Isaiah 23 - Oracle concerning Tyre and Sidon

I) The judgment of Tyre and the effect of her fall (1-7)

Tyre is the capital of Phoenicia, a nation excelling in maritime commerce. All kinds of sea-bound trades came to Tyre's harbour. During the time of David and Solomon, King Hiram of Tyre supplied great amount of cedar and cypress timber for the temple, and helped Israel build their own sea-bound commerce. (2 Samuel 5:11; 1 Kings 5).  

On the negative side, Jezebel was a princess of Phoenicia and had evil influences over King Ahab of Israel who married her, including the worship of Baal. Even Ezekiel ran in fear of what Jezebel will do to him.   

Tyre was a city divided into an inland and an island. As prophesied by Isaiah, the Assyrians and Babylonians conquered the in-land city, where it was "laid waste, without house or harbor!" (v1)  The island city was conquered by Macedonian Alexander the Great in 332 BC. 

II) Jehovah, the executioner of the judgment (8-14)

Tyre was filled with rich and proud people from the commerce.  "The merchants are princes, and the traders are the honorable of the earth."  (v8)   But God's purpose was to judge and humble the city, as declared by Isaiah. 

The city will be destroyed by both the Assyrians and Chaldeans (Babylonians), and Tyre will be ruined. (v13).  Some of the people will escape across the mediterranean to Cyprus, but even there they will have no rest. (v12)

III) Tyre shall be restored (15-18)

There are probably multiple fulfilment in this prophetic chapter. "Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years" (v15) probably refers to the conquest of Babylon, that they will recover after Babylon has been overcome by the Persians. They survived until the Greeks conquered the land, and the island was taken by Alexander the Great.  

Some theologians believe that the phrase "The Lord will visit Tyre" refer to the city becoming a Christian city during the Paul's times (Acts 21:4).  Tyre finally lost its identity after the Turks took over the land in 1517. As Ezekiel prophesied, it became a bare rock, ‘a place to spread nets upon,’ (Eze. 26:14)

Isaiah 22 - Oracle Concerning Jerusalem

I) Rebuke of the people’s spirit of frivolity (1-14)

Mount Zion is referred to as the "valley of vision", where many visions were given to the prophets there. Isaiah saw the people running to the rooftops, to hide and to pray to the heavens. There was chaos in the city and bodies were lying everywhere. 

But the people did not die from courage battles but from famine and disease. This is probably due to the siege of Babylon described in Jeremiah, where the food had run out and even mothers ended up eating their babies. (v2)

The leaders have given up without resistance. Many of the captured were those trying to flee the city. (v3)

Isaiah was devastated with vision and wanted to be left alone to cry for the coming destruction. (v4)

The day of terror and defeat was permitted by God, where there will be confusion, trampling and broken city walls. Elam and Kir were allied to Babylonians in the attack. God has taken away the covering of Judah, so that they are prone to attack by foreign invaders.  (v5-8)

Isaiah saw how the city tried to defend itself when a horde of chariots filled their valley and storm their gates. The people were not prepared and could not get to the weapons at the armory at the House of the Forest. During the siege, the people diverted waters from the Gihon Spring outside the city walls into the city. Houses were broken down to re-inforce the defensive walls. (v7-11)

They did not seek the Lord for protection, nor did they repent of their sins which were warned by Isaiah and by Jeremiah. Instead, their attitude is to continue to "eat and drink" as if they only have one life to live. So God brought the destruction according to their wishes.  (v12-14)

II) The failure of the stewards (15-25)

God told Isaiah to confront Shebna, who was a steward of the palace of King Hezekiah. Shebna has much power and honor in the palace, and somehow must have done much harm by his advise to the godly King. 

Shebna was self-serving and made for himself a lavish tomb outside of Jerusalem, being confident he will die in Jerusalem. Isaiah cursed Shebna, that he will lose his proudful position and be thrown to a foreign land to die as an exile, like most of the citizens of Jerusalem. This would mean he will not be able to use the tomb he built.

Jesus gave a parable of the rich fool in Luke 12:16-21, where the man spent his life making money and building things for himself. But when God takes his life, he ends up with nothing, and end up without God. Shebna is like that kind of fool - instead of his tomb bringing him honor, it became a symbol of the foolishness of this man for many generations. 

Sheba’s position will be given to Eliakim, son of Hilkiah. Though both of them were servants of Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:18), God calls Eliakim "My Servant", which is a title far honorable than what we can get on earth! God will give Eliakim the authority to "opens doors, no one will be able to close them; when he closes doors, no one will be able to open them." (v22).  

This is like the description given to Christ - "These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens.” (Revelation 3:7) While Eliakim has the keys to the palace, Jesus has the keys to Hades and Death. 

Shebna's apparent firm position will be removed as a “peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way..”. Everything and anyone who are supported by Shebna will also fall.  (v25)  It is important we are tied to the peg that is set by God! 

Isaiah 21 - The burden on Babylon, Dumah and Arabia

I) The command to go up against Babylon (1-5)

Babylon is called the Wilderness of the Sea because the nation has many lakes and marshes, so it was referred to as a “sea.”  A command is given to Elam and Media, referring to Persia (modern day Iran) to march against Babylon to "end the sighing" she has caused. (v2).  

Verses 3 to 5 seem to be the reaction of Isaiah who saw the vision of how his people were made slaves in Babylon with horror and trembling. He cried out desperately "Arise, O Princess; Oil the shield!" 

We know that the Persians conquered the Babylonian empire in 539 BC and let the first exilic Jews to return to Jerusalem in 538 BC, after 60 years in exile. 

II) The watchman and his mission (6-10)

The Lord told Isaiah to set up a symbolic watchman. This gave Isaiah confidence that this vision of the fall of Babylon will surely come. The watchman stands on his tower everyday to look for the good news, and then riders came to announce: "“Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the carved images of her gods he has shattered to the ground.” (v9)

A similar phrase is used in Revelation: "Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.” (Rev 14:8)  In Revelation, Babylon is used as a symbolic name for the world system, which is corrupted in sin.  Just like Babylon of old will be wiped out, this will be the eventual condition of the world system when Jesus comes again. We are asked to “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water" (Rev 14:7)

III) The burden of Edom (11-12)

Dumah is another name for Edom. Someone from Edom asked the watchman "what time of the night?" The night refers to the period of suffering.  The watchman answers "the morning comes and also the night", which may be saying that there will be a respite after the Assyrians but the night returns during the Babylon rule. The exact times or duration of the exile was not given to Isaiah. He ask the person in the vision to "inquire again", probably to a later prophet. 

Indeed, Jeremiah 25:12 prophesied: "Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the LORD, making the land an everlasting waste."

IV) The burden upon Arabia (13-17)

Isaiah had a vision of the refugees from Arabia, hungry and thirsty. He calls out for people to provide food and water to the refugees. All this will be from the Assyrian invasion, which will happen within a year from Isaiah's writing.

Isaiah 20 - Egypt and Ethiopia: the trust that failed

This short chapter with six verses was written around 711 BC, where the king of Assyria was Sargon II (722-705BC). Sargon sent Tartan (2 Kings 18:17) to invade Ashdod, a Philistine city that depended on Egypt and Cush to defend it. However Egypt and Cush did not come to rescue it.

God commanded Isaiah to go naked and barefooted for 3 years, to symbolize the coming defeat of Egypt and Cush, where their people would be taken into exile naked and ashamed. (v1-4)  It may not mean Isaiah was naked all the time, but only when he is preaching this message. 

The reason this imagery is important is to warn King Hezekiah not to depend on Egypt for aid when the Assyrians attack Jerusalem. (v5) 

In 2 Kings 18, the commander taunted King Hezekiah for trusting in Egypt, whom he referred to as the “broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.”  

Fortunately, King Hezekiah trusted Isaiah and prayed to God instead for help, and God killed 180,000 Assyrians in their camp outside Jerusalem and drove them away from Judah. 

It is difficult to trust God in desperate circumstances. As a human being, we need support from other human beings as well. However what we can do is to get some good friends to pray about the situation. If God wants to help, He will give a sign. Beware of tests though - if the person offering help has conditions that are not Godly or questionable, it is better to gently refuse. God will never let us down regardless. 

Isaiah 19 - An Oracle Concerning Egypt

I) Threats (1-4)

The chapter starts out with a description of the Lord riding on a swift cloud towards Egypt. This is an ironic statement as Baal had been described as a "rider of the cloud" in their mythical literature. Isaiah is using the same image of power to describe the Lord, and pointed out that both the idols and people of Egypt will be terrified when that happens .

God will bring disunity among the Egyptians and cause confusion, which their  sorcerers, mediums and necromancers would not be able to help, and they will be ruled over by ruthless masters.  (v 2-4)

II) Natural and economic disaster (5-10)

God will also bring natural disasters to Egypt by drying up the Nile, which is the main source of food such as fishes, vegetables, and also the manufacturing of flax and linen from the Papyrus. Those working in those industries will languish with despair as their livelihood will disappear.

III) Foolish counsel (11-15)

Egypt was well known for their wisdom. Even Solomon’s wisdom was compared to the wise men of Egypt in 1 Kings 4:30. However they were no match for the plans of God, just as their magicians were dumb-founded in front of Moses. They cannot even predict nor counsel against the rise of the Assyrians. There was nothing they can do to change what is coming.

IV) The five far-future prophecies about Egypt (16-24)

Five predictions are given for a future, starting with the words “in that day.” 

The first (v16-17) is that Egyptians will be afraid of Judah. This may be referring to the millennial rule of Christ, but we already see that it is already partially fulfilled in the 20th century. Despite dozens of attacks by the Arabs after Israel's independence in 1948, Israel had never lost any battles. The military might of Egypt, whom Israel had always depended on, have been overpowered by Israel.  Eventually, Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem signed a historic peace agreement that ended three decades of hostilities. 

The second prophecy (v18) reveals that there will be five cities in Egypt that will ally with the Lord of Host and even change their language to Hebrew.  One of the cities, “City of Destruction” is rendered as “City of the Sun” in the dead sea scroll and other manuscripts, which probably represented Heliopolis, the centre of worship for Ra, the Egyptian sun-god. This is an indication that culture and idolatry will be changed.

Thirdly, Egypt will come to know the Lord and worship him in the land. They will build altars and give sacrifices to the Lord. They will pray to the Lord for protection and a “savior and defender” will deliver them. It also says “the Lord will strike Egypt”, perhaps hinting that during the Armageddon Egypt will quickly recognize who the Lord is and repent and return to Him, and He will heal them. There will be a spirit of true worship spreading all over Egypt.

Fourthly, a highway will be built between Egypt and Assyria (present day Iraq). This highway will have to pass through Israel. I believe this will be a new highway,  not the ones already present, and furthermore it is speaking about the spirit of co-operation and free trade among the nations between Egypt to Iraq. Assyria had the ambition of conquering the middle east to get to the resources in Egypt, but in future there will be peaceful commerce among the countries.

Lastly, these countries (including all territory the Assyrians have during Isaiah’s time) will become a blessing to the earth. (v24-25)  Certainly, these middle-east countries have much resources (eg-oil, information technology, farming, real estate development, etc.) and are extremely rich. If united under Christ, they can be a source of wealth to the poorer countries on earth. Thus there will be an economic transformation that don’t just benefit themselves but the earth.

God will transform Egypt's culture, language, religion, military, and wealth to benefit the world!

IV) Application

As fallen men, our journey is not easy. Even on an individual basis, we have so much troubles with our family members, our jobs, our financials and our health. Yet, God’s plan for us is for the good – he will subject the whole earth under Christ, who will bring peace and prosperity to all in the end.

Isaiah 18 - A Message to Ethiopia

I. Introduction

Cush was geographically situated in the present day southern Egypt and northern Sudan. It was also known as Kush or Ethiopia but is distinctive from the Ethiopia of today.

In Genesis we are told that Cush was a son of Ham, and grandchild of Noah. Cush fathered Nimrod, known as a mighty hunter.

During the invasion of Assyria against Judah in 701 BC, the king of Cush, Tirhakah, came to aid Hezekiah against Assyria with an Ethiopian- Egyptian army. However Sennacherib defeated Tirhakah at Eltekeh which lies north-east of Jerusalem near the Mediterranean coast.

That’s why in 2 kings 19:10, Sennacherib sent a message to Hezekiah warning him that he will be next.

However, Jerusalem, as we have discussed, was protected by God and was not taken by Assyria. Assyria later on invaded Egypt and ended the Kushite rule over that region in 672 BC.

II) The ambassadors and the prophet’s word to them (1-3)

The land of Cush is along the Nile which has many insects with “whirring wings”.  The Cush must have or will send ambassodors to Judah to plan against Assyria. 

There was no obvious judgement against Cush in this chapter. Rather, Isaiah’s message to Cush is to say “no thanks” for their military aid, which we know from history has not helped anyone. 

III) Jehovah is in control (v4-6)

God does not need help from Cush or anyone. God Himself can win against Assyria if He wants to. God's power over our lives are often unseen and unheard, but it is as powerful as the sun’s passive heat and the dew where without them nothing will grow. (v4)

Isaiah assures that God will cut off Assyria such that they will be left to be food to the birds and beasts of the earth. (v5-6)

IV) Ethiopia’s homage to the Lord (7)

God instead invites the Kushites (or their descendants) to wait for the last days and to bring to Zion their tributes and to worship the Lord of hosts. (v7)

Isaiah 17 - Judgement on Damascus and Ephraim

I. The judgement against Damascus (1-3)

Damascus was the capital of Aram (Syria). Ephraim had ally with Syria against the Assyrian aggression. They had threatened Judah when Ahaz refused to join them against the Assyrians, and they eventually attacked Judah.  Isaiah’s vision about Damascus was significant as it should have given Ahaz confidence that in the end Damascus would not succeed in their plans with Ephraim.

Isaiah prophesied That Damascus will become a heap of ruins. This happened in 722 BC and their king, Rezin, was killed in during the invasion Of Assyria. Syria will be left with a small remnant, much like what Ephraim had encountered.

II. The leanness of Jacob (4-11)

Isaiah gave a series of three “in that day” to describe Israel, referred to as “leanness of Jacob.” Firstly, they will be humbled and only a few will be left as remnants.  They will look to their maker, the holy one of Israel, and turn way from the foreign gods (but would be too late). And lastly, their cities will be deserted and desolated, just like when Israel first came into the promise land and drove away the canaanites.

Yet now they themselves worship the foreign gods and have forgotten their Rock of their refuge. We recall how Joshua once warned them to follow God only and leave the foreign gods, or else God’s wrath will be upon them. (Joshua 24:19-26)

God reminded them that despite all their effort to create a good life, all of it will be disappear in the day of grief and pain.

III. The destruction of the invader (12-14)

Isaiah saw the terrifying horses of invaders and  their loud thundering sounds as they come against their enemies. However, they will not last very long for God will bring them down When his purpose is done.

IV. Applications

We are reminded to keep ourselves sanctified, and not to get ourselves  entangled with “strangers “, be it in spiritual, relational or business matters that contradict his word. No matter how much that partnership profit us, it will only be temporary, for God’s discipline will come on us sooner or later.

However God will not be angry forever, for the plight against us will only stay for a while before He relents. Justice and mercy are perfectly balanced in Gods arms.