.Isaiah 18: Woe equals unhappiness and sorrow to the land shadowing [buzzing] with wings, [bees and flies]. Ethiopia often conquered Egypt and placed Ethiopian Pharaohs on the thrown. The great powers in the Mideast had always been Persia and Egypt/Ethiopia. When Assyria (Persia) began to move west and south the North Africans began sending out ambassadors to form alliances against Assyria. They were preparing for war which included raising an ensign and sounding a trumpet as a warning. The Assyrians plans for conquest were ripening but just as they were about to come to fruition the Lord will cut them down.
This is a classic dual fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesy with dual meanings just like the Jewish parables in the New Testament. The spiritual interpretation is that the Lord will raise up the gospel standard and send missionaries from the Church out all over the world to gather in his scattered people. They will come to Mt Zion and to Christ who is the King of Zion.
¶ 1 Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia: 2 That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes [made of papyrus as are used today on the Nile] upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled! 3 All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. 4 For so the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. 5 For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches.
As a result of the great slaughter the birds and beasts will feed upon the slain
6 They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.
The survivors will come unto the Lord
¶ 7 In that time shall the present [Gift of humble and willing people] be brought unto the LORD of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion.
Isaiah 19: The voice of warning of impending doom to Egypt. The Lord will smite Egypt and then heal her. The remnant that is left from Assyria and Egypt will sue for peace with Israel and Judah. The relationship of Israel and the Egyptians was complicated. Historically Egypt was the place where Abraham went for food in times of famine. This was true with Isaac and Jacob. Joseph who was sold into Egypt and became second only to Pharaoh was a savior for all of Israel. Later the Hebrews would be slaves in Egypt and the Lord would have to raise up a Moses to part the Red Sea and at the same time destroy Pharaoh and the Egyptian army.
¶ 1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. 2 And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbor; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. 3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards. 4 And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts. 5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up. 6 And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defense shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither. 7 The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and everything sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more. 8 The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish. 9 Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded. 10 And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish. ¶ 11 Surely the princes of [Zoan was a city located in the delta of the Nile where Moses performed miracles before Pharaoh to persuade him to release Israel and “Let my people go!]. Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? 12 Where are they? Where are thy wise men? And let them tell thee now, and let them know what the LORD of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt. 13 The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; [Noph or Moph was the Hebrew name for the ancient Egyptian city of Memphis, capital of Lower Egypt, which stood on the Nile near the site of modern-day Cairo.] they have also seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof. 14 The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit. 15 Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do. 16 In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which he shaketh over it. 17 And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts, which he hath determined against it.
Heliopolis is what the Greeks called the Egyptian city of “On” or the City of the Sun. It was the center of worship of the god “Ra,” the god of the sun. More importantly it was equivalent to a Harvard or Yale and was known as a university city. Scholars from around the Mediterranean Sea went to Egypt’s “On” to study medicine, astrology, and science in general. Even hundreds of years later Socrates would go to Egypt to study at the city of “On.” The Lord will destroy Heliopolis and it will be known as the city of destruction. Egyptians identified holy places with “pillars” or obelisk. Isaiah announced that the day would come when there will be an altar [Temple] to the Lord in Egypt replacing the worship of false gods. The Egyptians shall obey the law of obedience and sacrifice and of making covenants (vow a vow) unto the Lord. When oppressed the faithful Egyptians will call upon the Lord and he will send them a Savior.
¶ 18 In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan [Hebrew], and swear to the LORD of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction. 19 In that day shall there be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the LORD. 20 And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a Savior, and a great one, and he shall deliver them. 21 And the LORD shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it. 22 And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them.
“In that day” refers to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The traditional enmity between Assyria and Egypt will be gone and the Lord will bless them. They will be at peace with Israel.[1]
¶ 23 In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. 24 In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: 25 Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.
Isaiah 20: Before Assyria and Egypt enjoy the promised peace found in the gospel, Assyria will invade and conquer Egypt. Tartar was a military commander under Sargon the king of Assyria. In 711 BC Tartar was sent down to Ashdod to quell a rebellion. Ashdod was one of the five Philistine cities previously conquered by Assyria. The people of Ashdod were hoping for Egypt to come up and rescue them from the Assyrians. They did not. Isaiah was told to get naked[2] and barefoot and walk upon the land for three years as a sign that the Assyrians would lead away the Egyptians and Ethiopians barefoot and naked as slaves.
¶ 1 In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod [711 BC], (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it; 2 At the same time spake the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. 3 And the LORD said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia; 4 So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. 5 And they [Ashdod] shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory. 6 And the inhabitant of this isle [far distant places] shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape? [Only in Christ and repentance shall the wicked be able to escape.]
Isaiah 21: This is a vision of the fall of Babylon, symbolic of the wicked in all ages, called “The Desert of the Sea.” Elam and the Medes were two nations east of Babylon that laid siege to Babylon in 689 BC as seen in Isaiah’s vision. Isaiah bemoans the fall of the greatest nation on earth.
¶ 1 The burden [voice of waring] of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land. 2 A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease. 3 Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth [in labor]: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it. 4 My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me. 5 Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield. 6 For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth. 7 And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed: 8 And he cried, “A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights:” [The watchman on the tower is waiting for the chariot of men who are carrying a message. The message they are bringing is that Babylon has fallen!] 9 And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he [the chariot messenger] answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground. 10 O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: [Oh my goodness and Holy Cow!] that which I have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you. [Babylon has fallen].
Even the small nations of the wicked like Edom will not escape the destruction of the Second Coming. The voice of warning to Dumah which is another name for Edom which was located at the southern end of the Dead Sea. It borders both Moab and Judah. Sodom and Gomorrah were two of the cities in Edom. King Herod the Great’s father was an Edomite named Antipater. Historically the Edomites were the only nation forced to become Jewish. Edom means “red”, and is derived from the name of its founder, Esau, the elder son of the Hebrew patriarch Isaac. Dedanim, Tema [remote oasis on a main trade route through Arabia], and Kedar were cities in Edom. The Kedarites were the main military power of the sons of Ishmael and were known as great archers.
¶ 11 The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir [a mountain on the eastern border of Edom], Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? 12 The watchman said, “The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come.”
¶ 13 The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye travelling companies of Dedanim. 14 The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled. 15 For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war. 16 For thus hath the Lord said unto me, within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail: 17 And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the LORD God of Israel hath spoken it.
Isaiah 22: The Valley of Vision is another name for Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be attacked and carried away captive. The Messiah holds the key to the House of David. The Messiah will be crucified and be fastened as “nail in a sure place.” The weight of the human body could not be sustained if nails were driven through the hands only. The radius and ulna bones are the ones in the forearm of a person that meet at the wrist. When a nail is driven between these two bones just above the wrist the bones can sustain the weight of the entire human body and is therefore called the nail in the sure place.
¶ 1 The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops? [Why are you surprised that the people fled to their rooftops to escape the impending destruction?]2 Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle. [Your warriors did not die in war nor an honorable death]. 3 All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound [surrounded] by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound [taken prisoner even those who had fled to far away places] together, which have fled from far. 4 Therefore said I, “Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter [Jerusalem] of my people. 5 For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord GOD of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains.” 6 And Elam [A nation of archers that will attack Jerusalem] bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield. [of foot soldiers]. [Kir is the place to which Tiglath-pileser carried the captives after he had taken the city of Damascus (2 Kings 16:9; Amos 1:5; 9:7)] 7 And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.
¶ 8 And he discovered the covering [weakness] of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest. [Instead of relying on their actual armor to defend themselves, the inhabitants of Jerusalem will flee to hide in the forest]. 9 Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool. 10 And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall. 11 Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: [The leaders and people have done everything to save themselves but they have not done the one thing that could truly save them and that was to repent and trust in God to deliver them.] but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago. 12 And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth: [slavery and captivity await them on the morrow, therefore there is no more need to ration the food or drink.] 13 And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we shall die. 14 And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord GOD of hosts. ¶ 15 Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say, 16 [The Lord is saying, do you think you will be buried in your Jerusalem tomb? You won’t be. You will be carried away and die in a foreign land.] What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock? 17 Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee. 18 He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord’s house. 19 And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down.
¶ 20 And it shall come to pass in that day,[Second Coming] that I will call my servant Eliakim [A type for Christ, but literally the son of Hilkiah who succeeded Shebna as gorvernor of the palace and “grand vizier” under Hezekiah]: 21 And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. 22 And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, [bind on earth and bind in heaven] and none shall open. 23 And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he [Christ] shall be for a glorious throne to his father’s house. 24 And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father’s house [The Atonement], the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons. [All the sins of the people both cups of sins and the largest flagons of sins] 25 In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the LORD hath spoken it. [This refers to the Lord being brought down from the cross.]
Isaiah 23: Tyre was an island city just off the coast in Lebanon. It was a great mercantile city. It was known for its great navy and the quality of the silver produced in its mint. It was also known as a “king maker” or the crowning city. These were the ancient Phoenicians whose ships sailed across the Mediterranean Sea to Spain [Tarshish]. Chittim is the island of Cyprus. Zidon [Sidon] was another major city in Phoenicia. Sihor was a port in Egypt on the Nile delta that shipped grain.
¶ 1 The burden [voice of warning of impending doom and destruction] of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them. [The people on the island of Cyprus hear of the destruction of Tyre] 2 Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.[Zidon or Sidon was the first city-state to manufactured the purple dye that was so rare and expensive that the color purple became synonymous with royalty. Sidon was also known for glass making. Both of these products were shipped to Egypt and Spain (Tarshish), and around the Mediterranean by the ships from Tyre. Both Tyre and Sidon became fabulously wealthy.] 3 And by great waters the seed of Sihor [an Egyptian port for shipping Egyptian grain and cotton], the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations. 4 Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins. 5 As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre. 6 Pass ye over to Tarshish [Spain]; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle [The main part of Tyre was located on an island just off the coast of Lebanon]. 7 Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? Her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn. [The inhabitants of Tyre will be carried away captive in their own ships] 8 Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth? 9 The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth. 10 Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength. 11 He [Tyre] stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the LORD hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof. 12 And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; [Flee to Cyprus] there also shalt thou have no rest. [They can’t escape from Assyria nor later from the Second Coming]. 13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans [Babylon]; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: [Historically Assyria built a great road for the Babylonians which allowed Babylon to gather products from all over the Assyrian Empire and ship them to other countries. Babylon became more wealthy than Assyria and eventually in conjunction with the Medes and Elam conquered Assyria.] They set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin. 14 Howl, ye ships of Tarshish [Spain]: for your strength is laid waste. 15 And it shall come to pass in that day, [Second Coming] that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years [a long time], according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot. 16 Take a harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
Tyre is a type of worldly power that will convert to Christ during the Millennium and become a compassionate city. Tyre trading with other countries is compared to a “reformed” harlot. However the money she makes will be spent for doing good. It is difficult for most of us to comprehend why Isaiah would use a harlot as an example, unless he was trying to show how wicked Tyre was before she repented.
¶ 17 And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth. 18 And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the LORD: [This means that Tyre will return to be a merchant city and the money she makes will be given to build up God’s kingdom to feed the hungry and clothe the naked.] it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.