Day 208: Isaiah: 22-24

(The previous post covered prophecies for Egypt, Babylon, and descendants from Abraham's sons with women other than Sarah.)

Isaiah 22
1 The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops?

(The burden (a weighty or mournful prophecy) of the valley of vision (Jerusalem). The people would be so alarmed by the invading armies that they would flee to their housetops in fear.)

2 O thou that art full of shoutings, a tumultuous city, a joyous town; thy slain are not slain with the sword, neither are they dead in battle.
3 All thy rulers fled away together, they were bound by the archers; all that were found of thee were bound together; they fled afar off.
4 Therefore said I, Look away from me, I will weep bitterly; labor not to comfort me for the destruction of the daughter of my people.

(Isaiah was lamenting Jerusalem.)

5 For it is a day of discomfiture, and of treading down, and of perplexity, from the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, in the valley of vision; a breaking down of the walls, and a crying to the mountains.
6 And Elam bare the quiver, with chariots of men and horsemen; and Kir uncovered the shield.

(Elam in this verse was Persia and Kir was Media.)

7 And it came to pass, that thy choicest valleys were full of chariots, and the horsemen set themselves in array at the gate.
8 And he took away the covering of Judah; and thou didst look in that day to the armor in the house of the forest.

(The Jews would look to their own strength. The "house of the forest" was an armory built by Solomon (1 Kings 7:2) to defend themselves. If their trust had been in God, He would have been their defense.)

9 And ye saw the breaches of the city of David, that they were many; and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool;

(There would be many breaches made upon Jerusalem. The enemies would infiltrate the city.)

10 and ye numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and ye brake down the houses to fortify the wall;
11 ye made also a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But ye looked not unto him that had done this, neither had ye respect unto him that purposed it long ago.
12 And in that day did the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:

(Verse 12: "in that day" was literal and did not refer to the Millennium as it often did in Isaiah.)

13 and behold, joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine: let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we shall die.

(Paul quoted this passage in 1 Corinthians 15:32 concerning the resurrection. In this instance written about in Isaiah, the people would come to the mentality that if they were about to die they may as well enjoy life while they could. Are you living differently now than you would if you knew you were going to die today?)

14 And Jehovah of hosts revealed himself in mine ears, Surely this iniquity shall not be forgiven you till ye die, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.
15 Thus saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, who is over the house, and say,

(Shebna was the secretary of king Hezekiah, a high position in the king's court.)

16 What doest thou here? and whom has thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out here a sepulchre? hewing him out a sepulchre on high, graving a habitation for himself in the rock!
17 Behold, Jehovah, like a strong man, will hurl thee away violently; yea, he will wrap thee up closely.

(Shebna was being removed from his position…)

18 He will surely wind thee round and round, and toss thee like a ball into a large country; there shalt thou die, and there shall be the chariots of thy glory, thou shame of thy lord's house.
19 And I will thrust thee from thine office; and from thy station shalt thou be pulled down.
20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:

(In the day that Shebna would be removed from office, Eliakim would be called.)

21 and I will cloth 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.
22 And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; and he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
23 And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a throne of glory to his father's house.
24 And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, every small vessel, from the cups even to all the flagons.

(Eliakim would take Shebna's place and would become the master of Hezekiah's household.)

25 In that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, shall the nail that was fastened in a sure place give way; and it shall be hewn down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off; for Jehovah hath spoken it.

(The nail was figurative of Shebna's removal from office.)




Isaiah 23
1 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 Kittim it is revealed to them.

(The burden of Tyre. Kittim or Chittim was a general term used for all islanders of the Mediterranean Sea. Nebuchadnezzar did lay waste to Tyre.)

2 Be still, ye inhabitants of the coast, thou whom the merchants of Sidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.

(Sidon was a city on the Mediterranean coast north of Tyre.)

3 And on great waters the seed of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the mart of nations.

(Tyre was the "mart" in which the productions of Egypt were taken.)

4 Be thou ashamed, O Sidon; for the sea hath spoken, the stronghold of the sea, saying, I have not travailed, nor brought forth, neither have I nourished young men, nor brought up virgins.
5 When the report cometh to Egypt, they shall be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.

(Egypt would be "sorely pained" when they found out that Tyre had nothing for them.)

6 Pass ye over to Tarshish; wail, ye inhabitants of the coast.

(Much of the wealth of Tyre was taken when people fled prior to Nebuchadnezzar's siege, which upset him to the point he utterly destroyed Tyre.)

7 Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days, whose feet carried her afar off to sojourn?
8 Who hath purposed this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honorable of the earth?

(The merchants of Tyre caused other colonies to be created because of the commerce. The merchants who visited Tyre were princes and honorable men.)

9 Jehovah of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.

(God purposed the overthrow of Tyre.)

10 Pass through thy land as the Nile, O daughter of Tarshish; there is no restraint any more.
11 He hath stretched out his hand over the sea, he hath shaken the kingdoms: Jehovah hath given commandment concerning Canaan, to destroy the strongholds thereof.
12 And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon: arise, pass over to Kittim; even there shalt thou have no rest.
13 Behold, the land of the Chaldeans: this people was not; the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness; they set up their towers; they overthrew the palaces thereof; they made it a ruin.

(The Chaldeans (Babylonians) were the source of destruction against Tyre.)

14 Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for your stronghold is laid waste.
15 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 it shall be unto Tyre as in the song of the harlot.

(Tyre would be forgotten for seventy years: Jeremiah 25:11-12.)

16 Take a harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
17 And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that Jehovah will visit Tyre, and she shall return to her hire, and shall play the harlot with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.

(After the seventy years God would visit Tyre and restore her. Jesus Christ visited Tyre (Matthew 15:21) and Paul found disciples there (Acts 21:3-6).)

18 And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to Jehovah: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before Jehovah, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.

(This verse referred to the Millennium when Tyre's economy will serve God's purposes.)




Isaiah 24
1 Behold, Jehovah maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.

(This chapter spoke of the coming captivity and of the Tribulation and Millennium.)

2 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 creditor, so with the debtor; as with the taker of interest, so with the giver of interest to him.

(All people would have a share in this affliction.)

3 The earth shall be utterly emptied, and utterly laid waste; for Jehovah hath spoken this word.
4 The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the lofty people of the earth do languish.
5 The earth also is polluted under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.

(Verse 5 stated the reason or cause of the earth being defiled.)

6 Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are found guilty: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.
7 The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merry-hearted do sigh.

(The "new wine mourneth" because there will be no one to drink it.)

8 The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.
9 They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.
10 The waste city is broken down; every house is shut up, that no man may come in.

("The waste city” was what Jerusalem would become. Waste in this verse meant "formlessness, confusion, unreality, emptiness.")

11 There is a crying in the streets because of the wine; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.
12 In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.

(The city and its gates would be destroyed.)

(Verses 13-15: the remnant that would still be in the land.)

13 For thus shall it be in the midst of the earth among the peoples, as the shaking of an olive-tree, as the gleanings when the vintage is done.
14 These shall lift up their voice, they shall shout; for the majesty of Jehovah they cry aloud from the sea.
15 Wherefore glorify ye Jehovah in the east, even the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel, in the isles of the sea.

(The remnant would rejoice.)

(Verses 16-18: the lamentation by the remnant.)

16 From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs: Glory to the righteous. But I said, I pine away, I pine away, woe is me! the treacherous have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous have dealt very treacherously.
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 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 on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble.
19 The earth is utterly broken, the earth is rent asunder, the earth is shaken violently.

(The earth would be and will be completely destroyed.)

20 The earth shall stagger like a drunken man, and shall sway to and fro like a hammock; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Jehovah will punish the host of the high ones on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 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.

(Armageddon. Satan and his minions will be cast into the lake of fire for 1000 years: Revelation 20:7-10.)

23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed; for Jehovah of hosts will reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem; and before his elders shall be glory.

(This referred to Christ's Millennial reign.)

(This post covered prophecies concerning Jerusalem, Tyre, the coming captivity, the Tribulation, and Millennium.)

Day 209

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