Isaiah addressed personally the pro Egyptian party and their supporters and called them "rebellious children" who refused to take counsel of Jehovah and who had made a league, not with the Spirit of God but with the Egyptians. In doing so they were adding sin to sin. Moreover, in depending upon Egypt for strength for the coming crisis they were leaning upon the arm of flesh which would result in their undoing and which would not in the least aid the nation.

In verses 6 and 7 we have the burden concerning the "beasts of the South." There is some discussion as to the meaning of this phrase. Some think that it refers to the train of camels and asses that are mentioned in the passage. On the other hand, some commentators think that this is a reference to Egypt. As is well known, Egypt was a dual monarchy, consisting of the Upper and the Lower Kingdoms. I am of the opinion that our phrase has this signification.

As mentioned in 30:4, the ambassadors whom the pro-Egyptian party had sent to Egypt were already sitting in conference with the representatives of the Egyptian crown at both Zoan and Hanes. Evidently they had hastened on their journey to Egypt and had arrived before the train of asses and camels had reached their destination. The prophet sees the slowly moving caravan laden with the riches of Jerusalem as they wended their way across the desert toward Egypt. They were bearing the price of military assistance.

The desert lying between Palestine and Egypt is indeed a dreary spot. I have passed through it myself and can testify to that fact. Isaiah spoke of it as "the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the lioness and the lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent." The weary beasts constituting this caravan had to pass through this wasteland in carrying a heavy burden for the purpose of purchasing Egyptian aid. Isaiah, however, said that their efforts would be futile because Egypt would not assist them.

Because Israel is a rebellious people (and has been from the very beginning), God instructed Isaiah to write a special message concerning them, first upon a tablet, and then to inscribe it in a book. It is quite likely that the tablet to which reference is made was none other than a clay tablet upon which the message in cuneiform would be inscribed. Archaeologists have dug up at several places samples of clay tablets which were used late in the history of Israel. These of course are similar to the ones that have been dug up at Tel-el-Amarna in Egypt, at Boghaz-Keui in Asia Minor, and in Mesopotamia. But he was also to write the message in a book, which thing he has done. The book referred to is the Book of Isaiah, which we now possess. The special message concerning Israel which was written was that they were a rebellious people, lying children, who would not hear the law of Jehovah and who would attempt to intimidate the seers and the prophets and cause them not to speak forth faithfully the Word of God. The people were willing to listen to smooth messages which only tickled the ears but which did not hold before them the Holy One of Israel. Human nature is the same today as yesterday and as it has been since the Fall. Men do not wish to be reminded that God is a holy God, for such a Being will demand holiness in return in His people. Thus the leaders in Israel kept warning Isaiah and insisting upon his ceasing talking about the Holy One of Israel. Many people today take the same attitude toward the Word and the service of God as did the Jews of Isaiah's day.

Because of this attitude the prophet was instructed to inform the people that God would not forgive them but would hold them personally responsible for their iniquity and sin. He illustrated the sudden coming of the punishment by the falling of a wall which was bulging forth, and the result of the judgment by the breaking of a potter's vessel (vss. 13,14). Of course the Lord carried out this threat in due time.

ON SOME former occasions God had spoken to Israel through Isaiah and had warned against all efforts to procure aid and assistance from military alliances that might be effected. In this previous oracle the Holy One of Israel had said, "In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength" (vs. 15). Even after the ambassadors had left, God said for the nation to recall them and to remain at home, trusting Him. If they did, they would be secure and would be delivered by the Lord from their foes. Moreover, the Lord urged them to be quiet and to remain in confidence; for whenever they took that attitude, He could work in their behalf, but they would not. They were relying on the arm of flesh and would not trust in their God. When the prophet suggested that they recall their ambassadors and that they remain at home quietly trusting God, they spoke out frankly and said that they would not.

The one who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek after Him. No one can please God without faith. The Lord delights to exercise our faith and our trust. If one trusts, he does not worry; if he worries, he does not trust. When Israel said that she would not trust God but would flee upon horses, the Lord declared that, since she had taken this attitude, they would have to flee. He assured them, however, that their pursuers and their persecutors would be swifter than they and that a great calamity would overcome them; for, "One thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on a hill" (vs. 17). Every sin and disobedience receives a just recompense of reward. God must deal with man according to the merits of his case.

The Lord is very much concerned about all His people. He never willingly afflicts the children of men. It grieves His heart to punish any of His children. Humanly speaking, the Lord is reluctant to punish them but endures with long-suffering until He cannot act otherwise than to bring summary judgment upon them.

He must wait very frequently in order that He might pour out the fullness of His blessings upon His people. This is true of the people of God today and is also correct with reference to Israel, for the prophet declared, "And therefore will Jehovah wait, that he may be gracious unto you; and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for Jehovah is a God of justice; blessed are all they that wait for him" (vs. 18). Nothing would delight the heart of God more than their letting him have full possession of their lives and working in and through them His plans and purposes in His effort to reach others. He longs to be gracious to everyone who has come to Him; but unfortunately most of His people by their lack of surrender will not allow Him to have His way in their lives. Such is the declaration found in this quotation. God has longed to be gracious to Israel, but He could not; He has wanted to have mercy upon her, but she would not allow Him to do so. These statements are in perfect accord with the declaration of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 23:37-39. In this passage He declared that He often wished to gather the Jewish people as a hen does her chickens under her wings but they would not.

For these nineteen hundred years He has been anxiously awaiting the time when Israel will exalt Him in order that He might extend His grace and comfort to her and deliver her from all her troubles. The Lord cannot ignore, moral facts and spiritual principles. His holiness will not allow His dispensing His blessings indiscriminately upon even those who are called by His name. His holiness and His demand for purity on the part of His people are a check upon His love and mercy. For nineteen hundred years the Lord Jesus has been eager to be gracious to His Chosen People who are scattered to the four corners of the earth; but He can never be gracious and merciful to them until they exalt Him, for He is a God of justice.

But according to Isaiah 30:19 the time will come when He will have mercy upon His people and will restore them to their accustomed place--to the land which He gave to Abraham and his seed for a permanent possession.

"Man's extremity is God's opportunity." The Lord will have His opportunity with Israel in the time of the Tribulation. In verses 20 and 21 of our chapter the prophet declared:

"And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be hidden any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers; 21 and thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it; when ye turn to the right hand, and, when ye turn to the left."

The time when Israel eats the bread of adversity and drinks the water of affliction is none other than the Tribulation Period. At that time the Lord will have teachers, faithful men, who will minister especially to Israel, pointing her to the way in which she should go. As I read this passage in the light of parallel scriptures, especially Revelation, chapter 7, I am convinced that these teachers who are here referred to are none other than the 144,000 Jewish evangelists to whom we are now giving the gospel. They will not seek the favor of anyone nor fear men, but will give forth the Word of God faithfully. They will therefore instruct the penitent remnant of Israel how she should go. When Israel is thus brought to her extremity, she will turn from all of her idolatry--not simply the grosser forms but its more civilized aspects, such as covetousness, which is idolatry. This is asserted in 30:22.

In the paragraph consisting of verses 23-26 we have a beautiful picture of the ideal conditions which will obtain during the Millennial Age. At the time of Israel's conversion God will lift the curse from the earth and will restore normal conditions, which existed prior to man's disobedience. We are therefore told, according to verse 23 and many other passages of scripture, that the Lord will give the rain in the proper season and that there will be an abundance of crops because the earth will give forth its full strength. Moreover, there will be plenty of food for the cattle and the other animals. They will be given the very best, as we see in verse 24. There will be no desert or barren mountains for brooks and streams of water, as is seen in verse 25, shall gush forth from the bowels of the earth at the end of this period of slaughter.

At the present time we often have dark, gloomy, dismal days, especially in certain sections of the world. When that day arrives the moon will give a brighter light. So will the sun. Atmospheric conditions will be entirely different from what they are now. This will all occur, according to verse 26, "in the day that Jehovah bindeth up the hurt of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound." As we learn from other portions of the Word, the Lord will heal His people when they acknowledge their national sin and plead for forgiveness. See Leviticus 26:40; Hosea 5:15-6:3; and Matthew 23:37-39.

In the last paragraph of this chapter, we see a striking prediction of the second coming of our Lord. In fact, one of the most graphic pictures of that coming is found in verses 27 and 28: "Behold, the name of Jehovah cometh from far, burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke; his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue is as a devouring fire; 28 and his breath is as an overflowing stream, that reacheth even unto the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction: and a bridle that causeth to err shall be in the jaws of the peoples."

The reader should note the fact that "the name of Jehovah cometh from far." An examination of this scripture shows that "the name of Jehovah" is but another way of speaking of Jehovah himself. When anyone investigates this passage and compares it with other predictions in the Word, he sees that the one here called Jehovah is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Moreover, when he studies these verses carefully in the light of parallel passages of the Word, he sees that this is a prediction of the second coming of our Lord when He shall come in flaming fire taking vengeance on all who know not God and who obey not the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

When He comes in fulfillment of this prediction, He will sift the nations with the sieve of destruction and will destroy the bridle that is in the jaws of the people and that causes them to err. The Lord will take into His omnipotent grip the entire world situation, will rectify all wrong, and adjust all differences. At that time He will set up that reign of righteousness for which every earnest heart yearns.

When anyone reads verse 29, he sees that the Jewish nation will at that time be joyfully expecting the Lord's return. Let us examine it: "Ye shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come unto the mountain of Jehovah, to the Rock of Israel." The prophet declared that the Jews would have "a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept." When will they sing this song? and when will they be Jubilant, looking forward expectantly to something wonderful in the future? It can be no other time than that which immediately precedes the second coming of our Lord.

According to this verse the entire nation existing at that time--the faithful remnant--will be joyful and happy, just as they have been through the centuries when they were going up to Jerusalem to engage in the annual festivities of the days of their solemn assembly before the Lord. Over what will they be jubilant? For what will they be looking? There is but one answer and that is: For the personal bodily return of Jehovah to the earth to deliver them. Since they will have this attitude before He comes, there is but one conclusion to which we can come, and which is that the gospel will have been given to Israel in such a way as to convince her of the truthfulness of the message. She will believe it; she will accept it; and she will rejoice in the hope of His sudden appearance.

At His coming He "will cause his glorious voice to be heard, and will show the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and the flame of a devouring fire, with a blast, and tempest, and hailstones" when He marches into battle against the Antichrist who is here called the Assyrian (vs. 31). The Assyrian of Isaiah's day was the dominant figure upon the political horizon and represented world dominion of that day and time. From other scriptures we know that there will be a Roman prince who will sit upon the throne of the world and be its dictator. The world will be headed up under him, for to him will be given authority and power over every race, tribe, tongue, and language (Rev. 13:7,8). In view of these facts it is evident that the one whom Isaiah called the Assyrian here can be none other than the world dictator of the end-time. He will be slain by the personal appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ.

According to verse 33 a Topheth is prepared for him. When we read this passage in the light of Revelation 19:19-20:5, we come to the conclusion that this can be no place other than that which is described as the lake of fire into which the false prophet and the beast, the Antichrist, will be cast. See Isaiah 66:22-24.

In Isaiah 32:1-8 we have a marvelous description of the reign of King Messiah and of the wonderful results which come from His taking the reins of authority into His own hands.

That the King here foretold is Messiah cannot be doubted, for He reigns in righteousness--righteousness in the absolute sense of the term. No merely human monarch can do this, but King Messiah, being the Godman, will be able to establish such a regime as this. With Him there will be princes who will rule in justice. When we read this verse in the light of the New Testament revelation, we come to the conclusion that these princes are none other than the saints who reign with Christ a thousand years and who assist Him in the administration of His righteous government. According to the parable of the pounds (Luke 19:11ff) the one who takes his one pound and gains ten pounds will be granted the privilege of reigning over ten cities, and the one who with his one pound gains five others shall reign over five cities. This parable thus represents the bestowing of awards and positions of honor and trust to the saints of God when the Lord Jesus returns.

According to 32:2 Messiah will be a man and yet He will be the hiding place for mankind. The various prophets foretold that God would enter the world by miraculous conception and virgin birth. Emphasis is laid upon the fact that He is God and at the same time that He is man. He is not God and man but the God-man. He is the only one in whom man can have confidence and can be saved (Acts 4:12).

During the righteous reign of King Messiah, the curse will be lifted and there will be no more sickness or physical infirmities. At that time men will not be interested in foolish, trivial matters but will seek each other's good and the glory of God. Every man will live for a purpose, high and holy.

In verses 9-15 is a vivid picture of the Tribulation Period. The women of Zion are addressed in verse 9 and are told of the time of distress which lies out ahead. It will continue for over a year (vs. 10). From the Book of Daniel we know that this time of distress, the time of Jacob's trouble, will last for seven years, the last week of the seventy referred to in Daniel, chapter 9. Destruction and desolation will be in evidence in every place throughout Palestine during that time, especially the latter part of the Tribulation. This desolate condition will continue "forever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks; until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest" (32:14,15).

When that glorious era dawns "justice shall dwell in the wilderness; and righteousness shall abide in the fruitful field." The result of such a righteous reign will be peace, quietness, and confidence. Wars will be banished from the world. No more injustices will be perpetrated by anyone. Blessed will be those people who enter the Kingdom Age. "Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth the feet of the oxen and the ass." These people who are pronounced blessed here are those of whom we read in Matthew 25:31-46--the ones whom the Saviour will put on His right hand and to whom He will speak the comforting words: "Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."

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