The Consumption
Isaiah 14:28 – 20:6
Isaiah 14:28 – 20:6
28 In the year of the death of king Ahaz was this burden: 29 Rejoice not thou, Philistia, all of thee, because the rod that smote thee is broken; for out of the serpent’s root shall come forth a viper, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent. 30 And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety; but I will kill thy root with famine, and thy remnant shall be slain. 31 Howl, O gate! cry, O city! thou, Philistia, art wholly dissolved; for there cometh from the north a smoke, and none remaineth apart in his gatherings of troops. 32 And what shall be answered to the messengers of the nation? That Jehovah hath founded Zion, and the afflicted of his people find refuge in it.
1 The burden of Moab: For in the night of being laid waste, Ar of Moab is destroyed; for in the night of being laid waste, Kir of Moab is destroyed! 2 He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, to the high places, to weep; Moab howleth over Nebo, and over Medeba; on all their heads is baldness, every beard is cut off. 3 In their streets they are girded with sackcloth; on their roofs, and in their broadways, every one howleth, melted into tears. 4 And Heshbon crieth, and Elealeh: their voice is heard unto Jahaz. Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out: his soul trembleth in him. 5 My heart crieth out for Moab; their fugitives have fled unto Zoar, unto Eglath-Sheli-shijah: for by the ascent of Luhith, with weeping they go up by it; for in the way of Horonaim they raise up a cry of destruction. 6 For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate; for the herbage is withered away, the grass hath failed, there is no green thing. 7 Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, do they carry away to the torrent of the willows. 8 For the cry goeth round about the borders of Moab; the howling thereof unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto Beer-elim. 9 For the waters of Dimon are full of blood, for I will lay yet more upon Dimon: a lion upon them that are escaped of Moab, and upon that which remaineth of the land.
1 Send the lamb of the ruler of the land from the rock to the wilderness, — unto the mount of the daughter of Zion. 2 And it shall be that as a wandering bird, as a scattered nest, so shall the daughters of Moab be at the fords of the Arnon. 3 Bring in counsel, execute justice; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of noonday; hide the outcasts, discover not the fugitive. 4 Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the waster. For the extortioner is at an end, the wasting hath ceased, the oppressors are consumed out of the land. 5 And a throne shall be established in mercy: and in the tent of David there shall sit upon it, in truth, one judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness. 6 We have heard of the arrogance of Moab, — he is very proud, — of his pride, and his arrogance, and his wrath: his pratings are vain. 7 Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab; every one of them shall howl. For the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn, verily afflicted. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have broken down its choice plants: they reached unto Jaazer, they wandered through the wilderness; its shoots stretched out, they went beyond the sea. 9 Therefore I will weep with the weeping of Jaazer for the vine of Sibmah; with my tears will I water thee, Heshbon, and Elealeh, for a cry is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy harvest. 10 And joy and gladness is taken away out of the fruitful field; and in the vineyards there is no singing, neither is there shouting: the treaders tread out no wine in the presses, I have made the cry of the winepress to cease. 11 Therefore my bowels sound like a harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kirheres. 12 And it shall come to pass, when Moab shall appear, shall weary himself on the high place, and enter into his sanctuary to pray, that he shall not prevail. 13 This is the word which Jehovah hath spoken from of old concerning Moab. 14 And now Jehovah speaketh saying, Within three years, as the years of a hired servant, and the glory of Moab shall be brought to nothing, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be small, few, of no account.
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. 2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks; and they shall lie down and there shall be none to make them afraid. 3 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 Jehovah of hosts. 4 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 become lean. 5 And it shall be as when the reaper gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; yea, it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim. 6 And a gleaning shall be left in it, as at the shaking of an olive-tree: two, three berries above, in the tree-top; four, five in its fruitful boughs, saith Jehovah, the God of Israel. 7 In that day shall man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have regard to the Holy One of Israel. 8 And he will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, nor have regard to what his fingers have made, neither the Asherahs nor the sun-images. 9 In that day shall his strong cities be as the forsaken tract in the woodland, and the mountain-top which they forsook before the children of Israel; and there shall be desolation. 10 For thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength; therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plantations, and shalt set them with foreign slips: 11 in the day of thy planting wilt thou make them to grow, and on the morrow wilt thou make thy seed to flourish; but the harvest will flee in the day of taking possession, and the sorrow will be incurable. 12 Ha! a tumult of many peoples! they make a noise as the noise of the seas; — and the rushing of nations! they rush as the rushing of mighty waters. 13 The nations rush as the rushing of many waters; but he will rebuke them, and they shall flee far away, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a whirling of dust before the whirlwind: 14 behold, at eventide, trouble; before the morning they are not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.
1 Ha! land shadowing with wings, which art beyond the rivers of Cush, v.1 the word ‘Woe” (warning) in the KJV should be “ho” or “ha”. It is a noise of a shout, as if to a party a great distance away. ‘shadowing with wings” is an expression often used in the bible for protection. the wings are reaching outside their ordinary limits, undertaking to protect Israel. “Beyond the rivers of Cush” is a likely reference to the confederate powers of Europe. To know who this “land” is, we need to remember the position of the land of Israel. The rivers of Cush are the Nile (African) and the Euphrates (Asiatic), which represent the nations on the frontiers of Israel that had oppressed them, Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon. the “land” is beyond those rivers, a country unknown at the time when Isaiah lived, and was consequently in no connection as yet with Israel; but it will be so in the last days. who else could it be but Europe, and the revived roman empire? they are marked as having a swift and powerful navy (v.2). Israel’s national flag was adopted on October 28, 1948, five months after the establishment of the State of Israel.
2 that sendest ambassadors over the sea, and in vessels of papyrus upon the waters, saying, Go, swift messengers, to a nation scattered and ravaged, to a people terrible from their existence and thenceforth; to a nation of continued waiting and of treading down, whose land the rivers have spoiled! v.2 the land shadowing with wings is futher marked as A great influencial power (ambassadors) having a swift and powerfl navy (vessels of papyrus). this correlates with the navy of the beast; recall the “ships of chittim” (Num. 24:24). they are called to “go to a nation”… the jewish nation, who are:
- scattered – by the assyrian and babylonian captivities
- ravaged – by the armies of the same.
- terrible (marvelous) from their existence and thenceforth – a marvel that jehovah would take up with them, keep them distinct, etc.
- of continued waiting – always waiting for the promised golden days
- treading down – the have been the doormat of the great empires
- whose land the rivers [of cush] have spoiled – those nations settled on the rivers of cush: Assyria, egypt, babylon have DECIMATED palestine.
“Go, swift messengers” – they are being called governmentally by God to assist the jews (see v.3).
3 All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, when a banner is lifted up on the mountains, see ye, and when a trumpet is blown, hear ye! v.3 the rest of the world is called to look on a behold this amazing sight… a far away european power with protective wings will lend its military aid to the jewish nation, once battered and weary. “a banner is lifted up on the mountains [of israel]” refers to israel returning to their land and being established as a soverign nation, with a flag, etc. (see note). returning to their land with great wealth and Rome’s protection, they will quickly grow into a powerful nation.
4 For thus hath Jehovah said unto me: I will take my rest, and I will observe from my dwelling-place like clear heat upon herbs, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. v.4 the Lord will not interfere with all this; “I will take my rest, and I will observe from my dwelling-place.” but he is not pleased… because there is no repentence. “During clear weather in sunshine” – at first things are going to work out quite nicely for them. israel will be largely exempt from the seal judgments (Rev. 6) and so they will appear to be sitting pretty.
5 For before the harvest, when the blossoming is over, and the flower becometh a ripening grape, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning-knives, and take away and cut down the branches. v.5 just when things are really getting good, when it looks like they will achieve their purpose, with a temple built, an expanding economy, a powerful western ally… then sudden judgment will fall. All their prior activity will be without the Lord, in complete independence of him, and without a hint of repentence for their national bloodguiltiness. this verse is a picture of the first attack of the assyrian. they will have worked so hard – in human energy – and the fruits of their labors are within reach, they can almost taste it. But the desolator (Dan. 9) will sweep down through, and thrash the efforts in the flesh… The “sprigs” and the “ripening grape”.
6 They shall be left together unto the mountain birds of prey, and to the beasts of the earth; and the birds of prey shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them. v.6 speaks of the utter destruction left by the assyrian in palestine after his warpath.
7 In that time shall a present be brought unto Jehovah of hosts of a people scattered and ravaged, — and from a people terrible from their existence and thenceforth, a nation of continued waiting and of treading down, whose land the rivers have spoiled, … to the place of the name of Jehovah of hosts, the mount Zion.
1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, Jehovah rideth upon a swift cloud, and cometh to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt are moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt melteth in the midst of it. 2 And I will incite the Egyptians against the Egyptians; and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, kingdom against kingdom. 3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst of it, and I will destroy the counsel thereof; and they shall seek unto the idols and unto the conjurers, and unto the necromancers, and unto the soothsayers. 4 And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord, and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts. 5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up; 6 and the rivers shall stink, and the streams of Egypt shall be diminished and drain away: the reeds and sedges shall wither. 7 The meadows by the Nile, on the banks of the Nile, and everything sown by the Nile, shall be dried up, be driven away, and be no more. 8 And the fishers shall mourn, and all they that cast fish-hook into the Nile shall lament, and they that spread net upon the waters shall languish. 9 And they that work in fine flax, and they that weave white stuffs shall be ashamed. 10 And her pillars shall be broken in pieces, and all workers for hire shall be sad of soul. 11 They are but fools, the princes of Zoan, the wise counsellors of Pharaoh: their counsel is become senseless. How say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? 12 Where are they then, thy wise men? Let them now tell thee, and let them make known what Jehovah of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt. 13 The princes of Zoan are become foolish, the princes of Noph are deceived; and the corner-stones of its tribes have caused Egypt to err. 14 Jehovah hath mingled a spirit of perverseness in the midst thereof; and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunkard staggereth in his vomit. 15 Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, palm-branch or rush, may do. 16 In that day shall Egypt be like unto women; and it shall tremble and fear because of the shaking of the hand of Jehovah of hosts, which he shaketh over it. 17 And the land of Judah shall be a dismay unto Egypt: every one that thinketh of it shall be afraid for himself, because of the counsel of Jehovah of hosts, which he hath purposed against it. 18 In that day shall there be five cities in the land of Egypt speaking the language of Canaan, and swearing by Jehovah of hosts: one shall be called, The city of Heres. 19 In that day shall there be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to Jehovah: 20 and it shall be for a sign and for a witness to Jehovah of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they shall cry unto Jehovah because of the oppressors, and he will send them a saviour and defender, who shall deliver them. 21 And Jehovah shall be known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians shall know Jehovah in that day, and shall serve with sacrifice and oblation; and they shall vow a vow unto Jehovah, and perform it. 22 And Jehovah will smite Egypt; he will smite and heal: and they shall return to Jehovah, and he will be entreated of them, and will heal them. 23 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 Egypt shall serve with Assyria. 24 In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth; 25 whom Jehovah of hosts will bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance!
1 In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, (and he fought against Ashdod and took it,) 2 at that time spoke Jehovah by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy sandal from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. 3 And Jehovah said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years, a sign and a wonder concerning Egypt and concerning Ethiopia, 4 so shall the king of Assyria lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. 5 And they shall be terrified and ashamed of Ethiopia their confidence, and of Egypt their boast. 6 And the inhabitants of this coast shall say in that day, Behold, such is our confidence, whither we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and how shall we escape?