Soon you will meet King Hezekiah, King of Judah.....these prophecies were probably all made during his time. These chapters are all about potential alliances that the King could make to defend against Assyria and Babylon.
Remember that the people thought they were fine, and were comfortable at the time of this prophecy. Many chose not to listen. Cush is in modern day Sudan and Ethiopia.
Egypt was a big power. A huge part of Israel's history was God delivering his people from Egypt..note that in 19:23, we begin to see where people begin to get along....Israel will be worshiping WITH Egypt and Assyria...
Chapter 20 has poor Isaiah preaching naked for 3 years. God asks us to do some hard stuff! It was to be a visual, creative way for Isaiah to predict the humiliation that Egypt and Cush would suffer. Culturally, this was a big humiliation to the Jews.
Chapter 21 is against Babylon.....there is near and far prophecy hear. God will defeat Babylon (just wait for the book of Daniel), but Babylon is the summation of all that is evil in Revelation. All of this prophecy will come true in 539BC (it includes Edom.....in verse 11 Isaiah uses the term "Dumah"-this is a wordplay on Edom and means silence or stillness...Seir is in Edom.....Obadiah fortells in great detail, the destruction of Edom if you recall) Arabia is also included.
Poor old Jerusalem, the Valley of Vision is included in chapter 22. This is where God revealed himself. The people prepared for war in every way but the most important way: check it out with God. We get the famous quote,
"Let us eat and drink, " you say,
"for tomorrow we die"
This marks someone who doesn't take danger seriously.
Chapter 22: 15-25 deals with internal palace politics.
Sebna is the master of the household, and it seems like he overstepped his authority by carving an ornate tomb for himself in the royal burial ground....Seems like Isaiah is judging arrogance and he is replaced by Eliakim (means God will raise up) who does well for awhile, but then fails. Both of these men are mentioned as serving in Hezekiah's court (2 Kings 18:18).
So how do alliances relate today?
My NIV version points out that we have alliances today:
Government-We rely on governmental legislation to protect the moral decisions we want made, but legislation cannot change people's hearts.
Science: We enjoy the benefits of science and technology. We look to scientific predictions and analysis before we look to the Bible.
Education: We act as though education and degrees can guarantee our future and success without considering what God plans for our future.
Medical Care: We regard medicine as the way to prolong life and preserve its quality-quite apart from faith and moral living.
Financial systems: We place our faith in financial "security" making as much money as we can for ourselves-forgetting that, while being wise with our money, we must trust God for our needs....
Although we don't consciously put our hope for deliverance in political alliances in quite the same way, we often put our hope in other forces.....what do you think about that application?
Look what comes up from the depths of the sea.
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I hope I am commenting correctly on this:
ReplyDeletegovernment: you say we rely on governmental legislation to protect the moral decision we want.......but it seems our society has actually lost its morals and our government ACTUALLY steers away from morals and more towards votes and popularity.....look at the gay marriage issues in the law......
science: we enjoy the benefits of science and use it for predicting.....but ......we are getting to a point I believe where we are pushing the line......cloning is the best example I can think of off the top of my hand.....science has wonderful benefits, but, again, scientists should remember they are scientists, not GOD
Education: WE do put a lot of emphasis on education and college degrees, but not enough on true talent, interests, and what profession would actually suit a person. We have also taken GOD out of schools, no prayer, and too much emphasis on testing. There is more emphasis on testing and not teaching and searching for students' true interests.
Medical Care: As a society, I believe we have lost faith and simply rely on quick fixes if we can get it. I understand many people do need pain medicine and depression and anxiety medicine.....I myself take anxiety medicine....but we also need faith, morals, discipline, structure within the family environment, quality time in the family, play time for kids (and I don't mean structured activities nonstop like sports). Everyone is so busy and medicine has become a quick fix for many without God......A relationship with God and faith would help also....
Financial: We all strive to make money, but so many seem to think money is the key to happiness.....which it is not......and many try to live this lifestyle and wind up in serious debt.......WE have become a society of calling our wants as our needs......not really understanding what our true needs are.......and we have to trust in God for fulfilling these needs.......if we have no relationship with God, this is hard to do.....and many in our society do not have this relationship with God.
I honestly do not know what to do to get our society back on track and have people realize the mistakes and consequences of our society with no morals......but it is everywhere.....in music, on TV, in dress, in behavior as you interact with people anywhere........I hope a younger generation figures this out and starts making changes.....It seems people do not stand up for what they believe is right in fear of offending someone.......
Excellent commentary! I can hear Isaiah saying, "I honestly do not know what to do to get our society back on track and have people realize the mistakes and consequences of our society with no morals".....Not a lot has changed as far as circumstances go, just the culture has changed. We live in a fallen world...that's the way it goes. However, God is in control....this is all part of the plan and our purpose on this earth is to do the work of furthering God's kingdom......maybe it is just like God told Isaiah, most people won't listen......but there are a few that will!!!!!!
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