ISAIAH

Isaiah 7:18 - 25

quote:

"In that day the LORD will whistle for the fly that is in the remotest part of the rivers of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 They will all come and settle on the steep ravines, on the ledges of the cliffs, on all the thorn bushes and on all the watering places. 20 In that day the Lord will shave with a razor, hired from regions beyond the Euphrates (that is, with the king of Assyria), the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard. 21 Now in that day a man may keep alive a heifer and a pair of sheep; 22 and because of the abundance of the milk produced he will eat curds, for everyone that is left within the land will eat curds and honey. 23 And it will come about in that day, that every place where there used to be a thousand vines, valued at a thousand shekels of silver, will become briars and thorns. 24 People will come there with bows and arrows because all the land will be briars and thorns. 25 As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the hoe, you will not go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place for pasturing oxen and for sheep to trample."

The picture Isaiah gives in this passage is future. Though the Lord would spare Judah from Israel and Syria, this would not be the case with the Assyrians. Assyria and Egypt would become God's instruments of punishment, devastating even the land. Agriculture would cease and the land would become pastoral. It would be a time of simplicity and poverty for those few remaining in the land. The land will become desolate and Judah will be in exile. The dwelling place of what was to be a theocracy of a holy nation will be a land of briars and thorns.

This is to be a sad outcome for God's people. Being chosen of God, they thought they had elevated status. Rather, they were chosen for servanthood and to be a light to the nations. It was through them that God purposed to bring the knowledge of Him and His ways to the ends of the earth. Instead, they reveled in His blessing and went their own way. One day, however, they will be restored!

Hosea 1:10
"Yet the number of the sons of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered; And in the place where it is said to them, "You are not My people," It will be said to them, "You are the sons of the living God."