way, or said, “Do it any way you see fit?” He did neither. There is only one right way to obey the LORD. That is to do exactly what He says, as He says do it. If we do not do so, our hands are “full of blood.” We have dishonored the blood our Lord has shed for us.

(Verses 16 through 20) Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Even in the sad state of decline to which Israel had fallen, the LORD gave them instructions concerning how they might avoid being destroyed by the chastisement He had purposed because of their disobedience. Everything in these verses was said to Israel , God’s chosen nation. Will it not also apply to His chosen people, whether Israelites, or Gentiles by nature? We believe that it will. In order that we might profit by these instructions, let us consider it applicable to the church of our Lord today. In the previous fifteen verses we have seen a description of our disobedience and the LORD’S disgust with it. He has declared that He can put up with it no more, and therefore He will no longer even hear our prayers. In spite of our evil condition, He commands us, first of all, to wash ourselves, and make ourselves clean. Certainly He is not talking about regeneration. That is done only by the power of God through the Holy Ghost; not by us. This cleansing is something that we must do. He tells us that to do this, we must put away the evil of our doings from before His eyes. Obviously, the only way anything can be put away from before His eyes is to be made to no longer exist. His next words explain how we are to do this. “Cease to do evil; learn to do well.” Someone will immediately cry, “But we can’t cease from doing evil. We sin every day, and will as long as we are in this old body of flesh.” That has been used as an excuse so long that many believe it to be the truth. But listen to the Apostle Paul. “Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find  then a law, that when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” (Romans 7:20-25) As anyone can readily see, the key to this is our delighting in the law of God. If we delight in something, that is what we will strive to do. And while striving to keep the law of God, if we slip and fall short of perfection, as all of us do, we are not in the sight of God considered a sinner, but His child who is striving to do His will, but because of weakness is falling short. Thus we are judged to be serving with our mind the law of God. The “flip side” of this, as the expression is often used, is that if one is doing evil because it is his delight to do evil, he is not covered by this. When God gives us a commandment, He does not leave us without the ability to obey Him. When He says, “Learn to do well,” He does not leave us to wonder how this is to be accomplished. It is noteworthy that, although this was said to Israel at a time when they were by God’s law required to offer sacrifices to Him, there is not a word said about such in this commandment. According to this commandment, to do well is to “seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.” The first thing we are to do is to seek judgment. That is, we are to seek to know what God has judged, concerning every situation we have to face. This is very similar to our Lord’s commandment in Matthew 6:33. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you.” Then He says, “Relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.” The oppressed, the fatherless, and the widow, are three characters of whom our Lord has repeatedly told us to be mindful. We are to do everything we can to comfort and relieve those who are oppressed, and lighten their load. We are to make every effort to see that no one takes advantage of the fatherless, and do everything possible to relieve them. In the time of this writing, it was not at all uncommon for a woman to be left a widow, with no knowledge of her late husband’s business. In such a case, creditors, and sometimes, pretended creditors, would swoop down like vultures, and take away everything her husband may have left her, leaving her at the mercy of the world. As Our Lord once said to the Pharisees and scribes, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.” (Matthew 23:14) To plead for anyone, in the sense of this text, is to take up his cause as if it were one’s own. So thus we are to plead for the widow. Having instructed us as to how we should wash and cleanse ourselves, the LORD now says, “Come now, and let us reason together.” The world would like us to believe that this is said to every man in the world. But the only people addressed so far, are Judah and Israel , the Lord’s chosen people. He does indeed address them once as “ye rulers of Sodom ,” and “ye people of Gomorrah .” But the context shows that the reason for this is that they would have been just like Sodom and Gomorrah , if the LORD had not left them a very small remnant. This whole chapter is written to the LORD’S remnant, which also represents His people even in our day. So now He calls them, and us, to come and reason together. That is, we are to listen to His counsel, which is reasonable. He declares that in doing this, though our sins be scarlet or crimson, they shall be made white as the snow, or as wool. He now sets a proposition before us that is based strictly upon “IF.” Make no mistake. He already knows whether we will follow His counsel, or our own evil ways to which we have become accustomed. Nevertheless He sets before us the choice of obedience or disobedience, with full disclosure of what will be the consequences of each. This is indeed reasoning together. “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured by the sword.” That is, if we are obedient and willing to follow what He has already told us in verses sixteen and seventeen, He will spare us, give us peace, and cause the land to be fruitful unto us. On the other side of the proposition, if we continue on in the evil ways we have adopted, we cannot expect to escape the terrible destruction He has declared. The consequences of either side are not what may take place, as the result of the course we follow, but what WILL take place. “For the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” What He declares is not what may be, but what MUST be. He has indeed given us a choice, but whichever course we choose, He has declared the outcome. And it cannot fail.

(Verses 21 through 24) How is the faithful city become an harlot! It was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers. Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water: thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: everyone loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: They judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them. Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease Me of Mine adversaries, and avenge Me of Mine enemies.

This first declaration is not a question, but an exclamation of horror, that this city, once so faithful, the “wife of the Great Jehovah,” has turned to others instead of her Husband. She is no longer following the law of her Husband, but has turned to others. Remember that, just as Israel is often spoken of as the “wife of Jehovah,” so is the Church “the bride of the Lamb.” Therefore what will fit one can also be applied to the other. In our use of “the church,” we make no reference to any denomination as such, but to all, who claim to be Christians. So, in the church today we find that judgment is no longer based upon the word of God, which is the only true judgment, but upon sociology, political correctness, and extreme tolerance, all of which constitutes total abandonment of the judgment of God, the only true Judge. Every few days another “great minister” will make a public declaration that the Bible is nothing more than a collection of fables, and that all its precepts are completely outdated and no longer beneficial in this “enlightened age.” Surely, “the church” has become a harlot, following after everyone and everything except the One she calls her “Husband.” She is filled with murderers. Those who crucified our Lord only crucified the man, Jesus, while these today are attempting to destroy Him, Who is “both Lord and Christ,” and is now seated in the heavens. Many so called “gospel ministers,” although they will not go so far as to openly declare the Bible false, are teaching doctrines that are directly contrary to what is taught therein. One outstanding example of this is the doctrine of materialism that some are teaching. Throughout The New Testament our Lord and His disciples taught that life in this world is a time of persecution, poverty, and suffering, for those who will follow the Lord. And we are commanded to neither love nor seek material wealth of any sort. Now we have preachers publicly preaching, “I believe that God delights in giving material wealth to His children here in this world.” If this is true, would it not follow that those who serve Him most faithfully would be given more material wealth than those who were less faithful? If so, where was He in the days of the apostles, when they were so ill-treated, as they followed His commands? Certainly, we realize that He can, and sometimes does call men with material wealth into His service, but they are few, and far between. He can give great material wealth to any one of His servants, as He may see fit. But examples of such are extremely scarce in the scriptures. However, now many love gifts and follow after rewards. And they refuse to do what He told us in verse seventeen. Many years ago I heard a man, who was considered as a very able minister, as he was preaching, say, “Our brethren tell us that we ought to serve the Lord because we love Him. But I like to serve Him for the reward.” At that time this was a completely isolated case; no one in the congregation sanctioned that statement. But today, there would be a chorus of “Amen” throughout the congregation. Keep one thing firmly in mind. If we are serving for the reward, we are serving ourselves, not the LORD. Because of all these things the LORD says, “Ah, I will ease Myself of Mine adversaries, and avenge Me of Mine enemies.” Surely a great destruction is purposed. He has told us how to avoid it. But will we do it? This certainly is the lesson for us today, although this whole chapter is a vision “concerning Judah and Jerusalem ,” as Isaiah tells us in the first verse.

(Verses 25 through 27) And I will turn My hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin: and I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counselors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, the city of righteousness, the faithful city. Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.

There are many today, who claim that God has abandoned Israel and Judah , and has replaced them with the gospel church. For such a claim there is no scriptural evidence. Instead, throughout His word, in both the Old and The New Testaments, He has shown both Judah and Israel as types of the gospel church, insofar as His manner of dealing with them is concerned. Therefore, if He does not fulfill His promises to them, we cannot expect Him to fulfill His promises to the church. He here promises that, after He has, to His satisfaction, avenged Himself on His adversaries and enemies, who are leading Israel and Judah astray, He will “turn His hand upon” them. That is, He will turn away from the chastisement He has placed upon them, and purge away all their dross and their tin, the elements that defile them as dross and tin defile silver, and restore their judges and counselors as He established them in the beginning of their being a nation. This He has not yet done. But He has promised; and He will perform. They, not He, desired a king, because they were not satisfied with what He had given them, and they wanted to be as other nations. This is, surely, a prophecy of the restoration of Israel , just as He repeatedly promises through His prophecies. After this is done, and not before, Jerusalem , or Zion , will be called, “The city of righteousness, the faithful city.” As a look at her history will clearly show, this has never yet come to pass. So it must be yet in the future. Because “ Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness. “ This very definitely looks forward to her restoration.

(Verses 28 through 31) And the destruction of the transgressors and the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed. For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens ye have chosen. For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water. And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall burn together, and none shall quench them.

In verse twenty-eight Isaiah tells what shall become of the transgressors, sinners, and those who forsake the LORD, who are among Israel . There have always been those who are “of Israel , but are not Israel ,” just as there are those in the church, who are not Christians. Such among Israel shall be consumed. He then begins a direct address against those who shall be thus destroyed. Idol worshippers were very strong in choosing groves of trees, especially oaks, in which to set up their altars, and maintaining gardens as centers of worship. So they shall be ashamed of, or rather, brought to shame because of, these oaks, and put to confusion because of these gardens. They shall themselves be as dying oaks, and gardens destroyed by drought. Those among them that appear so strong shall be no more than tow, the refuse of flax straw, and “the maker of it,” or those who support them, as a spark. “And they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.” So Judah and Israel shall be not only restored, but purified by the destruction of those among them who cause them to err.

(Verse 1) The word that Isaiah the son of Amos saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem .

Compare this to Chapter 1, verse 1. Although in Chapter 1 he told us the time span in which the visions of this “word,” or prophecy, were given, the address of it is the same as here given. It is concerning Judah and Jerusalem . We did attempt to draw some parallels between them and us today. We believe such to be worthwhile, and we may continue this practice from time to time. At the same time, however, we do insist that the address of the “word” is to Judah and Jerusalem , just as Isaiah has declared it to be.

(Verses 2 through 5) And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem . And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

This excerpt gives us a little foreview of Judah and Jerusalem ; not at the time it was shown to Isaiah, nor even during their captivity, neither yet in the Diaspora. Rather it leaps forward, over all these things to the time described by the prophet Zechariah in Chapter 14 of his prophecy. From Chapter 14, verse 16, through the remainder of that chapter Zechariah gives a description of that time. Today the traditional interpretation of this is to change its address from “ Judah and Jerusalem ” to “The Gospel Church,” which is the same change the Nazis followed, and maintained as one of the fundamental principles for their “Final Solution.” It is also one of the fundamentals of every anti-Semitic group in the world. By making this change, they say that God has forever cast off the Jews, and has made every promise spoken to them no longer applicable to them in a literal manner, but applicable instead, in a spiritual manner to the “gospel church.” Although we certainly recognize that our Lord Jesus was crucified at Jerusalem, and that the gospel was first preached there, and from there spread to other parts of the world, making a wonderful parallel with the statement, “For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem,” verse 4 is by no means yet fulfilled. For evidence of this one only has to look at the “gospel church” of today. By the term, “gospel church,” we do not single out any denomination, but include every assembly made up of people professing to be Christians. Certainly, it is true that Jesus taught total non-violence, even to the point of refusing to defend ourselves when attacked by another, “But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” But more wars have been fought by people who claimed to be Christians, than we can readily count up. Looking back to what is called “The Civil War” of this nation, we find that much of the hatred that produced it was fanned by men who were considered gospel ministers. Many professed Christians have, through the ages, tried to destroy the Jews, only because God had sent upon them judicial blindness so that they could not believe in our Lord Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” A majority of the Germans, at and prior to World War II, were professed Christians. Yet they carried out, as far as they could, Hitler’s “Final Solution” against the Jews. A majority of the European nations involved in that war, together with the United States of America , claimed to be “Christian Nations,” but did they stop learning war? Or have they done so yet? Of course they have not. What is worse, the churches are often squabbling among themselves about one thing or another. Preachers get up in their pulpits, and try to stir up antagonism against other churches and the doctrines they support. No, my friend, we have not, even spiritually, beaten our “swords into plowshares, and our spears into pruning hooks.” Neither have we abandoned the study of war. We need to learn what our Lord told John when he wanted to stop one from casting out devils in the name of the Christ because he did not follow with them. Jesus said, “Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in My name, that can lightly speak evil of Me. For he that is not against us is on our part.” So this prophecy looks to a time yet to come.

This brings us back to the fact that this is not a description of the gospel church, but a picture of what God is going to do for Judah and Jerusalem “in the last days.” As the Apostle Paul says in Romans 11: 26-27, “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, ‘There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: for this is My covenant with them, when I shall take away their sins.’” The apostle knew that, at the time of his writing, God had not taken away their sins, although Jesus had come, had died, and had arisen from the grave. But he also knew that God had declared a day when He would do so. That day, or time, is the one of which Isaiah speaks here. It is the time when all Israel shall be saved. That is, in that day all Israel shall be made to believe in Christ Jesus the Lord. This embraces all Israel of that day. There is nothing retroactive here. Those of Israel , who have died in unbelief, are just as Jesus told them in John 8:24. “For if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins.” In that time “the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains.” Time after time, in the writings of David and the other prophets, they refer to Mt. Zion as the mountain of the LORD, or the holy mountain. Although in physical height it is not the highest mountain, even in Israel , to the Jew, in honor it is the highest mountain in the world, because it is the one chosen of the LORD that His name might be there. For many years it has not received such great honor. But in the time here prophesied it “shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.” Zechariah 14:16 says, “And it shall come to pass that every one that is left of all nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.” Certainly, then shall many people say, “Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths.” Not only so, but then “out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem . And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” The literal fulfillment of this is so wonderful that one can find no excuse for the almost universally taught denial of it that we hear today. To try to take this away from literal Judah and Jerusalem, and apply it to the gospel church, is simply to say that God did not know what He was talking about, and needs man’s wisdom to determine what he did mean. Those who follow such doctrine, evidently do not believe that God is able to do what He says that He will do. I, for one, am fully persuaded that He not only is able to do, but also WILL do, exactly what He has said. Let me exhort you as Isaiah said to the house of Israel , “Come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.” His is the only true light.

(Verses 6 through 9) Therefore Thou hast forsaken Thy people, the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves with the children of strangers. Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots; their land is also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made: and the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.

Having told Judah and Jerusalem what the LORD is going to do for them, and for many nations, “in the last days,” Isaiah describes their present condition. Then he takes up a prophecy of the punishment the LORD is going to bring upon them in the interim for their sins and iniquities. First, he addresses the LORD, and declares that He has forsaken, or left, them because of their sinfulness, which he also describes. The first thing he says is that they are “replenished,” that is, supplied, or influenced, “from the east.” They have received the “Eastern Mysteries” for their doctrine instead of the laws of the LORD. As the result of this, they have become soothsayers and practitioners of magic like the Philistines, who have always been their enemies and the enemies of the LORD. They “please themselves with the children of strangers.” That is, they take wives of, and give their daughters in marriage to, the people of the various tribes of Canaan , which God had forbidden them to do. They have turned from seeking the LORD to the pursuit of worldly wealth, which they have so heaped up that there appears to be no end to it. As if this were not bad enough, they have filled the land with idols. And instead of worshipping the LORD, Who has so long taken care of them, they have turned to the worship of these idols, even the things that they have made with their own hands. This idolatry is practiced by all, both small and great. Since they have so completely turned away from God to idols, Isaiah prays, “Therefore forgive them not.”

Although this was surely concerning Judah and Jerusalem , it seems almost as if the prophet were addressing us today. Let it be understood that I certainly feel that we should try our best to maintain an attractive, well designed, and well kept, building in which to meet for the worship of our God. Yet, when I look at all the great buildings called “churches” throughout our land, with many of them having so much expensive ornamentation that serves no functional purpose except to show how much wealthier are those who attend services here than they who go to the church across the street, or down the road; and I hear the daily reports of the evils that are so prevalent in our modern society, I wonder if the prophet is not describing us today. And with that in mind, I have to repeat what Isaiah said in verse 5. “O _ _ _ come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.” We certainly had better wake up, and take stock of where we are and where we are heading. Although Isaiah asks that, with such prevailing conditions there be no forgiveness, we yet desire forgiveness, and pray to the LORD that He will forgive us, and turn us back to His ways.

(Verses 10 through 18) Enter ye into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for the fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: and upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon the oaks of Bashan, and upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, and upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures. And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols He shall utterly abolish.

Since there is coming such a day of the wrath and vengeance of God, let all that fear Him hide themselves. “Enter into the rock, and hide yourselves in the dust, for fear of Him, and for the glory of His majesty.” Certainly, the LORD Himself is the Rock of refuge for all that fear Him. So it is to Him that all must go for protection, just as it was for Judah and Jerusalem . Some of our brethren might want to criticize our saying that this warning should also be given to the wicked. But review again Exodus 9:19-20. Although the Israelites were the ones to whom God sent the warning of the great plague of the hail, there were also some of the servants of Pharaoh who feared the LORD enough that they, hearing this warning, brought in their cattle and servants from the field to a place of protection, and so were spared the damage brought upon most of the Egyptians. So it may also have been in Isaiah’s day; and so it might be in our day. When the great “day of the LORD” comes to bring down all those who are haughty and exalted in their own minds, it is time to enter into the rock, and humble ourselves down even into the dust, that we might hide therein. And since that day can so easily come without any prior notification, we who fear the LORD should always strive to keep ourselves thus humbled , and protected in the Rock. That, we can do only by following Micah’s instruction in Micah 6:8. “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy GOD.” In Ecclesiastes 12:13, Solomon says the same thing in slightly different words. “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” So, before this great judgment comes upon them, Isaiah tells Judah and Jerusalem , and, we believe, by extension us, what to do to be protected from it. Then he tells us the severity of it. Remember that this also must take place before the wonderful blessings of verses 2 through 4 will come to pass. All these judgments that he says will take place before the wonderful time of peace shown in verses 2 through 4 are for the purpose of bringing Judah and Jerusalem to exactly the same place Jesus told His disciples they must be brought before they could enter into the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:1-3) “At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And Jesus called a little child unto Him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, ‘Verily I say unto you, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”’” Obviously then, those who will enter into that wonderful time of such great joy and peace of the kingdom must be brought down from their lofty and exalted opinions of themselves and their importance, and made humble as little children before the LORD. This applies equally to Judah and Jerusalem as addressed by Isaiah, and the gospel church, as addressed by our Lord in the quotation from Matthew. Since both must be brought down from their own self-importance, to the humble, unpretentious, attitude of the little child before entering into the kingdom of heaven, the remainder of the present text is very applicable to both. Isaiah says that, that day shall have the effect of humbling the lofty looks and haughtiness of man so that only the LORD will be exalted in it. It will be upon every one that is proud, every one that is lofty, and every one that is lifted up. And he shall be brought low. Only God will be exalted in that day. He is the eternal God, the Creator of all things, and it is only fitting that He be exalted. All the loftiness of man is only pretense, and therefore it must be stripped away. In verse 13 the reference to the cedars of Lebanon and the oaks of Bashan is metaphoric. These were the biggest trees of the entire area. So in the illustration they stand for the greatest among men. Therefore even the greatest men shall not escape, but like everyone else they shall be brought low. In this manner, certainly with God there is no respect of persons. The high mountains and the hills that are exalted have the same connotation as the cedars of Lebanon and the oaks of Bashan , and shall receive the same treatment. The high towers and fenced walls are representative of whatever, other than the LORD, the people have been trusting for defense. They also shall be destroyed. Tarshish (or Spain ) was known for its seagoing ships and its maritime commerce; but so far as being any help to them, that too will be destroyed. All the pleasant pictures, or beautiful things, that they have been receiving from these ships, and in which they have so much rejoiced, will go the way of all the other things he has mentioned. They will delight in them no longer. Isaiah repeats what he said in verse 11. His words are slightly different, but the message is still the same. Then, in verse 18 he declares, “And the idols He shall utterly abolish.” That which is abolished is made non-existent. So God will make those idols non-existent. They shall be no more. In that wonderful kingdom the only object of worship is the Eternal God.

(Verses 19 through 22) And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles, and the to bats; to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth. Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?

This, of course, is only a continuation of the message begun in verse 11. Here Isaiah declares the result of those things the LORD is going to bring upon men. In verse 10 he instructs Judah and Jerusalem , (the inhabitants thereof,) to enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, for the fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty. That is, He calls upon those who do fear the LORD, and who respect His majesty, to humble themselves now, before He brings His judgments upon them. Those who do not fear Him, will yet be forced to do so, “when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth.” This judgment is already ordained; and those who do not believe it will suffer its consequences when the LORD brings it to pass. Compare verses 20 and 21 to Revelation 6:15-17. “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens, and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?’” Many today will tell you that the Lamb, our Lord Jesus, is so meek, gentle, and loving, that He would never execute any harsh or violent judgment upon anyone. They forget that He Himself said, “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father Which hath sent Him.” Also the same One Who is called “the Lamb of God,” is called “the Lion of the tribe of Judah .” So the wrath of the Lamb is also the wrath of the Lion. Therefore, when He arises to shake terribly the earth, all the unbelievers, those who have refused to humble themselves before Him, will be made to flee to the rocks and the dens of the mountains for cover. But nothing can hide them from the wrath of the Lamb. This arising and shaking of the earth have no reference to the earthquake that accompanied our Lord'’ crucifixion, nor to His arising from the grave. But they are His bringing of judgment upon the world. Because of this, Isaiah counsels Judah and Jerusalem , and, no doubt, all believers, thus: “Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?” Since he cannot help us, we had best abandon him, and turn to God only.

(Verses 1 through 5) For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, the mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, the captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the counselor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbor: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honorable.

Here Isaiah tells some of the things God will bring upon Judah and Jerusalem . The first thing he mentions is a famine, a famine of both food and water. Although this was addressed to Judah and Jerusalem , and did come upon them, can we not find in this a lesson for ourselves? We boast that it can’t happen here. We produce so much that we can feed the world. A hollow boast! Just take a look around you. Today we are importing fruits and vegetables, and meats, at an alarming rate. Many of the fruits and vegetables have had so much insecticide, (which we have already banned in our country,) used in the production of them that they are dangerous to our health. Many of our meats, both imported and domestic, are so contaminated with dangerous bacteria that our officials are regularly issuing recalls on them to try to protect our health, while some of them are produced on feed that has been enhanced with chemicals to promote faster growth; and no one knows the long range effect of these. Should it become necessary to discontinue the use of these artificial means of production, there could easily soon be a shortage of food. Our water supply, not just for our country, but for the whole world, is fast becoming so polluted that much of it is dangerous. Even the bottled water that has become so popular as a substitute for our polluted waters of the streams, springs, and wells, has recently come under heavy criticism for its impurity. Where will it end? It could easily end in our whole water supply being cut off. So, obviously we are by no means immune to this, even from natural means. Certainly we are not immune to it as a judgment of God.

He then says that He will cut off the mighty man, the man of war, the judge, the prophet, the prudent, (wise,) the ancient, the captain of fifty, the honorable man, the counselor, the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. Notice that the first two here mentioned are the mighty man and the man of war, the very ones upon whom Judah and Jerusalem depended for protection from their enemies. The LORD will cut them off so that their enemies may overrun them, for this is one of the judgments He has prepared for them. He will also cut off the judge, the prophet, the wise man and the ancient. The judge is, of course, the one who presides over the court, and declares the law in regard to whatever matters may come before him. The prophet is he whom the LORD sends to declare His message to the people. So God will cut of both, leaving them with neither a court of equity, nor one to tell them what the LORD will bring upon them. In Judah the cities and villages, so far as their day to day activities are concerned, were governed by the patriarch system. That is, their elders, (ancients, or old men,) together with those considered as wise among the people, had their “seats in the gate” of the town to decide what was best for the town. They also will be cut off. Even the captain of fifty, a low ranked officer of the army, is to be taken away. Also the honorable man, the counselor, the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator shall also be cut off. “The honorable man” not only indicates a man who is honorable, but one who is by his fellow citizens recognized as such. And such character would give him some influence in the community. Nevertheless, he will also be cut off. We often apply, and rightly so, the term “counselor” to an attorney, because he is an advisor, or gives advice. Yet it can also be properly applied to an advisor who is not an attorney. In either case, he will no longer be found, and neither will the eloquent orator, or speaker. There will be none who will be able, by eloquent speaking, to persuade the people to follow the truth. The cutting off of all these will open the way for what the LORD next says.

“And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbor: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honorable.” Whether we consider these “children” and “babes” to be so by reason of actual age, or in understanding makes very little difference. The result is the same, total chaos. This is the condition God said He would bring to pass in Judah and Jerusalem ; and so it was. As we observe all the uproar that has been, and is now, concerning the presidential election, we see the ruling of children. Both parties have put out, and are putting out, so much divisive propaganda, and arousing so much hatred among the people that it is doubtful that either candidate, if declared the winner, can accomplish anything worthwhile during the next four years. Both candidates and their supporters have acted, and are acting, like children, greedy for whatever they want, and not caring how they get it. I seriously fear that, because of all this, verse 5 will be literally fulfilled upon us, as it was upon Judah and Jerusalem .

(Verses 6 through 8) When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand: that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be an healer, for in my house is neither bread nor clothing, make me not a ruler of the people. For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of His glory.

In every country, and in every society, there always seems to be someone, who is trying every means at his disposal to become king, or leader, of that entity. And usually one seeking that position will make great promises of what he will do for the people, if they will only let him be their leader. Here we have a directly opposite situation. No one wants the job. The utter ruin of Judah and Jerusalem is so clearly apparent that no one wants to be the ruler during their downfall. If a man’s own brother should come to him, asking that he take the job, his answer will be, “I will not be an healer.” That is, “There is no way I can correct, or heal, the situation. I have neither food with which to feed them, nor clothing to cover them.” The situation is past remedy. The ruin has already set in on both Jerusalem and Judah . Since there is nothing he can promise them, He does not want to be a ruler just to watch their continued destruction. So he says, “Make me not a ruler of the people.” It is apparent that the judgments of God are being meted out to them, and so, effectively, Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen. Calamity is so close upon them that it can be counted as already finished. So choosing a ruler in the hope of averting destruction is utterly worthless. The reason for this is, “Their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of His glory.” Both their words and their actions were contrary to His teachings. They seemed to be deliberately trying to show the LORD that they did not need Him, thus provoking the eyes of His glory. All Israel , and especially Judah and Jerusalem , are the people whom God made choice of in Abraham, brought out of the Egyptian bondage, led through the wilderness, and in spite of all their murmurings and backslidings brought into the land of Canaan , and built up into a great nation. With this background, If He, because of their sins, placed such a heavy judgment as this upon them, there is a great question staring us in the face. “What do you suppose He will do to us?” We cannot deny that it was His wonderful blessings to us that raised us up to be such a great nation that, at the end of World War II we were the greatest nation on the face of the earth. From about that time, we have not only politically and socially turned away from God, but even many of our churches have become so entangled in Satan’s snare that, they have ceased to teach the Holy Bible as the word of God, and are now teaching that it is no more than a book of legends, fables, and mythology, and a matter of superstition instead of the truth. If this is not “against the LORD,” and if it does not “provoke the eyes of His glory,” What would do so?

(Verses 9 through 12) The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom , they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! For they have rewarded evil unto themselves. Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.

The brazenness of the people of Judah and Jerusalem was such that it alone was sufficient witness against them. They had neither repentance nor shame for their evils. Instead, just as the people of Sodom , they openly declared and flaunted their sins. If our nation today is not doing the same thing, I confess I do not know how it could be done. If we could overlook the ungodly shows that are being aired on TV, at all times of the day, it still remains that almost every commercial uses some reference to sex or violence as a part of its appeal. Even our news reports are filled with such. It is getting harder and harder for any man who preaches the word of God to obtain, or hold a spot on TV. In most churches, the gospel of our Lord is being watered down lest it offend homosexuals, sex addicts, abortionists, (murderers,) or other evil doers. Many preachers will not solidly declare what the Holy Scriptures say, lest they offend someone who does not believe them to be the truth. This can have only one final outcome. “Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for he shall eat the fruit of his doings. Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.” This needed no explanation and no interpretation to Judah and Israel . Neither should it need any for us. It is a very simple declaration of what the LORD will do for both the righteous and the wicked.

(Verses 12 through 15) As for My people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O My people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people. The LORD will enter into judgment with the ancients of His people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses. What mean ye that ye beat My people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? Saith the LORD God of hosts.

When the LORD says that He will “plead,” let none think that He means that He will beg for anything, or anyone. Rather, it is as the prosecuting attorney stands up to plead his case against the accused. He declares the charge, cites the law under which it is made, and presents the evidence. That is all the pleading he is required to do. Then the judge weighs the charge, the law, and the evidence; and declares the sentence. In God’s court, there is no jury, and no appeal to a higher court. So, since He is the Prosecutor Who pleads the case, and the Judge Who declares the sentence, what escape is there for the guilty? Isaiah declares that He “standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people.” What has brought this on is the fact that “children are their oppressors, and women rule over them.” And these leaders cause the people to err, and destroy the way of their paths. Political office is not the proper place for either children or women. Sometimes even those who, by reason of years are adults, are still children in wisdom. And they also are detrimental to the people, when placed in leadership roles. The LORD will also enter into judgment with the ancients, or elders, and the princes, of His people, because they have busied themselves, not with ruling wisely, but with robbing the people, even the poor. The LORD brings upon them the charge of beating “My people to pieces,” and “grinding the faces of the poor.” At this point, He does not say exactly what their punishment will be. But, surely, it will be substantial. And there will be no escape for them.

(Verses 16 through 24) Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: therefore the LORD will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts. In that day the LORD will take away the bravery of the tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, the chains and the bracelets, and the mufflers, the bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, the rings and the nose jewels, the changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, the glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the veils. And it shall come to pass that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.

Although Isaiah has used many words to describe these “daughters of Zion,” women who profess to be the people of the LORD, but have turned from Him to seek after sensual men and the things of the world, and though they are adorned with fancy clothing and ornaments that are so dear to the world, and are used primarily to attract lewd men, all shall be taken from them. They shall be stripped of all these things, and made naked; “the LORD will discover their secret parts.” That is, they shall be shown up for what they really are, with nothing left with which to cover their sins. No longer will they have their sweet smelling perfumes, but will have a repulsive odor. They will have lost their beautiful hair, and become bald; and even their faces will have lost their beauty. This is their reward for turning away from the LORD to the ways of the world. As we have repeatedly said, this message was addressed to Judah and Jerusalem . But will it not equally apply to us, seeing that we are walking in the same path they followed?

(Verses 25 and 26) Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war. And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate will sit upon the ground.

This is the picture of desolation that has been upon Jerusalem from 70 AD to the present time. Although since 1948 there has appeared to be some movement toward the re-gathering of Israel , it still seems to be in the stage of the assembling of the dry bones of Ezekiel’s prophecy. I long for the day when “the Son of Man” shall prophesy to the wind to come and give them breath. Then, indeed, the world shall see things it has never seen before, and does not even believe can come to pass. But God has declared it; and so it shall be.

(Verses 1 through 4) And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach. In that day shall the Branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel . And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: when the LORD shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.

It is truly amazing how many gospel ministers of the present time try to take this chapter completely out of context, deny that it has anything to do with Judah and Jerusalem , and appropriate it for the gospel church of today. Surely, from it one can show some wonderful spiritual lessons for the gospel church. However, if we deny its literal application to Judah and Jerusalem , we have no solid foundation for any spiritual application of it to the church. The previous chapter told us of the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem . Remember the last verse of that chapter. “And her ( Jerusalem ’s) gates shall lament and mourn, and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.” That was literally brought to pass. From 70 AD until 1948 AD this was her condition. Therefore we, the gospel church, should fear the Apostle Paul’s warning in Romans 11:18-23. “Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, ‘The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.’ Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: for if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest He also spare not thee. Behold the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in His goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.” Now, in the present chapter, Isaiah is showing what shall be after the natural branches are again grafted in.

Notice verse 1. “And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, ‘We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel, only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach.” To understand this verse, it is necessary to look back to verse 25 of the preceding chapter. “Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.” By the time the restoration of Israel is accomplished, the male population of Israel will have been so diminished that the ratio of men to women shall be about one to seven. Here is also another factor to be considered. At the time of Isaiah’s writing, what the seven women say would be almost impossible of accomplishment. “We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel, only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach.” That is, “Take away the reproach of our not being married.” (In Israel it was considered a reproach for a woman to pass a certain age without being married.) They also said, “We will support ourselves.” In that day, women were not in the work force as they are today. Almost the only work available to them was prostitution. And that in itself was a reproach. Today they have access to almost any career open to men. No doubt that will also be true in the restoration of Israel .

At the time of His first advent, Christ Jesus, the Branch of the LORD, was not beautiful to Judah and Jerusalem . In fact, He was so far from being beautiful to them, that they demanded and accomplished His crucifixion. But “in that day shall the Branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel .” This is in perfect harmony with what the Apostle Paul says in Romans 11:25-27. “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened unto Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, ‘There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: for this is My covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.’” There are three things that must be kept in mind concerning this. No. 1: This is not God’s covenant “WITH Jacob,” but His covenant “UNTO them.” That is, it is a one-sided covenant only. It is dependent upon no one other than God Himself. Israel will only be the recipient of it, and by no means the cause thereof. No, 2: All Israel of that day shall be saved. None will be left out, or lost. No. 3: there is absolutely nothing retroactive about this. So it in no wise covers those who have died in unbelief. As Jesus said to the Jews in John 8:24, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins; for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins.” Those who are in unbelief, whether Jew or Gentile, and are never delivered from that unbelief, shall die in their sins. For them there is no promise of salvation. But “for them that are escaped of Israel ,” not only shall the Branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious,” but also “the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely.”

“And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: when the LORD shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.” This can take place only after God has completely satisfied His judgment against the daughters of Zion , and against Jerusalem . Remember what Jesus said to Jerusalem , as He wept over her. After upbraiding her for her unwillingness to receive and hear the prophets of the LORD, as well as their failure to receive Him, He said, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: For I say unto you, ‘Ye shall not see Me henceforth, till  ye shall say, “Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.”’” (Matt. 23:38-39) In Luke 13:35, His words are recorded thus: “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, ‘Ye shall not see Me, until the time come when ye shall say, “Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.”’” So, until the day “when the LORD shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion , and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning,” it cannot come to pass. Let it be remembered that the crucifixion of our Lord in Jerusalem did not accomplish this. It only served to fill up the measure of those who killed the prophets, and stoned the messengers God sent unto them. When God has purged away this blood “by the spirit of judgment, and the spirit of burning,” that is, not by what we might think sufficient, but by what He judges to be proper, He will bring it to pass. Then “he that is left of Zion , and he that remaineth in Jerusalem , shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem .”

(Verses 5 and 6) And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion , and upon her assemblies, a cloud of smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defense. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.

Certainly, the lesson that many take from this is beautiful, and of great comfort to the Christian in the present dispensation of the kingdom of God . Certainly, we can see mount Zion as the gospel church in type, not just some one denomination that claims to the church of the Lord Jesus, but every true believer in this age. Upon each of them, “every dwelling place in mount Zion,” and upon them as they meet together to worship Him, “upon her assemblies,” God has set His Holy Spirit as a glory and a defense, just as He set before the Israelites in the wilderness the cloud of smoke by day and the fire by night. That is why the world has always persecuted the true believers. They are marked by the Holy Ghost, Who is not only the mark that makes them the target of the persecution by the world, but is also their glory and their defense. If there is no persecution, there is little evidence of godliness. For the Apostle Paul has told us, “Yea, and all who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” Since the mark that makes us the target of persecution is the same that is our defense, it is also our glory. It also serves as a shadow, or shade, from the heat of the sun, and is a refuge, and a covert in which we can find protection from the storms and the rain. Yet, as much comfort as this is to us, if as some claim, it will never be literally fulfilled to Judah and Jerusalem , it may as well be thrown aside and forgotten. Because, if God will not do what He literally promised to Judah and Jerusalem, why should we expect Him to do what we have decided that He meant instead of what He promised. I, personally, have no difficulty in believing that He will do exactly what He promised. And in His faithfulness to His literal promise, I find solid ground for faith also in the spiritual picture that is set forth by it.

(Verses 1 and 2) Now will I sing to my Well-beloved a song of my beloved touching His vineyard. My Well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: and He fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and when He looked that it should bring forth grapes, it brought forth wild grapes.

As was often done by the prophets, Isaiah uses a parable to illustrate the LORD’S dealing with Israel . This parable, he says is also a song, which he will sing. Notice that he does not say that he will sing this song to Israel , nor to Judah and Jerusalem , although it is about them. Instead, he will sing it to his “Well–beloved,” Who, of course, is the LORD. As we shall see, Judah , Jerusalem , and Israel are unworthy to have a song sung to them. But the LORD is so great, and has done so much for them, that it is unto Him the prophet will sing. In the song he likens the LORD to one, who has planted a vineyard, and Israel , Judah , and Jerusalem to the vine with which it is planted. It was customary to speak of a vineyard as being set with  “a vine" instead of with “vines,” because the whole vineyard had only one variety. So we come to the message of this song. The LORD has planted this vineyard in “a very fruitful  hill.” Remember that when Moses’ spies returned from spying out the land of Canaan , they said, “We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it” (Numbers 13:36 .) The fact that most of the spies discouraged Israel from going up into the land to possess it in no wise takes anything away from the fruitfulness of it. They were only afraid of the inhabitants thereof. However, when God did bring them into the land, He fenced it with His protecting power, and caused the Israelites to overcome the inhabitants of the land, thus removing “the stones” thereof. That Israel was the choicest vine none can deny, for it was chosen by none other than the LORD Himself. And His choice is the greatest of all. He made choice of Israel before they even existed other than in the loins of Abraham. For He chose Abraham and his seed after him. He also set up a tower and a winepress therein. In fact, He was Himself the tower and the watchman in the midst of that vineyard. The tower is the place of the watchman, who is set for the protection of the vineyard. And the winepress is the place for the processing of the fruit of the vineyard. To this answers the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem . With everything thus established, we await the production of fruit by the vineyard. But, alas! Instead of bringing forth the expected good fruit, this vineyard produced “wild grapes.” Chapters 1 and 3 have already described these wild grapes, and told us what the LORD is going to do with them.

(Verses 3 and 4) And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem , and men of Judah , judge, I pray you betwixt Me and My vineyard. What could have been done more to My vineyard, that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?

Notice that the address of this has changed. The prophet is no longer singing a song to the LORD concerning His vineyard, but is giving the LORD’S message to His people, “Inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah .” He asks them to give their own judgment concerning Him and His vineyard. If they can think of anything more He could have done for the vineyard, let them speak up. Then He asks them why this vine that should have brought forth good grapes, brought forth wild ones. Thus He prepared them for the judgment He was about to declare upon them.

(Verses 5 through 7) And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: and I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel , and the men of Judah His pleasant plant: and He looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.

As we so often hear it said today, “It certainly does not take a rocket scientist to understand this.” Since “the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel , and the men of Judah His pleasant plant,” and they have produced oppression instead of judgment, and a cry (of distress) instead of righteousness, He will utterly destroy them. He will break down the wall and the hedge He has built around them, allow them to be consumed, overrun, and scattered, with none left to cultivate or prune them. In addition to this, He will not let them have any rain to refresh them. This, no doubt, means, metaphorically, that He will withhold from them the refreshing showers of His Spirit and grace. But briers and thorns, troubles and afflictions, will take over their land, and be constantly with them. These are just different words to describe the same scene set forth in Chapter 3, verse 26. “And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.” This, no doubt, is a prophecy of the destruction and captivity that were soon to be brought upon Judah and Jerusalem . But it also looks forward to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD, and the dispersion of the Jews, the effect of which we still see today. This will continue until they shall be made to say, “Blessed is He that comes in the name of the LORD,” just as our Lord Jesus told them as He wept over Jerusalem .

(Verses 8 through 10) Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth! In mine ears said the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitants. Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah

.It appears that these who are joining house to house and field to field are doing so in an effort to make sure that no undesirable can find space to move into the area they are claiming for themselves. They are attempting to establish a place for only those whom they consider to be their equals in wealth and honor. In short, they are trying to insure that they will not be bothered by those who are less fortunate than they. All one has to do to see this principle in operation among people of today is to open his eyes and look around. Isaiah says that the LORD of hosts has told him something. (“In mine ears said the LORD of hosts.”) What He has told him is, “Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant.” Those who have been so intent upon making sure that no “undesirable” can move in among them, will find that many of the houses, though great and beautiful, will have no inhabitants at all. Thus anyone could move in. But, in fact, the whole area will be desolate, without inhabitant. Someone has calculated in our measures the capacities of the measures given in verse 10. So let us look at this verse with the substitution of our modern measurements. “Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield eight and one half gallons, and the seed of eleven bushels shall yield one and one tenth bushels.” We can see that there will be no worthwhile production by either vineyard or field.

(Verses 11 and 12) Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of His hands.

In verse 8 the woe was upon those who were striving to put complete separation between themselves and others they deemed inferior to themselves in wealth and social standing. Now it is upon those who from early morning into the night are seeking pleasure in their drinking, feasting, reveling, and partying, with no regard to the LORD and His works, or His laws. Although this was all addressed to Judah and Jerusalem , it seems highly applicable to us, as a people, today. When we look at all the “restricted” subdivisions being developed today, with their fancy houses that none but the rich can afford, and then consider the poor and homeless, who cannot even afford a roof over their heads, this verse seems to be very descriptive of our nation today. And verses 11 and 12 describe the lifestyle of so many in this nation, that this woe seems to have been addressed directly to us. Remember that God did exactly what He said He would to Judah and Israel . What will He do to us? A song that was very popular back in the 60’s and 70’s has a very profound line in it. “When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?” Those who will not learn from the mistakes of the past continue in those mistakes.

(Verses 13 through 19) Therefore My people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled: but the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God That is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat. Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope: that say, Let Him make speed, and hasten His work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel come, that we may know it.

The first statement of this text had not actually taken place at the time of Isaiah’s declaration. But since it was decreed of God, it was as sure as if it had already come to pass. Such destruction and captivity were decreed upon Israel that they would bring famine and thirst upon all, both “the mean man,” (or common man,) and “the honorable man.” None would escape. Even the mouth of hell was opened without measure, and hell itself was enlarged. The word here translated “hell” is “sheol,” which most consider as meaning “the pit,” or “the grave,” instead of “Hades.” This would make us little difference, since the common perception was that Hades was the place of abode for the souls of both the righteous and the wicked dead until the Day of Judgment. And one whose body was in the grave, was, so far as his soul is concerned, in Hades. This is not in keeping with Ecclesiastes 12:7, but it was, nevertheless, the belief of many, and it fits the present text. Verse 13 begins with “Therefore,” signifying that those things preceding this are the cause of it. “Therefore,” in verse 14, is not dependent upon what is said in verse 13, but upon those things preceding verse 13, which are the cause of all from verse 13 through verse 15. The LORD’S judgments will be upon all those guilty of the evils mentioned previously in this chapter. Not only so, but they will continue until the whole multitude, including the revelers, the lofty and honorable, those of low estate, and the mighty, are brought down, and made humble. Although they have not regarded Him nor His works, the LORD will be exalted in judgment, and sanctified in righteousness. When this is accomplished, the lambs will  “feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.” Certainly, this could well mean that the literal lambs, and, in fact, all the animals will continue without any interruption. But as it is linked with “and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat,” it appears to refer to the fact that when the captivity is brought about, a few of the inhabitants, those considered as being like lambs in that they pose no danger to the conquerors, will be left in the land, as indeed they were. And they shall continue on as they have before. But strangers were moved into the area, and settled in the homes of those who were removed. Thus strangers did eat “the waste places of the fat ones.” Verses 18 and 19 deal with the same thing, with verse 19 actually explaining verse 18. Otherwise, it might be extremely difficult to know just what is meant by drawing “iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope.” Those who do this are the ones who always want the LORD to hurry His work, and bring it to pass for their entertainment, “that we may see it.” They have no understanding that His work might be judgment that could destroy them. They consider themselves righteous, and want Him to hurry His judgment upon the wicked. They want Him to quickly bring about His counsel, or purpose, concerning the punishment of the wicked. They want it to be made manifest, that they may know it, having no realization that they might be in that destruction. Such is drawing “iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope.” Instead of always wanting Him to hasten this work, we should always pray that we might find grace and mercy with Him when it does come.

(Verses 20 through 23) Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!

Had these things not been going on among the people of Judah and Jerusalem , it would have been utterly foolish to give them such a message as this. And since such things were being practiced by them, we see that they were no different from men today. In every facet of today’s society we can readily see every one of these things being done. There is a heavy movement throughout our nation, and even in some so-called “Christian” churches, to set aside, and disregard any portion, or even the whole, of the word of God, and substitute for it the philosophy of man. A few days ago I heard a minister refer to an article he read in some church periodical. The writer of the article claimed to be a gospel minister. The statement, which stood out in the article, was, “The Holy Ghost has led me to deny most of the Bible.” The remainder of the article reinforced the statement. For one person to write such a lie is too bad. But what makes it far worse, is the fact that there are many among us , who would say, “Amen,” to it. If that is not putting “evil for good, and good for evil,” will someone, please, tell me what is? Since the Holy Ghost is also God, and God, especially God the Son, is the light that lights every man that comes into the world, this poor man has substituted darkness for light. For it is obvious that he did not get his direction from the Holy Ghost, as he has claimed, but from the prince of darkness, Satan himself. Had he received his direction from the Holy Ghost, he would have “set to his seal that God is true.” Certainly the other evils Isaiah mentioned here are plain enough to need no explanation. There is upon all, who engage in any of these things, a terrible woe, just as there was upon those of Judah and Jerusalem who were guilty of the same. Yet, for all of this, it seems that men will never learn.

(Verses 24 and 25) Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against His people, and He hath stretched forth His hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcasses were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.

Because of all the evils practiced by the men of Judah and Jerusalem , the LORD’S anger is aroused against His people. Notice that, although God is certainly able to single out, and punish, the individuals guilty of these evils, and deliver those among the people, who are not guilty, He declares that His judgment will come upon the whole nation. He did bring upon them the Assyrians, and later, the Babylonians in chastisement for their sins. Isaiah declares that this judgment will be comparable, in its effect, to the fire in the field of stubble and chaff. They will be consumed. The reason for this is that “they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.” Not only so, but even this is not sufficient to assuage the anger of the LORD. “For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is outstretched still.” Sometimes we hear someone trying to tell us that it is His hand of mercy that is stretched out still. But in view of the remainder of the text, that would seem an incorrect interpretation of the whole. Isaiah has declared that it is in anger that the LORD has stretched forth His hand against them. And although His judgments are so great that the hills trembled, and their bodies were torn in the midst of the streets, this is not enough to turn away His anger. But that same hand that He stretched forth in anger is still stretched out. He has not yet brought it back.

(Verses 26 through 30) And He will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: behold, they shall come with speed swiftly: none shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken: whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses hoofs shall be counted as flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind. Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions; yea, they shall roar, and lay hold on the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it. And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold, darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.

Although the Assyrians came against Israel , (the northern kingdom,) overcame it, carried away many of its people, and replaced them with men from other nations, this text appears to refer more to the Babylonians, whom the LORD also brought against Judah . Considering their modes of travel and communication in that day, it seems that the expression, “And He will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth,” is especially applicable to the Babylonians. It seems incredible that so great an army would travel so far, over such terrain to wage war upon such an insignificant nation as Judah was at that time. Yet this is exactly what did take place. Isaiah declares that it was at the command of God that this was done. And one must keep in mind that, contrary to the basic theory of the modern interpreters of the prophecies, this, as indeed all other prophecies, are long before the fact, and not history dressed up as prophecy. They claim that all the prophecies had to be written after the fact, because there was no way for any man to know ahead of time what was going to be done. What they have lost sight of is that the LORD not only knew what was going to be done; but He also knew, even before He created the world, what will yet come to pass, and has declared much of it already. It was He Who set up the ensign for them, and summoned them to the battle. He declares that neither they nor their horses shall tire, or be in any way discouraged, or slowed down in their advance. Their equipment shall be in good repair, and they shall move swiftly. They will be as fierce as lions, and their attack shall be with such noise and devastation as if the sea had broken in upon the whole land, and carried away the inhabitants. The sorrow and desolation will be so great that it will seem that the whole land is in darkness. “And the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.” Not only did the LORD have Isaiah prophesy this, but history tells us that it did take place, exactly as prophesied. This should serve as a lesson to us. But, will it?

Chapter 6

(Verses 1 through 4) In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim; each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

At the beginning of his prophecy Isaiah tells us that it was given him during the reign of four kings, the first of which was Uzziah. According to the chronicles of the kings of Judah , it seems that Uzziah was a righteous man. But since the LORD had blessed him in his kingdom, he decided that he would go into the temple of the LORD, and burn incense unto Him. This is something that was reserved for only the priests to do. So Azariah, with about forty other priests confronted Uzziah, and rebuked him very sternly. This angered him very much, and while he was angry he was stricken with leprosy. It is not recorded just how long he lived after becoming a leper. But his son, Jotham, had to take over the kingdom. Now Isaiah says that it was in the year that king Uzziah died that he saw this vision. It is not a vision of Uzziah, but of the LORD. Uzziah’s death is only mentioned to establish the time when Isaiah saw the vision. In this vision he saw the LORD seated upon a very high throne. Not only so, but “His train filled the temple.” So it is evident that this throne was in the temple. It was customary for a king to be attended by many of His ministers and other high-ranking subjects, whether he was going somewhere, or seated upon his throne. These were sometimes spoken of as “his train.” There were enough of them to fill the temple. There was no room for anyone else. Isaiah tells us that above this throne stood the seraphim. Since this is the only scripture that refers to them, his present description of them is about all we know about them. He does not tell us how many of them there were, but he does indicate that they were all alike. Thus, by describing one, he describes all. Seemingly they are angelic beings with the form of men, except that each had six wings. With two of these wings he covers his face, with two his feet, and with two he flies. It might seem that his covering his face indicates great humility in the presence of the LORD. Some commentators say that “his feet” is an euphemism for “his private parts,” which he also covers with two of his wings. With the other two of his wings he flies to do the bidding of the LORD. Thus he could swiftly move to do any errand upon which he might be sent. The expression, “And one cried unto another,” might also be translated, “and they cried one unto another,” signifying that they were continually employed in glorifying the LORD, for the cry was, “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.” This cry was so great that it even shook the door posts. And when this cry was made, the temple (“the house”) was filled with smoke. In II Chronicles 5:13-14, we find, “It came to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make the sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, ‘For He is good; for His mercy endureth forever:’ that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.” This, of course, took place at Solomon’s dedication of the temple he had built unto the LORD. In Revelation 15:8, we find, “And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.” In the present text Isaiah saw the temple filled with smoke from the power and glory of God. It appears that the primary purpose of this smoke was to reinforce to Isaiah the fact that he was in the presence of the LORD in His glory. In the next verse we shall see his reaction to this.

(Verses 5 through 8) Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin is purged. Also I heard the voice of the LORD, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

The immediate effect of this vision upon Isaiah was great fear, the fear of death. For in Exodus 33:20, God had told Moses, “Thou shalt not see My face: for there shall no man see Me and live.” Inasmuch as this was a vision instead of reality, it might not have carried the death penalty, as would have a face to face encounter, but it did cause Isaiah great fear. And he said, “Woe is me! for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” The first concern he had was that he was himself a sinner. And in addition all those among whom he dwelt were sinners also. This caused him great fear, because he had done that which God had said no man could do, and live. However the LORD extended mercy to him, by sending the seraph to purify his lips, and him, with a live coal from the altar. When this was done, Isaiah heard the voice of the LORD. From the words of the LORD, it appears that He was asking for a volunteer to go for Him on an errand, with no word of what that errand was. Now, lest someone read too much into this concerning the will of man to volunteer, remember that in Psalms 110:3 David said “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power.” And certainly this was the day of the power of the LORD, for He had already had the seraph purify Isaiah, that he might be ready for the work to be set before him. So Isaiah responded, “Here am I; send me.” Just as it was with Isaiah, so it is with all whom the LORD calls to any work. When the LORD calls, He makes the one called willing to go, even without asking what the LORD will have him do. Compare this to the calling of all the apostles.

(Verses 9 and 10) And He said, Go, and tell this people, hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

Notice that, in this there are two messages. One is to the people, the Jews, and the other is to Isaiah himself, as the prophet of the LORD. As a prophet, he was given extraordinary powers. The message to the people is, “Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.” No doubt this has to do with the word of God, especially the gospel. For the Apostle Paul quoted it to describe those Jews who listened to his preaching, and yet could not believe in the Christ. See Acts 28: 25-27. Their physical ears could hear the words he said, but they could not understand their import. So it was with their seeing the many miracles done by the Christ and His apostles. To perceive is to receive knowledge by the senses. Though they saw the miracles, their minds were closed, and so were not enlightened thereby. Although Paul, in the above referenced text says, “For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed,” he is only declaring that the judgment Isaiah was commissioned to lay upon them has come to pass. For Isaiah was commanded to “make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes.” Therefore it is obvious that this condition is not just something that has by accident come upon them, but is a judgment God has laid upon them. And the purpose of this judgment is, “lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, (or be converted,) and be healed.” As long as this judgment remains upon them, they are helpless. This does not mean that every Jew is cut off. For even our Lord and His apostles, as well as many others of the early Christians were Jews. Neither does it mean that as a nation the Jews are forever cut off, as the Nazis and all their anti-Semitic adherents try to claim. It was such a terrible sounding judgment that it greatly troubled Isaiah.

(Verses 11 through 13) Then said I, LORD, how long? And He answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, and the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return and be eaten: as the teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves; so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

Isaiah was so affected by the judgment God had commanded him to declare upon Judah and Israel that he wanted to know how long it would be until it would be lifted from them. That is, how long would the Jews be blind, deaf, and without understanding of the works and the word of God? We notice that our Lord’s disciples asked Him the same question in slightly different words, in Acts 1:6-7. “When they therefore were come together, they asked of Him, saying, ‘Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel ?” Jesus’ answer to His disciples was, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power.” Thus He clearly signified that it will be done at some future time, but one known only to the Father. In the LORD’S answer to Isaiah, He says, “Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, and the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.” This is indeed a very dismal outlook for Judah and Jerusalem , and even for all Israel . Had the LORD let this be the end of His declaration, there might be some justification for the idea that He has forever cast the Jews away. But the pronouncement does not end here. In verse 13 He finishes the message. “But yet it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as the teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.” Just as He has always promised, God has reserved a remnant. It may not be but a tenth. But it shall return. “And it shall be eaten,” should, perhaps, not be understood to mean that it will be consumed, but rather that it is good enough for eating, just as we might say concerning a small remnant of fruit on a tree that otherwise has been completely stripped. This seems to be the meaning of this phrase, for he speaks of the teil tree and the oak that have lost their leaves, but retain their substance in them. That is, they are still alive. “So the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.” No doubt this refers to those mentioned in Chapter 4, verse 3 and 4. “And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: when the LORD shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.” Surely this is the “holy seed” that shall be “the substance thereof.”

(Verses 1 and 2) And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria , and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel , went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.

The vision in chapter 6 was given in the year that king Uzziah died. He was the first of the four kings in whose reigns the prophecies were given to Isaiah. Actually, since the prophet does not place any particular date upon the prophecies given in chapters 1 through 5, and does date the chapter 6 as in the year king Uzziah died, it would seem that the earlier prophecies were given during the reign of king Uzziah; and chapter 6 in the reign of his son Jotham. Because Uzziah lived for some time after Jotham began to reign. Now, chapter 7 takes us into the reign of Ahaz, the son of Jotham. He is the third in the list of the four kings in whose reigns Isaiah received his prophecies, and he was the grandson of Uzziah who was the first of the list. Isaiah begins this as only a narration of facts, which came to pass at that time. Rezin was at this time king of Syria , (not Assyria,) and Pekah the son of Remaliah was king of Israel (the northern kingdom, and sometimes called, “Ephraim”). These two kings had joined together in an effort to make war against Judah , but were not able to conquer it. When news of this confederacy was brought to king Ahaz, (“the house of David,”) both he and his people were greatly frightened. They trembled as do the trees when the wind passes through.

(Verses 3 through 9) Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field; and say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be faint hearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and the son of Remaliah. Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have taken evil counsel against thee, saying, Let us go up against Judah , and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal: thus saith the LORD God, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. For the head of Syria is Damascus , and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken that it be not a people. And the head of Ephraim is Samaria , and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.

Notice that, although Isaiah was the only one commissioned to talk to Ahaz, God told him to take his son, Shearjashub, with him . The principal significance of this action seems to be found in the meaning of the word, “Shearjashub.” It means “a remnant shall return.” And one theme which permeates all of the LORD’S dealing with His people is that He has always reserved a remnant according to His own election and grace. The LORD did not tell Isaiah to make an appointment with Ahaz to meet him “at the end of the conduit of the upper pool.” He only directed him to go there and meet Ahaz. The LORD made the appointment, and Isaiah could be fully assured that Ahaz would be there. God also gave Isaiah a message to deliver to Ahaz. That message was that the plans of Rezin and Pekah would never be realized. They would not be permitted to conquer Judah , and set upon its throne a king whom they could control. The reason for this was that “the head of Syria is Damascus , and the head of Damascus is Rezin;” and the head of Ephraim is Samaria , and the head of Samaria is Pekah. Since ultimately the power of both kingdoms is vested in two men, they cannot hope to overthrow the kingdom that is under the protection of the Eternal God. And within the space of sixty-five years Ephraim was to be completely broken so that it would no longer even be a kingdom. Then the LORD gives Isaiah a caution for Ahaz, “If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.” Time after time our Lord Jesus told His disciples that if they expected their prayers to be answered, they must believe. So this principle must never have changed. It worked with Ahaz; and it works with us today.

(Verses 10 through 16) Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. And He said, Hear ye now, O house of David: Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? Therefore the LORD Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall He eat, that He may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.

Having made a promise to Ahaz that the confederacy of Syria and Israel would fail, the LORD gave Ahaz permission to ask for a sign, or miracle, to confirm to him the certainty of this promise. But Ahaz would not ask. We can only guess at why Ahaz refused to ask a sign, but for some reason he refused to ask such. The LORD rebuked him, and indeed the whole “house of David,” of which Ahaz was the immediate representative, saying, “Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also?” Because Ahaz refused to ask a sign, the LORD Himself gives one. Actually, in this are two signs. One is a short range one that would be seen by Ahaz, and the other a long range one to be seen by later generations of the House of David. The short range sign is that  “a virgin,” or a young woman shall conceive and bear a son. This conception is to take place immediately. And before this son shall have grown up enough to be able to discern between good and evil, both the kings who were then causing trouble would be taken away. That sign would be seen by Ahaz and his contemporaries. The long range sign is the birth of our Lord Jesus. People who know the Hebrew language declare that the word here translated “virgin” does not always mean “virgin” with the same connotations we usually associate with it. This has, by some, been used to try to deny the virgin birth of our Lord. While it might be a true argument in the case of the child that was born in Ahaz’s day, it does not fit in the case of our Lord. Certainly the Greek word, “parthenos,” translated “virgin” in the New Testament, does mean “young woman” as well as “virgin.” Yet the whole argument becomes completely moot when we consider Mary’s conversation with the angel who brought her the message that she was to be the mother of our Lord. At that time she declared to him that she was indeed a virgin in the same sense as we now use the word. And for every one who believes the word of God, that settles it forever. And those who do not believe Him cannot be convinced by argument. Only God Himself can change their mind on that. Inasmuch as this prophecy was addressed, not to Ahab alone, but to “the house of David,” it was a witness to those of the “house of David,” when it did come to pass, although Ahaz had long been dead. He was called Immanuel (or Emmanuel) just as the LORD said would be done. According to Matthew, this name means, “God with us.” So, since he quotes this prophecy, and declares it fulfilled in the birth of the Christ, no Christian should ever entertain any doubt concerning it.

(Verses 17 through 20) The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father’s house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah ; even the king of Assyria . And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt , and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria . And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes. In the same day shall the LORD shave with a razor that is hired, namely by them beyond the river, the king of Assyria , the head, and the hair of the feet; and it shall also consume the beard.

Here the LORD tells Ahaz what He is going to bring to pass upon Ahaz and the kingdom of Judah . Although He had declared, in verses 4 through 9, that Rezin and Pekah would not be successful in their effort to take Judah, and set over it a king of their choosing, He now says that He will bring upon Ahaz and his people such evil times as they have not seen since “Ephraim departed from Judah.” That is, since the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were divided in the days of Jeroboam and Rehoboam, after the death of Solomon. He declared that He would “hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt , and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria .” Not only would He call them, but they would indeed come, and “rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.” That is, they would effectively cover the whole land. This was to take place, and did, after the conflict with Rezin and Pekah, as well as the Edomites and Philistines. See II Chronicles, chapter 28. In fact the reference to the “hired razor,” which the LORD was going to use, is made because Ahaz paid Tiglath-pileser, the king of Assyria to come and help him against these other enemies. Tiglath-pileser took all the bribes Ahaz gave him, but did nothing to help him in return. Rather, he laid waste to the cities of Judah , with the exception of Jerusalem itself. For many years, there was conflict between Assyria and Egypt , either of which was stronger than Judah . And, since Judah was caught in the middle between them, and as in the conflict first one, and then the other of the major combatants seemed to be getting the upper hand, Judah tried to align itself with the winner, this angered both parties. Because of this Judah received much damage from both, though, probably, more from Assyria than from Egypt . Thus the “hired razor” did shave very cleanly. The LORD said that this razor would shave “the head, and the hair of the feet; and it shall consume the beard.” This seems a very strong metaphor for making the whole country desolate. And so it was made.

(Verses 21 and 22) And it shall come to pass in that day that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep; and it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall everyone eat that is left in the land.

Many times we have heard men take this text, and try to, as they said, “spiritualize” it, that is, make it represent something other than what it actually says, in order to teach what they considered a spiritual lesson. However, since they seldom agreed on what it taught, perhaps, it is better to consider its natural meaning. The desolation will be so great that, although there might be sufficient grazing to support cattle and sheep, there will be very little field cultivation for crops. And one cow and two sheep may be all that are left of the once great numbers in the area. Since honey was, at that time, more a product of the wild bees than one produced by bees tended by men, as is the case today, it might still be in reasonable supply. So, if a man nourished the “young cow and two sheep,” and gathered whatever honey he could, he might subsist on the butter and honey available. There would be little, if anything, more to eat. This shows just how great is the desolation decreed upon Judah .

(Verses 23 through 25) And it shall come to pass in that day, that in every place where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall be even for briers and thorns. With arrows and bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns. And on all the hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.

In the time of this judgment the desolation will be so great that, no matter how valuable a vineyard may have been, it will be completely forsaken. And with none to dress it, it will be totally overrun by briers and thorns. The only use anyone can make of the land is as a place to hunt wild game. They shall come there with arrows and bows. No cultivating will be done. Verse 25 might be subject to either of two explanations. It appears to mean that there may be a few hills where someone will by hand, that is, with a mattock, dig up, and remove the thorns and briers. Where such is done, there will be no fear of briers and thorns, but such areas can be used for the grazing of both oxen and lesser cattle, such as sheep and goats. The other possible explanation of this is that, although where the land is cultivated, briers and thorns are not allowed to grow, but the land can be used for grazing; yet this will not be the case here, for there will be none to cultivate it. All one can do in such a case is to turn the cattle loose on it to make their own way as best they can. No matter which way one may view this, the picture is of great desolation.

Chapter 8

(Verses 1 through 4) Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man’s pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz. (This name, according to commentators, means, “speedy is the prey.”) And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz. 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 taken away before the king of Assyria .

“The prophetess” was the wife of Isaiah the prophet. There is no record that she ever uttered a single word of prophecy. But the term, “prophetess” is applied to her for, possibly two reasons. First, she was the wife of the prophet. And, second, she was to bear the son whom the LORD was giving as a sign to the people. So that the matter might be established by at least two witnesses as required by the law of God, Isaiah called upon two faithful men to bear record of what the LORD told him that He would bring to pass. These men were Uriah and Zechariah. When this son was born, the LORD told Isaiah to name him Mahershalalhashbaz, (“speedy is the prey,”) because the prey of Damascus and Samaria would be taken away by the king of Assyria before this child would be old enough to say, “My father, and my mother.”

(Verses 5 through 8) The LORD spake also unto me again, saying, Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son; therefore, behold, the LORD bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks: And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of Thy land, O Immanuel.

One sign and one promise have been given. Then the LORD spoke again to Isaiah. First He tells the reason for His action, and then He tells what that action will be. Since He has just been speaking of Damascus , the head, or capitol of Syria , and Samaria , the capitol of Israel , when He says, “this people,” He is evidently referring to the people of these two kingdoms. He says that they refuse “the waters of Shiloah, that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son.” Shiloah is, literally, the stream that flowed from the spring Gihon, and brought clean drinking water into one of the pools in Jerusalem . Metaphorically, it is the goodness and mercy of the LORD to His people. Back in Chapter 7, verse 4, the LORD calls Rezin and the son of Remaliah “the two tails of these smoking firebrands.” Then, as He tells what they were planning, it is easy to see why He called them such. They were as dangerous as smoking firebrands that are left among debris that is ready to burn. Now because of their fiery ways and daring plans, the people of their kingdoms are caught up in the excitement, have quit seeking the gently flowing mercies of God, and are rejoicing in these two men. Therefore, instead of His gentle mercy, the LORD will bring upon them an overflowing river, the king of Assyria and his army. Since excitement is what they rejoice in, He will send them more of it than they will want. Not only will it be upon them, but it will be very great upon even “Thy land, O Immanuel,” the land of Judah . Although the desolation will be great in Judah , it will not be total destruction, as in Syria and Israel . It will, however, “reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of Thy land, O Immanuel.” Only because it is the land of “God with us” is it spared. Until the Lord gave His permission for such, it could not be completely overcome.

(Verses 9 and 10) Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves and ye shall be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.

As is often the case with the prophecies of Isaiah, there is some mingling of the immediate, and the far distant, future. Prior to verse 9 he has been telling of the terrible desolation that is to be brought upon Syria , Israel , and Judah . Verses 9 and 10 look forward to the day when all the nations shall be gathered against Judah and Israel in the last days. Compare Ezekiel Chapters 38 and 39, Zechariah Chapter 14, and Revelation 16:14-16. Even the first declaration in verse 9 seems to address the immediate situation. “Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces.” (Usually, in scripture, “the people,” “ye people,” and similar expressions refer to the Jews, while other expressions, such as “Gentiles,” “nations,” “countries” “heathen,” etc., refer to those other than Jews.) So this first address seems to be to those of Judah and Israel , warning them that to take part in the confederacy of Rezin and Pekah, will bring them total destruction. The LORD has determined to send against them the king of Assyria and his army. And as they associate themselves together in the confederacy of Rezin and Pekah, they are only preparing for their own destruction. Although some of this desolation will also be in “Immanuel’s land,” none who are in the confederacy can escape. For God is He, Who sends it; and none can escape. Then the address is “All ye of far countries,” none of which was involved in the overflowing of “the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria,” except Assyria itself, whom the LORD sent to do that work. Therefore this second address must look forward to another event. “Give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.” In that great battle, according to both Ezekiel and Zechariah, the LORD Himself will do the fighting for Jerusalem and Israel . So surely in this it is fitting to say, “For God is with us.” In the earlier event “The LORD is against us” would be a more appropriate claim.

(Verses 11 through 15) For the LORD spake this to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of the people, saying, Say ye not A confederacy, to all them to whom the people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the LORD of hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. And He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel , for a gin and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem . And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.

The LORD very sternly warned Isaiah, and commanded him to turn away from the way of the people of Israel and Judah . He was not even to consider joining the confederacies that the people were making with others. Instead the LORD told him, “Sanctify the LORD of hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread.” He was to follow Solomon’s advice, “Fear God, and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” This is a commandment we should all put forth every possible effort to keep. There is a promise attached to it. “And He shall be for a sanctuary.” Since a sanctuary is a place of refuge, how wonderful it is that He is our sanctuary! If we follow the instructions given to Isaiah, the promise is also to us. Alas! Both the houses of Israel , that is, both Judah and Israel , turned away from these instructions, and He became to them “for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of offense.” The Apostle Peter, in I Peter 2:8, indicates that this “stone of stumbling” is our Lord Christ Jesus. And indeed He both was, and is, unto those who do not believe in Him. But to us who believe, He is a sanctuary, and is most precious. Although, surely, to Isaiah and to any others who believed the word of the LORD, He was a sanctuary even in that day, to the unbelievers He was a stone of stumbling. They then, as now, stumble, fall, and are broken, snared and taken.

(Verses 16 through 18) Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth His face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for Him. Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, Which dwelleth in mount Zion .

No doubt, in this declaration, Isaiah was asking that the LORD would bind up, and establish, the testimony and law of God among those who believed and followed him, Isaiah, as he waited upon, and looked for the LORD to fulfill His promises declared “I will look for Him. And he has already, in the earlier part of this chapter, shown that he and his son, Mahershalalhashbaz, are for a sign to Israel , and to those who dwell in mount Zion . But this also appears to be a prophecy of the coming of the Christ. His testimony was bound up, and His law sealed among His disciples, even though, for the greater part, the LORD did hide His face from the house of Jacob; that is, the whole house of Israel . Certainly, as always, the LORD reserved a remnant among them. And this remnant looked for, and recognized Him when He appeared. Many times Jesus referred to His disciples as “given to Him of the Father.” And they were indeed “for signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, Which dwelleth in mount Zion .” Today many of our people seem to have forgotten that Jesus served most of His earthly ministry among the Jews, even declaring, “I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel .” (Matthew 15:24) All of His apostles were Jews, and for some time after His ascension the gospel was preached primarily to the Jews. Even the Apostle Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, made it his custom to preach first to the Jews in every place he visited. Even when he was taken to Rome , the first ones to whom he preached were the Jews of that city. So, indeed Isaiah’s declaration, “Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, Which dwelleth in mount Zion ,” well describes our Lord Jesus.

(Verses 19 and 20) And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

Notice that the first statement here is not, “If they shall say unto you,” but “When they shall say unto you.” Judah and Israel were both so contaminated with the idolatrous practices of the heathen nations around them that they, instead of inquiring of God what they ought to do, would go to fortune tellers, soothsayers, astrologers, and even necromancers, for the answers to their problems. So surely they would advise Isaiah to do the same. When they did, his answer was to be, “Should not a people seek unto their God?” Anyone who reviews the history of Israel , from the day they were delivered from the Egyptian bondage to the time of Isaiah, can immediately see that the LORD is the only leader and protector they ever had needed, or ever would need. They ought to remember what message king Saul received when he went to, and consulted with the necromancer, the witch of Endor. Surely they should “seek unto their God,” instead of going to such. After all, what possible advantage can there be in asking the dead concerning the living, when there is One to Whom we can go Who lives eternally? Look to His law and His testimony. Those who do not, have no light, or understanding, in them.

(Verses 21 and 22) And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward. And they shell look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.

Since in our everyday conversation, we seldom, if ever, use the word, “bestead,” it may be well to remember that it means, “placed, disposed, or circumstanced, as to convenience, benefit, and the like.” It is always used with a word describing the situation. To be “hardly bestead” is to be in extremely hard circumstances. In this instance, “they shall pass through it (the land) hardly bestead and hungry.” That is, in the time of desolation the LORD has declared that He will send upon Judah and Israel , the people will be in such hard circumstances that they will be hungry, not just as one might be after fasting for a day, but as in time of great famine. While enduring this, their suffering will be so great that they will curse their king who has brought upon them such a catastrophe. They will even look up, and curse God, Whom they have claimed as their God, but have so greatly dishonored by going to the soothsayers, necromancers, etc., instead of seeking Him. Then they shall cast their eyes down to the earth, and there they shall see nothing but trouble, anguish, and darkness. “They shall be driven to darkness.” Just as is always true of those who claim the LORD as their God, but have neither faith in Him nor love for Him, when faced with sore trials and suffering, they are driven further into darkness. This darkness, in general, also applied to the Jews in the time when our Lord Jesus was here in the flesh. Yet, even then, as well as today, God reserved a remnant among them.

Chapter 9

(Verses 1 through 4) Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in the vexation, when at the first He lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before Thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For Thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.

Now the prophet looks forward to the time of the ministry of Jesus on earth, saying, “Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first He lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by way of the sea, beyond Jordan in Galilee of the nations.” As history witnesses, the vexation of Israel was in more than one wave. At first it was lighter than in the later part thereof, which culminated in the Babylonian captivity. By the time of the birth of our LORD, although Israel was under the occupation and government of Rome , the yoke of captivity had been broken off their necks, and they were even allowed some autonomy under the overall rule of the Romans. Herod was even permitted to call himself a king, although he was only a tetrarch under the auspices and rule of the Caesar at Rome . It was under these circumstances that our Savior appeared. After returning from Egypt , He spent His boyhood in Nazareth of Galilee, And much of His ministry was carried on in Galilee and the surrounding area. Matthew tells us in Matthew 4:12-16, “And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephtalim: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, ‘The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephtalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: the people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region of the shadow of death light is sprung up.’” Isaiah goes on to say, “Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy.” That is, although the population has increased so that, in that respect, the country is no longer desolate, as it was in that great vexation and darkness, there has, as yet, been no great hope set before the people that they might rejoice with any great joy. Until the birth of our Lord Jesus, there was still nothing but darkness before them. Review the messages spoken by the angel to Mary, and to Joseph , before the birth of Jesus, that given to the shepherds on the night after His birth, and Simeon’s discourse in the temple, when Jesus was taken there to be presented before the LORD. They were the first messages of hope given to Israel . That is, they were the first ones declaring that God had fulfilled His promise to Israel . At these messages, and those things which followed, those who truly “waited for the consolation of Israel ,” rejoiced before the LORD “according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.” Here again verse 4 is fulfilled. For in our Lord Christ Jesus every believer is set free. The yoke of bondage is broken and the rod of his oppressor is taken away.

(Verses 5 through 7) For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and He shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Today, with our modern weapons of war, a natural battle might be fought, in which none but the dead and wounded would get any blood on themselves or their garments. But in Isaiah’s day battles were fought hand to hand with swords, spears, and other hand weapons. In such a battle, a man might not even get a scratch, but his garments would be soaked in the blood of those slain next to him, whether by himself, or by others. Such were the ways of natural battles in that time. Also there would be a great deal of noise, the clang of sword against sword, the shouts of the combatants, the cries of the wounded, etc. But this battle that shall bring such great rejoicing shall not be so. “It shall be with burning and fuel of fire.” Notice what John the Baptist said about Jesus. (Matthew 3:11-12) “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Certainly this battle will be with burning and fuel of fire. As He baptizes His people with fire, He completely consumes their sins so that they can never again be reckoned against them. And when His threshing is finished, He will store His wheat, the righteous, in His garner, a place of safekeeping. But the chaff, the wicked, He will burn with unquenchable fire.

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given.” Although this had not taken place before Isaiah spoke it, and did not take place for many years afterwards, he could speak of it as already a completed work, because it was determined of the LORD, and none could interfere with its fulfillment. This Son is no other than our Lord Jesus, the Son of God, our Savior. First we are told His position. “The government shall be upon His shoulder.” That is, He is the King, and all responsibility for the kingdom is His. Whatever decree He may declare shall stand, and none can gainsay it. Remember that when He was baptized, there came a voice from the Father in heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.” And at His transfiguration, the Father repeated the same message, and added, “Hear ye Him.” In John 5:22-23, Jesus said, “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father Which hath sent Him.” So without controversy the government is on His shoulders. Then we are told some of His official names. “And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” In the Hebrew Language, as in most ancient languages, there was not the punctuation that we use in Modern English. Some have suggested that the comma should not be located between “wonderful,” and “counselor.” Certainly there is no reason to quibble about this. For although He surely is a Wonderful Counselor, He is no less Wonderful in all His works and ways. So with either punctuation the situation does not change. He is to be called, “The Mighty God.” Isaiah has already twice called Him “Immanuel,” or “God with us.” So He is the Mighty God, making this properly His name. He shall be called “The Everlasting Father.” Although Jesus often spoke of God as His Father, yet He declared that He and the Father are One. And John declared, “There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are One.” So, without controversy, He is The Everlasting Father. One more of His names is here given, “The Prince of Peace.” And all who have ever experienced His wonderful love and the peace it brings to our souls, know, and have no need of further proof, that He is The Prince of Peace. Surely verse 7 needs no explanation. It simply declares that the kingdom, which includes both the natural throne of David, and the eternal throne of the kingdom of God , are His, and there shall be no end to the increase of His kingdom and the peace thereof as He shall forever reign. And contrary to all natural kingdoms and nations in the world, which, although they may have been begun with judgment and justice, because of the wickedness of man, become corrupted, His kingdom is established by Him, “with judgment and justice from henceforth and for ever.” This cannot possibly fail, “for the zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”

(Verses 8 through 10) The LORD sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel . And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of their heart, The bricks have fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycamores are cut down, but we will change them unto cedars.

Here Isaiah declares that not only has the LORD sent a word, or message, into Jacob, but that it has been received by them. In this text Jacob and Israel are identical, since both names refer to the same man, Jacob, whose name God changed to Israel . In this usage it also includes Judah , because the double usage of it includes the whole house of Israel . The fact that they had received this message does not, in any wise, indicate that they believed it, or that they would obey it. However it does render them inexcusable for not believing and obeying it. Yet, although they heard, and knew the message, they pushed it aside, and continued to follow their own plans. Surely, this “word” was the affliction the Lord sent upon them, “when at the first He lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali .” See verse 1. That “vexation” had no effect upon them. Instead of repenting of their evils, and turning to the LORD, they, in their arrogance, pride, and stubbornness, said, “The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycamores are cut down, but we will change them to cedars.” They thought that they could, by putting forth a little more effort, re-establish everything that had been lost. This is a common failing of mankind. Instead of recognizing that the LORD is the One, Who is in charge of the matter. We think that we can replace that which was torn down, or lost, with something better, without changing our approach to the situation, and especially without repenting of our evil ways, and turning to the LORD. Man often forgets that God is the Creator of all things; and what He created, He can also destroy. But the foolishness of man is such that, he thinks himself greater than all. With this attitude, they brought on their own desolation.

(Verses 11 through 13) Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together; the Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still. For the people turneth not unto Him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts.

Since Rezin was king of Syria , and this message concerns the turning of the Syrians against Israel in spite of the confederacy between Pekah and Rezin, the reading of verse 11 seems to leave something to be desired. A reading more in keeping with the remainder of the message might be, “Therefore the LORD shall set up his ( Israel ’s) adversary, Rezin, against him, and join his enemies together,” thus it will exactly fit in with verse 12. “The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth.” So the LORD will destroy the confederacy between Pekah and Rezin, and bring Rezin and the Syrians, together with the Philistines, against Israel . Thus surrounded by enemies, Israel will be destroyed as if some big-mouthed monster had devoured them. Even this destruction of Israel will not assuage the anger of the LORD, and turn it away. His hand will still be stretched forth in anger against them, to continue their chastisement. The reason for this is that, under the first “vexation” they have not repented nor turned to the LORD to seek after Him. Instead they stubbornly follow their own plans as set forth in verse 10. There has been no repentance.

(Verses 14 through 17) Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. The ancient and honorable, he is the head; and the prophet that teaches lies, he is the tail. For the leaders of this people cause them to err, and they that are led of them are destroyed. Therefore the LORD shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall He have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is a hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.

Except for whatever remnant the LORD is pleased to spare, and at this point He mentions none, this cutting off is all inclusive. He begins with “the head and tail,” and concludes with the fatherless and widows. He explains that the head is “the ancient and honorable.” In the community government of that day, the “ancient,” or old men were thought to be wise by reason of age and experience, and were therefore the members of the council that governed the community. As such they were considered honorable men, or men worthy of honor. So, obviously, “the head” refers to the rulers, or leaders, of the community. Although the prophet had no official position in the government, He was considered as the “mouthpiece” of the LORD, to declare His word to the people. Surely, if he declared God’s word faithfully he would not have been called “the tail.” But the false prophet, “the prophet that teacheth lies,” is indeed the tail. Although he teaches lies instead of the truth of the LORD, the people consider him a prophet, and follow him and his teachings. Thus the leaders of this people are indeed the ones who cause them to err. From such as this only one result can accrue. “They that are led of them are destroyed.” Even the “young men,” who are always considered the pride of the community, are not pleasing to the LORD. He “shall have no joy” in them. In all the LORD’S instructions, to Isaiah, and to us, He has commanded that the widow and the fatherless are to be treated with special care, and never to be neglected or abused. Yet He says that He will have no mercy on their fatherless or their widows. His reason for this is “for every one is a hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly.” So He will cut them off, from the most highly honored leader to the lowest regarded citizen. Yet He is not pacified. “His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.” The expression, “His hand is stretched out still,: does not mean, as some like to interpret it, that His hand is held out in mercy, hoping that some sinner will repent and turn to Him. It is still stretched out in anger, ready to send more chastisement. For His anger is still not turned away.

(Verses 18 through 21) For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forests, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke. Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother. And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: They shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm: Manasseh, Ephraim, and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah . For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.

The wickedness of the people is so great that although everything has been made desolate, and nothing remains except briers and thorns, even these will be burned away by it. There is no open forest left. And even the thickets of the forest, the places where briers and thorns have replaced the destroyed forest, shall be burned also. Although the wickedness of the people is the cause of all the desolation, make no mistake about it. The Lord is the One, Who has sent this destruction upon them. The wrath of the LORD has brought about this darkness and desolation, “and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire.” The devastation will be so great that a man will not even have pity or compassion on his own brother. Verse 20 is regarded by some as declaring that the calamity will be so great that the people will be reduced even to cannibalism to survive. And, possibly, they may be correct, for the scriptures give instances of this. At any event, deprivation will be so great that none will have sufficient food. In such times, the closest of friends, and even brothers and sisters will turn against one another. Manasseh and Ephraim were the sons of Joseph, and Judah was their uncle. In this illustration, however, they are all used representatively of the tribes of which they were heads. In the dire straits brought on by this judgment, Ephraim and Manasseh will turn against each other, and both will be against Judah . There will be total chaos. Isaiah concludes this with the same declaration he has used before. “For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.” This statement should need no further explanation. It has the same meaning as before.

(Verses 1 through 4) Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; to turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of My people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless! And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation, which shall come from far? To whom will ye flee for help? And where will ye leave your glory? Without Me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.

Here a woe is pronounced against those who, as they sit in the seat of judgment, give forth unrighteous decrees, and those who have already “prescribed,” or written beforehand, “grievousness,” or unduly heavy penalties. That is, they pre-judge the case before they have even heard it, and prepare these heavy penalties. Obviously they have a purpose in this. That purpose is “to turn aside the needy from judgment (justice) and take away the right from the poor of My people, that the widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless.” When we consider many of the cases decided in our courts today, it seems that Isaiah had us as much in mind as he did Judah and Jerusalem , to whom he addressed the book of this prophecy. The LORD has always called upon us to carefully refrain from abusing the needy, the poor, the widows, and the fatherless. But since they have not the material means for “fighting their cases,” unjust judges have often taken advantage of them. Woe unto such! Verse 3 poses a series of questions for such judges. “And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? To whom will ye flee for help? And where will ye leave your glory?” The woe has been declared by the word of God. It will come. And as is asked in an old “Spiritual” song we used to sing, “Where you gonna hide on that great day?” Here the LORD asks, “To whom will ye flee for help?” signifying that they cannot come to Him at that time. What good will their glory do them then? So, where will they leave it? Then He tells exactly what their lot will be in that day. “Without Me they shall bow down under (among) the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain.” That is, they shall either be killed in the battle, or be taken captive by their enemies. Even when this is done it will not be sufficient to turn aside the anger of the LORD.

(Verses 5 and 6) O Assyrian, the rod of Mine anger, and the staff in their hand is Mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of My wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

Here the LORD speaks of the army He has determined to send against His people, to chastise them for their sins. We have many today who tell us that God is so merciful and loving, that He is in no wise responsible for any of the great destruction and loss of life in war. But that will not measure up according to what the LORD says here, as well as in many other places in His word. In verse 5 He declares that the Assyrian, that is, the Assyrian army, which is to come against Judah and Israel , is the rod of His anger, “and the staff in their hand is” His own indignation. He further declares that He is the One, Who sends this army against them. And, further, He has given this army a charge, “to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down as the mire of the streets.” Can it be made any plainer? I think not. But, if He sent such upon His own chosen nation because they were a hypocritical nation, What do you think He may do to this hypocritical nation of ours?

(Verses 7 through 11) Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few. For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings? Is not Calno as Carchemish ? Is not Hamath as Arpad? Is not Samaria as Damascus ? As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and Samaria ; shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?

Not only was it the LORD, Who sent the Assyrians against Jerusalem and Judah , but He also knew just what would be going through the mind of the king of Assyria during the time. He would have no inkling that he was being sent by the LORD, or by anyone else. He would be filled with thoughts of his own power and glory, and would think that the whole idea of the campaign was his own. His ambition would be to cut off, or subdue many kingdoms, that he might be glorified. He would think that even his princes, or secondary officials, were fully as great as the kings of other nations. As he considered the other nations he had overcome, he would hold Jerusalem in contempt, because he considered the graven images of the other cities he had conquered to be much superior to those of Jerusalem . Therefore he would expect to do to Jerusalem and her idols, as he had done to other cities and their idols. There was in his mind no thought of the LORD, Who, actually, sent him on this work.

(Verses 12 through 14) Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the LORD hath performed His whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem , I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria , and the glory of his high looks. For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom: for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man: and my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.

Although the Assyrian king would do exactly what the LORD sent him to do, God would also punish him, not for what he did, but for the lofty opinion he had of himself, and for thinking that he had accomplished all of this by his own power. Any time an individual, becomes so exalted in his thinking that he tries to take to himself all the glory of any achievement without recognizing that he could not have done it without the help of God, he is headed for a fall. In Isaiah 42:8 the LORD says, “I am the LORD: that is My name: and My glory will I not give to another, neither My praise to graven images.” And, again, in Isaiah 48:11, “For Mine own sake, even for Mine own sake, will I do it: for how should My name be polluted? And I will not give My glory to another.” Certainly both of these quotations were spoken concerning blessings He will give to His own. But, without question, they equally apply to chastisement He may send, as well. What we said above concerning an individual will also apply to a nation. And that is what gives me a great fear concerning our own nation. We have become far too arrogant and highminded, thinking that we have the power to tell all other nations what they have to do. Because the Assyrian king had such a lofty opinion of himself, the LORD declared that He would punish him; and history shows that He did punish him. And since He did, will He not also punish us? Here is where we have to leave this matter. It is not ours to question why the LORD did not give to Tiglath-pileser a more humble heart, since he was being sent to do a work for the LORD. That remains the LORD’S business only, and not ours.

(Verses 15 and 16) Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? Or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? As if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should shake itself, as if it were no wood. Therefore shall the LORD, the LORD of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness, and under his glory He shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire.

The series of questions in verse 15 might, by some, be considered foolish. For, surely, no tool can do any work without someone to wield it. That is exactly the point of the whole matter. In verse 5, the LORD speaks thus, “O Assyrian, the rod of Mine anger, and the staff in their hand is Mine indignation.” So, surely, the king of Assyria was no more than a tool in the hand of the LORD. Therefore it is ridiculous that he should try to claim the glory of his conquest. For this reason the LORD would punish him by sending “among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory He shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire.” That is, they, who in the conquest had taken so much wealth, and were so exalted in their own minds, would be stripped of this wealth, and brought down to grovel before the enemies that should come upon them. And the glory of Tiglath-pileser himself would be removed, just as  rubbish  is removed by a fire that is kindled under it.

(Verses 17 through 19) And the Light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day; and shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standard bearer fainteth. And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.

Although the Assyrians were overthrown, and the Babylonians also came and took the Jews captive, carrying many of them away to Babylon; and much later the Romans destroyed Jerusalem, and the Jews were dispersed throughout all nations, as is still the case today, verse 17 seems to overleap all of this to the final restoration of Israel. In this consideration, the Assyrian king is used to represent all the Gentile nations that would come against Israel . In the time of judgment of the nations, “The Light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it (the flame) shall burn and devour his (the Gentiles’) thorns and his briers in one day; and shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body (utterly): and they shall be as when a standard bearer fainteth.” The “Light of Israel” and “his Holy One,” are One and the same, none but our Lord Christ Jesus. He will be the fire and the flame that shall burn and devour the “briers and thorns” of the Gentiles. See Zechariah 14:3-15. The standard bearer is the one who carries the flag around which the army rallies. When he faints, or is killed, the whole army is thrown into confusion. All the Gentiles will not be annihilated, but they, “his trees” shall be so few that even a child shall be able to count and record those that are left. There will no more be so many of them that they will even consider trying to lord it over Israel . See Zechariah 14:16-21.

(Verses 20 through 23) And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob shall no more again stay (depend) upon him that smote them; but they shall stay (depend) upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the Mighty God. For though the people of Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption (destruction) decreed shall overflow with righteousness. For the Lord GOD of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.

Sometimes in scripture, we find the LORD speaking of Himself as the One, Who smites Israel with chastisement, and calling upon them to return to Him. But in this instance, :”him that smote them,” refers to the Gentile nations that from verse 17 have been represented by the Assyrian king. In that day they will cease to depend upon the Gentiles who have been their masters for so long, and will turn back to lean upon “the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.” This too is abundantly shown in Zechariah’s prophecy. In that day the LORD’S remnant shall return. Although the number of Israel is as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return. This makes no reference to the Gentiles, who are even now being brought in. It is only concerned with the Israelites who shall be re-gathered to Jerusalem in that day. A great destruction, “a consumption,” is decreed for that day. But it shall overflow with righteousness, because the LORD God of hosts has decreed it, and will bring it to pass. It will take place “in the midst of all the land;” that is, in the land of Israel . See Ezekiel, Chapters 38 and 39, Zechariah, Chapters 13 and 14, and Revelation 16:13 -16.

(Verses 24 through 27) Therefore saith the Lord GOD of hosts, O My people that dwellest in Zion , be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt . For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and Mine anger in their destruction. And the LORD of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock Oreb: and as His rod was upon the sea, so shall He lift it up after the manner of Egypt . And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.

Here the LORD gives a message of comfort to His “people that dwellest in Zion ..” They are not to be afraid of the Assyrian, that is, Tiglath-pileser and his army. Some years later there was an Assyrian conquest that overcame Jerusalem , but this one was stopped before Jerusalem was taken. Even at this time, the Assyrians did much damage to some of the cities of Judah . Although the Assyrians would be permitted to overthrow Judah , and enslave some of its inhabitants, like the enslavement in Egypt , the Lord would “stir up a scourge” against them and break off the yoke of bondage they imposed upon Judah . He will bring His people out of this bondage just as He did from the Egyptian slavery. While it is true that the Assyrians did take many captives from some of the cities of Judah, remove them from the land, and settle foreigners in their places; and many of those removed have not yet returned, this message was to “My people that dwellest in Zion.” And this Assyrian army was not permitted to destroy Jerusalem or mount Zion .

(Verses 28 through 32) He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron: at Mic-mash he hath laid up his carriages: they are gone over the passage: they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is fled. Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim: cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth. Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee. As yet shall he remain at Nob that day: he shall shake his hand against the daughter of Zion , the hill of Jerusalem.

This is simply a layout of the route followed by the Assyrian army on its way to Jerusalem . But when they arrived at Jerusalem , they could only shake their hand, or their fist, at the city. The LORD did not permit them even to attack it. It was then that the LORD sent an angel, who destroyed 185,000 mighty men of the Assyrian army in one night. This was in the time of Hezekiah, king of Judah . And at this time Senacherib was king of Assyria instead of Tiglath-pileser. After this, Senacherib returned with his army to Nineveh , where he was murdered by two of his own sons.

(Verses 33 and 34) Behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled. And He shall cut down the thickets of the forests with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.

This very aptly describes what the LORD did to Senacherib and his army. II Kings 19:35-37 gives the details of the matter thus: “And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore, and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. So Senacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned to Nineveh . And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adramalech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia . And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.” It seems that this adequately fulfills verses 33 and 34.

(Verses 1 through 3) And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. And shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, nor reprove after the hearing of His ears:

That this entire chapter sets forth the coming of our Lord Jesus, the Christ, is in no wise to be doubted. However, there seems to be a great misunderstanding among many of the LORD’S people concerning the timing of some things pertaining to this wonderful event. If we did not have the record set before us by the apostles of our Lord, there might be some excuse for this misunderstanding, because in this chapter, as in many of Isaiah’s prophecies, he did not give us a clear separation of events, according to time. Only from the gospel record do we learn that some things, those, which pertain to the redemption of His people, were to be done during His first advent, which, as we know, was very short, only about thirty-three and one half years; while others await His second coming. In the first, He came as “the Lamb of God,” to be sacrificed for His people. In the second, He will come as the King of glory, to reward His people, and bring judgment upon the wicked, the world, and Satan. Much of both are mingled in Isaiah’s prophecies. That is one reason why our Lord told His disciples, “But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them.” (Matthew 13:16-17) Had Isaiah been permitted to see and hear those things seen and heard by the apostles, what a joy it would have been to him! The Apostle Peter tells us, in I Peter 1:10-12, “Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ Which was in them did signify, when they testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.” Surely, the “Rod out of the stem of Jesse” and the “Branch” growing out of “his roots,” can be none but our Lord Christ Jesus. And He was certainly filled with “the Spirit of the LORD,” because He is God manifest in the flesh. He was endowed with “the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.” He also had “quick understanding in the fear of the LORD.” And although the Father had committed all judgment unto Him, (John 5:22 ,) and any judgment He might render was righteous, and not according to appearance or hearsay, He repeatedly told us that He did not, at that time, come as a judge. Therefore we are to understand that there is to be a break between verse 3 and the remainder of the chapter.

(Verses 4 and 5) But with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins.

Here we have leaped forward beyond the time of our Lord’s suffering as the sacrificial Lamb of God, to the time of His reigning as the great King and Judge, the time when He shall subdue all the earth, all men, and all things, under His mighty power and judgment, which are themselves founded in righteousness and faithfulness. As we continue, we shall see the result of such a gracious reign.

(Verses 6 through 9) The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

What astounds me is the claim that many of our brethren make, that this text is a description of the gospel church in this dispensation. Were it not so serious, it might even be considered comical. If this claim were true, there would never be any schism in the church, and no one in the church would ever become irritated at another. Isaiah tells us that, the wolf and the lamb, the leopard and the kid, (young goat,) the calf and the young lion, and the cow and the bear, shall be at perfect peace one with the other. Even a little child can, without fear, lead them. This is not a reference to the “Holy Child Jesus,” but a common reference to any little child. It is used to show just how great will be the peace in the kingdom of God in that day. Even the lion shall eat straw like the ox. Some will surely say, “But that just cannot be. The lion is a carnivore. He certainly will not eat vegetation as does the ox.” Let me refer you to Genesis 1:29-31. “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.” Before the curse was placed upon the earth for the sake of man’s sin, there were no carnivores. When the curse is removed, there will be no carnivores. Of course, someone will say, “But there will not be any animals in the new earth, of which the Apostle Peter speaks.” He did not say there would not. And the Apostle Paul evidently expected that there will be. (Romans 8:19-22) “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same, in hope because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth  in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” In this quotation the word, “creature” appears three times, and “creation” once. All four of these words are translations of the same Greek word, “Ktisis,” which means “a creation, or that which is created.” And in the Greek-English Lexicon, this very quotation is referenced as an example of its meaning what we usually refer to as “nature,” which includes the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms. I, by no means contend that God has provided salvation for animals as He has for His elect. But in that new world, if He sees fit, He can surely provide animals that have a peaceful nature instead of that violent nature that some do since the curse was placed upon the earth. The important thing is not so much a matter of whether or not there will be animals in the new earth, as it is a declaration of how peaceful everything there will be. To apply this description to the gospel church, as some do, one has to change every one of these animals into something else, which he has imagined it represents, and then try to decipher the meaning of their relationship to each other in the church. After he has done this, he is faced with an insurmountable fact. There has never been, nor is there now, a time when such all inclusive peace reigned in the church. Even while Jesus was here on earth, His disciples got into disputes about which of them should be the greatest. The Apostle Paul once had to publicly rebuke very sternly the Apostle Peter for causing dissension in the church at Antioch . And even today there are still disputes in the church running into lifelong anger between two brethren, or even between two groups of those claiming to be disciples of the Lord. That is certainly not the picture given us by Isaiah. The Apostle Peter has given us a declaration that might clarify the matter somewhat. (II Peter 3:10-13) “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.” This new earth is the kingdom of our Lord, in which shall be fulfilled what Isaiah has here told us. The curse brought on by the sin of man will be forever removed, so that, “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.”

(Verses 10 through 14} And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and His rest shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel , and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The enemy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah , and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab ; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.

Again in verse 10, Isaiah speaks of the “root of Jesse,” or descendant of Jesse, Who shall come. This is, of course, the Christ, as in verse 1. This appears to reach back to the time of His first advent, and follow through to the time of the final re-gathering of both Judah and Israel . “He shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and His rest shall be glorious.” An ensign is a badge or mark of honor, or a flag or standard by which a military unit is identified. This last definition clearly is in keeping with Isaiah’s meaning. As we examine the gospel record, we see that indeed “the people,” or those, who waited “for the consolation of Israel ,” as did Simeon, were gathered to Him, as soldiers rally around their flag. So also did the Gentiles unto whom He was revealed. He is still gathering His people from among the Gentiles. When the fullness of the Gentiles is come in, He will remove the blindness from Israel . His rest is glorious even today, but not to be compared to its glory when He does remove their blindness. Then, as the Apostle Paul says, the natural branches of the good olive tree shall be grafted in again. Then He will re-gather Judah and Israel from all the nations where they have been scattered. All the outcasts of Israel , and the dispersed of Judah will be brought back. And no more will Ephraim ( Israel ) envy Judah , nor will Judah vex Ephraim. Their envy and vexation have continued since the days of Jeroboam and Rehoboam, who first divided the kingdom after the death of Solomon. When the LORD shall have re-gathered Judah and Israel , they will be one kingdom again, and shall be greater than they were even under the reign of Solomon. “They shall lay their hand upon (rule over) Edom and Moab ; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.

(Verses 15 and 16) And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with a mighty wind shall He shake His hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. And there shall be an highway for the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt .

Just as the LORD called a few Gentiles even during the law dispensation, and reserved a remnant among the Jews while calling forth His people from among the Gentiles, so when Judah and Israel are re-gathered, He will still have a remnant of His people among the Gentiles. And He will provide a way for them to come to Jerusalem , just as He provided a way for the Israelites to come up from Egypt , when He delivered Israel from the Egyptian bondage.

(Verses 1 through 3) And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise Thee: though Thou wast angry with me, Thine anger is turned away, and Thou comfortedst me Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

This message of comfort is given to Judah and Jerusalem , the ones to whom this book of prophecy has been addressed from the beginning. With all the calamities the LORD has declared that He will send upon them, those who feared Him were, surely, under a great burden of sorrow for all the woes that were to come. Chapter 11 changes the picture somewhat, and sets before them a promise of future blessings to be brought about by “the Branch” that shall arise from the roots (descendants) of Jesse, the father of David. We fully believe that this wonderful Branch has done marvelous things for us. But this is not so much the thrust of this prophecy as are those things He will do for Judah and Israel . His blessings to them will be so wonderful that they who see the fulfillment of them will praise the LORD JEHOVAH for turning away His wrath from them, and giving them comfort. They will gladly declare Him to be their salvation, their strength, and their song. We who have become accustomed to turning on a faucet, and getting plenty of water when we want it, may have forgotten to some extent, the days when, in order to get fresh water we had to go to the well, and draw it. But not so with those whom Isaiah addressed. Further, Israel is a land that, for the greater part, has always been arid. So these people knew the value of fresh water, even when they had to work for it by drawing it out of the well. So to draw water signifies a time of refreshing. Therefore when Isaiah said, “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation, they knew that he was speaking of a time of great refreshing. In Acts 3:19-21, the Apostle Peter says, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and He shall send Jesus Christ, Which before was preached unto you: Whom the heavens must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.” That the fulfillment of this promise is still future, none can successfully deny. By faith in Him, we draw water from the wells of salvation even today, but not as we shall in that day when we see the whole mystery of God fulfilled.

(Verses 4 through 6) And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon His name, declare His doings among the people, make mention that His name is exalted. Sing unto the LORD, for He hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion : for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

It seems hardly possible to make this any clearer than Isaiah has declared it. Since his message, from Chapter 1 through Chapter 12 has, in brief, covered all things from Isaiah’s day until the finishing of the mystery of God, the day of its finish will be so glorious to all the inhabitants of Zion, (and surely this includes both natural and spiritual Zion, for at that day all will be united before our great and holy God,) that everyone will shout forth His praises, declare His works, and declare that His name is exalted. While still in this flesh, it is impossible for us to even begin to comprehend the glory of that great day.

(Verses 1 through 5) The burden of Babylon , which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see. Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles. I have commanded My sanctified ones, I have also called My mighty ones for Mine anger, even them that rejoice in My highness. The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people, a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle. They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of His indignation, to destroy the whole land.

Having, in the preceding chapters, given Isaiah a very brief view of the time from the giving of the prophecy to the final re-gathering of Israel , the LORD now gives him a message concerning Babylon , “the burden of Babylon .” When the expression, “the burden of” any country is used, it introduces a very solemn message for that country. And, in this case, it refers to a very serious judgment, and destruction that is determined for Babylon . Although Babylon has hardly been mentioned in the earlier part of Isaiah’s prophecy, it is the kingdom that was permitted to completely overthrow Judah and Jerusalem , and carry away many captives from there to the city of Babylon . Here the LORD declares the great destruction that He is going to send upon the kingdom of Babylon for their cruelty to His people, Remember that, although He sent the Assyrians against Israel and Judah, He yet afterward destroyed them. So He will also do to the Babylonians. So He calls for all His sanctified ones and His mighty ones, even those who rejoice in His highness, to lift up a banner upon the high mountain, “exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, (or fist,) that they may go into the gates of the nobles.” The LORD’S people may have been hidden away because of their fear of the Babylonians, but now they are to let themselves be known, for the LORD is about to pour out His anger upon those who have oppressed His people. There will be a great noise as of the armies of the kingdoms of the Gentiles coming from a far country to destroy the whole land. These are the weapons of the LORD as He pours His indignation upon them.

(Verses 6 through 10) Howl ye; for the day is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: and they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

Although this is a part of the “burden of Babylon ,” it appears to reach even further than to the destruction of Babylon , and even to the great battle of Armageddon. When the LORD says, “Howl ye,” He is addressing Babylon , not His people. For His people it will be shouting time, because He is ready to avenge them. This will be a time of vengeance, when the Almighty shall send destruction upon the wicked. It will be a time when all the wicked shall be afraid, an emotion they have never known before. Heretofore they have been bold and arrogant. But in that day they will be burdened with pangs and sorrows as a woman in childbirth. They will be amazed at one another, and so embarrassed that their faces will be as flames. In that day the LORD will vent His wrath and fierce anger upon the land to make it desolate, and to “destroy the sinners thereof out of it.” Verse 10 may, possibly, have a double meaning. In reference to the destruction of Babylon , it may mean that the desolation and sorrow of that day will be so great in Babylon that it will cause such great depression in the minds of the people that it will seem to them that neither the sun nor the moon is giving any light. And in reference to that final great judgment surely these signs will literally take place. Study should be made of the whole book of Revelation, particularly Chapters 6 through 19.

(Verses 11 through 14) And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger. And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land.

This text seems to apply more to that great battle of Armageddon than to the destruction of Babylon , for in that great battle the armies of all the nations will be gathered, and crushed. Then, indeed, He “will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.” And since so many armies shall there be crushed, He will make men scarce. And scarcity is what causes anything to be considered precious. If one could just go out on the road, and pick up diamonds by handfuls, no one would care anything about them But since they are scarce, they are considered very precious. In that day He “will make a man more precious than gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.” In that great day both the heavens and the earth shall be shaken. And shortly thereafter the earth itself shall be destroyed. As a result of that great battle, anyone of all those armies that is left will try to return to his own people. It will not be a matter of armies retreating, for there will be none. But the individuals that are left will try to go to their own places. What makes this stand out as applying to Armageddon rather than to Babylon is that in verse 4 He has said that it is a “tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of the nations gathered together.” And in verse 17 He will tell us that the Medes are the ones He is going to send against Babylon , with no mention of any other armies to be concerned in the matter. As in so many of Isaiah’s prophecies, we find both the near and the far distant future mingled. Only an understanding of what has taken place can show us what is still to be done. We can rest assured that whatever the LORD has said, He will do.

(Verses 15 through 18) Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword. Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished. Behold I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children.

Here we turn back exclusively to the burden of Babylon . The declaration is that the Medes will be so ferocious that they will not take prisoners, but will kill everyone they can find, even the little children. They will ravish the women before putting them to death. They will slay with their bows and arrows all the young men, that is, all the soldiers, and they will have no pity on the little babies, but will dash them to pieces. There will be no need to try to offer any ransom, or bribe, to persuade them to spare anyone, for they will have no regard for silver or gold. Their ferocity is so great that all they want to do is to kill and destroy. This is the kind of people the LORD will send against Babylon .

(Verses 19 through 22) And Babylon , the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah . It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: Neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.

This tells us the prospect for Babylon . This was a great city. Its hanging gardens were one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, renowned in all the civilized world. But, alas! When God sent destruction upon it, that destruction was complete. He says, “It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.” It will be in complete desolation. For a long time Bible scholars have argued over whether the LORD meant that it would never be rebuilt, or simply that that city would be so completely destroyed that no part of it would be inhabitable. And surely none of it was left suitable for habitation. It has been so desolate that the Arabian Nomads would not even pitch their tents there; neither would the shepherds build folds there for their flocks. It was left for the wild creatures to live there as they would. It is said that during his reign in Iraq , Saddam Hussein has been, and still is, spending billions of dollars in rebuilding Babylon in its original place, and even according to its original plan. Further, he is reported to have it almost finished. If this is true, it may, possibly, prove to be the same Babylon spoken of in Revelation, Chapters 14, 17, and 18. If so, it will be the city of the beast, or “the man of sin,” when He comes on the stage. According to the Apostle Paul’s Thessalonian letters, he will not be revealed until after the rapture. But it will be very shortly thereafter. So no one knows how close we may be now to the end of our journey. Paul felt, evidently, that it might even come before death overtook him. And surely it is closer now than it was then. As the LORD spoke this decree, He closed it thus: “and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.” He had determined this destruction, and it would not be delayed.

(Verses 1 and 2) For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel , and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.

Here the address turns away from Babylon , and back to the house of Jacob, that is, all Israel , not just Judah . If we examine this closely, we find that this again overreaches the return of the Jews after the Babylonian captivity, and extends to their final restoration. Cyrus did indeed, send some of them back to rebuild the temple and the wall of Jerusalem , and most of them did return after the 70 years captivity in Babylon , but they did not take those captive who had taken them captive, nor did they rule over their oppressors. Neither have they done so even to this day. But the word of God is true; and He has promised that this will take place. So undoubtedly this will come to pass in the final restoration. They still have a great day to which they can look.

(Verses 3 through 8) And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve, that thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon , and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! The golden city ceased! The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers. He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth. The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.

This is still addressed to the “house of Jacob.” The LORD declares to them that when He brings these things to pass, and gives them rest from all the suffering and hard bondage He has sent upon them, they will “take up this parable against the king of Babylon .” The first statement of this proverb is “How hath the oppressor ceased! The golden city ceased!” The oppressive rule of the king of Babylon , and the wealth of the city of Babylon were so well known that people, especially those who had been conquered and brought into bondage by Babylon had wondered if they would ever be brought down. But in that day they shall see it as an actual fact. And they will be made to wonder at it. Their joy will be almost incredible. Then they shall ascribe glory to God, as they say, “The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.” No man had been able to do this, but the LORD has accomplished it for Israel . They will remember with what wrath, and with what a heavy hand the king of Babylon had ruled the nations in anger. But as the LORD has laid His hand upon him, he who had been doing such evil things is himself persecuted, and none can help him. This lets the whole earth be at rest, without any tumults, or any confusion. They will in that day, break forth in singing. Even nature itself will rejoice. The fir trees and the cedars of Lebanon will say that since this wicked king is overthrown, none has come to cut them down. They are also left in peace. The worldwide coverage of this, as set forth in verses 6 through 8, seems to reach beyond the overthrow of Babylon , and embrace the final liberation of the world from the reign of the beast that arises in Revelation, Chapter 13, who is also called “the man of sin” in Paul’s second Thessalonian letter. Many have thought, and still do, that verses 9 through 20 are addressed to Satan himself, and refer to his being cast down from heaven in the beginning. However they also are a part of the proverb that the LORD said the house of Jacob would take up against the king of Babylon . If, in any way, they do address Satan, it seems that it would be as he is represented in that man of sin who shall, in the last days, rule over all the world. “Whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and destroy with the brightness of His coming.” (II Thessalonians 2:8) This would be very much in keeping with the mingling of the near and the distant events that is often seen in Isaiah’s prophecy.

(Verses 9 through 12) Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. And they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us? Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations!

It is unmistakable that this is addressed to the fallen king of Babylon . Refer to verse 4. Neither is what is here said hard to be understood. It simply declares that the dead, even dead kings of the nations, shall be brought before him in his death to call his attention to the fact that, although he was high and mighty in his life, he is in death no stronger than they, many of whom he may have conquered in life. The worms in the grave think no more of him than of them, who were considered less honorable in life. They will call his attention to what a great fall he has experienced. Many will say, that is nothing but fantasy. It just can’t be that way. I have only one question for such. Since the LORD said this is what will take place, whom shall I believe? The LORD? Or you? Verse 12 is what makes many want to consider this as being an address to Satan concerning his being cast out of heaven in the beginning. They contend that he was created as an angel of God. And because of his ambition he raised rebellion in heaven, and was cast out. All of this may be true, but with no more detail of it than we have in the scriptures, it would be very hard to prove. It is true that our Lord said, “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven,” and Jude speaks of the angels that kept not their first estate. But we have little more in the way of details on the subject. According to the language of verse 12, whoever is the recipient of this address had been one who had “weakened the nations,” something that was done before his fall. But according to the popular opinion, Satan fell before there even were nations for him to weaken. So, again I say that it seems that if this refers to Satan at all, it is as represented by “the man of sin” in the last days. He is here called, “Lucifer, son of the morning,” or “Lightbearer, son of the morning,” and is often freely translated, “the day star.” This appears to be a name he had conferred upon himself.

(Verses 13 through 19) For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? All the kings of the nations, even all of them lie in glory, every one in his own house. But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.

No doubt, the king of Babylon thought of himself as great, and, possibly, even as a god. Even Nebuchadnezzar thought himself so great that God would not be able to deliver Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from his fiery furnace. Even in recent times, the emperor of Japan thought, and so did most of his subjects, that he was a god. We see how all these turned out. But it was not at all unusual for kings to get such an exalted view of themselves when everything was going well for them. Although, certainly, such ideas are clearly false, almost all the ancient kings that were successful at all considered themselves as gods. The king of Babylon was one of them. But when he was to be brought down to hell, (whether the grave, or the burning hell makes no difference,) the dead that looked upon him would ridicule him for having such lofty ideas and coming to such an ignominious end. The usual end of a great king was to be buried in a splendid mausoleum with all possible pomp and ceremony. But not so with him. He was “cast out: of his grave, or not buried at all, with no more glory than would be given to the bloody garments of one who was slain with a sword, or as a body that was not even buried, but was cast out and “trodden under feet.” Remember that this is only a continuation of the proverb the house of Jacob would take up against the king of Babylon , when the LORD delivered them from his bondage. This also very clearly describes “the man of sin” of II Thessalonians 2:3-4.

(Verses 20 through 23) Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned. Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers, that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities. For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD. I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD.

Because this king has destroyed his land and slain his people, the LORD will not permit him to be renowned, or remembered as glorious. And even his children must pay the price of his evil. They will be cut off. Even the name, sons, and nephews, of this king shall be cut off from Babylon . And Babylon will be swept away by the destruction He will send upon it, so that it will only be the haunt of the wild creatures. This seems to be the end of the proverb the house of Jacob will take up against the king of Babylon .

(Verses 24 through 28) The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: that I will break the Assyrian in My land, and upon My mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders. This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all nations. For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? And His hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.

Here the focus is turned on Assyria . And the LORD declares that His purpose concerning Assyria shall be carried out. He will break Assyria in His land and upon His mountains. It will be done in Israel . When it is done, the Assyrian yoke and the Assyrian burden shall be taken off Israel . Then it seems that He reaches beyond the breaking of Assyria to the time when He shall bring to pass this same purpose upon all the whole earth, that is, to the final re-gathering of Israel . He says, “This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all nations. For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? And His hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?” This is over all the earth, and over all nations. The hand that is stretched out is not His hand of mercy, but His hand stretched out in anger, to bring judgment upon all nations. And none is able to turn it back. This message was given Isaiah in the year that king Ahaz died.

(Verses 29 through 31) Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent’s root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent. And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and He shall slay thy remnant. Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in His appointed times.

This is addressed to “whole Palestina,” the various heathen tribes that the Israelites had not driven out of the land. They had always been a thorn in the side of Israel . Of course they also had suffered in the Assyrian conflict, as had Israel and Judah . But even though the Assyrians, “him that smote thee,” will be broken, it will not be a time for these people to rejoice, or if they might rejoice, that joy will be cut short, because there will be more trouble for them shortly. They will be completely destroyed, and the LORD will even slay their remnant. This again seems to leap forward to the time when the LORD shall destroy all the enemies of His people, the house of Jacob. Then shall be brought to pass His declaration, “And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and He shall slay thy remnant.” The change from the first person to the third in the last two clauses is, perhaps, a little confusing, but both refer to the LORD. He it is, Who will destroy both the root and the remnant of these long time enemies of His people. He has determined it, and it shall come to pass at His appointed times, and none shall be alone. It will not be done only in isolated places, but “whole Palestina” shall be dissolved, or utterly destroyed.

(Verse 32) What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the LORD hath founded Zion , and the poor of His people shall trust in it.

When this comes to pass, and a messenger may inquire about it, the answer to be given him is, “The LORD hath founded Zion , and the poor of His people shall trust in it.” This is the LORD’S promise of everlasting security for His people, even for the poor of them. No more great kings and armies shall come to harass them. For the God of heaven and earth has given them rest, and none shall make them afraid.

(Verses 1 through 3) The burden of Moab . Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; he is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off. In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets , every one shall howl, weeping abundantly.

The message now concerns the land of Moab . The names that are here listed, together with those in later verses, are cities or towns in Moab . The destruction in all of them will be such that all the people shall weep very much. They will even shave their heads and their beards, which is a sign of great sorrow among them. They shall also put off their fine clothes, and clothe themselves with sackcloth, another sign of extreme grief. Some of us might think it a little strange that they would be on their housetops while doing much of this weeping. But we must remember that many houses in that area, not only were, but still are, built with flat tops, prepared about as much for living space as the interior of the house. So they will be gathering there as well as in their streets to weep over the fall of Moab .

(Verses 4 through 6) And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him. My heart shall cry out for Moab ; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction. For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing.

This text seems to be clear enough except for one phrase, “an heifer of three years old.” One commentator, who is acknowledged to have some expertise in the Hebrew Language, gives as an alternate translation for the Hebrew phrase thus translated, “Eglath-shelishiyah,” which would, evidently, be the name of another city. Since I know nothing of the Hebrew Language, I cannot argue the case on either side. But to me it seems more reasonable to have the name of another city in this place than the phrase in the KJV. Not only will it be a time of great destruction, but also of great famine because of the drought. “For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing.”

(Verses 7 through 9) Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows. For the cry has gone about the borders of Moab ; the howling thereof unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto Beer-elim. For the waters of Dimon shall be full of blood: for I will bring more upon Dimon, lions upon him that escapeth of Moab , and upon the remnant of the land.

The picture here is that of the inhabitants of Moab being driven out of their homes, and fleeing for their lives. They will carry away everything they own, if possible, with no expectation of ever returning. Not only are they driven out, but even those who do escape are exposed to the wild beasts, such as lions, and may be destroyed by them. This danger shall also be upon any that may be left in the land, any “remnant of the land.”

Chapter 16

(Verses 1 through 5) Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion . For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon. Take counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; bewray not him that wandereth. Let Mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab ; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressed are consumed out of the land. And in mercy shall the throne be established: and He shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.

This seems a somewhat difficult text to get lined up in the mind so that all expressions therein can be brought into harmony. There seems to be some contradiction in the manner in which it is translated. We shall try to bring forth what seems to be the principal message of it, although a word or two may seem to be out of place. To do so, we must first remember that this chapter was not separated from the previous one by the prophet. It is still a part of the burden of Moab . Verse 1 seems to be a call upon the Moabites to send a present to the “mount of the daughter of Zion .” That is, they should send a sacrifice to the LORD, Whose temple was in Jerusalem , and seek His help for the outcasts of Moab . Thus they would become His outcasts, and under His protection. “For it shall be, that as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon.” They have been driven out of their homes like young birds cast out of the nest. They have gathered at the crossings of the river, Arnon, and are asking for refuge in Judah . Verse 3 seems to be the LORD’S command to Judah , although Judah is not addressed by name. He says that they should consider the matter, and execute judgment. Sometimes to execute judgment is the same as to exact a penalty. But here the meaning is to treat them fairly. Then He says, “make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; bewray (betray) not him that wandereth. Let Mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab .” In view of the fact that Moab is the one who has been overrun, and whose people have become outcasts, it appears that there may have been a little mix up in the translation. It appears that it would fit the situation better to read it, “Let Mine outcasts of Moab dwell with thee.” At any rate, He says, “Be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressor is consumed out of the land.” He speaks of this as already done, though historically it was still future. But He had determined it, and therefore it was just as sure as if it had already come to pass. His people should have no fear in taking in these outcasts, because they, their spoilers and oppressors, were under a soon to be executed sentence of destruction. “And in mercy shall the throne be established: and He shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.” Although surely this was speaking of the deliverance of Judah from all the enemies that were besetting her at that time, it seems also to reach forward to the day of Israel ’s final restoration.

(Verses 6 through 9) We have heard of the pride of Moab ; he is very proud: even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath: but his lies shall not be so. Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab , every one shall howl: for the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn; surely they are stricken. For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah: the lords of the heathen have broken down the principal plants thereof, they are come even unto Jazer, they wandered through the wilderness: her branches are stretched out, they are gone over the sea.

Moab had been a very proud people. Their pride, haughtiness, and quick temper, had been known to all. But all of that was about to be brought down. The terrible desolation that was to come would strip all of this away, as these people were made to seek help from others. They would learn that, as is always the case with those who are proud and haughty, their pride was all vain. It was based upon lies. When either an individual, or a nation, is lifted up with pride, so that he thinks himself to be better than others, he is on a foundation of lies. And in time of great calamity, he will find that his lies will not support him. This day of reckoning is what has just been predicted for Moab . For that reason, everyone in Moab will be made to mourn and lament because of their being brought down so low. Their fields and their vineyards have been noted for their abundant production. They have even gone over the sea. That is, their produce has even been sufficient that some of it has been sold to people across the sea. But now these fields and vineyards will be destroyed, and the land made desolate.

(Verses 9 through 11) Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah: I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for the shouting for thy summer fruits and for thy harvest is fallen. And gladness is taken away, and joy out of a plentiful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting: the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses; I have made their vintage shouting to cease. Wherefore my bowels shall sound like a harp for Moab , and mine inward parts for Kirharesh.

Perhaps Isaiah’s declaration of his weeping for those of Moab because of the calamities that shall come upon them is to be understood as the weeping of Judah in sympathy for Moab . Since the Moabites were the descendants of Lot , the nephew of Abraham, they and the Israelites were related. And in the long history of both, their relationship had fluctuated from their being bitter enemies at some times to their being close friends at others. So as friends, the Israelites might indeed mourn for the calamities of Moab . It was customary for the people, in the time of the harvest of either their fields or their vineyards, to celebrate the harvest with much singing and rejoicing. But there will be none of that, because there will be no harvest. Those who did the treading out of the grapes in the time of their harvest made that a very festive occasion. But there will be no grapes to tread. Everything is made desolate.

(Verses 12 through 14) And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail. This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning Moab since that time. But now the LORD hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of an hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble.

Even while Moab is lifted up in his pride, weariness shall come upon him, and he will go to his sanctuary to pray. But it will do him no good, “he shall not prevail.” That is, he cannot get his gods to deliver him from the coming disaster. This is what the Lord has said long ago, “since that time.” This is nothing new. But as is so often the case, even with us, though the LORD has warned us in His word of chastisement to come, since He has not told us exactly when it will take place, we, in our own pride and stubbornness, refuse to turn away from our sinful ways until troubles begin to come. So did Moab . But now the LORD has spoken again. This time He sets the time for this judgment. “Within three years, as the years of an hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble.” Certainly this cannot be misunderstood. And since the LORD has said that it shall take place, and has given no alternative action that one can do to avert it, surely it will come to pass.

Chapter 17

(Verses 1 through 5) The burden of Damascus . Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid. The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus , and the remnant of Syria : they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel , saith the LORD of hosts. And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean. And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathers ears in the valley of Rephaim .

In earlier chapters, Isaiah has told us that Syria , of which Damascus is the head, or capitol, shall be brought to desolation together with Israel , whose head is Samaria . In this chapter, he takes up this matter again. He declares that Damascus shall be utterly destroyed, “taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.” Instead of being a great city it will be reduced to rubble. Other cities of the area shall also be forsaken, and left for the flocks of sheep to use as a shelter, with none left to run them out. At the same time Ephraim, or Israel , shall be left without a fortress. It can no longer protect itself. The kingdom shall be taken from Damascus and the remnant of Syria . Their glory, together with that of Israel shall be taken away. This is sure, because the LORD of hosts has spoken it. And in that day of destruction the glory of Jacob, or Israel , shall be destroyed, “made thin,” and so will his wealth, or fatness. As a man’s body will lose its fatness when he is working in the harvest in the heat of summer, so will the glory and wealth of Israel be reduced. In fact it will almost waste away to nothing.

(Verses 6 through 8) Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five on the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the LORD God of Israel . At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel. And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves or the images.

This shows clearly God’s care for His people, that is His remnant. As a nation, He made choice of all Israel . But the Apostle Paul declares that only the remnant, those who are according to the promise, instead of the flesh, are the children of God. As Isaiah here speaks of the destruction of Syria and Damascus , nothing is said about anyone’s being specially reserved. But when he speaks of Israel , he says that there will be left a few grapes of the vine and a few berries of the olive tree for gleaning. They will not be destroyed. This is not to be by accident. But He will deliberately leave this remnant. When that day comes a man, that is, any man of those who are left, will “look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel. And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.” All of his idolatry will be taken away. No doubt, when this affliction came upon them, they did turn back to the LORD, and they did forsake their idols and their groves and altars of idolatry. But this also seems to speak of that great day when Israel shall be finally restored, and forever turned away from her idols.

(Verses 9 through 11) In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel : and there shall be desolation. Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shall set it with strange slips: in the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and desperate sorrow.

This appears to be addressed to Israel . Verse 9 tells us that the strong cities of Syria will, in that day, be as “a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel .” They will not be left for the sake of Syria , but only for the sake of Israel . Still there will be desolation. Because Israel has forgotten the God of their salvation, and the rock of their strength, they too must suffer. They will put forth great effort in trying to plant and cultivate their crops. But the harvest will only be grief and desperate sorrow. It will completely fail; and all their labor will be in vain.

(Verses 12 through 14) Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. And behold, at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.

Inasmuch as he speaks of the many nations that shall be gathered with such a great noise, and shall be made to “flee far off,” and be chased “as the chaff of the mountains before the wind” this hardly befits the time of the burden of Damascus; but, obviously, looks forward to Israel’s final deliverance from all her enemies. And the declaration, “This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us,” seems to bear witness of the same, because that is God’s everlasting promise to Abraham. In Genesis 12:2-3, God says, “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” Even to this day, the nation that has befriended the Jew has been blessed. And the one that has cursed, or persecuted the Jew, has been cursed. The LORD does not take His promises lightly.

Chapter 18

(Verses 1 and 2) Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia: that sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!

To understand this chapter, one needs a little knowledge of the history of Isaiah’s day in the area of Israel and Judah . During all the war and confusion of the times, Judah had tried to make a confederacy with Egypt , hoping that Egypt could save her from the Assyrians, just as she had tried to get Assyria to help her against the other enemies of the area. Isaiah is setting forth to them the LORD’S determination that Egypt shall not be of any advantage to Judah in this struggle. “The land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia ,” may seem a strange way of pointing to Egypt , since Ethiopia , on modern maps, is beyond Egypt . However, the pharaohs of that era were from the area south of Egypt , and were considered as Ethiopians. There was an effort being made to get Judah under the “protecting wings” of the pharaohs of Egypt . The Egyptians were noted for their boats, made of bulrushes, or papyrus. They are addressed as a nation that sends “ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters.” They are told to go as swift messengers, “to a nation scattered and peeled, (or stripped,) to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled.” Of course, in any confederacy, there has to be some advantage each party can hope to gain by joining with the other in the covenant. So Egypt is to send swift messengers to Judah , hoping there to find that Judah could also be of some advantage to them. But they will find Judah to be “a has been.” She is a nation that has been terrible from her beginning until the present, but is now a nation scattered and stripped, and trodden down and spoiled by the river, which the LORD said, in Chapter 8, verse 7, that He would send against them, “even the king of Assyria .” When these messengers arrive they will find nothing but desolation.

(Verses 3 through 6) All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when He lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when He bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. For so the LORD hath said unto me, I will take My rest, and I will consider My dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, He shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches. They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.

Here the LORD calls upon all the inhabitants of the entire world to witness what He is going to do. When He sounds the trumpet, and raises up His flag upon the mountains, it will be too late for man to interfere with His work. In reality, man cannot ever interfere, or hinder that which God has purposed. But sometimes men are foolish enough to think that they can. Yet when He raises His flag, and sounds His trumpet, all shall see what He has done, and shall know that they can do nothing against it. He shall take His rest, or cease from that work. For it will be finished. He then shall look upon His dwelling place like the sunshine on herbs, or like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. He will give a little refreshing to his people. For He has already, “afore the harvest,” completely trimmed off the sprigs and the branches so that there is nothing of value left. What little may be left will be for the birds and beasts. It will not be sufficient for a harvest.

(Verse 7) In that time shall the present be brought unto the LORD of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion .

In the time when the LORD brings to a close this great chastisement upon Judah, this people, who have been so terrible from their beginning, but are now so scattered and stripped, and whose land has been spoiled by the rivers, the king of Assyria, will bring their present, not to Egypt, but to mount Zion, the place of the name of the LORD of hosts. They will depend upon Him, and not upon man. They will make their sacrifices to Him, and bring their gifts to Him.

Chapter 19

(Verses 1 through 4) The burden of Egypt . Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt : and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at His presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his neighbor; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to wizards. And the Egyptians will I give into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.

It certainly is not difficult to see the meaning of this text. First of all, keep in mind that it is the LORD, Who shall send this great calamity upon Egypt . He will, Personally, take charge of the matter. The first thing He will do is to enter into Egypt , and put great fear upon the idols of Egypt ; they will be moved at His presence. And all the “heart,” or bravery of the Egyptians will just melt away. Instead of fighting together against the common enemy, they will resort to civil war. Not only shall “kingdoms” (provinces) of Egypt fight against one another, but the fragmentation shall be so great that city shall fight against neighboring city. Egypt was reputed to have very wise rulers and advisers. But now their renowned wisdom shall be of such little value that they will go to their idols, which are already frightened by the presence of the LORD, and are not able to help them. Then they will go to the charmers, soothsayers, wizards, and those who have familiar spirits, the necromancers. But none of these can help them. The LORD will deliver them into the hands of a very fierce king, the king of Assyria . This must come to pass because “the Lord, the LORD of hosts, has spoken it.”

(Verses 5 through 10) And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up. And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defense shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither. The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and everything sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more. The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish. Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded. And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.

Not only will there be both civil war, and war against the foreign enemy, but there shall also be a great drought, so great that “the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be dried up.” Since so much of Egypt , in the vicinity of the mouth of the Nile , is delta, a great drought, sufficient to dry up most of this delta would certainly make it appear that the waters were failing from the sea. This drought would be severe enough that, even the reeds and flags that grew around the brooks and wet places would die. Much of the fishing waters would dry up. This would certainly be the case with the ponds and sluices built by the people for fish. Since, not only this, but every agricultural endeavor of the Egyptians was dependent upon the regular overflowing of the Nile in its season, even those who worked with fine flax, or made fine linens, would be out of work, and so confounded. Every facet of Egypt ’s economy shall be made to suffer. There will be no such thing as business as usual.

(Verses 11 through 17) Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counselors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? Where are they? Where are thy wise men? And let then tell thee now, and let them know what the LORD of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt . The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt , even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof. The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit. Neither shall there be any work for Egypt , which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do. In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which He shaketh over it. And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt , every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts, which He hath determined against it.

When the LORD sends confusion upon a people, He makes fools of the wisest of their counselors. So it will be with Egypt . Their wise men have boasted that they are the descendants of the ancient kings, and that the wisdom of those kings has been passed on down to them. But how will they be able to make such a boast to Pharaoh when the LORD sends these calamities upon them in spite of all their “wise counsel?” Of course, Zoan is just another name for Egypt . So when Isaiah speaks of the princes of Zoan, he is speaking of those of Egypt . All their wisdom has failed them. For the LORD has mingled a perverse spirit among them. As the result of this, they can no more direct their course than can a drunken man. We get greatly concerned when our unemployment rate begins to rise just a little, but the rate in Egypt would rise so high that “neither shall there be any work for Egypt , which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do.” There would be no work for anyone. It was a common thought in that day that men were never afraid. So if one became afraid, he was taunted as being a woman. But fear would be so great upon all the Egyptians that they would be as women, “because of the shaking of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which He shaketh over it.” Actually, this should be considered as “the fist” of the LORD that He shakes over Egypt . For it is shaken in anger. In fact the fear in which Egypt will be held will be so great that they will even be afraid of Judah . This really seems to look beyond the near crises for Egypt to the final restoration of Israel , as does the remainder of this chapter.

(Verses 18 through 22) In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan , and swear to the LORD of hosts; one shall be called, The City of destruction. In that day shall there be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt , and a pillar at the border thereof to the LORD. And it shall be for a sign, and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt : for they shall cry unto the LORD because of their oppressors, and He shall send them a Savior, and a great one, and He shall deliver them. And the LORD shall be known to Egypt , and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it. And the LORD shall smite Egypt : He shall smite and heal it: and they shall return to the LORD, and He shall be entreated of them, and shall heal them.

Without doubt, this looks to the days following the great battle described by Zechariah in the fourteenth chapter of his prophecy.. In that day there shall be five cities in Egypt that shall speak the language of Canaan , the Hebrew Language. For that is what shall be the language of Canaan in that day. Also in the midst of Egypt there shall be an altar to the LORD, not for offering sacrifices, but as a sign, or witness that this is also the land of the LORD of hosts. At the border of Egypt there shall also be a pillar to mark this as the land of the LORD. In that day, the LORD will know, or give recognition to, Egypt , and they will also give recognition to Him. They will do sacrifice and oblation to Him. And they will also vow allegiance to Him, and keep that vow. For He will send them a Savior, Who is great, and shall deliver them. Notice that in the prophecy to which we referred above, the prophet tells us, “And it shall come to pass that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.“ Egypt is one of those nations. “And the LORD shall smite Egypt : He shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the LORD, and He shall be entreated of them, and shall heal them.” In that great battle He will smite Egypt so that they will “return to Him.” Then He also shall heal them.

(Verses 23 through 25) In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt , and the Egyptian into Assyria , and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel Mine inheritance.

In that great day both Egypt and Assyria shall be blessed of the LORD. And they together with Israel shall be the triumvirate of the LORD. There shall be free passage all the way from Egypt to Assyria , and vice versa. Israel shall be for a blessing in the midst. She is situated between Egypt and Assyria , and is the center of the whole area for the worship of the great King, the LORD of Hosts. He will bless them all, and shall call Egypt , “My people,” Assyria, “the work of My hands,” and Israel , “Mine inheritance.” What a wonderful day that will be!

Chapter 20

(Verses 1 and 2) In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it; at the same time spake the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.

In II Kings 18:17 we find mention of some of the things that took place when Tartan was sent against the cities of Judah . Isaiah says that at that time the LORD told him to put aside his garment of sackcloth and his shoes, and to go naked and barefoot for a time. This may seem strange to us, but, as usual, the LORD had a purpose in this.

(Verses 3 through 6) And the LORD said, Like as My servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and Ethiopia; so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. And they shall be ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory. And the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria : and how shall we escape.

This whole chapter turns back to the time contemporary with Isaiah. At that time Judah was trying to get help from Egypt against the Assyrians. At the commandment of the LORD Isaiah had opposed this move from the beginning. But the king and his advisers still attempted to organize this coalition in spite of Isaiah’s warning. So the LORD directed him to “go naked and barefoot” for three years in sight of all the people as a sign of what would be the fate of the Egyptians when they tried to stand against the Assyrian army. They would be taken captive, and led away naked and barefoot, just as Isaiah had shown them. Then the people of Judah would understand that there was no help to be had from Egypt , and no escape from the Assyrians. It was not unusual for captives to be paraded naked and barefoot to embarrass them before others. In verse 6, the phrase, “And the inhabitant of this isle,” according to some commentators should be read, “And the inhabitant of this coast line,” meaning, of course, the people of Judah .

Chapter 21

(Verses 1 through 4) The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land. A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease. Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it. My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath He turned into fear unto me.

In this chapter we find “the burden” of several areas. It begins with “the burden of the desert of the sea.” This apparently refers to the area from southern Judah to the Mediterranean Sea, and extending south and west to Egypt . Isaiah says this trouble comes “from the desert, from a terrible land.” A very severe vision has been given to him. There has been no cessation of the treacherous dealings; they still go on. This may refer to the attempts to obtain help from Egypt , inasmuch as, no matter what Egypt may promise, she cannot deliver. Or it may refer to the efforts of the king of Judah in turning back and forth from Assyria to Egypt for help. Whichever it may entail, there is no help forthcoming. For the spoiler continues to spoil. So the call to both Elam and Media is to enter the battle. The time for sighing and wondering what to do is over. “All the sighing thereof have I made to cease.” And as always, when the battle is joined, the real sorrow begins. It is no more a time of expectancy, but a time of reality. It puts fear upon all. There is an old saying that is very true. “There are only two kinds of people in battle; those who are scared, and those who are fools.” Isaiah was very fearful.

(Verses 5 through 10) Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise ye princes, and anoint the shield. For thus hath the LORD said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth. And he saw a chariot with  a couple of  horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed: and he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights: and, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods He hath broken unto the ground. O My threshing, and the corn of My floor: that which I have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.

After all the fear brought on by the great battle, there follows a message of great comfort. Of course this message looks to the far distant future, even to that day when the great Babylon of Revelation, Chapters 17 and 18, shall be judged and destroyed. Then indeed it will be time for the banquet table to be prepared. It will be time for the LORD’S princes to eat and drink, and to anoint the shield, not to go into battle, but to celebrate the victory of our Lord over all His enemies. The LORD instructed Isaiah to set a watchman, that he might declare what he sees. The first thing the watchman reported is “a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels,” with a couple of horsemen. This watchman diligently watched and listened, apparently seeing nothing more for a while. Then “he cried, ‘A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights.’” He has now seen a lion. Since a lion is a beast of prey, it may be that this represents all the destruction that shall come upon Israel before the fulfilling of the next part of the message. Nothing has been said about any message concerning the chariot and horsemen first reported. But now he sees “a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen.” These bring him a message to declare. “And he answered and said, ‘ Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods He hath broken to the ground.’” This is a very similar message to Revelation 14:8 “And there followed another angel, saying, ‘ Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.’” It seems hardly likely that the reference to the destruction of Babylon in this text has reference to her destruction by the Medes and Persians, because they too were pagans, and served many of the same gods as did Babylon . And, according to this message, “all the graven images of her gods are broken to the ground.” Now  the prophet addresses Israel and Judah . As God speaking, He calls them, “My threshing, and the corn of my floor.” This reminds us of what John the Baptist said of our Lord Jesus. “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” The word, “corn,” when used in the scriptures, does not refer to what we call “corn” today, but to any of the small grains such as wheat, barley, or others. So the LORD’S threshing, and the corn of His floor, refers to His people, who have been put through such a beating from trials and tribulations that all the chaff has been separated from them. Isaiah says, “That which I have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.” Some of what he has told them has not been pleasant; and some has. But all is as the LORD has declared it to him.

(Verses 11 and 12) The burden of Dumah. He calleth me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye: return, come.

We must remember that, although our Lord Jesus, the Christ, has come, and brought a great light for us, as we look to Him, we still have not reached the bright light of the morning that will be ours when He returns. Then how much more must the night have been upon people of Isaiah’s day. The burden of Dumah seems to be that even with the watchman, they can get no clear indication as yet concerning those things to come. They call to the watchman, “What of the night?” That is, “What do you see coming upon us?” But the watchman’s answer is, “The morning is coming, but the night is not over yet. There is still some darkness before dawn. You will have to come back and ask again, when morning is nearer.”

(Verses 13 through 17) The burden upon Arabia . In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye traveling companies of Dedanim. The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled. For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war. For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail: and the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the LORD God of Israel hath spoken it.

The LORD here tells the caravans of Dedanim and the inhabitants of the land of Tema to give food and water to the exiles of Arabia as they flee from the war and the destruction that is coming upon them. Within a year this calamity will come upon them. Kedar, one of the cities of this region, noted for its mighty men and its archers, will have its mighty men so diminished that they cannot stand against the destruction that is determined. It is sure to come, “for the LORD God of Israel has spoken it.” It cannot fail.

Chapter 22

(Verses 1through 7) The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops? Thou art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle. All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled from far. Therefore said I, Look away from me: I will weep bitterly, labor not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people. For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and perplexity by the LORD God of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains. And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield. And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.

Since no other explanation is to be found in Isaiah’s prophecy for “the valley of vision,” this phrase is probably used to encompass all the land of Judah ; because, in the beginning of his prophecy, Isaiah addressed this to Judah and Jerusalem . He now asks them what is wrong with them. What has made them all go up to the housetops? It was a common practice to go up to the housetops to celebrate any great event. They, probably, had misinterpreted the withdrawal of Rabshakeh and his army, and thought it to mean that the LORD was not going to bring upon them the chastisement He had decreed, whereas it only meant that the time for it had not fully come. No doubt, the city he addresses, though not called by name, is Jerusalem . It had been in great tumult because of the fear of being overcome by Rabshakeh’s army. They are now celebrating the fact that their men whom they thought surely were as good as dead, were not slain in battle, as they had expected. But they still had no reason for great celebration. For their leaders were all bound, or taken captive. This might not directly apply to the leaders in Jerusalem itself, but a review of what is said in II Kings and II Chronicles, will show that the other cities of Judah did not fare so well. Not only is this true, but there are even worse times ahead before Judah is truly delivered. So the prophet says, “Don’t look at me, and don’t try to comfort me. I will weep bitterly for the spoiling, or robbing, of the daughter of my people.” The LORD God has sent this day of perplexity, or confusion, upon “the valley of vision.” So it is a day of trouble, “of breaking down of walls, and of crying to the mountains.” As we often hear said today, “We are not out of the woods yet.” So it was no time for joyous celebration. The people of the town of Elam together with their army will take their weapons of war in preparation for the coming battle. For the choicest valleys of the whole area will be filled with chariots and horsemen, who will set themselves in array at the gates. That is, they will again lay siege to the cities of the area.

(Verses 8 through 14) And he discovered the covering of Judah , and thou didst look in that day to the armor of the house of the forest. Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David , that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool, And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem , and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall. Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the pool: but ye have not looked unto the Maker thereof, neither had respect unto Him that fashioned it long ago. And in that day did the LORD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth: and behold, joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we shall die. And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the LORD God of hosts.

No doubt, verse 8 refers to the time of Rabshakeh’s coming against Jerusalem . Although he did not lay siege to Jerusalem , he saw their “covering,: or defenses and the weakness of them. At that time the people thought that all the armor they had laid up in the house of the forest, one of the houses Solomon built at Jerusalem , was what had caused Rabshakeh to leave without laying siege to them. Isaiah reminds them that they themselves had seen the breaches, or weak places in the defenses of the city of David , and they were many. They had even broken down some of the houses in Jerusalem to use the materials from them in strengthening the walls. They even prepared a new reservoir for the waters of the old pool to supply them in time of siege. But that which is most important of all they had neglected. They looked not “unto the Maker thereof, neither had respect to Him that fashioned it long ago. That is, they were so busy with their own preparations they did not even consider the LORD their GOD. Are not we often guilty of that same sin? In that day the LORD God of hosts had called them to a time of weeping, mourning, and dressing in sackcloth, they did exactly the opposite. They are having a great feast, and rejoicing greatly. Although their “slaying oxen” and “killing sheep,” are thought by some to indicate that they were offering sacrifice, the fact that they “have not looked unto the Maker thereof, neither had respect to Him that fashioned it long ago,” seems to negate this idea. They were “eating flesh, and drinking wine,” according to the ancient motto of such revelers: “Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we shall die.” For them the sad truth was revealed in the ears of the prophet by the LORD of hosts. “’Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die,’ saith the Lord GOD of hosts.”

(Verses 15 through 19) Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say, What hast thou here? And whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock? Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee. He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord’s house. And I will drive thee from thy nation, and from thy state shall he pull thee down.

Now Isaiah is sent to Shebna, the treasurer, with a personal message. No doubt, he has thought himself secure. He has even gone to the trouble of making preparation for the repose of his body after death. He has hewn out a tomb for himself in the rock. Nevertheless this is all in vain. Not only will he be carried away captive, but he shall remain in captivity in a foreign land until he dies. He will be violently tossed into a large country with as little ceremony as would attend the throwing of a ball. Though he may have been considered great, his glory will be so little considered in the house of his master that in comparison it will be as shame. It will be utterly contemned. The Lord will thus drive him from his high position, and his master shall pull him down from his present state.

(Verses 20 through 25) And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah: and I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem , and to the house of Judah . And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father’s house. And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons. In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in a sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the LORD hath spoken it.

The LORD even tells Isaiah whom He will raise up to take the place of Shebna. And He says that He will make Eliakim, the successor of Shebna, to be great, and a glorious throne to his father’s house. He will even “fasten him as a nail in a sure place.” And upon him shall depend all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the issue.” Upon his shoulder shall be the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none can shut; and he shall shut, and none can open.. Yet this will be of short duration. “In that day,” or at the LORD’S appointed time, he too shall “be removed, and cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the LORD hath spoken it.”

Chapter 23

(Verses 1 through 8) The burden of Tyre . Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them. Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished. And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations. Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, or bring up virgins. As at the report concerning Egypt , so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre . Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle. Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? Her own feet shall carry her far off to sojourn. Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre , the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honorable of the earth?

Tyre was in ancient times a great trading and shipping center on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea . Even the ships of Tarshish ( Spain ) did much commerce there. But the LORD declares a great calamity upon Tyre . It will not only affect Tyre herself, but all those who have been trading with her. Even her merchants are considered as princes throughout the rest of the world, and her traders are the honorable men of the earth. She has been a very joyous city. As is always the case, where there is great wealth, there is much rejoicing among the people. But that is all to be cut down  So Isaiah asks Who it is that has taken this counsel against Tyre . And it appears that as he asks this question, his meaning is, “Who would dare to do so?” He answers this in the next verse.

(Verses 9 through 14) The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring contempt upon all the honorable of the earth. Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength. He stretched out His hand over the sea, He shook the kingdoms: the LORD hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strongholds thereof. And He said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest. Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and He brought it to ruin. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste.

In verse 8 the prophet has asked who would dare to take such counsel against Tyre , since it is such a great, “crowning,” city. Now he answers that question. This great downfall for Tyre is purposed by none but the LORD of hosts. And He has done it “to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring contempt upon all the honorable of the earth.” In Tyre the pride of man has risen to such great heights that the LORD will no longer suffer it to continue. As always, when He takes action there is no more strength; that is, to resist. He addresses Tyre as the daughter of Tarshish because it is the shipping carried on by the ships of Tarshish that has built Tyre up to its great glory. He tells her to “Pass through thy land as a river.” That is, she might as well make no effort to resist what will take place, any more than a river resists flowing, because she has no more strength for resistance. He has stretched out His hand, shaken the kingdoms, and given the commandment for the destruction of the strongholds of the city. And even though she may in her oppression try to flee to Chittim, she will find no rest there either. He tells her to consider the land of the Chaldeans, a nation that did not even exist, till the Assyrians built it for a people that dwelt in the wilderness. They even built great towers and palaces there. But the LORD brought that to ruin. So there is no reason to think that He can not, or will not, do that which He has purposed for Tyre . Since the economy of Tyre is the strength of the ships (and ship owners) of Tarshish, He says, “Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste.”

(Verses 15 and 16) And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot. Take a harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.

After the downfall of Tyre , she shall, under the seventy-year reign of one king, be forgotten. She is called a harlot, because she has always been ready to buy from, and sell to anyone who might come along with money or goods to sell. Commerce has been her lifeline. But for seventy years, that will cease. Then she is advised to “take an harp, go about the city_ _ _ make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.” In our modern way of speaking, she is to advertise herself after that seventy years.

(Verses 17 and 18) And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre , and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth. And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the LORD: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.

So after being desolate for seventy years, Tyre shall again be made to flourish as a trade center. But the wealth she shall gain therefrom will not be hoarded away to increase her glory. Instead, it shall be for the benefit of the LORD’S people, those who dwell before Him. By it shall they be fed and clothed.

Chapter 24

(Verses 1 through 3) Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word.

This is a rather strange chapter. The first strange thing about it is its scope. It does not address any particular nation, city, or tribe, nor does it give a prediction for any individual tribe. Its scope is the entire earth, and its inhabitants. The next strange thing about it is that no special time for its fulfillment is given. And third, no one incident is pointed out as the center of this prophecy. Just as it is concerned with all the inhabitants of the earth, it seems to incorporate all the ills that shall ever befall them until the final destruction of the earth, and the reign of the LORD with restored Israel . The prophet begins with a general call to take note of a strange event. “Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.” In the tenth chapter of Genesis, we find the record of God’s dividing up of the peoples of the earth. In Acts 17:26, the Apostle Paul says, “And (God) hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.” So the location of all the various peoples of the earth was established by the LORD. And for centuries, except for the occasional traveling of a few small groups, men stayed in the areas appointed them of the LORD. But at some time the LORD will turn the earth upside down by scattering the inhabitants thereof abroad. They will no longer be in their places, which were appointed of God for them. I often wonder just how much of that is already taking place, especially in our nation, which, in the first place is a nation of displaced people, seeing that all of our ancestors came here from lands that were the appointed place for us. In addition, we completely destroyed some tribes, and almost destroyed the whole race of those who were here before us. And we have, for many years proclaimed our nation “the melting pot of the world.” The LORD says that He will make the earth empty, make it waste, and turn it upside down, as well as scatter abroad the inhabitants. This will affect, not just some small segment of the people, but all the inhabitants. The priest, or minister shall no more escape than shall the most humble member of his congregation. Neither the servant, the master, the maid, the mistress, the buyer, the seller, the borrower, or the lender, shall have any advantage in this matter. “The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken the word.” So as we often hear it said, “It is not if, but when, it shall take place.”

(Verses 4 through 6) The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.

This seems to speak to a question that has for some time troubled many people. Some might think that the expression, “The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away,” only refers to the people of the earth. But that seems to be covered in the next clause, “The haughty people of the earth do languish.” Only the earth and the world are mentioned as fading away. With all the pollution that we have in the world today, it is becoming more and more necessary to have air filters and water filters, in order to have air and water suitable for human use. Our atmosphere is so polluted, that our scientists tell us the ozone layer is fast being depleted, which, of course, leads to more and more skin cancers, and other skin troubles. Our streams, lakes, and seas are becoming so polluted that much of the marine life is being destroyed, or made unsuitable for human consumption. “The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof.” If this is not in the process of fulfillment today, what will it take to fulfill it? Why is this being done? “Because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.” No doubt “the laws,” “the ordinance,” and “the everlasting covenant,” refer to the laws of nature for the preservation of natural resources, the ordinance of God that regulates the propagation of the species, and the covenant under which Adam was made overseer of the world. Man has done everything he possibly could to change all these things. We will not here take time to try to discuss all the changes man has tried to make. Just to mention a couple of them: consider cloning, and gene manipulation. The prophet says, “Therefore,” it is because of these things, “hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.” The LORD has spoken; and none that believes His word can fail to understand both the fact that these things are coming, and the reason for their coming. As is always the case, there will be a remnant; but it will be small.

(Verses 7 through 12) The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merry hearted do sigh. The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth. They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it. The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in. There is crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone. In the city is desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.

In the prophet’s day, wine was the common beverage of the people, not only of drunkards, but of those who did not use it to excess. It was always used in celebrations, and times of joy and mirth. When the new wine was made was always considered a time of rejoicing. But it will be a time of mourning instead. All mirth and joy will be gone. Usually one might expect a great deal of singing among those who were drinking wine. But in that day there will be no singing among them. Even strong drink will not appeal to those who drink it; but it will be bitter to them. “The city of confusion,” that is, the city, in which there has always been much reveling and celebrating, will be closed. Where revelers have been welcome to come and go, the doors will be shut to keep them out. Those in the streets will cry for wine, but all joy is darkened, or turned to sorrow. There is nothing but desolation in the city; even its gates have been destroyed.

(Verses 13 through 15) When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done. They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the LORD, they shall cry aloud from the sea. Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, even the name of the LORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea.

Once again, the Prophet gives us a message of great comfort. All these great woes shall indeed come upon the earth just as the LORD has said. But when they do, He will reserve a remnant. They will be few, even as the olive berries that are left after the shaking of the tree in harvest time, or as the grapes that are left on the vine after their harvest. The great comfort in this is that, there shall indeed be a few olive berries and a few grapes left after harvest. For the LORD had commanded the Israelites that they were always to leave a gleaning in all their fields and vineyards, that it might be for the poor and the widows. This remnant will be, not in the once populous cities, but in the isles of the sea. But from there they shall lift up their voices “for the majesty of the LORD, they shall cry aloud from the sea.” Even after all this desolation, His remnant shall praise Him. Back in verse 6, he said, “the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.” Now he says, “Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, even the name of the LORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea.” In spite of all the burning and desolation, glorify the LORD, even though you are scattered among the isles of the sea.

(Verses 16 and 17) From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the Righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously. Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.

Although Isaiah has heard the singing of the remnant from the isles of the sea, he is still burdened by the evils that are coming upon the world. And all this desolation is brought on by the wickedness of the wicked. We would not be amiss by substituting a few words, and reading his statement thus: “The wicked have acted wickedly, yea, the wicked have acted very wickedly.” This is why the LORD will send this terrible judgment upon the earth and all its inhabitants. Yet He will reserve a remnant. But for the inhabitants of the earth who are not of that remnant, fear, the pit, and the snare are upon them. And they shall not escape.

(Verses 18 through 20) And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake. The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.

Many will say that this, just as they say about so many other things in the word of God, cannot mean what it literally says; but will have to be interpreted in order to present some other meaning. But let me assure you, the worst thing anyone can do to this text is to over explain, or over interpret, it. If the LORD did not know what He purposed to say, neither you nor I will ever know. He has given us a clear description of the final days of this earth and its inhabitants. Only that remnant that He has reserved shall be spared. All others, and the earth also are doomed.

(Verses 21 through 23) And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD will punish the hosts of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited. Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion , and in Jerusalem , and before His ancients gloriously.

One should compare this with Revelation 19 and 20. In the great battle of Revelation 19, the Lord will punish the host of the high ones that are on high, the armies of the ones that are exalted, or the armies of Satan. And since the kings that are on the earth at that time are in league with Satan, He will also punish them. “And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered together in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall be visited.” After that great battle the wicked, together with Satan’s armies will be gathered together, and  shut up in prison. The fact that they shall be visited after many days, is by no means to be understood as that they shall then be released; but rather that they shall then be brought to judgment. They will be shut up in death until after the one thousand-year reign of the Christ with the martyrs of the great tribulation. Then they will be raised, and brought to judgment. Verse 23 tells us that when He shall “reign in mount Zion , and in Jerusalem , and before His saints gloriously,” His glory will be so great that it will put the sun and the moon to shame. That is He will outshine them both.

Chapter 25

(Verses 1 through 5) O LORD, Thou art my God; I will exalt Thee, I will praise Thy name; for Thou hast done wonderful things; Thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. For Thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built. Therefore shall the strong people glorify Thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear Thee. For Thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is a storm against the wall. Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even as the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low.

Here the prophet breaks forth in praise to the LORD our God. He speaks of His wonderful counsels, or purposes, which are all “of old.” That is, they have always been. They are not just new ideas that have come about by reason of things that have taken place. Instead, they, because they are faithfulness and truth, have been, and always will be, the underlying cause of the events, which come to pass. Cities, though they may have been built by strong people and terrible nations, and though prepared with strong defenses, have not been able to stand against Him. But He has been strength to the poor and needy in their times of distress. He is to them a refuge from the storm, and a shade from the heat, when the terrible ones shall come against them like a storm against the wall. Just as in a dry place, the heat will dissipate any little wisp of cloud that arises, He will bring to naught the noise of the threats of strangers, and bring low the branch of the terrible ones. He is a never failing refuge for those who trust in Him.

(Verses 6 through 8) And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees well refined. And He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; the LORD GOD will wipe away all tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.

For everyone, whether Jew or Gentile, who trusts in the LORD, this is a most precious text. “In this mountain,” which is, of course, mount Zion , the mountain of the LORD, He will prepare for all people, (not every individual, but individuals from every nation and tribe of the earth,) a wonderful feast. This is none other than the “marriage supper of the Lamb,” as mentioned in Revelation 19:9. This will be in His mountain. In His mountain He will destroy “the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations.” In I Corinthians 13:12, the Apostle Paul tells us, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” And the Apostle John says, in I John 3:2, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.” So, obviously, there is upon all nations, even His people of all nations, a covering, or a veil, that will not permit us to see clearly. We only see “darkly,” or dimly, as in a darkened glass, or through a veil. We do not have perfect knowledge of how things shall be in that day. But at that great feast in His mountain, He will remove all that covering, or veil. Then we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. “He will swallow up death in victory, and the LORD GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.” In I Corinthians 15:54 , the Apostle Paul says, “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’” And in Revelation 21:4, we find, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” That these scriptures all apply to the same time, and event, is obvious. And although some try to apply them to the “gospel church” in the present dispensation, they fall completely flat in the attempt; because they have to do too much changing of the basic meanings of words to even come close to such. These descriptions all apply, with no distortion of anything said in any of them, to the final gathering of all of the redeemed of the earth to the great marriage supper of the Lamb. And that will only be when all the enemies of our Lord have been subdued.

(Verses 9 through 12) And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation. For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under Him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill. And He shall spread forth His hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and He shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands. And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall He bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust.

In that day, He shall be so clearly revealed to all His people that all will declare, “This is our God, we have waited for Him, He will save us.” Lest anyone wonder what there will be left from which the LORD will save us, let us remember that “save” and “keep” are often used interchangeably; and rightly so, for they have the same meaning. In this particular instance, as in many others where “save” is used, the meaning is that The LORD will keep us. And in that day, none will doubt it. We will indeed be glad and rejoice in His keeping, or “His salvation.” When all the LORD’S people are thus gathered to His mountain, His hand will rest. There will be no more need for all the mighty works that He has done to be repeated. Moab will be trodden down like straw for the dunghill. There will be no danger of their ever rising up again. Although no one else is here mentioned, we can be sure that the same applies to all the wicked. Verse 12 does not say that He will swim among them; but only that He will spread forth His hands among them as one spreads his hands when swimming. He will simply push them aside together with their pride and the spoils of their hands. All the defenses of the wicked shall be completely destroyed, and brought “to the ground, even to the dust.”