As Isaiah’s prophecy to King Ahaz continues, concerning the northern tribes, we get to a pivotal place in Isaiah 11 with a chapter that is filled with strong, Messianic references. One of the challenges of interpretation is to figure out which of these apply to our Lord’s first coming, which apply to His second coming and which apply to both. There are many blessings in this chapter! Let’s start by reading the chapter:
1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 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. 3 His delight is in the fear of the LORD, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; 4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist. 6 "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. 9 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. 10 "And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious." 11 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 who are left, From Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros and Cush, From Elam and Shinar, From Hamath and the islands of the sea. 12 He will set up a banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth. 13 Also the envy of Ephraim shall depart, And the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, And Judah shall not harass Ephraim. 14 But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west; Together they shall plunder the people of the East; They shall lay their hand on Edom and Moab; And the people of Ammon shall obey them. 15 The LORD will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt; With His mighty wind He will shake His fist over the River, And strike it in the seven streams, And make men cross over dry-shod. 16 There will be a highway for the remnant of His people Who will be left from Assyria, As it was for Israel In the day that he came up from the land of Egypt.
Isaiah 11:1-16 (NKJV)
Because the chapter is relatively short, I am going to discuss each verse by itself. So let’s begin with the first verse:
1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
What we see here is a family tree. A Rod shall come forth, and that Rod will come out of the stem of Jesse. We know that in the Millennium, Jesus will rule this planet with a rod of iron. When reading the Old Testament, we frequently skip over the lists of who begat who, but those lists have their own blessings, as they point to the birth of our Lord, Jesus. Here’s one of those blessings from the genealogy. In Matthew, we see the genealogy of Christ through Solomon, the by-product of the illicit relationship of David and Bathsheba. That led to Joseph, the legal father of Jesus, though we know the Holy Spirit was responsible for impregnating Mary. Matthew, being Jewish, was concerned with the legal bloodline of our Savior. Luke took another line, as being a physician, he was more interested in the real bloodline. Instead of going through Solomon, Luke takes the line of Jesus through another of David’s sons, Nathan. This bloodline goes through Heli, the father of Mary. So whichever way you want to look at it, whether from Mary’s family or Joseph’s, Jesus was in the Davidic line! This is another of those amazing ways the Bible fits together perfectly. Mary would have no rights of inheritance to pass forward, based on the Law in Deuteronomy 21:16. Yet in Numbers 27, the daughters of Zelophehad approached Moses, who then in turn approached God, on a change concerning the rights of inheritance to a family having no sons. God heard their cries and the Law changed to include daughters in a family of no sons. As Mary had no brothers, she would not be mentioned in the bloodline without that change! Everything points to Jesus!
Jesse was the father of David. He was a poor shepherd, and God promoted his son, David, to be the King of Israel. David was the second king, after Saul, and the first godly king. In fact, as you remember, King David was the king all the rest were compared to, and his heart was for the Lord. Don’t confuse this with David being perfect or infallible, as he was a murderer and an adulterer, concerning the issue with Uriah the Hittite, one of the soldiers in David’s army. To remind you, David lusted after Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, and then slept with her. When she became pregnant, David had Uriah killed in battle to hide his sin. It is also likely that David was not the best of fathers, judging from his sons and their behavior. All of this is comforting, to say the least, as it reminds each of us that God continues to love us through our failures, if we ask for forgiveness and have hearts for Him. Though David began a royal line in his family, by the time of the birth of Jesus, the Davidic line had returned to a line of peasants. That might have something to do with the usage of Jesse in this passage, rather than David. The Branch that will grow out of the roots of David is Jesus. The word “Branch” means “live sprout.” The branch falls dead from the tree and sprouts back to life, and brings others to life!
2 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
The second verse contains an additional nugget for us, as I have mentioned before. In Revelation 1:4, 3:1, 4:5 and 5:6 there are references to the seven Spirits of God. In the Bible, as we have discussed, seven is the number of completeness, and we know that God is complete! In order to understand Revelation, you have to have a mastery of the Old Testament, as it is loaded with references. Here is one of those! In Isaiah 11:1, we see the sevenfold aspect of the Holy Spirit! He is:
1. The Spirit of the Lord
2. The Spirit of wisdom
3. The Spirit of
understanding
4. The Spirit of counsel
5. The Spirit of might
6. The Spirit of knowledge
7. The Spirit of the
fear of the Lord.
We know that when Jesus lived as a man, He walked in perfect harmony with the Holy Spirit, and when He comes back to rule on the throne of David, He will rule in perfect harmony with the Holy Spirit, so the Spirit of the Lord will be upon Him. He will rule with wisdom, and that wisdom will be perfect. Remember, one of the many things Jesus cannot do is He cannot learn. In regards to wisdom, we are null and void in comparison. Check out this verse:
30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption-- 31 that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD. '
1 Corinthians 1:30-31 (NKJV)
Jesus is also filled with the Spirit of understanding, which is another word for spiritual discernment. As gifts of the Lord go, this is a biggie! We read that in the latter days, many will be fooled by the false prophets. If you measure everything you hear against what you read in the Bible, you will know the truth, and that truth will set you free! Jesus cannot be fooled, even by the treachery of Satan, and as long as we keep our eyes on Him, Satan won’t fool us, either! Think of how Satan tried to fool Jesus, by quoting parts of the Word, out of context. Jesus knew the Word…in fact, Jesus is the Word! We also see the Spirit of Counsel. Only a few chapters back in Isaiah, we saw one of the titles of Jesus, Counselor. He counsels, and doesn’t need counsel from anyone! Then we have the Spirit of might, which is power. We are baptized into His resurrection and the power thereof:
10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death
Philippians 3:9-10 (NKJV)
Here’s another interesting piece of information. When Solomon built the temple, he added a porch. There were two pillars made of brass. Brass is always emblematic of judgment. Those pillars stood alone…they didn’t hold up anything. We can read about that in 2 Chronicles:
17 Then he set up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand and the other on the left; he called the name of the one on the right hand Jachin, and the name of the one on the left Boaz.
2 Chronicles. 3:17 (NKJV)
Why do I mention this here? Because Jachin is the Hebrew word for counsel and Boaz is the Hebrew word for might! The last two attributes of the Spirit are knowledge and the Spirit of the fear of the Lord. Both of these come from staying well-grounded in the Bible. Each story gives us more knowledge of God. Remember, He told us that His ways are not our ways. One of the best ways we have of seeing His ways is by reading about God and His actions! When we see all that He did, all that He said, and all of the promises He has made, these give us a reverence for Him, a true fear of the Lord. These are all the attributes that a “Spirit-filled Christian” should have. We should be bubbling over every moment with what the Lord has done in each of our lives. Sadly, we let the cares of the world get in the way and take that focus away, at times. Don’t lose sight of this when you pray for His Spirit to fill you. These are the characteristics others should see in each of us! Onto verse three:
3 His delight is in the fear of the LORD, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
Though Jesus is the Lord, He has a fear of the Father and the Holy Spirit. It delights Him to walk in that path. We should feel the same way. He freed us from sin, and the bondage that we were in. Why is it that we still can gravitate back to those ways? After He had given us the free gift of salvation, we should be able to look back with perfect hindsight and see the destructive path our sinful lives took. Satan was able to fool us as non-Christians, as he lured us in with the pleasure of sin. As I have mentioned before, sin is a cancer that eats away at every fiber of our being. I love the term remission of sin, for it reminds me of cancer being in remission…the cancer is no longer eating me up! It should be a joy for us to walk away from that sin and follow Him. Don’t forget what Jesus said:
15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments.
John 14:15 (NKJV)
Jesus will not have to judge by His eyes or ears as He can do something no other judge is able to do. He can see inside of the heart of each of us! How easy it will be for Him to settle a dispute as He can see not only the actions, but the motives. My pastor once told me that there are always three points of view: ours, their’s and God’s! With our hearts being deceitful and desperately wicked, as Jeremiah writes, we never have a pure motive. Yet God’s motives are always pure! Now, verse four:
4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
By looking at our justice system today, we can see that the poor are not represented the same as the wealthy. I am sure they never have been. A wealthy man can hire a smarter, more-experienced attorney, and all a poor man can hire is a free, public defender. Most of the decisions in those cases will go to the hired gun. But Jesus is my Counselor, my Defender, and He is free. Well, at least I don’t have to pay! Don’t ever forget that the gift He gives might be free to us, but it did not come cheaply. He paid for it with His life! There will finally be equity for the meek. Meek actually means “quiet strength.” When Jesus looked at the men selling wares in His Father’s house, He looked with eyes of meekness. There was no question in anyone’s mind that He meant business. Most people think of gentleness when discussing this word, but it is gentleness with strength! The meek shall inherit the earth, and I think that refers to each of us who have come to know Him as Lord. This verse goes on to say that Jesus will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth! The “rod of His mouth” is sharper than a two-edged sword and it is the Word of God. With the breath of His lips, He will slay the wicked, just as the garrison fell back in the Garden of Gethsemane when He said, “I AM!” He breathed the world into existence and can breathe the life out of the wicked, just as easily! Let’s go to verse five:
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
A quick look to Ephesians 6 will remind us which part of the full armor of God is being discussed here:
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
Ephesians 6:14 (NKJV)
Truth, righteousness and faithfulness will be apparent in every action and every decision that Jesus makes. Even little white lies are lies! We know how faithful He is as we can see every promise He has ever made come true. The Millennial prophecy continues in verses 6-8:
6 "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den.
Some people have heard Jesus described as the “Lion and the Lamb.” Many people confuse this area of the Bible in Isaiah with that verse. Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Each tribe had an ensign, a rallying sign, and Judah’s was a lion. Yet, He also is the Passover Lamb, who shed His blood for us. We can see a reference to both in Revelation:
5 But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals." 6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Revelation 5:5-8 (NKJV)
These verses in Isaiah are depicting something else entirely. They are showing us in simple terms how different it will be to live in the Millennium! All of creation changed when Adam sinned and this is what it will be like when the curse of sin has been removed! The animals will become vegetarians. I don’t know if we will become vegetarians, or not. I am also guessing that the animals will talk. You might think that is an outrageous statement, but in the Garden of Eden before the fall of man, when the serpent had the discussion with Eve, she didn’t fall over with shock. It seems that it must have been commonplace to have a discussion with an animal! If we are not vegetarians, we will probably have to ask the animal if he minds if we eat him! I am basing my opinion on the Garden of Eden, but I am guessing we will be vegetarians. Adam and Eve did not know death until God killed a lamb to make skins to clothe them. Based on that, I don’t think Adam and Eve were eating meat. With the curse removed, creation will return to the way it once was, or will at least be similar to those ways. The snake had legs in the Garden of Eden. I wonder if that will happen again? I don’t think I would like them any better with legs! It also says, “a little child shall lead them.” That reminds me of one of the most important attributes of that little child…big faith. Faith can carry each of us a long way, but even that is a gift of God. Okay, verse nine:
9 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.
We have already discussed in Isaiah that war will be gone in the rule of Jesus. We live in the present age when so few believe in God, fewer follow His ways and evil seems to be rampant in the place that Satan has dominion over. It is so hard to visualize this earth filled with believers! That is exactly what will take place at the beginning of the Millennium. We, as believers removed in the rapture, will stand before God in the Bema Seat judgment, where every bit of phoniness will be removed. Only our good acts, desires and attributes will remain. At the end of the Tribulation, Jesus will slay the wicked and they will remain “asleep” for 1,000 years, until the Great White Throne judgment. Those who came to know the Lord in the tribulation and lived through it will remain alive as humans and will repopulate the earth. As I have mentioned earlier in this Isaiah study, the children of those humans will still have to make a commitment to the Lord, as each of their descendants will. Yet, at the beginning, every person on earth, whether in an earthly body or a glorified one, will love the Lord! How exciting that will be! That is what it will be like for the earth to be full of the knowledge of the Lord!
10 "And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious."
I remember seeing a plaque with this verse on it just outside of the Empty Tomb in Jerusalem! I love this verse. Jesus is the Root of Jesse, as He came from the line of David. In Isaiah 53, He is described as a “Root out of dry ground.” This verse even points to the Israeli flag today! What is right in the middle of that flag? A star of David, called the “Mogan David.” The sign of David shall stand as a banner to the people. This also refers directly to one of the seven redemptive names of God used in the Old Testament. Jehovah-Nissi means "The Lord Our Banner." You can find it in Exodus 17:15.
And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-LORD-IS-MY-BANNER; 16 for he said, "Because the LORD has sworn: the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation."
Exodus 17:15-16 (NKJV)
This verse in Isaiah might have confused the Jews, who saw the Messiah coming as a mighty warrior, and another King in the Davidic line. After the Babylonian captivity, there were no more kings in Israel, and there will not be another one until Jesus rules on the throne of David. Yet, the Jews thought He would rule when He came the first time. Yet in other parts of this verse, it does seem to apply to His first coming. The Gentiles will seek Him. Though He came to save the Jews, His chosen people, the Gentiles followed Him. We are still following Him today, as that prophecy continues to have meaning. When it says, “His resting place shall be glorious,” I think it has many levels of meaning. As it says in Isaiah 53,
And they made His grave with the wicked--But with the rich at His death,
Isaiah 53:9 (NKJV)
His “resting place” was a rich man’s grave in Jerusalem. But I also think that heaven is His “resting place,” as well. And the time of His rest is between His first coming and His second coming. Lastly, the verse can easily apply to the Millennium, too, as this earth will once again be glorious! We have never seen it in glorious form! Now we come to a verse that applies to today:
11 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 who are left, From Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros and Cush, From Elam and Shinar, From Hamath and the islands of the sea.
Every teacher of the Word has certain sections or attributes of the Bible that excite them. I love prophecy. Being that God willed me to be alive today, this is one of my special sections, for I can see the prophecy being fulfilled right in front of my eyes. Eight centuries, or so, before the life of Jesus, God gave this to Isaiah, and here we are that many years later seeing the fulfillment of it! It shouldn’t surprise any of us. Look at this verse:
7 Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
Amos 3:7 (NKJV)
One of the keys to this verse is the phrase “the second time.” God will set His hand to recover the remnant the second time. When was the first time? That’s easy! It was when He brought the Jews back from their 70-year captivity in Babylon. Babylon is also known as the Land of Shinar in the Bible. We can see in two different ways that this verse applies to a different gathering of the Jews. First, the Holy Spirit overtly tells us that it is “the second time,” yet the additional clue is in that initial gathering of the remnant, the Jews were not spread out around the entire world. Cush is modern day Ethiopia. One of the biggest problems in the last 10 years in Israel has been the absorption of Russian Jews and Ethiopian Jews into the land. The “islands of the sea” is a Hebrew colloquialism for distant lands. In 1948, the Jews returned to a land they had vacated for more than 1,800 years! So many “experts” of Bible prophecy had assigned every aspect of prophecy concerning Israel to mean “the Church,” as Israel had not existed for so many years. Some, amazingly, still do that! It is called “replacement theology,” and is straight from the pit of hell. The Jews swarmed back into the land in 1948, and that continues to this day. In 1967, they took Jerusalem, their Holy City, once again, too. This is one of two parts of this gathering. The first will be in unbelief. As you can see, though God has put them back in their land, they still are not following Jesus. Most are agnostic and are not looking to God, the Father, either. One man described an agnostic Jew as someone who knows exactly how to worship the God he doesn’t believe in. Even their leaders have been humanists, who put the emphasis on mankind (with the exception of Menachem Begin, their sixth prime minister). We also know that there is a future gathering in belief, when the Jews will call upon Jesus. Why is God doing this? Have they called out to Him for forgiveness? Not as a nation, but they will. But His reason is to show His grace and that He always comes through on His promises! Read these verses:
16 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 17 "Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own ways and deeds; to Me their way was like the uncleanness of a woman in her customary impurity. 18 "Therefore I poured out My fury on them for the blood they had shed on the land, and for their idols with which they had defiled it. 19 "So I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries; I judged them according to their ways and their deeds. 20 "When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned My holy name--when they said of them, 'These are the people of the LORD, and yet they have gone out of His land.' 21 "But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went. 22 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. 23 "And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD, ' says the Lord GOD, "when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. 24 "For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. 28 "Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. 29 "I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. 30 "And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations. 31 "Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 "Not for your sake do I do this," says the Lord GOD, "let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel!"
Ezekiel 36:16-32 (NKJV)
That shows the heart of God and He is not willing to do anything for the Jews that He has not done for each of us! What a blessing. This continues in verse 12:
12 He will set up a banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth.
This verse demonstrates that the prophecy does not refer to the House of Israel or the House of Judah, but all of the nation. He will assemble all of the dispersed and all of the outcasts. For those concerned with the 10 lost tribes, there is nothing lost here. Once again, we see the word “banner.” Jehovah-Nissi! Now, verse 13:
13 Also the envy of Ephraim shall depart, And the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, And Judah shall not harass Ephraim.
There was a huge split between the northern tribes and the southern tribes. We see here that they will be one nation again. God’s plan was for Himself to rule over the Jews. The Jews wanted a man, to be like the other nations. Now, God will be ruling, as His original plan! With His permissive will in the past, this will be His perfect will! Ephraim, the largest tribe in the north, will no longer envy Judah, the largest tribe in the south. All of the enemies of Judah will be cut off. We know this is still a future event, as all the nations of the Islamic world hate Israel. Listen to the comments of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the sixth and current president of Iran. He wants to wipe them off of the earth. We know God will not allow that! Let’s continue with verse 14:
14 But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west; Together they shall plunder the people of the East; They shall lay their hand on Edom and Moab; And the people of Ammon shall obey them.
One of the areas the Israelis still do battle with is the Gaza Strip, on the west coast of the country. It is filled with Arabs (Philistines). Any doubt how that conflict is going to work out? When the victory has been predicted almost three thousand years before we could see a battle, it makes it easier, doesn’t it? The people of the east will be Syria (Israel’s greatest enemy,) Iran, Iraq, and the rest of the Arabic nations. When we get to Isaiah 17, you will see part of this in greater detail. The geographic name “Ammon” sure is similar to the largest city in Jordan, “Amman.” I am sure it applies! In the Millennium, Israel will be the political center of the world. How could that not be the case with Jesus ruling on the throne of David there?! Okay, verse 15:
15 The LORD will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt; With His mighty wind He will shake His fist over the River, And strike it in the seven streams, And make men cross over dry-shod.
This is a prophecy that we see elsewhere in the Bible, in Revelation. The river in discussion is the Euphrates. This is the “tongue” that comes from the Mediterranean. In this Fertile Crescent was the birthplace of civilization, and it will also see the last battle. Let’s look at Revelation:
12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. 15 "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame." 16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
Revelation 16:12-16 (NKJV)
Remember, God is the same yesterday, today and forever! He dried the Red Sea for the Jews to pass through. He dried the Jordan River for them to do the same. This time, He dries the Euphrates with a breath, His mighty wind, for the forces to pass on their way to Har-Megiddo, Armageddon. In Hebrew, “Har” means “mount.” Mt. Megiddo overlooks the plain where the final battle will take place. Now, the last verse in this chapter:
16 There will be a highway for the remnant of His people Who will be left from Assyria, As it was for Israel In the day that he came up from the land of Egypt.
The remnant will have something better than a pathway back to its land. Highway, as I mentioned before, refers to a clean path. You can take the high road and be on high moral ground. The remnant, by this time, will have called for the return of its Messiah, and it will return to the land of Israel in the same manner the Jews came from Egypt, with God leading the way! Isn’t this an amazing chapter? We can see things that have happened already, things that are happening now and things that will be happening very soon. It puts us in a position of knowing how close our Savior is right now! We should each take that as a warning to live in a manner worthy of Him. It also reminds us to tell people about our Lord and His amazing love!
Friday, September 28, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Isaiah 10: The Assyrian
Let’s begin our study of Isaiah 10 by reading the chapter:
1 "Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, Who write misfortune, Which they have prescribed 2 To rob the needy of justice, And to take what is right from the poor of My people, That widows may be their prey, And that they may rob the fatherless. 3 What will you do in the day of punishment, And in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory? 4 Without Me they shall bow down among the prisoners, And they shall fall among the slain." For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.
5 "Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation. 6 I will send him against an ungodly nation, And against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, To seize the spoil, to take the prey, And to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 7 Yet he does not mean so, Nor does his heart think so; But it is in his heart to destroy, And cut off not a few nations. 8 For he says, 'Are not my princes altogether kings? 9 Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus? 10 As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols, Whose carved images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria, 11 As I have done to Samaria and her idols, Shall I not do also to Jerusalem and her idols?' " 12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the LORD has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, "I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks." 13 For he says: "By the strength of my hand I have done it, And by my wisdom, for I am prudent; Also I have removed the boundaries of the people, And have robbed their treasuries; So I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man. 14 My hand has found like a nest the riches of the people, And as one gathers eggs that are left, I have gathered all the earth; And there was no one who moved his wing, Nor opened his mouth with even a peep." 15 Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, Or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood! 16 Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, Will send leanness among his fat ones; And under his glory He will kindle a burning Like the burning of a fire. 17 So the Light of Israel will be for a fire, And his Holy One for a flame; It will burn and devour His thorns and his briers in one day. 18 And it will consume the glory of his forest and of his fruitful field, Both soul and body; And they will be as when a sick man wastes away. 19 Then the rest of the trees of his forest Will be so few in number That a child may write them.
20 And it shall come to pass in that day That the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, To the Mighty God. 22 For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, A remnant of them will return; The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness. 23 For the Lord GOD of hosts Will make a determined end In the midst of all the land. 24 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: "O My people, who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian. He shall strike you with a rod and lift up his staff against you, in the manner of Egypt. 25 "For yet a very little while and the indignation will cease, as will My anger in their destruction." 26 And the LORD of hosts will stir up a scourge for him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; as His rod was on the sea, so will He lift it up in the manner of Egypt. 27 It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck, And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil. 28 He has come to Aiath, He has passed Migron; At Michmash he has attended to his equipment. 29 They have gone along the ridge, They have taken up lodging at Geba. Ramah is afraid, Gibeah of Saul has fled. 30 Lift up your voice, O daughter of Gallim! Cause it to be heard as far as Laish--O poor Anathoth! 31 Madmenah has fled, The inhabitants of Gebim seek refuge. 32 As yet he will remain at Nob that day; He will shake his fist at the mount of the daughter of Zion, The hill of Jerusalem. 33 Behold, the Lord, The LORD of hosts, Will lop off the bough with terror; Those of high stature will be hewn down, And the haughty will be humbled. 34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.
Isaiah 10:1-34 (NKJV)
Before we begin studying Isaiah 10, I found it necessary to list 20 different places listed in this chapter. Most of the places I had never heard of before. When you are reading the verses above or the commentary below, feel free to remind yourself of the specifics of each location:
Calno: (or Calneh, meaning Fort) one of the four cities founded by Nimrod (Gen. 10:10). It is the modern Niffer, a lofty mound of earth and rubbish situated in the marshes on the east bank of the Euphrates, but 30 miles distant from its present course, and about 60 miles south-south-east from Babylon. It is mentioned as one of the towns with which Tyre carried on trade. It was finally taken and probably destroyed by one of the Assyrian kings (Amos 6:2).
Carchemish: fortress of Chemosh, a city on the west bank of the Euphrates (Jer. 46:2; 2 Chronicles 35:20), not, as was once supposed, the Circesium at the confluence of the Chebar and the Euphrates, but a city considerably higher up the river, and commanding the ordinary passage of the Euphrates; probably identical with Hierapolis. It was the capital of the kingdom of the northern Hittites. The Babylonian army, under Nebuchadnezzar here met and conquered the army of Pharaoh-necho, king of Egypt (B.C. 607). It is mentioned in monuments in B.C. 1600 and down to B.C. 717.
Hamath: (fortress) the capital of one of the kingdoms of Upper Syria of the same name, on the Orontes, in the valley of Lebanon, at the northern boundary of Palestine (Numbers 13:21; 34:8), at the foot of Mt. Hermon (Joshua 13:5) towards Damascus (Zechariah 9:2; Jeremiah 49:23). It is called "Hamath the great" in Amos 6:2, and "Hamath-zobah" in 2 Chronicles 8:3. Also read Joshua 13:5, 2 Kings 14:28.
Arpad : (Arphad) a Syrian city near Hamath, along with which it is invariably mentioned (2 Kings 19:13; 2 Kings 18:34; Isaiah 10:9), and Damascus (Jeremiah 49:23).
Samaria: the largest city in the northern area of Israel.
Damascus: the largest city in Syria.
Midian: (strife) the fourth son of Abraham by Keturah, the father of the Midianites (Genesis 25:2; 1 Chronicles 1:32).
Oreb: (raven) By the time of the judges, the Midianites, led by two princes Oreb and Zeeb, were raiding Israel with the use of swift camels, until they were decisively defeated by Gideon. Oreb, Zeeb and many of the Midianites were slain. The place where Gideon slew Oreb is called the Rock of Oreb. It is probably a place now called Orbo, on the east of Jordan near Beth-Shean.
Aiath: (hour; eye; fountain) The Ai mentioned by in Joshua 8 is also mentioned by the Book of Genesis as having been a religious sanctuary, founded by Abraham (the area he settled, is stated by the Bible to have been between Bethel and Ai). This is about 30 miles northeast of Jerusalem.
Migron : (precipice or landslip) a place between Aiath and Michmash. The town of the same name mentioned in 1 Sam. 14:2 was to the south of this, about 30 miles north of Jerusalem.
Michmash: (something hidden) a town of Benjamin (Ezra 2:27), east of Bethel and south of Migron, 7.5 miles north of Jerusalem. It lay on the line of the march of an invading army from the north, on the north side of the steep and precipitous Wadi es-Suweinit ("valley of the little thorn-tree" or "the acacia"), and now bears the name of Mukhmas. This wadi is called "the passage of Michmash" (1 Sam. 13:23). Immediately facing Mukhmas, on the opposite side of the ravine, is the modern representative of Geba, and behind this again are Ramah and Gibeah. This was the scene of a great battle fought between the army of Saul and the Philistines, who were utterly routed and pursued for some 16 miles towards Philistia as far as the valley of Aijalon.
Geba: (the hill) a Levitical city of Benjamin on the north border of Judah, near Gibeah. It has been identified with Jeb’a, about 5 ½ miles north of Jerusalem. Asa built up Geba from stones meant for Ramah. 1 Kings 15:22 and 2 Chronicles 16:6.
Ramah: Ramah in Benjamin is a city of ancient Israel. It was located near Gibeon and Mizpah to the West, Gibeah to the South, and Geba to the East. It is identified with modern Er-Ram, about 5 miles north of Jerusalem. The city is first mentioned in Joshua 18:25.
Gibeah of Saul: To the east of Route 60, about 3 miles north of the Old City of Jerusalem, you pass the high ridge of Tel el-Ful ("hill of beans"), the location of Gibeah, Saul's capital overlooking the land of Benjamin, the Dead Sea and the Hills of Moab. Gibeah ("hill") was situated on the main north-south highway connecting Shechem, Jerusalem and Hebron. Lying just north of Jerusalem at an elevation of 2,754 feet and higher than the Mount of Olives, its position provided a panoramic view of the entire central region.
Gallim: (who heap up; who cover) 1 Samuel 25:44 The native place of Phalti, to whom Michal was given by Saul. It was probably in Benjamin, to the north of Jerusalem.
Laish: (a lion) It has been supposed to be the modern el-Isawiyeh, about a mile north-east of Jerusalem.
Anathoth: the name of one of the cities of refuge, in the tribe of Benjamin (Joshua 21:18). The Jews, as a rule, did not change the names of the towns they found in Palestine; hence this town may be regarded as deriving its name from the goddess Anat. It was the native place of Abiezer, one of David's "thirty" (2 Sam. 23:27), and of Jehu, another of his mighty men (1 Chronicles 12:3). It is chiefly notable, however, as the birth-place and usual residence of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:1; 11:21-23; 29:27; 32:7-9). It suffered greatly from the army of Sennacherib, and only 128 men returned to it from the Exile (Nehemiah 7:27; Ezra 2:23). It lay about 3 miles north of Jerusalem. It has been identified with the small and poor village of 'Anata, containing about 100 inhabitants.
Madmenah: a town in Benjamin, not far from Jerusalem, towards the north (Isaiah 10:31). The same Hebrew word occurs in Isaiah 25:10, where it is rendered "dunghill." This verse has, however, been interpreted as meaning "that Moab will be trodden down by Jehovah as teben [broken straw] is trodden to fragments on the threshing-floors of Madmenah."
Gebim: (cisterns, rendered "pits," Jeremiah 14:3; "locusts," Isaiah 33:4), a small place north of Jerusalem, whose inhabitants fled at the approach of the Assyrian army.
Nob: (high place) a city of the priests, first mentioned in the history of David's wanderings (1 Samuel 21:1). Here the tabernacle was then standing, and here, Ahimelech the priest resided. According to Isaiah 10:28-32, it was on the south of Geba, on the road to Jerusalem, and within sight of the city. Today it is called Mt. Scopus and it is inside the Jerusalem city limits. After being supplied with the sacred loaves of showbread, and girding on the sword of Goliath, which was brought forth from behind the ephod, David fled from Nob and sought refuge at the court of Achish, the king of Gath, where he was cast into prison. (Comp. titles of Ps. 34 and 56.)
Well, that was a major undertaking that will certainly carry some significance as this study continues! When I initially read this chapter, all the place names bogged me down, but there is so much more here than those geographic locations. This is a far-reaching prophecy that has as much to do with the captivity of the northern tribes as it has to do with the future of Israel. Just keep in mind as you read these verses that “the Assyrian” refers to the King of Assyria, Sennacherib. If you want to see more about him and his demise, read 2 Kings 19. Yet “the Assyrian” is one of 33 Old Testament titles of the antichrist, and Isaiah 10 is one of many chapters that tell us much of that coming day. Keep in mind that Isaiah 10 is a continuation of Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the northern tribes to King Ahaz, from the House of Judah, who did not follow the Lord. With all the background information taken care of, let’s press on to discuss the first few verses of this chapter:
1 "Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, Who write misfortune, Which they have prescribed 2 To rob the needy of justice, And to take what is right from the poor of My people, That widows may be their prey, And that they may rob the fatherless. 3 What will you do in the day of punishment, And in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory? 4 Without Me they shall bow down among the prisoners, And they shall fall among the slain." For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.
The chapter actually appears to be a continuation of Isaiah 9, as we can see the stanza end with the familiar phrase, “For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.” Remember, men put the chapters and verses into the Bible to make it easier for us to study centuries ago, and those chapter breaks don’t always occur where they should. This passage is discussing the unfairness of the legal system and how it hurts the poor more than the rich. Carry that forward to our time, and you can see much of the same. The O.J. Simpson trial demonstrated the ability to buy a verdict with the cost of “the dream team” of attorneys, with complete disregard of the evidence presented. The widows and orphans, two groups of people special to the Lord, are mentioned as some of the needy being robbed of justice. As I have mentioned before, every time I see the word “justice” in the Bible it brings certain thoughts to mind. Though we put much priority on justice, we have two different systems. One is the justice of man and the other is the justice of God. There was a time when the two were more closely related, but as we see the Ten Commandments, or any reference thereof, being removed from man’s judicial system, we know our system is very near bogging down. God is the only Judge and Jury! Sometimes, we have a tendency to cry out for justice, but don’t lose sight of the fact that if God gave us what we deserved, it would be death! I am so glad that He gave me what He wanted to give me, rather than what I earned with my life! Isaiah speaks of the day of punishment and the desolation that will come from afar. This speaks specifically to the Jews of that era, who were about to be hammered by the Assyrians. Though this was a prophecy of that event, it still speaks prophetically today of the Great Tribulation. We know from the Bible that the antichrist will make a peace treaty with Israel. On that day, the seven-year tribulation begins. After three and a half years, at the halfway point, the antichrist will defile the Jewish temple with an image of himself. This event is referred to in the Bible as the abomination of the desolation. At that point, the last half of the tribulation begins, and is called the Great Tribulation. Daniel wrote about this event in the Old Testament, and Jesus calls attention to it in the New Testament:
15 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 "Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 "And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 "But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 "And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.
Matthew 24:15-22 (NKJV)
What you can see from the verses in Matthew and those in Isaiah 10 is the alacrity of the event. It will happen in one day, and the tone will be changed completely. I love the question in verse three of “To whom will you flee for help?” There is only One worth fleeing to as He has created us all and loves us! Without Him, as the verses continue, they will bow down among the prisoners and shall fall among the slain. Without Him, we are dead! There are two deaths to be concerned with…physical death and spiritual death. For some reason, most people fear physical death but the second death is the one that will hurt far worse. I cannot even begin to imagine being faced with eternity without God, with the knowledge of His power and love! As I mentioned in the discussion on Isaiah 9, the stanza finishes with a testament to the fact that God’s anger continues with the Jews. The passage then shifts, as we begin the discussion of the next verses:
5 "Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation. 6 I will send him against an ungodly nation, And against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, To seize the spoil, to take the prey, And to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 7 Yet he does not mean so, Nor does his heart think so; But it is in his heart to destroy, And cut off not a few nations. 8 For he says, 'Are not my princes altogether kings?
The scene shifts to Assyria. The Assyrian Empire ruled for a period of 700 years. It was conquered, and replaced, by the Babylonian Empire. God had protected the Jews, His chosen people, from this empire, but as they continued to disobey Him, God used the heathens as His own instrument. Yet God is also saying that its power is not unending. Only His is! It is interesting to note that while God uses Assyria as His instrument to inflict punishment on the Jews, Isaiah speaks here of two instruments of the Lord we should be familiar with, the rod and the staff. Both are apparent in Psalm 23. A rod is an instrument of correction, while a staff is one of direction or control. Think of how a shepherd wields this instrument. If the sheep need to be gently coerced to follow him in the proper way, the shepherd will use the crook at the end to pull the sheep in the right direction. If the sheep fails to heed the gentle coercion, the shepherd might use the side of the same instrument and pop the sheep in the butt to get his attention. Don’t forget who the sheep are and who the Shepherd is! God is sending the King of an ungodly nation against the people of another ungodly nation, Israel. The Jews are the people of His wrath. God gives the Assyrians, and the antichrist, the ability to seize the spoil and take the prey and tread them down like the dirt in the streets. The antichrist, and the King of Assyria, don’t know that God is using them. This always reminds me of the cross; it is a place that Satan thought was his biggest triumph when Jesus died. Yet the death of Jesus was Satan’s greatest defeat! Remember, any attack on us that comes from Satan or his demons is allowed by God. He would not allow it if there wasn’t a point. In the case of the Jews in the Great Tribulation, they look to the antichrist as the messiah they missed when Jesus came. When he turns on them, the Jews will finally see the error of their ways and turn to Jesus, the true Messiah. Verse 6 is significant in another way. The phrase, “to seize the spoil, to take the prey” brings us back to another interesting way God presented this prophecy. That is basically the name of Isaiah’s son, Maher-shalal-hash-baz. The heart of the King of Assyria, and the heart of the antichrist, is not to follow God’s direction and punish the Jews. Their hearts are both to destroy! Verse 8 is an interesting verse: “For he says, ‘Are not my princes altogether kings?’” If he is a king and his princes below him are kings, then he is the king of kings. We know that Satan tries to copy God in every way, as he knows that God is perfect in every way. God is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and in the tribulation, Satan attempts his own trinity of Satan, the antichrist and the false prophet. Jesus is the King of Kings, and even here, you see the antichrist's feeling of being a king of kings! Let’s continue with the next section:
9 Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus? 10 As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols, Whose carved images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria, 11 As I have done to Samaria and her idols, Shall I not do also to Jerusalem and her idols?' "
This is one of the sections where you might want to refer to the chart above. This first section of cities seems to refer to battle cities of old. For example, the Battle of Carchemish was the one where King Nebuchadnezzar established himself as a world ruler in 606 B.C. These are not just cities in Israel, as Damascus is across the border in Syria. Assyria would take all of this land, and there is certainly some significance to the antichrist that I do not see. I bet there will be people living in that time that will tie these verses in somehow, though. Remember, this is the King of Assyria speaking, along with the antichrist. His hand has found the kingdoms of idols, which were better than those in Jerusalem and Samaria. Jerusalem would be considered southern Israel, while Samaria is northern Israel. What is the kingdom with better idols? I am not certain, but I think this relates to Babylon. The city now in Iraq was the birthplace of all of the false religions of the world, and though the reference is a subtle one, I think that it pertains. Okay, here is the next section:
12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the LORD has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, "I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks." 13 For he says: "By the strength of my hand I have done it, And by my wisdom, for I am prudent; Also I have removed the boundaries of the people, And have robbed their treasuries; So I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man. 14 My hand has found like a nest the riches of the people, And as one gathers eggs that are left, I have gathered all the earth; And there was no one who moved his wing, Nor opened his mouth with even a peep." 15 Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, Or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood!
Though the King of Assyria and the antichrist are afflicting the Jews, this passage reminds us once again that they are just instruments of the Lord. Verse 12 tells us overtly that “the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem.” This brings up the subject of free will. Do you think that God forced the King of Assyria or will force the antichrist to do these things? No! Just as in our lives, we have the ability to make choices. Yet God is outside of time and knows the choices that we all will make before we make them. So even though God can use their evil for His purposes, He will still punish them for that evil. This is yet another demonstration of my favorite verse:
8 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28 (NKJV)
In the Great Tribulation, God takes the worst that Satan can dish out to His chosen people and uses that to bring millions to Him, to the foot of the cross! From the foundation of the world, God already knew each of us who were to be called His! And He will make everything work for our good and for His glory! The passage refers to the root of sin, pride. In that short passage spoken by the King of Assyria and the antichrist, there are 5 I’s and 3 My’s. It’s easy to see the emphasis of both. It doesn’t matter who we are speaking of, whether it be Satan, the antichrist, the King of Assyria, or each one of us, we all have the tendency to call attention to our own accomplishments. With God, I can do anything. Without Him, I can do nothing. If you do a study of pride in the Bible, you will see how much God hates even a haughty look. A symbol of sin in the Bible is leaven, and along with this, you can get an idea of why the Jews were to use unleavened bread at most of the feasts. To understand this, think of what leaven does to bread. It puffs up, and that is exactly what pride does for each of us. Pride takes our eyes off of God and puts them on ourselves. Virtually, with the sin of pride, we begin to worship ourselves as God. As we get to Isaiah 14, you will see this in a deeper way as we discuss the fall of Satan. The speakers in the verses above believe they have the ability to do anything they want! Then God gives a reminder. An axe cannot do any work without the one who wields it. Otherwise, it just sits there. In the same manner, we know that God uses the rich, the powerful, the heathen, the poor, the weak and His followers to accomplish His purposes! Now, the next section:
16 Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, Will send leanness among his fat ones; And under his glory He will kindle a burning Like the burning of a fire. 17 So the Light of Israel will be for a fire, And his Holy One for a flame; It will burn and devour His thorns and his briers in one day. 18 And it will consume the glory of his forest and of his fruitful field, Both soul and body; And they will be as when a sick man wastes away. 19 Then the rest of the trees of his forest Will be so few in number That a child may write them.
We see here that the high and mighty will become the low and weak, as God judges the sins of the King of Assyria and the antichrist. Sennacherib’s reign was not as far-reaching as he thought. He took the northern tribes into captivity, but God did not allow him or his forces to enter Jerusalem. After Hezekiah’s prayer, the Lord sent an angel to destroy 185,000 of Sennacherib’s warriors, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Sennacherib was murdered 20 years later by two of his own sons. (2 Kings 19) The Lord will judge the antichrist, as well, though it won’t take 20 years! The Lord will kindle a burning fire. Fire, as I have mentioned before, is emblematic of judgment. For a refresher on this, turn back to Isaiah 6. Then we see another title of Jesus – the Light of Israel. Let’s see another verse:
35 Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36 "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."
John 12:35-36 (NKJV)
Jesus, and His words, illuminate our hearts and lives in a way that we can never look at anything the same way again. Light exposes evil, and takes away the darkness. Think about how easy it is to walk in a dark alley and feel the presence of so many things that are not really there. You don’t know what is there because you can’t see. Go back to the same alley the next day, and it is completely different, with all of your fears taken away. That’s what having the Light in your heart does for you all the time! That Light will be a flame that will devour the thorns and briers in one day. Once again, the thorns and briers take us to the parable of the four soils in Matthew 13. Thorns and briers choke out the plants, and here, the Lord will allow the plants to grow in fertile soil as He removes those impeding that growth. This will not occur in a slow manner, but immediately, in one day. At the Battle of Armageddon, Jesus will speak a holy word and slay His enemies. They will fall to the ground as if a forest had been cleared instantaneously. Having stood on the hill overlooking the plains of Megiddo, it is chilling to picture the destruction of so many people who will not acknowledge Him as their King. There will be so few remaining that a child could easily count the number. Now, the next section:
20 And it shall come to pass in that day That the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, To the Mighty God. 22 For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, A remnant of them will return; The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness. 23 For the Lord GOD of hosts Will make a determined end In the midst of all the land.
“That day” refers to two different time periods, as the first was the day when the Jews would be able to return from captivity. Though all of the Jews were taken into captivity, only a remnant returned. The number, according to the Book of Ezra, seemed to be near 50,000. Yet “that day” also refers to “The Day of the Lord,” a time still in our future that the Bible says more of than the creation! Specifically, “the day of the Lord” is when Jesus will judge the nations, but is also emblematic of the difficult times leading up to that day. One third of the Jews will come to know Him as Messiah:
And it shall come to pass in all the land," Says the LORD, "That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, But one- third shall be left in it: 9 I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, 'This is My people'; And each one will say, 'The LORD is my God.' "
Zechariah 13:8-9 (NKJV)
With 144,000 Jewish men filled with the Holy Spirit preaching to God’s chosen people, the harvest will be great! As exciting as it is to think of that many people coming to the Lord, it also grieves my heart to think that two-thirds will die. It is my perspective that the two-thirds will die in the many judgments of the Great Tribulation, but all of those who live to the end will have accepted Jesus as their Messiah. Once again, God has the ability to walk forward or backward in time, and He already knows each who will come to know Him. The two-thirds who die would never have come to know Him as Lord no matter what He did. That is His grace, along with His wrath. If we don’t think He is capable of wrath and judgment, we only have to look at the fact that two-thirds of His chosen people alive in the end days will perish without His salvation. This section of verses refers to the “House of Jacob,” rather than the “House of Israel” or the “House of Judah,” so that we will understand that it pertains to all of the 13 tribes. As stated before, the Jews will trust in the antichrist, who many Bible scholars believe is one of their own, possibly from the tribe of Dan. Yet his true character is revealed, and it says that the Jews will “never again depend on him who has defeated them.” Instead, they begin to trust in the Lord, His plan all along! The remnant will return. Does that phrase remind you of anything? Here is the other name of a son of Isaiah: Shear-jashub, meaning “a remnant shall return!” Isn’t God amazing! Even down to the names of Isaiah’s sons, He is pointing to the greatest day in the life of the nation of Israel, over 2,000 in advance! That remnant will return to the Mighty God, a title of God that shows us His all-powerful nature. He is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent. Though the Jews are numbered as the sands of the sea, only a remnant will return. Even the destruction will overflow with the righteousness of the Lord, as a perfect God can not just ignore sin. Let’s go on:
24 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: "O My people, who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian. He shall strike you with a rod and lift up his staff against you, in the manner of Egypt. 25 "For yet a very little while and the indignation will cease, as will My anger in their destruction." 26 And the LORD of hosts will stir up a scourge for him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; as His rod was on the sea, so will He lift it up in the manner of Egypt. 27 It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck, And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.
Once again, don’t lose sight of the fact that “the Assyrian” is a title of the antichrist. Yes, it also pertains to Sennacherib, the King of Assyria. We are reminded here once again of the Exodus, as this passage says that the antichrist will strike with his rod and lift up his staff as in the manner of Egypt. Once again, as discussed in Isaiah 9, this is a reference to the task master and how he treated the slaves. God tells us it is for a very little while. I don’t know how long that will be, but we know that there will be a peace treaty in Israel for at least the beginning of the tribulation. At the worst, this will last for three and a half years, but for the bulk of that time, the Jews will be in hiding. That place of hiding appears to be Petra, Jordan, where numerous Jews could find shelter in the amazing rock city. Wherever they are, God will supernaturally protect them from the antichrist and his minions. This will all cease as all the forces of the world come against God. This would all be scary if we didn’t know how the story ended. Those of us who are Christians today will have the best seat in the house for the final act, as we will be clothed in white alongside our Savior and will join Him in the air as members of His army! The real key to the verse goes hand in hand with the cessation of the indignation. God’s anger in their destruction will also cease. Five times we saw the verse that said His anger was not turned away and His hand was still stretched out to them. Now, that is over, and He calls them close to Himself, once again. It says that the Lord will stir up a scourge for the antichrist “like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb, as His rod was on the sea.” This is telling us that God will intervene in the same way He did with Gideon and his 300 from Judges 7, when they defeated a much larger army, including Oreb. Additionally, it makes reference to His rod on the sea, in reference to the miracle of the Red Sea crossing. Don’t ever put God in a box and expect Him to do things with our logic! He is as creative in His solutions as He was in creation! The antichrist’s burden will be taken from the shoulder of the Jews. Though his yoke was heavy and controlling, it will be destroyed, because of the anointing oil. We can’t go ahead without looking at this verse:
28 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Matthew 11:27-30 (NKJV)
This anointing oil refers to Hezekiah in the dealings with Sennacherib, but the anointing one in the time to come is Jesus! Oil is emblematic in the Bible of the Holy Spirit. And now, let’s finish the chapter:
28 He has come to Aiath, He has passed Migron; At Michmash he has attended to his equipment. 29 They have gone along the ridge, They have taken up lodging at Geba. Ramah is afraid, Gibeah of Saul has fled. 30 Lift up your voice, O daughter of Gallim! Cause it to be heard as far as Laish--O poor Anathoth! 31 Madmenah has fled, The inhabitants of Gebim seek refuge. 32 As yet he will remain at Nob that day; He will shake his fist at the mount of the daughter of Zion, The hill of Jerusalem. 33 Behold, the Lord, The LORD of hosts, Will lop off the bough with terror; Those of high stature will be hewn down, And the haughty will be humbled. 34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.
Once again, without our handy-dandy chart above, this might be a little confusing. The towns mentioned here are all north of Jerusalem. We begin in Aiath, 30 miles northeast of Jerusalem, then venture to Migron, 30 miles north of Jerusalem. We continue to Michmash, 7.5 miles north of Jerusalem, then go on to Geba, 5.5 miles to the north. Next is Ramah, 5 miles north, followed by Giebeah of Saul, a little closer. The same can be said of Gallim and Laish. Then onto Anathoth, the birthplace of Jeremiah, 3 miles north of Jerusalem, followed by Madmenah, Gebim and Nob. Nob is actually inside the city of limits of Jerusalem today and means “high place.” From that high place, you can see all of Jerusalem from the northeast corner. What God detailed here is the exact path that one man already made, the King of Assyria, and the same path another will make, the antichrist, on their ways into Jerusalem. There will be no guesswork by the believing Jews of the time as they have been told of this many, many years in advance. The antichrist will shake his fist at Mt. Zion, God’s holy hill. Just as God sent Sennacherib away in defeat, He will also send the antichrist away in defeat. The proud will be brought down to size, the size they should be if they could only realize the size and power of God! The last verse is a reference to a mighty forest as the Bible speaks continuously of the mighty cedars of Lebanon. It doesn’t matter if they are the mightiest trees on the earth, the Mighty One will destroy them as easily as He created, with a breath!
That concludes Isaiah 10. This is such an important chapter in the upcoming lives of the Jews. My favorite part is the grace of God. Though His wrath was mighty, His grace returned, and just as He has done in each or our lives, He had to forgive so much. When the Bible says that our sins are removed as far as the east is from the west, it describes how far away those sins have gone. We remember them, but God doesn’t, as they have already been paid for by the death of His Son! Thank You, Lord, for calling me to You!
1 "Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, Who write misfortune, Which they have prescribed 2 To rob the needy of justice, And to take what is right from the poor of My people, That widows may be their prey, And that they may rob the fatherless. 3 What will you do in the day of punishment, And in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory? 4 Without Me they shall bow down among the prisoners, And they shall fall among the slain." For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.
5 "Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation. 6 I will send him against an ungodly nation, And against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, To seize the spoil, to take the prey, And to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 7 Yet he does not mean so, Nor does his heart think so; But it is in his heart to destroy, And cut off not a few nations. 8 For he says, 'Are not my princes altogether kings? 9 Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus? 10 As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols, Whose carved images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria, 11 As I have done to Samaria and her idols, Shall I not do also to Jerusalem and her idols?' " 12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the LORD has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, "I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks." 13 For he says: "By the strength of my hand I have done it, And by my wisdom, for I am prudent; Also I have removed the boundaries of the people, And have robbed their treasuries; So I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man. 14 My hand has found like a nest the riches of the people, And as one gathers eggs that are left, I have gathered all the earth; And there was no one who moved his wing, Nor opened his mouth with even a peep." 15 Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, Or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood! 16 Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, Will send leanness among his fat ones; And under his glory He will kindle a burning Like the burning of a fire. 17 So the Light of Israel will be for a fire, And his Holy One for a flame; It will burn and devour His thorns and his briers in one day. 18 And it will consume the glory of his forest and of his fruitful field, Both soul and body; And they will be as when a sick man wastes away. 19 Then the rest of the trees of his forest Will be so few in number That a child may write them.
20 And it shall come to pass in that day That the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, To the Mighty God. 22 For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, A remnant of them will return; The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness. 23 For the Lord GOD of hosts Will make a determined end In the midst of all the land. 24 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: "O My people, who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian. He shall strike you with a rod and lift up his staff against you, in the manner of Egypt. 25 "For yet a very little while and the indignation will cease, as will My anger in their destruction." 26 And the LORD of hosts will stir up a scourge for him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; as His rod was on the sea, so will He lift it up in the manner of Egypt. 27 It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck, And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil. 28 He has come to Aiath, He has passed Migron; At Michmash he has attended to his equipment. 29 They have gone along the ridge, They have taken up lodging at Geba. Ramah is afraid, Gibeah of Saul has fled. 30 Lift up your voice, O daughter of Gallim! Cause it to be heard as far as Laish--O poor Anathoth! 31 Madmenah has fled, The inhabitants of Gebim seek refuge. 32 As yet he will remain at Nob that day; He will shake his fist at the mount of the daughter of Zion, The hill of Jerusalem. 33 Behold, the Lord, The LORD of hosts, Will lop off the bough with terror; Those of high stature will be hewn down, And the haughty will be humbled. 34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.
Isaiah 10:1-34 (NKJV)
Before we begin studying Isaiah 10, I found it necessary to list 20 different places listed in this chapter. Most of the places I had never heard of before. When you are reading the verses above or the commentary below, feel free to remind yourself of the specifics of each location:
Calno: (or Calneh, meaning Fort) one of the four cities founded by Nimrod (Gen. 10:10). It is the modern Niffer, a lofty mound of earth and rubbish situated in the marshes on the east bank of the Euphrates, but 30 miles distant from its present course, and about 60 miles south-south-east from Babylon. It is mentioned as one of the towns with which Tyre carried on trade. It was finally taken and probably destroyed by one of the Assyrian kings (Amos 6:2).
Carchemish: fortress of Chemosh, a city on the west bank of the Euphrates (Jer. 46:2; 2 Chronicles 35:20), not, as was once supposed, the Circesium at the confluence of the Chebar and the Euphrates, but a city considerably higher up the river, and commanding the ordinary passage of the Euphrates; probably identical with Hierapolis. It was the capital of the kingdom of the northern Hittites. The Babylonian army, under Nebuchadnezzar here met and conquered the army of Pharaoh-necho, king of Egypt (B.C. 607). It is mentioned in monuments in B.C. 1600 and down to B.C. 717.
Hamath: (fortress) the capital of one of the kingdoms of Upper Syria of the same name, on the Orontes, in the valley of Lebanon, at the northern boundary of Palestine (Numbers 13:21; 34:8), at the foot of Mt. Hermon (Joshua 13:5) towards Damascus (Zechariah 9:2; Jeremiah 49:23). It is called "Hamath the great" in Amos 6:2, and "Hamath-zobah" in 2 Chronicles 8:3. Also read Joshua 13:5, 2 Kings 14:28.
Arpad : (Arphad) a Syrian city near Hamath, along with which it is invariably mentioned (2 Kings 19:13; 2 Kings 18:34; Isaiah 10:9), and Damascus (Jeremiah 49:23).
Samaria: the largest city in the northern area of Israel.
Damascus: the largest city in Syria.
Midian: (strife) the fourth son of Abraham by Keturah, the father of the Midianites (Genesis 25:2; 1 Chronicles 1:32).
Oreb: (raven) By the time of the judges, the Midianites, led by two princes Oreb and Zeeb, were raiding Israel with the use of swift camels, until they were decisively defeated by Gideon. Oreb, Zeeb and many of the Midianites were slain. The place where Gideon slew Oreb is called the Rock of Oreb. It is probably a place now called Orbo, on the east of Jordan near Beth-Shean.
Aiath: (hour; eye; fountain) The Ai mentioned by in Joshua 8 is also mentioned by the Book of Genesis as having been a religious sanctuary, founded by Abraham (the area he settled, is stated by the Bible to have been between Bethel and Ai). This is about 30 miles northeast of Jerusalem.
Migron : (precipice or landslip) a place between Aiath and Michmash. The town of the same name mentioned in 1 Sam. 14:2 was to the south of this, about 30 miles north of Jerusalem.
Michmash: (something hidden) a town of Benjamin (Ezra 2:27), east of Bethel and south of Migron, 7.5 miles north of Jerusalem. It lay on the line of the march of an invading army from the north, on the north side of the steep and precipitous Wadi es-Suweinit ("valley of the little thorn-tree" or "the acacia"), and now bears the name of Mukhmas. This wadi is called "the passage of Michmash" (1 Sam. 13:23). Immediately facing Mukhmas, on the opposite side of the ravine, is the modern representative of Geba, and behind this again are Ramah and Gibeah. This was the scene of a great battle fought between the army of Saul and the Philistines, who were utterly routed and pursued for some 16 miles towards Philistia as far as the valley of Aijalon.
Geba: (the hill) a Levitical city of Benjamin on the north border of Judah, near Gibeah. It has been identified with Jeb’a, about 5 ½ miles north of Jerusalem. Asa built up Geba from stones meant for Ramah. 1 Kings 15:22 and 2 Chronicles 16:6.
Ramah: Ramah in Benjamin is a city of ancient Israel. It was located near Gibeon and Mizpah to the West, Gibeah to the South, and Geba to the East. It is identified with modern Er-Ram, about 5 miles north of Jerusalem. The city is first mentioned in Joshua 18:25.
Gibeah of Saul: To the east of Route 60, about 3 miles north of the Old City of Jerusalem, you pass the high ridge of Tel el-Ful ("hill of beans"), the location of Gibeah, Saul's capital overlooking the land of Benjamin, the Dead Sea and the Hills of Moab. Gibeah ("hill") was situated on the main north-south highway connecting Shechem, Jerusalem and Hebron. Lying just north of Jerusalem at an elevation of 2,754 feet and higher than the Mount of Olives, its position provided a panoramic view of the entire central region.
Gallim: (who heap up; who cover) 1 Samuel 25:44 The native place of Phalti, to whom Michal was given by Saul. It was probably in Benjamin, to the north of Jerusalem.
Laish: (a lion) It has been supposed to be the modern el-Isawiyeh, about a mile north-east of Jerusalem.
Anathoth: the name of one of the cities of refuge, in the tribe of Benjamin (Joshua 21:18). The Jews, as a rule, did not change the names of the towns they found in Palestine; hence this town may be regarded as deriving its name from the goddess Anat. It was the native place of Abiezer, one of David's "thirty" (2 Sam. 23:27), and of Jehu, another of his mighty men (1 Chronicles 12:3). It is chiefly notable, however, as the birth-place and usual residence of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:1; 11:21-23; 29:27; 32:7-9). It suffered greatly from the army of Sennacherib, and only 128 men returned to it from the Exile (Nehemiah 7:27; Ezra 2:23). It lay about 3 miles north of Jerusalem. It has been identified with the small and poor village of 'Anata, containing about 100 inhabitants.
Madmenah: a town in Benjamin, not far from Jerusalem, towards the north (Isaiah 10:31). The same Hebrew word occurs in Isaiah 25:10, where it is rendered "dunghill." This verse has, however, been interpreted as meaning "that Moab will be trodden down by Jehovah as teben [broken straw] is trodden to fragments on the threshing-floors of Madmenah."
Gebim: (cisterns, rendered "pits," Jeremiah 14:3; "locusts," Isaiah 33:4), a small place north of Jerusalem, whose inhabitants fled at the approach of the Assyrian army.
Nob: (high place) a city of the priests, first mentioned in the history of David's wanderings (1 Samuel 21:1). Here the tabernacle was then standing, and here, Ahimelech the priest resided. According to Isaiah 10:28-32, it was on the south of Geba, on the road to Jerusalem, and within sight of the city. Today it is called Mt. Scopus and it is inside the Jerusalem city limits. After being supplied with the sacred loaves of showbread, and girding on the sword of Goliath, which was brought forth from behind the ephod, David fled from Nob and sought refuge at the court of Achish, the king of Gath, where he was cast into prison. (Comp. titles of Ps. 34 and 56.)
Well, that was a major undertaking that will certainly carry some significance as this study continues! When I initially read this chapter, all the place names bogged me down, but there is so much more here than those geographic locations. This is a far-reaching prophecy that has as much to do with the captivity of the northern tribes as it has to do with the future of Israel. Just keep in mind as you read these verses that “the Assyrian” refers to the King of Assyria, Sennacherib. If you want to see more about him and his demise, read 2 Kings 19. Yet “the Assyrian” is one of 33 Old Testament titles of the antichrist, and Isaiah 10 is one of many chapters that tell us much of that coming day. Keep in mind that Isaiah 10 is a continuation of Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the northern tribes to King Ahaz, from the House of Judah, who did not follow the Lord. With all the background information taken care of, let’s press on to discuss the first few verses of this chapter:
1 "Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, Who write misfortune, Which they have prescribed 2 To rob the needy of justice, And to take what is right from the poor of My people, That widows may be their prey, And that they may rob the fatherless. 3 What will you do in the day of punishment, And in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory? 4 Without Me they shall bow down among the prisoners, And they shall fall among the slain." For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.
The chapter actually appears to be a continuation of Isaiah 9, as we can see the stanza end with the familiar phrase, “For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.” Remember, men put the chapters and verses into the Bible to make it easier for us to study centuries ago, and those chapter breaks don’t always occur where they should. This passage is discussing the unfairness of the legal system and how it hurts the poor more than the rich. Carry that forward to our time, and you can see much of the same. The O.J. Simpson trial demonstrated the ability to buy a verdict with the cost of “the dream team” of attorneys, with complete disregard of the evidence presented. The widows and orphans, two groups of people special to the Lord, are mentioned as some of the needy being robbed of justice. As I have mentioned before, every time I see the word “justice” in the Bible it brings certain thoughts to mind. Though we put much priority on justice, we have two different systems. One is the justice of man and the other is the justice of God. There was a time when the two were more closely related, but as we see the Ten Commandments, or any reference thereof, being removed from man’s judicial system, we know our system is very near bogging down. God is the only Judge and Jury! Sometimes, we have a tendency to cry out for justice, but don’t lose sight of the fact that if God gave us what we deserved, it would be death! I am so glad that He gave me what He wanted to give me, rather than what I earned with my life! Isaiah speaks of the day of punishment and the desolation that will come from afar. This speaks specifically to the Jews of that era, who were about to be hammered by the Assyrians. Though this was a prophecy of that event, it still speaks prophetically today of the Great Tribulation. We know from the Bible that the antichrist will make a peace treaty with Israel. On that day, the seven-year tribulation begins. After three and a half years, at the halfway point, the antichrist will defile the Jewish temple with an image of himself. This event is referred to in the Bible as the abomination of the desolation. At that point, the last half of the tribulation begins, and is called the Great Tribulation. Daniel wrote about this event in the Old Testament, and Jesus calls attention to it in the New Testament:
15 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 "Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 "And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 "But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 "And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.
Matthew 24:15-22 (NKJV)
What you can see from the verses in Matthew and those in Isaiah 10 is the alacrity of the event. It will happen in one day, and the tone will be changed completely. I love the question in verse three of “To whom will you flee for help?” There is only One worth fleeing to as He has created us all and loves us! Without Him, as the verses continue, they will bow down among the prisoners and shall fall among the slain. Without Him, we are dead! There are two deaths to be concerned with…physical death and spiritual death. For some reason, most people fear physical death but the second death is the one that will hurt far worse. I cannot even begin to imagine being faced with eternity without God, with the knowledge of His power and love! As I mentioned in the discussion on Isaiah 9, the stanza finishes with a testament to the fact that God’s anger continues with the Jews. The passage then shifts, as we begin the discussion of the next verses:
5 "Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation. 6 I will send him against an ungodly nation, And against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, To seize the spoil, to take the prey, And to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 7 Yet he does not mean so, Nor does his heart think so; But it is in his heart to destroy, And cut off not a few nations. 8 For he says, 'Are not my princes altogether kings?
The scene shifts to Assyria. The Assyrian Empire ruled for a period of 700 years. It was conquered, and replaced, by the Babylonian Empire. God had protected the Jews, His chosen people, from this empire, but as they continued to disobey Him, God used the heathens as His own instrument. Yet God is also saying that its power is not unending. Only His is! It is interesting to note that while God uses Assyria as His instrument to inflict punishment on the Jews, Isaiah speaks here of two instruments of the Lord we should be familiar with, the rod and the staff. Both are apparent in Psalm 23. A rod is an instrument of correction, while a staff is one of direction or control. Think of how a shepherd wields this instrument. If the sheep need to be gently coerced to follow him in the proper way, the shepherd will use the crook at the end to pull the sheep in the right direction. If the sheep fails to heed the gentle coercion, the shepherd might use the side of the same instrument and pop the sheep in the butt to get his attention. Don’t forget who the sheep are and who the Shepherd is! God is sending the King of an ungodly nation against the people of another ungodly nation, Israel. The Jews are the people of His wrath. God gives the Assyrians, and the antichrist, the ability to seize the spoil and take the prey and tread them down like the dirt in the streets. The antichrist, and the King of Assyria, don’t know that God is using them. This always reminds me of the cross; it is a place that Satan thought was his biggest triumph when Jesus died. Yet the death of Jesus was Satan’s greatest defeat! Remember, any attack on us that comes from Satan or his demons is allowed by God. He would not allow it if there wasn’t a point. In the case of the Jews in the Great Tribulation, they look to the antichrist as the messiah they missed when Jesus came. When he turns on them, the Jews will finally see the error of their ways and turn to Jesus, the true Messiah. Verse 6 is significant in another way. The phrase, “to seize the spoil, to take the prey” brings us back to another interesting way God presented this prophecy. That is basically the name of Isaiah’s son, Maher-shalal-hash-baz. The heart of the King of Assyria, and the heart of the antichrist, is not to follow God’s direction and punish the Jews. Their hearts are both to destroy! Verse 8 is an interesting verse: “For he says, ‘Are not my princes altogether kings?’” If he is a king and his princes below him are kings, then he is the king of kings. We know that Satan tries to copy God in every way, as he knows that God is perfect in every way. God is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and in the tribulation, Satan attempts his own trinity of Satan, the antichrist and the false prophet. Jesus is the King of Kings, and even here, you see the antichrist's feeling of being a king of kings! Let’s continue with the next section:
9 Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus? 10 As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols, Whose carved images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria, 11 As I have done to Samaria and her idols, Shall I not do also to Jerusalem and her idols?' "
This is one of the sections where you might want to refer to the chart above. This first section of cities seems to refer to battle cities of old. For example, the Battle of Carchemish was the one where King Nebuchadnezzar established himself as a world ruler in 606 B.C. These are not just cities in Israel, as Damascus is across the border in Syria. Assyria would take all of this land, and there is certainly some significance to the antichrist that I do not see. I bet there will be people living in that time that will tie these verses in somehow, though. Remember, this is the King of Assyria speaking, along with the antichrist. His hand has found the kingdoms of idols, which were better than those in Jerusalem and Samaria. Jerusalem would be considered southern Israel, while Samaria is northern Israel. What is the kingdom with better idols? I am not certain, but I think this relates to Babylon. The city now in Iraq was the birthplace of all of the false religions of the world, and though the reference is a subtle one, I think that it pertains. Okay, here is the next section:
12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the LORD has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, "I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks." 13 For he says: "By the strength of my hand I have done it, And by my wisdom, for I am prudent; Also I have removed the boundaries of the people, And have robbed their treasuries; So I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man. 14 My hand has found like a nest the riches of the people, And as one gathers eggs that are left, I have gathered all the earth; And there was no one who moved his wing, Nor opened his mouth with even a peep." 15 Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, Or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood!
Though the King of Assyria and the antichrist are afflicting the Jews, this passage reminds us once again that they are just instruments of the Lord. Verse 12 tells us overtly that “the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem.” This brings up the subject of free will. Do you think that God forced the King of Assyria or will force the antichrist to do these things? No! Just as in our lives, we have the ability to make choices. Yet God is outside of time and knows the choices that we all will make before we make them. So even though God can use their evil for His purposes, He will still punish them for that evil. This is yet another demonstration of my favorite verse:
8 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28 (NKJV)
In the Great Tribulation, God takes the worst that Satan can dish out to His chosen people and uses that to bring millions to Him, to the foot of the cross! From the foundation of the world, God already knew each of us who were to be called His! And He will make everything work for our good and for His glory! The passage refers to the root of sin, pride. In that short passage spoken by the King of Assyria and the antichrist, there are 5 I’s and 3 My’s. It’s easy to see the emphasis of both. It doesn’t matter who we are speaking of, whether it be Satan, the antichrist, the King of Assyria, or each one of us, we all have the tendency to call attention to our own accomplishments. With God, I can do anything. Without Him, I can do nothing. If you do a study of pride in the Bible, you will see how much God hates even a haughty look. A symbol of sin in the Bible is leaven, and along with this, you can get an idea of why the Jews were to use unleavened bread at most of the feasts. To understand this, think of what leaven does to bread. It puffs up, and that is exactly what pride does for each of us. Pride takes our eyes off of God and puts them on ourselves. Virtually, with the sin of pride, we begin to worship ourselves as God. As we get to Isaiah 14, you will see this in a deeper way as we discuss the fall of Satan. The speakers in the verses above believe they have the ability to do anything they want! Then God gives a reminder. An axe cannot do any work without the one who wields it. Otherwise, it just sits there. In the same manner, we know that God uses the rich, the powerful, the heathen, the poor, the weak and His followers to accomplish His purposes! Now, the next section:
16 Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, Will send leanness among his fat ones; And under his glory He will kindle a burning Like the burning of a fire. 17 So the Light of Israel will be for a fire, And his Holy One for a flame; It will burn and devour His thorns and his briers in one day. 18 And it will consume the glory of his forest and of his fruitful field, Both soul and body; And they will be as when a sick man wastes away. 19 Then the rest of the trees of his forest Will be so few in number That a child may write them.
We see here that the high and mighty will become the low and weak, as God judges the sins of the King of Assyria and the antichrist. Sennacherib’s reign was not as far-reaching as he thought. He took the northern tribes into captivity, but God did not allow him or his forces to enter Jerusalem. After Hezekiah’s prayer, the Lord sent an angel to destroy 185,000 of Sennacherib’s warriors, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Sennacherib was murdered 20 years later by two of his own sons. (2 Kings 19) The Lord will judge the antichrist, as well, though it won’t take 20 years! The Lord will kindle a burning fire. Fire, as I have mentioned before, is emblematic of judgment. For a refresher on this, turn back to Isaiah 6. Then we see another title of Jesus – the Light of Israel. Let’s see another verse:
35 Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36 "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."
John 12:35-36 (NKJV)
Jesus, and His words, illuminate our hearts and lives in a way that we can never look at anything the same way again. Light exposes evil, and takes away the darkness. Think about how easy it is to walk in a dark alley and feel the presence of so many things that are not really there. You don’t know what is there because you can’t see. Go back to the same alley the next day, and it is completely different, with all of your fears taken away. That’s what having the Light in your heart does for you all the time! That Light will be a flame that will devour the thorns and briers in one day. Once again, the thorns and briers take us to the parable of the four soils in Matthew 13. Thorns and briers choke out the plants, and here, the Lord will allow the plants to grow in fertile soil as He removes those impeding that growth. This will not occur in a slow manner, but immediately, in one day. At the Battle of Armageddon, Jesus will speak a holy word and slay His enemies. They will fall to the ground as if a forest had been cleared instantaneously. Having stood on the hill overlooking the plains of Megiddo, it is chilling to picture the destruction of so many people who will not acknowledge Him as their King. There will be so few remaining that a child could easily count the number. Now, the next section:
20 And it shall come to pass in that day That the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, To the Mighty God. 22 For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, A remnant of them will return; The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness. 23 For the Lord GOD of hosts Will make a determined end In the midst of all the land.
“That day” refers to two different time periods, as the first was the day when the Jews would be able to return from captivity. Though all of the Jews were taken into captivity, only a remnant returned. The number, according to the Book of Ezra, seemed to be near 50,000. Yet “that day” also refers to “The Day of the Lord,” a time still in our future that the Bible says more of than the creation! Specifically, “the day of the Lord” is when Jesus will judge the nations, but is also emblematic of the difficult times leading up to that day. One third of the Jews will come to know Him as Messiah:
And it shall come to pass in all the land," Says the LORD, "That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, But one- third shall be left in it: 9 I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, 'This is My people'; And each one will say, 'The LORD is my God.' "
Zechariah 13:8-9 (NKJV)
With 144,000 Jewish men filled with the Holy Spirit preaching to God’s chosen people, the harvest will be great! As exciting as it is to think of that many people coming to the Lord, it also grieves my heart to think that two-thirds will die. It is my perspective that the two-thirds will die in the many judgments of the Great Tribulation, but all of those who live to the end will have accepted Jesus as their Messiah. Once again, God has the ability to walk forward or backward in time, and He already knows each who will come to know Him. The two-thirds who die would never have come to know Him as Lord no matter what He did. That is His grace, along with His wrath. If we don’t think He is capable of wrath and judgment, we only have to look at the fact that two-thirds of His chosen people alive in the end days will perish without His salvation. This section of verses refers to the “House of Jacob,” rather than the “House of Israel” or the “House of Judah,” so that we will understand that it pertains to all of the 13 tribes. As stated before, the Jews will trust in the antichrist, who many Bible scholars believe is one of their own, possibly from the tribe of Dan. Yet his true character is revealed, and it says that the Jews will “never again depend on him who has defeated them.” Instead, they begin to trust in the Lord, His plan all along! The remnant will return. Does that phrase remind you of anything? Here is the other name of a son of Isaiah: Shear-jashub, meaning “a remnant shall return!” Isn’t God amazing! Even down to the names of Isaiah’s sons, He is pointing to the greatest day in the life of the nation of Israel, over 2,000 in advance! That remnant will return to the Mighty God, a title of God that shows us His all-powerful nature. He is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent. Though the Jews are numbered as the sands of the sea, only a remnant will return. Even the destruction will overflow with the righteousness of the Lord, as a perfect God can not just ignore sin. Let’s go on:
24 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: "O My people, who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian. He shall strike you with a rod and lift up his staff against you, in the manner of Egypt. 25 "For yet a very little while and the indignation will cease, as will My anger in their destruction." 26 And the LORD of hosts will stir up a scourge for him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; as His rod was on the sea, so will He lift it up in the manner of Egypt. 27 It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck, And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.
Once again, don’t lose sight of the fact that “the Assyrian” is a title of the antichrist. Yes, it also pertains to Sennacherib, the King of Assyria. We are reminded here once again of the Exodus, as this passage says that the antichrist will strike with his rod and lift up his staff as in the manner of Egypt. Once again, as discussed in Isaiah 9, this is a reference to the task master and how he treated the slaves. God tells us it is for a very little while. I don’t know how long that will be, but we know that there will be a peace treaty in Israel for at least the beginning of the tribulation. At the worst, this will last for three and a half years, but for the bulk of that time, the Jews will be in hiding. That place of hiding appears to be Petra, Jordan, where numerous Jews could find shelter in the amazing rock city. Wherever they are, God will supernaturally protect them from the antichrist and his minions. This will all cease as all the forces of the world come against God. This would all be scary if we didn’t know how the story ended. Those of us who are Christians today will have the best seat in the house for the final act, as we will be clothed in white alongside our Savior and will join Him in the air as members of His army! The real key to the verse goes hand in hand with the cessation of the indignation. God’s anger in their destruction will also cease. Five times we saw the verse that said His anger was not turned away and His hand was still stretched out to them. Now, that is over, and He calls them close to Himself, once again. It says that the Lord will stir up a scourge for the antichrist “like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb, as His rod was on the sea.” This is telling us that God will intervene in the same way He did with Gideon and his 300 from Judges 7, when they defeated a much larger army, including Oreb. Additionally, it makes reference to His rod on the sea, in reference to the miracle of the Red Sea crossing. Don’t ever put God in a box and expect Him to do things with our logic! He is as creative in His solutions as He was in creation! The antichrist’s burden will be taken from the shoulder of the Jews. Though his yoke was heavy and controlling, it will be destroyed, because of the anointing oil. We can’t go ahead without looking at this verse:
28 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Matthew 11:27-30 (NKJV)
This anointing oil refers to Hezekiah in the dealings with Sennacherib, but the anointing one in the time to come is Jesus! Oil is emblematic in the Bible of the Holy Spirit. And now, let’s finish the chapter:
28 He has come to Aiath, He has passed Migron; At Michmash he has attended to his equipment. 29 They have gone along the ridge, They have taken up lodging at Geba. Ramah is afraid, Gibeah of Saul has fled. 30 Lift up your voice, O daughter of Gallim! Cause it to be heard as far as Laish--O poor Anathoth! 31 Madmenah has fled, The inhabitants of Gebim seek refuge. 32 As yet he will remain at Nob that day; He will shake his fist at the mount of the daughter of Zion, The hill of Jerusalem. 33 Behold, the Lord, The LORD of hosts, Will lop off the bough with terror; Those of high stature will be hewn down, And the haughty will be humbled. 34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.
Once again, without our handy-dandy chart above, this might be a little confusing. The towns mentioned here are all north of Jerusalem. We begin in Aiath, 30 miles northeast of Jerusalem, then venture to Migron, 30 miles north of Jerusalem. We continue to Michmash, 7.5 miles north of Jerusalem, then go on to Geba, 5.5 miles to the north. Next is Ramah, 5 miles north, followed by Giebeah of Saul, a little closer. The same can be said of Gallim and Laish. Then onto Anathoth, the birthplace of Jeremiah, 3 miles north of Jerusalem, followed by Madmenah, Gebim and Nob. Nob is actually inside the city of limits of Jerusalem today and means “high place.” From that high place, you can see all of Jerusalem from the northeast corner. What God detailed here is the exact path that one man already made, the King of Assyria, and the same path another will make, the antichrist, on their ways into Jerusalem. There will be no guesswork by the believing Jews of the time as they have been told of this many, many years in advance. The antichrist will shake his fist at Mt. Zion, God’s holy hill. Just as God sent Sennacherib away in defeat, He will also send the antichrist away in defeat. The proud will be brought down to size, the size they should be if they could only realize the size and power of God! The last verse is a reference to a mighty forest as the Bible speaks continuously of the mighty cedars of Lebanon. It doesn’t matter if they are the mightiest trees on the earth, the Mighty One will destroy them as easily as He created, with a breath!
That concludes Isaiah 10. This is such an important chapter in the upcoming lives of the Jews. My favorite part is the grace of God. Though His wrath was mighty, His grace returned, and just as He has done in each or our lives, He had to forgive so much. When the Bible says that our sins are removed as far as the east is from the west, it describes how far away those sins have gone. We remember them, but God doesn’t, as they have already been paid for by the death of His Son! Thank You, Lord, for calling me to You!
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Isaiah 9: Unto us a Child is born! Unto us a Son is given!
Isaiah 9 contains a few of the best known verses in all the Bible, thanks to the oratorio of George Frideric Handel. Most of us have heard this music at Christmas, called Handel’s Messiah. Interestingly, when we get to that section of Isaiah 9 you will see that it doesn’t apply just to the birth of Jesus. As a reminder, this chapter continues with Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the House of Israel, or the northern kingdom. As always, let’s begin by reading the chapter:
1 Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed,
As when at first He lightly esteemed
The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
And afterward more heavily oppressed her,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
In Galilee of the Gentiles.
2 The people who walked in darkness
Have seen a great light;
Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,
Upon them a light has shined.
3 You have multiplied the nation
And increased its joy;
They rejoice before You
According to the joy of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
4 For You have broken the yoke of his burden
And the staff of his shoulder,
The rod of his oppressor,
As in the day of Midian.
5 For every warrior's sandal from the noisy battle,
And garments rolled in blood,
Will be used for burning and fuel of fire.
6 For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
8 The LORD sent a word against Jacob,
And it has fallen on Israel.
9 All the people will know--
Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria--
Who say in pride and arrogance of heart:
10 "The bricks have fallen down,
But we will rebuild with hewn stones;
The sycamores are cut down,
But we will replace them with cedars."
11 Therefore the LORD shall set up
The adversaries of Rezin against him,
And spur his enemies on,
12 The Syrians before and the Philistines behind;
And they shall devour Israel with an open mouth.
For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.
13 For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them,
Nor do they seek the LORD of hosts.
14 Therefore the LORD will cut off head and tail from Israel,
Palm branch and bulrush in one day.
15 The elder and honorable, he is the head;
The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.
16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err,
And those who are led by them are destroyed.
17 Therefore the LORD will have no joy in their young men,
Nor have mercy on their fatherless and widows;
For everyone is a hypocrite and an evildoer,
And every mouth speaks folly.
For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.
18 For wickedness burns as the fire;
It shall devour the briers and thorns,
And kindle in the thickets of the forest;
They shall mount up like rising smoke.
19 Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts
The land is burned up,
And the people shall be as fuel for the fire;
No man shall spare his brother.
20 And he shall snatch on the right hand
And be hungry;
He shall devour on the left hand
And not be satisfied;
Every man shall eat the flesh of his own arm.
21 Manasseh shall devour Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh;
Together they shall be against Judah.
For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.
Isaiah 9:1-21 (NKJV)
As in all areas of scripture, context is very important here. Some of these verses do apply to history, when Jesus Christ walked as a Man upon this earth. Yet some of the verses will apply to a future time and events yet to happen. Let’s begin with a discussion of the first two verses:
1 Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed,
As when at first He lightly esteemed
The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
And afterward more heavily oppressed her,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
In Galilee of the Gentiles.
2 The people who walked in darkness
Have seen a great light;
Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,
Upon them a light has shined.
I am going to do something a little bit different than usual. Throughout our study, we have used the New King James Version of the Bible. Dating to 1982, the New King James intended to update the language of the King James Version, but retain the same meaning. While they both come from the masoretic text, the Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible (the Tanakh), there are times when the translators saw things much differently. The King James Version, on the other hand, is a Christian translation accomplished in England and published in 1611. There are times when a knowledgeable Bible student may ask, “How can they both be right?” This question can also involve many other translations, and transliterations of the Bible. That brings up yet another question… the difference between a translation and a transliteration. A translation actually looks at the original words in their original language. In the case of the Old Testament, that is Hebrew (with a small amount of Aramaic thrown in) while in the New Testament, the original language was Greek. A transliteration is something entirely different. Rather than translating each word, more emphasis is placed on phrases, and in addition, doesn’t always go back to the original. Personally, I would prefer the closest thing we have to reading the Bible the way it was originally written. The problem there is an obvious one…I am not fluent in either Hebrew or Greek. So the best I can do is a translation. A transliteration, someone’s idea of what the phrase would mean today, seems to be taking artistic license to an uncomfortable place. I believe the Bible is a perfect document. I believe God has the power to have men write exactly what He wants them to write. I also believe He has that same power today. Yet how can two different Bibles both be perfect? They can both be correct in different ways. There are versions of the Bible I prefer, namely, the New King James, the King James and the New American Standard. There are some versions that many people use that I don’t like, as they are transliterations, namely, the New International Version, The Message and The Living Bible. In translating the Revised Standard Version, they mostly translated the King James Version, rather than the original Tanakh. Yet I also know that if any version of the Bible gets someone reading, it will be fine. So after discussing the verses above, I am going to show the verses in the original Revised Standard and let you see how different they are.
The Jews are going into captivity, and there is ample reason to be distressed. God reminds us here that the gloom will not be upon them, for there is light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. The next verse mentions two areas of land that God “lightly esteemed.” They are Zebulon and Naphtali. The first thing to do is to grasp where these two regions are. Both of these regions are in the north, as we would expect, being that the prophecy is concerning the House of Israel. Naphtali actually is located along the western bank of the Sea of Galilee. Going west, where Naphtali ends, Zebulon begins. To those of you who have been blessed by God with a trip to the Holy Land, this might make sense to you already. But simply by mentioning a few towns in each region, it all will become clear to everyone. The childhood home of Jesus, Nazareth, is in Zebulon, while Capernaum, a prominent town in the ministry of Jesus, is in Naphtali. How did God “lightly esteem” the land of Zebulon and Naphtali? By sending His Son to live and minister in those areas of the world! The best interpretation of the Bible is always the Bible, and if you read the following verse, it will help you connect the dots:
12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
15 "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles:
16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned."
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Matthew 4:12-17 (NKJV)
The next phrase tells us He “afterward, more heavily oppressed her.” Go to the areas described today and there is no town remaining where Capernaum stood. Additionally, Nazareth serves as Israel’s Arab capital and is mostly off limits to tourists. The following verse mentions three towns of Naphtali and Zebulon and God’s coming judgment on them, for seeing but not heeding the words of Jesus:
21 "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 "But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 23 "And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 "But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."
Matthew 11:21-24 (NKJV)
When reading the Gospel of John, the chapters seem to alternate in relation to the setting of Jesus’ ministry from Jerusalem to Galilee. Though Jesus came to save the Jews, His chosen people, He also spent much of His ministry with the Gentiles in Galilee. You can see in these verses that God spoke of that way before it happened. Remember the amazement of the people that Jesus would have anything to do with Galilee! They did not understand that “God so loved the world,” not just the Jews. This verse shows their incorrect assessment of the situation:
52 They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."
John 7:52 (NKJV)
Two prophets did come out of Galilee, so they did not know their scripture! Both Jonah and Nahum were from Galilee, and both ministered to the Gentiles of Nineveh! But the point of the verse is that the Jews regarded Galilee as an unholy place, certainly not an area the Messiah would come from. That shows how God's plan is almost always different from our plans! The next verse tells us why the gloom will not be upon those who are distressed…it is because the people who have walked in darkness have seen a great light, and the great light has shined upon them. That great light is Jesus. In the New Testament, Jesus tells us that He is the Light of the world. I also love how God used the brightest star to announce His birth. Even when He was born, a great light was shining upon the earth, and the people He came to save. Okay, as promised, let’s look at that first verse in the Revised Standard:
1 But there will be no gloom for her that was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zeb'ulun and the land of Naph'tali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
2 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shined.
Isaiah 9:1-2 (RSV)
In the New King James, the verse says, the Lord “more heavily oppressed her, by the way of the sea” while in the Revised Standard, the same verse says He will “make glorious the way of the sea.” How can it be both? I have already pointed out how the Lord has oppressed the area, but it is easy to see how God made glorious the way of the sea. He did it by sending His Son to the area. Though I believe the King James and New King James give us a more accurate translation of God’s Word, I also believe in God’s power to keep His Word correct for our ears. Enough of that…let’s go on to verses three and four:
3 You have multiplied the nation
And increased its joy;
They rejoice before You
According to the joy of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
4 For You have broken the yoke of his burden
And the staff of his shoulder,
The rod of his oppressor,
As in the day of Midian.
5 For every warrior's sandal from the noisy battle,
And garments rolled in blood,
Will be used for burning and fuel of fire.
When do these verses apply? Obviously, not in the pre-captivity time of the Jews, nor the time when the Jews were in captivity. This certainly applies to the time when Jesus came to earth as a man. It also applies to the time at the end of the Great Tribulation when He returns for His chosen people. There were many people whose joy was increased when Jesus came the first time, and not just the Jews. I think it is a wonderful picture for all of us to think of what it is like to rejoice while dividing the spoils. Think of a great pirate’s treasure, piled so high that no one could ever use all they receive. The spoils that each of us receive for accomplishing one task will be sufficient to last us for eternity. What is that task? Asking Jesus into our hearts as Messiah! Let’s look ahead in Isaiah for another verse:
12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.
Isaiah 53:12 (NKJV)
We are the strong, if we have accepted Him into our hearts! There are some Old Testament phrases used here that might not make sense to us. What is the “rod of the oppressor?” It applies to the task master and for a Biblical context, we can look at Exodus 5:
10 And the taskmasters of the people and their officers went out and spoke to the people, saying, "Thus says Pharaoh: 'I will not give you straw. 11 'Go, get yourselves straw where you can find it; yet none of your work will be reduced.' " 12 So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. 13 And the taskmasters forced them to hurry, saying, "Fulfill your work, your daily quota, as when there was straw." 14 Also the officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, "Why have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and today, as before?"
Exodus 5:10-14 (NKJV)
The verses in Isaiah tell us it was as in the days of Midian. To remind you, Midian was the son of Abraham and Keturah (Genesis 25:2), and his descendants were the Arabs dwelling in the northern desert of the Arabian Peninsula. This is the area Moses fled to after committing murder. To me, the fifth verse brings into mind the Battle of Armageddon. We see three attributes in those verses…massive amounts of blood, lots of noise and the burning of what is remaining for fuel. Here are a few of the verses that tie that in:
20 And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses' bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.
Revelation 14:19-20 (NKJV)
And:
Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake. 6 So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
Revelation 8:5-6 (NKJV)
And:
9 "Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the javelins and spears; and they will make fires with them for seven years. 10 "They will not take wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; and they will plunder those who plundered them, and pillage those who pillaged them," says the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel 39:9-10 (NKJV)
Every word of the Bible ties into another place in the amazing document. When you think that 40 men wrote this book over centuries, it speaks to the power of God. Man could not have tied it in like this alone! Okay, onto the most famous passage in Isaiah 9:
6 For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
These verses are familiar to most of us, and sometimes with that familiarity, we seem to miss the depth. The first phrase is so powerful! Some people miss the juxtaposition of the opening phrases. Though to us, a child and a son may be the same thing, that is not the point of this passage. “Unto us a Child is born” refers to the humanity of Christ, who chose to leave the perfection of heaven and enter into a frail, human body, to share His amazing love with us all. “Unto us a Son is given” refers to His deity. We all know John 3:16: God gave His only Son so that all might know Him and have eternal life. It is so hard for our human minds to comprehend that Jesus is fully God and fully Man. I have heard a favorite Bible teacher, Chuck Missler, say that one of the most amazing things we will see when we get to heaven is a Man on the throne of God. In Zechariah, we see that He still has the nail-scarred hands, which will most likely be the only man-made thing in heaven! So the verse begins with the humble birth of our Lord and then changes settings. When it says, “the government will be upon His shoulders,” we can see that this has not yet happened. When Jesus came to earth the first time, He was not a ruler. This speaks of the very end of the Great Tribulation, when He returns to rule on this earth for 1,000 years. So this verse reveals God’s plan for redemption, from birth to throne. Then we see some amazing titles of Jesus. These are so important that I am going to take some extra time to delve into them:
*Wonderful: First, notice that this is not an adjective, but a noun. There is a comma between Wonderful and Counselor. Let’s look at Judges 13 for a verse that helps tie this together:
15 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, "Please let us detain You, and we will prepare a young goat for You." 16 And the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the LORD. ' (For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the LORD.) 17 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, "What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?" 18 And the Angel of the LORD said to him, "Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?"
Judges 13:15-18 (NKJV)
This is a theophany, an Old Testament appearance of Jesus. One of the ways of seeing the difference between an angel and Jesus is that angels will never allow men to worship them. Jesus always will. In this story, Jesus allows the mother of Samson to worship Him., but what applies to our current study is His name. His name is Wonderful! The word in Hebrew is “pili,” and it means secret or wonderful. In Matthew 11:27, we see that no one knows the Son but the Father. Additionally, Revelation ties this verse in, too:
11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Revelation 19:11-16 (NKJV)
John also told us at the beginning of his gospel this same title of Jesus.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
John 1:1-3 (NKJV)
He is Wonderful. If you haven’t found that out yet, it is time! The next title is:
* Counselor: If you read Proverbs 8, you will see all the excellence of wisdom. We can attribute every positive characteristic in Proverbs to Jesus. He is the Counselor of us all. In today’s lingo, “Counselor” can be the name used for your attorney. That is exactly what Jesus is going to be for each of us. When we stand in front of the Father, our Counselor is going to approach the bench. Though we will be accused of many crimes, and guilty of many crimes, our Counselor is going to stand in front of our Father, His Father, and say, “You have already punished Me for my client’s sin!” The Father will say, “Not guilty!” Remember, Jesus is our Counselor, and He needs no counsel:
34 "For who has known the mind of the LORD?
Or who has become His counselor?"
Romans 11:34 (NKJV)
We all must rely on His advice and His counsel. That advice comes in the Holy Bible, an instruction manual for life on this earth. We can’t do it without Him. If we do, doing what is right in our own eyes, we will blow it! The next title is:
* Mighty God: In the Hebrew, that is “El,” included in the word we studied in the last lesson, “Immanu-El,” meaning "God with us.” There are eight other verses in the Bible that give Him this title of Mighty God (Genesis 49:24, Deuteronomy 7:21, Psalm 50:1, Psalm 132:5, Isaiah 10:21, Jeremiah 32:18 and Habakkuk 1:12). He is all powerful and no one can stand before Him. We as Christians know that with Him inside of us, we will always win. Though Satan and his demons are powerful, we serve the Most High, the Mighty God. The next title is:
* The Everlasting Father: This is more specifically “the Father of eternity.” We just touched on the verse at the beginning of John that says He has created all things. Think about the term “father.” He is responsible for creating birth. A mother cannot do that alone. He is the Seed of the birth of all creation. We also know that Jesus told us that He and the Father are One. It is so hard for us to understand the triune nature of God, yet that is apparent here. The next title is:
* Prince of Peace: This shows another aspect of that triune nature, if you think that a dove is a symbol of peace and is also symbolic of the Holy Spirit. Though Jesus will return with wrath and vanquish all His enemies, He is the Prince of Peace. When He rules in the Millennium, there will be no more war. Can you imagine a time on this earth without war? He came in peace the first time:
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
14 "Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"
Luke 2:12-14 (NKJV)
And it also speaks to what He brings each one of us as believers:
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Romans 5:1 (NKJV)
The next verse speaks of His presence on this earth.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Has Jesus ever ruled on the throne of David? This is obviously a Millennial prophecy, and we know that it will have no end. That means that once He returns to earth, He will rule on the throne of David for eternity. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Another word for zeal is jealousy. He told us in the Old Testament that He is a jealous God. Once we are His, we will always be His. Those are comforting words to me, indeed! As we continue in Isaiah 9, the prophecy returns to the judgment on the northern tribes:
8 The LORD sent a word against Jacob,
And it has fallen on Israel.
9 All the people will know--
Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria--
Who say in pride and arrogance of heart:
10 "The bricks have fallen down,
But we will rebuild with hewn stones;
The sycamores are cut down,
But we will replace them with cedars."
11 Therefore the LORD shall set up
The adversaries of Rezin against him,
And spur his enemies on,
12 The Syrians before and the Philistines behind;
And they shall devour Israel with an open mouth.
For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.
Let’s start with the last passage in this section. “For all His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.” Some people see the grace of God in this, as His hand is still reaching out to us. I think it actually means the opposite…his wrath and judgment have not subsided. This exact phrase is used five times in this book, Isaiah 5:25, 9:12, 9:17, 9:21 and 10:4. In some ways, the names Jacob and Israel are synonymous, as God renamed Jacob, Israel. It seems that when Jacob is walking in the Spirit, God calls Him Israel, but when in the flesh, he is Jacob. But sometimes God used the word Jacob to remind us He is referring to all 12 tribes, rather than the “House of Israel,” the 10 tribes that went north. This prophecy refers to the northern tribes. As I have mentioned before, the key to seeing that is the use of the tribe Ephraim, the largest of the northern tribes. We see the reason for their fall…it is the reason for every fall. Pride! We all have great plans, but God’s plans are the only ones that will come to fruition! We see here that God is going to send Rezin, the King of Syria, upon the tribes, and additionally, the Philistines will attack from the west. They shall devour Israel and even that will not quench His judgment.
13 For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them,
Nor do they seek the LORD of hosts.
14 Therefore the LORD will cut off head and tail from Israel,
Palm branch and bulrush in one day.
15 The elder and honorable, he is the head;
The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.
16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err,
And those who are led by them are destroyed.
17 Therefore the LORD will have no joy in their young men,
Nor have mercy on their fatherless and widows;
For everyone is a hypocrite and an evildoer,
And every mouth speaks folly.
For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.
Once again, this stanza ends with the same refrain. We have discussed the ongoing cycle in the lives of the Jews, and in our own lives. Each time the Jews fell away from the Lord, He would punish them, and they would return. Each time the punishment became harsher, and the time away from Him became longer. They know He is pouring out His wrath here, yet they still don’t seek Him. This judgment will affect every one of them in one day, from the honorable to the deplorable. God tells us that the head is a symbol of the elders and the honorable; the tail is symbolic of the prophet who teaches lies. This helps us in further Bible interpretation, as we go forward to the fifth trumpet judgment of Revelation:
3 Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. 6 In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them. 7 The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. 8 They had hair like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth. 9 And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. 10 They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. 11 And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.
Revelation 9:3-11 (NKJV)
In Revelation, the sidekick of the antichrist is the false prophet, though we are also told that in the end days that “many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.” (Matthew 24:11) The Bible tells us that one erroneous prophecy makes one a false prophet. God is accurate every single time. These men who deceive are often referred to as “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” The leaders cause the people to err and those being led will be destroyed. The judgment on the leaders will be even harsher. Let me say, teaching the Word of God is such a special gift, yet it comes at a high cost. Teaching an erroneous doctrine can lead many astray and the leaders are directly responsible to God for every word they speak. That makes me regard this mighty document called the Bible with awe. I spend many hours on each study as I do not want to lead others astray. Certainly, there are many differences of opinion on the interpretation of the Bible, yet what God has done is to give us a designed document that fits together perfectly. Take one page away and you will find that story or reference somewhere else in the Bible. This brings to mind the televangelists, who preach the Word for the sake of increasing their incomes. Jim Bakker of PTL fame said that he had never read the whole Bible until he was in prison. Can you imagine God’s judgment on these men? The Bible says there is a separate judgment for those who preach and teach the Word. I guess I am included in that category, and I take that very seriously! There are things we do not know yet. In the above passage on the scorpions, I have heard two very bright and highly-regarded teachers offer very diverse opinions. One says that it is describing a helicopter. Another says it could very easily be a microscopic organism. It could be either! It could be something else! My opinion is that the people of that time will know exactly what it is from the description. My biggest point is that this commentary is my opinion. I feel like God has given me the eyes to see, and as I mentioned before, more than one person can be right. As the above passage concludes, we can see that the judgment is not over. God’s hand is still stretched out. Let’s finish the chapter:
18 For wickedness burns as the fire;
It shall devour the briers and thorns,
And kindle in the thickets of the forest;
They shall mount up like rising smoke.
19 Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts
The land is burned up,
And the people shall be as fuel for the fire;
No man shall spare his brother.
20 And he shall snatch on the right hand
And be hungry;
He shall devour on the left hand
And not be satisfied;
Every man shall eat the flesh of his own arm.
21 Manasseh shall devour Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh;
Together they shall be against Judah.
For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.
We discussed the application of briers and thorns from one of the soil parables in Matthew 13. Thorns are the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches that choke out the Word. The passage is telling us that God will physically destroy the land, once flowing with milk and honey. Additionally, the wealth of the Jews will be gone. They will be so poor that they will fight their brother for food. The usage of the tribes Ephraim and Manasseh shows the specific nature as those two were real brothers, sons of Joseph. Some believe this passage is speaking of cannibalism. I don’t know. Yet my thoughts turn forward many years to the hunger of the Jews in Nazi Germany. They were so hungry they ate rats. I guess the next step would be cannibalism. This passage continues in the beginning of Isaiah 10, as we see the last stanza, “For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.” His judgment has not yet abated! We know that it does, as the Jews return from captivity. We also know that the next judgment was even stronger, as Jerusalem was destroyed, and all the Jews were sent to the four corners of the earth. Though they have been called back to the Holy Land, their time will not be the focus of the Lord until the Church is called to heaven:
25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
Romans 11:25 (NKJV)
Until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in to what? Until the fullness of the Gentiles has come into heaven, to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb! This event is coming soon! I can feel it!
"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."
1 Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed,
As when at first He lightly esteemed
The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
And afterward more heavily oppressed her,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
In Galilee of the Gentiles.
2 The people who walked in darkness
Have seen a great light;
Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,
Upon them a light has shined.
3 You have multiplied the nation
And increased its joy;
They rejoice before You
According to the joy of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
4 For You have broken the yoke of his burden
And the staff of his shoulder,
The rod of his oppressor,
As in the day of Midian.
5 For every warrior's sandal from the noisy battle,
And garments rolled in blood,
Will be used for burning and fuel of fire.
6 For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
8 The LORD sent a word against Jacob,
And it has fallen on Israel.
9 All the people will know--
Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria--
Who say in pride and arrogance of heart:
10 "The bricks have fallen down,
But we will rebuild with hewn stones;
The sycamores are cut down,
But we will replace them with cedars."
11 Therefore the LORD shall set up
The adversaries of Rezin against him,
And spur his enemies on,
12 The Syrians before and the Philistines behind;
And they shall devour Israel with an open mouth.
For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.
13 For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them,
Nor do they seek the LORD of hosts.
14 Therefore the LORD will cut off head and tail from Israel,
Palm branch and bulrush in one day.
15 The elder and honorable, he is the head;
The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.
16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err,
And those who are led by them are destroyed.
17 Therefore the LORD will have no joy in their young men,
Nor have mercy on their fatherless and widows;
For everyone is a hypocrite and an evildoer,
And every mouth speaks folly.
For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.
18 For wickedness burns as the fire;
It shall devour the briers and thorns,
And kindle in the thickets of the forest;
They shall mount up like rising smoke.
19 Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts
The land is burned up,
And the people shall be as fuel for the fire;
No man shall spare his brother.
20 And he shall snatch on the right hand
And be hungry;
He shall devour on the left hand
And not be satisfied;
Every man shall eat the flesh of his own arm.
21 Manasseh shall devour Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh;
Together they shall be against Judah.
For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.
Isaiah 9:1-21 (NKJV)
As in all areas of scripture, context is very important here. Some of these verses do apply to history, when Jesus Christ walked as a Man upon this earth. Yet some of the verses will apply to a future time and events yet to happen. Let’s begin with a discussion of the first two verses:
1 Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed,
As when at first He lightly esteemed
The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
And afterward more heavily oppressed her,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
In Galilee of the Gentiles.
2 The people who walked in darkness
Have seen a great light;
Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,
Upon them a light has shined.
I am going to do something a little bit different than usual. Throughout our study, we have used the New King James Version of the Bible. Dating to 1982, the New King James intended to update the language of the King James Version, but retain the same meaning. While they both come from the masoretic text, the Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible (the Tanakh), there are times when the translators saw things much differently. The King James Version, on the other hand, is a Christian translation accomplished in England and published in 1611. There are times when a knowledgeable Bible student may ask, “How can they both be right?” This question can also involve many other translations, and transliterations of the Bible. That brings up yet another question… the difference between a translation and a transliteration. A translation actually looks at the original words in their original language. In the case of the Old Testament, that is Hebrew (with a small amount of Aramaic thrown in) while in the New Testament, the original language was Greek. A transliteration is something entirely different. Rather than translating each word, more emphasis is placed on phrases, and in addition, doesn’t always go back to the original. Personally, I would prefer the closest thing we have to reading the Bible the way it was originally written. The problem there is an obvious one…I am not fluent in either Hebrew or Greek. So the best I can do is a translation. A transliteration, someone’s idea of what the phrase would mean today, seems to be taking artistic license to an uncomfortable place. I believe the Bible is a perfect document. I believe God has the power to have men write exactly what He wants them to write. I also believe He has that same power today. Yet how can two different Bibles both be perfect? They can both be correct in different ways. There are versions of the Bible I prefer, namely, the New King James, the King James and the New American Standard. There are some versions that many people use that I don’t like, as they are transliterations, namely, the New International Version, The Message and The Living Bible. In translating the Revised Standard Version, they mostly translated the King James Version, rather than the original Tanakh. Yet I also know that if any version of the Bible gets someone reading, it will be fine. So after discussing the verses above, I am going to show the verses in the original Revised Standard and let you see how different they are.
The Jews are going into captivity, and there is ample reason to be distressed. God reminds us here that the gloom will not be upon them, for there is light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. The next verse mentions two areas of land that God “lightly esteemed.” They are Zebulon and Naphtali. The first thing to do is to grasp where these two regions are. Both of these regions are in the north, as we would expect, being that the prophecy is concerning the House of Israel. Naphtali actually is located along the western bank of the Sea of Galilee. Going west, where Naphtali ends, Zebulon begins. To those of you who have been blessed by God with a trip to the Holy Land, this might make sense to you already. But simply by mentioning a few towns in each region, it all will become clear to everyone. The childhood home of Jesus, Nazareth, is in Zebulon, while Capernaum, a prominent town in the ministry of Jesus, is in Naphtali. How did God “lightly esteem” the land of Zebulon and Naphtali? By sending His Son to live and minister in those areas of the world! The best interpretation of the Bible is always the Bible, and if you read the following verse, it will help you connect the dots:
12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
15 "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles:
16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned."
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Matthew 4:12-17 (NKJV)
The next phrase tells us He “afterward, more heavily oppressed her.” Go to the areas described today and there is no town remaining where Capernaum stood. Additionally, Nazareth serves as Israel’s Arab capital and is mostly off limits to tourists. The following verse mentions three towns of Naphtali and Zebulon and God’s coming judgment on them, for seeing but not heeding the words of Jesus:
21 "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 "But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 23 "And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 "But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."
Matthew 11:21-24 (NKJV)
When reading the Gospel of John, the chapters seem to alternate in relation to the setting of Jesus’ ministry from Jerusalem to Galilee. Though Jesus came to save the Jews, His chosen people, He also spent much of His ministry with the Gentiles in Galilee. You can see in these verses that God spoke of that way before it happened. Remember the amazement of the people that Jesus would have anything to do with Galilee! They did not understand that “God so loved the world,” not just the Jews. This verse shows their incorrect assessment of the situation:
52 They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."
John 7:52 (NKJV)
Two prophets did come out of Galilee, so they did not know their scripture! Both Jonah and Nahum were from Galilee, and both ministered to the Gentiles of Nineveh! But the point of the verse is that the Jews regarded Galilee as an unholy place, certainly not an area the Messiah would come from. That shows how God's plan is almost always different from our plans! The next verse tells us why the gloom will not be upon those who are distressed…it is because the people who have walked in darkness have seen a great light, and the great light has shined upon them. That great light is Jesus. In the New Testament, Jesus tells us that He is the Light of the world. I also love how God used the brightest star to announce His birth. Even when He was born, a great light was shining upon the earth, and the people He came to save. Okay, as promised, let’s look at that first verse in the Revised Standard:
1 But there will be no gloom for her that was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zeb'ulun and the land of Naph'tali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
2 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shined.
Isaiah 9:1-2 (RSV)
In the New King James, the verse says, the Lord “more heavily oppressed her, by the way of the sea” while in the Revised Standard, the same verse says He will “make glorious the way of the sea.” How can it be both? I have already pointed out how the Lord has oppressed the area, but it is easy to see how God made glorious the way of the sea. He did it by sending His Son to the area. Though I believe the King James and New King James give us a more accurate translation of God’s Word, I also believe in God’s power to keep His Word correct for our ears. Enough of that…let’s go on to verses three and four:
3 You have multiplied the nation
And increased its joy;
They rejoice before You
According to the joy of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
4 For You have broken the yoke of his burden
And the staff of his shoulder,
The rod of his oppressor,
As in the day of Midian.
5 For every warrior's sandal from the noisy battle,
And garments rolled in blood,
Will be used for burning and fuel of fire.
When do these verses apply? Obviously, not in the pre-captivity time of the Jews, nor the time when the Jews were in captivity. This certainly applies to the time when Jesus came to earth as a man. It also applies to the time at the end of the Great Tribulation when He returns for His chosen people. There were many people whose joy was increased when Jesus came the first time, and not just the Jews. I think it is a wonderful picture for all of us to think of what it is like to rejoice while dividing the spoils. Think of a great pirate’s treasure, piled so high that no one could ever use all they receive. The spoils that each of us receive for accomplishing one task will be sufficient to last us for eternity. What is that task? Asking Jesus into our hearts as Messiah! Let’s look ahead in Isaiah for another verse:
12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.
Isaiah 53:12 (NKJV)
We are the strong, if we have accepted Him into our hearts! There are some Old Testament phrases used here that might not make sense to us. What is the “rod of the oppressor?” It applies to the task master and for a Biblical context, we can look at Exodus 5:
10 And the taskmasters of the people and their officers went out and spoke to the people, saying, "Thus says Pharaoh: 'I will not give you straw. 11 'Go, get yourselves straw where you can find it; yet none of your work will be reduced.' " 12 So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. 13 And the taskmasters forced them to hurry, saying, "Fulfill your work, your daily quota, as when there was straw." 14 Also the officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, "Why have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and today, as before?"
Exodus 5:10-14 (NKJV)
The verses in Isaiah tell us it was as in the days of Midian. To remind you, Midian was the son of Abraham and Keturah (Genesis 25:2), and his descendants were the Arabs dwelling in the northern desert of the Arabian Peninsula. This is the area Moses fled to after committing murder. To me, the fifth verse brings into mind the Battle of Armageddon. We see three attributes in those verses…massive amounts of blood, lots of noise and the burning of what is remaining for fuel. Here are a few of the verses that tie that in:
20 And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses' bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.
Revelation 14:19-20 (NKJV)
And:
Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake. 6 So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
Revelation 8:5-6 (NKJV)
And:
9 "Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the javelins and spears; and they will make fires with them for seven years. 10 "They will not take wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; and they will plunder those who plundered them, and pillage those who pillaged them," says the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel 39:9-10 (NKJV)
Every word of the Bible ties into another place in the amazing document. When you think that 40 men wrote this book over centuries, it speaks to the power of God. Man could not have tied it in like this alone! Okay, onto the most famous passage in Isaiah 9:
6 For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
These verses are familiar to most of us, and sometimes with that familiarity, we seem to miss the depth. The first phrase is so powerful! Some people miss the juxtaposition of the opening phrases. Though to us, a child and a son may be the same thing, that is not the point of this passage. “Unto us a Child is born” refers to the humanity of Christ, who chose to leave the perfection of heaven and enter into a frail, human body, to share His amazing love with us all. “Unto us a Son is given” refers to His deity. We all know John 3:16: God gave His only Son so that all might know Him and have eternal life. It is so hard for our human minds to comprehend that Jesus is fully God and fully Man. I have heard a favorite Bible teacher, Chuck Missler, say that one of the most amazing things we will see when we get to heaven is a Man on the throne of God. In Zechariah, we see that He still has the nail-scarred hands, which will most likely be the only man-made thing in heaven! So the verse begins with the humble birth of our Lord and then changes settings. When it says, “the government will be upon His shoulders,” we can see that this has not yet happened. When Jesus came to earth the first time, He was not a ruler. This speaks of the very end of the Great Tribulation, when He returns to rule on this earth for 1,000 years. So this verse reveals God’s plan for redemption, from birth to throne. Then we see some amazing titles of Jesus. These are so important that I am going to take some extra time to delve into them:
*Wonderful: First, notice that this is not an adjective, but a noun. There is a comma between Wonderful and Counselor. Let’s look at Judges 13 for a verse that helps tie this together:
15 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, "Please let us detain You, and we will prepare a young goat for You." 16 And the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the LORD. ' (For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the LORD.) 17 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, "What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?" 18 And the Angel of the LORD said to him, "Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?"
Judges 13:15-18 (NKJV)
This is a theophany, an Old Testament appearance of Jesus. One of the ways of seeing the difference between an angel and Jesus is that angels will never allow men to worship them. Jesus always will. In this story, Jesus allows the mother of Samson to worship Him., but what applies to our current study is His name. His name is Wonderful! The word in Hebrew is “pili,” and it means secret or wonderful. In Matthew 11:27, we see that no one knows the Son but the Father. Additionally, Revelation ties this verse in, too:
11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Revelation 19:11-16 (NKJV)
John also told us at the beginning of his gospel this same title of Jesus.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
John 1:1-3 (NKJV)
He is Wonderful. If you haven’t found that out yet, it is time! The next title is:
* Counselor: If you read Proverbs 8, you will see all the excellence of wisdom. We can attribute every positive characteristic in Proverbs to Jesus. He is the Counselor of us all. In today’s lingo, “Counselor” can be the name used for your attorney. That is exactly what Jesus is going to be for each of us. When we stand in front of the Father, our Counselor is going to approach the bench. Though we will be accused of many crimes, and guilty of many crimes, our Counselor is going to stand in front of our Father, His Father, and say, “You have already punished Me for my client’s sin!” The Father will say, “Not guilty!” Remember, Jesus is our Counselor, and He needs no counsel:
34 "For who has known the mind of the LORD?
Or who has become His counselor?"
Romans 11:34 (NKJV)
We all must rely on His advice and His counsel. That advice comes in the Holy Bible, an instruction manual for life on this earth. We can’t do it without Him. If we do, doing what is right in our own eyes, we will blow it! The next title is:
* Mighty God: In the Hebrew, that is “El,” included in the word we studied in the last lesson, “Immanu-El,” meaning "God with us.” There are eight other verses in the Bible that give Him this title of Mighty God (Genesis 49:24, Deuteronomy 7:21, Psalm 50:1, Psalm 132:5, Isaiah 10:21, Jeremiah 32:18 and Habakkuk 1:12). He is all powerful and no one can stand before Him. We as Christians know that with Him inside of us, we will always win. Though Satan and his demons are powerful, we serve the Most High, the Mighty God. The next title is:
* The Everlasting Father: This is more specifically “the Father of eternity.” We just touched on the verse at the beginning of John that says He has created all things. Think about the term “father.” He is responsible for creating birth. A mother cannot do that alone. He is the Seed of the birth of all creation. We also know that Jesus told us that He and the Father are One. It is so hard for us to understand the triune nature of God, yet that is apparent here. The next title is:
* Prince of Peace: This shows another aspect of that triune nature, if you think that a dove is a symbol of peace and is also symbolic of the Holy Spirit. Though Jesus will return with wrath and vanquish all His enemies, He is the Prince of Peace. When He rules in the Millennium, there will be no more war. Can you imagine a time on this earth without war? He came in peace the first time:
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
14 "Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"
Luke 2:12-14 (NKJV)
And it also speaks to what He brings each one of us as believers:
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Romans 5:1 (NKJV)
The next verse speaks of His presence on this earth.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Has Jesus ever ruled on the throne of David? This is obviously a Millennial prophecy, and we know that it will have no end. That means that once He returns to earth, He will rule on the throne of David for eternity. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Another word for zeal is jealousy. He told us in the Old Testament that He is a jealous God. Once we are His, we will always be His. Those are comforting words to me, indeed! As we continue in Isaiah 9, the prophecy returns to the judgment on the northern tribes:
8 The LORD sent a word against Jacob,
And it has fallen on Israel.
9 All the people will know--
Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria--
Who say in pride and arrogance of heart:
10 "The bricks have fallen down,
But we will rebuild with hewn stones;
The sycamores are cut down,
But we will replace them with cedars."
11 Therefore the LORD shall set up
The adversaries of Rezin against him,
And spur his enemies on,
12 The Syrians before and the Philistines behind;
And they shall devour Israel with an open mouth.
For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.
Let’s start with the last passage in this section. “For all His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.” Some people see the grace of God in this, as His hand is still reaching out to us. I think it actually means the opposite…his wrath and judgment have not subsided. This exact phrase is used five times in this book, Isaiah 5:25, 9:12, 9:17, 9:21 and 10:4. In some ways, the names Jacob and Israel are synonymous, as God renamed Jacob, Israel. It seems that when Jacob is walking in the Spirit, God calls Him Israel, but when in the flesh, he is Jacob. But sometimes God used the word Jacob to remind us He is referring to all 12 tribes, rather than the “House of Israel,” the 10 tribes that went north. This prophecy refers to the northern tribes. As I have mentioned before, the key to seeing that is the use of the tribe Ephraim, the largest of the northern tribes. We see the reason for their fall…it is the reason for every fall. Pride! We all have great plans, but God’s plans are the only ones that will come to fruition! We see here that God is going to send Rezin, the King of Syria, upon the tribes, and additionally, the Philistines will attack from the west. They shall devour Israel and even that will not quench His judgment.
13 For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them,
Nor do they seek the LORD of hosts.
14 Therefore the LORD will cut off head and tail from Israel,
Palm branch and bulrush in one day.
15 The elder and honorable, he is the head;
The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.
16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err,
And those who are led by them are destroyed.
17 Therefore the LORD will have no joy in their young men,
Nor have mercy on their fatherless and widows;
For everyone is a hypocrite and an evildoer,
And every mouth speaks folly.
For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.
Once again, this stanza ends with the same refrain. We have discussed the ongoing cycle in the lives of the Jews, and in our own lives. Each time the Jews fell away from the Lord, He would punish them, and they would return. Each time the punishment became harsher, and the time away from Him became longer. They know He is pouring out His wrath here, yet they still don’t seek Him. This judgment will affect every one of them in one day, from the honorable to the deplorable. God tells us that the head is a symbol of the elders and the honorable; the tail is symbolic of the prophet who teaches lies. This helps us in further Bible interpretation, as we go forward to the fifth trumpet judgment of Revelation:
3 Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. 6 In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them. 7 The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. 8 They had hair like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth. 9 And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. 10 They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. 11 And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.
Revelation 9:3-11 (NKJV)
In Revelation, the sidekick of the antichrist is the false prophet, though we are also told that in the end days that “many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.” (Matthew 24:11) The Bible tells us that one erroneous prophecy makes one a false prophet. God is accurate every single time. These men who deceive are often referred to as “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” The leaders cause the people to err and those being led will be destroyed. The judgment on the leaders will be even harsher. Let me say, teaching the Word of God is such a special gift, yet it comes at a high cost. Teaching an erroneous doctrine can lead many astray and the leaders are directly responsible to God for every word they speak. That makes me regard this mighty document called the Bible with awe. I spend many hours on each study as I do not want to lead others astray. Certainly, there are many differences of opinion on the interpretation of the Bible, yet what God has done is to give us a designed document that fits together perfectly. Take one page away and you will find that story or reference somewhere else in the Bible. This brings to mind the televangelists, who preach the Word for the sake of increasing their incomes. Jim Bakker of PTL fame said that he had never read the whole Bible until he was in prison. Can you imagine God’s judgment on these men? The Bible says there is a separate judgment for those who preach and teach the Word. I guess I am included in that category, and I take that very seriously! There are things we do not know yet. In the above passage on the scorpions, I have heard two very bright and highly-regarded teachers offer very diverse opinions. One says that it is describing a helicopter. Another says it could very easily be a microscopic organism. It could be either! It could be something else! My opinion is that the people of that time will know exactly what it is from the description. My biggest point is that this commentary is my opinion. I feel like God has given me the eyes to see, and as I mentioned before, more than one person can be right. As the above passage concludes, we can see that the judgment is not over. God’s hand is still stretched out. Let’s finish the chapter:
18 For wickedness burns as the fire;
It shall devour the briers and thorns,
And kindle in the thickets of the forest;
They shall mount up like rising smoke.
19 Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts
The land is burned up,
And the people shall be as fuel for the fire;
No man shall spare his brother.
20 And he shall snatch on the right hand
And be hungry;
He shall devour on the left hand
And not be satisfied;
Every man shall eat the flesh of his own arm.
21 Manasseh shall devour Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh;
Together they shall be against Judah.
For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.
We discussed the application of briers and thorns from one of the soil parables in Matthew 13. Thorns are the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches that choke out the Word. The passage is telling us that God will physically destroy the land, once flowing with milk and honey. Additionally, the wealth of the Jews will be gone. They will be so poor that they will fight their brother for food. The usage of the tribes Ephraim and Manasseh shows the specific nature as those two were real brothers, sons of Joseph. Some believe this passage is speaking of cannibalism. I don’t know. Yet my thoughts turn forward many years to the hunger of the Jews in Nazi Germany. They were so hungry they ate rats. I guess the next step would be cannibalism. This passage continues in the beginning of Isaiah 10, as we see the last stanza, “For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.” His judgment has not yet abated! We know that it does, as the Jews return from captivity. We also know that the next judgment was even stronger, as Jerusalem was destroyed, and all the Jews were sent to the four corners of the earth. Though they have been called back to the Holy Land, their time will not be the focus of the Lord until the Church is called to heaven:
25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
Romans 11:25 (NKJV)
Until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in to what? Until the fullness of the Gentiles has come into heaven, to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb! This event is coming soon! I can feel it!
"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."
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