Isaiah 13:12

Isaiah 13:12 says, I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.  Isaiah said that God had declared that He would make mankind more precious than gold.  Matthew Henry says this refers to there being so few people left that there wouldn’t be anyone to mine the gold.  When God’s final judgment comes, there will be no one left to be concerned about material things of the earth.  Those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ will be called home to heaven and those who haven’t will be sent away to everlasting punishment, which is why we as Christians should value sharing the gospel with people above the riches of this word.

Verse thirteen adds, Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.  Though this may refer to earthquakes in that day that would shake up the people of Babylon, I believe that since it says the earth will move out of its place that it refers more to the second coming of Christ, when those who have refused to accept God’s gift of salvation will feel His wrath.  It will still be the choice of each individual which they experience, everlasting peace with God by accepting the gracious gift of salvation or everlasting or punishment because they refused to accept God’s gracious gift of salvation.  God will always show His wrath against sin, and if someone refuses to accept His gift of pardon from that sin, they will have to pay the penalty. 

Verse fourteen continues, And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land.  The great army that had come against the people of Israel may have been like a roaring lion, but they will become as a deer that is chased or a sheep that no one fears or wants.  They will all then return to their own land.  As followers of Christ, this does not say that like the people of Israel would make them afraid, but that God would, and He will always be the source of our power.  Our enemies may not fear us but that they had better fear the wrath of God, no matter how powerful they may think they are. 

Verse fifteen states, Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword.  Isaiah said that those who had come to wage war against Israel who did not flee but were still there to be found would die by the sword.  Some enemies of God may remain more defiant to Him, but when judgment comes, they could be said to have died on their own sword. 

Verse sixteen adds, Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished.  These were common practices that were carried out by the victors of war in that day, and it is still the way some countries treat women and children today if they are victorious in battle over them, but it is not something that we as Christians should ever do.  Women and children should not be killed without mercy just because they were a part of a nation that opposes Christianity. 

Verse seventeen continues, Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.  Isaiah said that the Medes would be stirred up against the Babylonians.  God can work through those who don’t believe in Him to defeat others who don’t believe in Him, but His plan is always to call everyone to repentance and forgiveness by accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord.

Verse eighteen says, Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eyes shall not spare children.  Isaiah said that the Medes would not even have pity on pregnant women and children but would kill them as they had killed the young men of Babylon.  There are many wars going on today where there is no concern about killing women and children.  As a matter of fact, it seems many times this may be done to dishearten those of a country that another country is fighting against. 

Verse nineteen adds, And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.  Isaiah said that Babylon for all its glory would be reduced to the same state as Sodom and Gomorrah had been, and they had been totally destroyed.  Though not all kingdoms that glory in their own power and defy God today may be destroyed in our lifetime, when God’s judgment day does come, their glory will be reduced to nothing but everlasting punishment. 

Verse twenty continues, It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.  Isaiah said that Babylon would never again be a country.  Those nations that oppose God and His people today will never be inhabited again when the end of time comes, no matter how powerful they may be. 

Verse twenty-one states, But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. 

Verse twenty-two adds, And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.  The land that had been the kingdom of Babylon would become a land of wild creatures.  No matter how powerful or beautiful a country may think it is, when God’s judgment comes, it will not stand.

Isaiah 13:6

Isaiah 13:6 says, Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.  The people of Babylon were told to howl, because the day of the Lord was at hand, and it would bring great destruction from God.  This was a temporary destruction of an evil nation, but when the final day of the Lord comes when He returns to claim His people, all those who have never accepted Him as Savior and Lord will be sent away to howl in everlasting pain and suffering. 

Verse seven adds, Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:  Isaiah said that these once mighty and proud people of Babylon would then faint, and their hearts would melt in fear.  They would no longer be full of self-pride, and all those who have worked so proudfully against God and His people will one day faint in fear, realizing how powerless they really are.

Verse eight continues, And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.  Isaiah continued to speak about how afraid the people of Babylon would be in the coming day of the Lord that would be carried out by Persia, and people who are standing proudly against God today will cower in fear in the coming day of the Lord, when Jesus Christ returns to judge all who have stood against Him.  

Verse nine states, Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.  This may have applied to the people of Babylon, but it also applies even more so the coming day of the Lord when Jesus Christ returns.  Those who have felt so powerful while denying God will face His wrath because they refused to turn from their sin by accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.  Everyone has the choice of either accepting God’s gift of salvation and having everlasting life with Him or of rejecting it and being sent away to everlasting punishment one day. 

Verse ten adds, For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.  Isaiah said at the day of the Lord that all light would be removed from the world.  Matthew Henry says that this means everything would be hidden by dark clouds in that day, but I believe this can only apply to the second coming of Christ, Who is the everlasting Light.  I say this because Isaiah tells us that the sun, stars and moon would not send out light, not that they would just not be seen. 

Verse eleven continues, And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.  I believe this refers to the second coming because it doesn’t say Babylon, which may have been punished at that time, but that the wicked of the world would be punished and have their arrogance to cease. 

Isaiah 13:1

Isaiah 13:1 says, The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.  Isaiah then began to speak of his vision for Babylon.  He had been speaking of visions about Israel, and now he began to speak about other nations.  Babylon was not even a great power at that time.  Isaiah said it was the burden of Babylon that he saw, because since they would not put their faith in God, His word would be a burden to them.  God’s word not only applies to those who are His people, but to all people everywhere.  To those who do accept God’s word, it is a blessing, and to those who don’t it is a burden.

Verse two adds, Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles.  Isaiah was saying that the people of Babylon would exalt themselves I believe, and they would feel that they were indestructible. Babylon was filled with nice houses for their nobility, and they felt this was a sign of their power over everyone else.  There are people in the world today who believe that their wealth makes them superior to other people and above the need for God, but as Babylon was being warned then, it never will.

Verse three continues, I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness.  Isaiah said God called them sanctified ones, or people who were going to be set aside for a particular task, and that would be setting His people free from captivity.  Cyrus was to fulfill this prophesy, and in Isaiah 45:1 he is referred to as God’s anointed one, though he wasn’t an Israelite.  Of course, we know that Jesus Christ is the only true anointed One through whom we can be saved, but Cyrus was to be anointed or set apart from the world to be used to temporarily deliver the people of Israel from bondage. They, Cyrus and the Persians, might never even acknowledge that God had been using them to bring about His purpose.  God can still use the unsaved today to bring about His will here in the world. 

Verse four states, The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.  Isaiah said these troops who were coming to defeat the people of Babylon were a great multitude.  God will always have those who are capable of defeating evil forces in the world and may work through them, even if they aren’t Christians.  Still, even if He does work through them, their victory will only be temporary if they do not put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.  Earthly kingdoms come and go, some more powerful and less evil than others, but all but the kingdom of God will one day pass away.

Verse five adds, They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the Lord, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.  Those who were going to defeat Babylon were said to come from a far country and were to be victorious because God was with them to bring about His purpose.  Assyrian lay between Babylon and Persia, so the people of Babylon likely took very little notice of Persia.  God can use people from anywhere to bring about His purpose in the world, but it is only through Jesus Christ that He can bring about His ultimate victory. 

Isaiah 12:1

Isaiah 12:1 says, And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.  In that day here refers when a person comes to Christ for salvation first and then to the day that He returns to claim His church I believe.  We who were lost once we are born again into the family of God should begin to give Him our praises, because He had been angry at the sin in our lives, but it is now forgiven.  Once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, the anger of God is turned away from us because Jesus Christ has paid the penalty for our sins.  Our complete rejoicing will be when He comes again to take us home to heaven. 

Verse two adds, Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.  Isaiah said that God was his salvation, and he would trust in Him and not be afraid.  He also said that God was his strength and his song, or reason to rejoice. Through Jesus Christ alone can we have salvation and because of our accepting His gift of salvation, we should not be afraid of anyone or anything in life, not even death itself.  We are already forever victorious, and this is the reason we should sing praises to God. 

Verse three continues, Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.  Jesus Christ is the living water, and we should draw out of this living water, which is the well of salvation, to quench our spiritual thirst. 

Verse four states, And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.  Matthew Henry says this refers to the deliverance of the people of Israel from Sennacherib at that time but more importantly the deliverance of those who put their faith in Jesus Christ from their enemies for all time.  We as Christians are to rejoice not only individually but also as groups who gather to worship God. This rejoicing should not be based on any material blessing from God but on His sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins. 

Verse five adds, Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.  We should rejoice in God because He has done excellent things which is known to all the earth, even if many people want to deny His existence.  God makes Himself known even through creation, even if many people try to explain this great work of God away.  I say this because the Bible says that no one will be able to claim that God did not make Himself known to them. 

Verse six continues, Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.  As the people of Israel were told to do then at their deliverance from Sennacherib by the power of God, we as followers of Christ today need to shout out to the world about the salvation of Christ.  It is only through the power and grace of God that we can be spiritually delivered from sin and death, and because of that deliverance, we need to let the world know about the greatness of God.

Isaiah 11:10

Isaiah 11:10 says, And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.  In that day referred to Hezekiah’s reign and defeat of Sennacherib and inviting other nations to come under his protection.  In that day ultimately refers to the coming of Christ, Who was the root, or descendant of Jesse, and He would not only come to save the Jews but the Gentiles as well.  

Verse eleven adds, And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.  Also, during the reign of Hezekiah, many of the people of the other twelve tribes who were actually referred to as Israel during the divided kingdom would return to Judah and again become a part of God’s people in action and not just in name. Then, this would really be fulfilled when Jesus Christ came to call not only all of Israel to Him, but all people everywhere. 

Verse twelve continues, And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.  Hezekiah would assemble the outcasts of Israel and gather the dispersed of Judah from all over the earth.   Though this might have occurred during the reign of Hezekiah that really was just a temporary thing.  This was forever fulfilled when Jesus Christ came to die for the sins of all mankind and call all people to Him to an everlasting kingdom. 

Verse thirteen concludes, The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.  During the reign of Hezekiah, the envy between the two groups of God’s people would go away.  As followers of Christ, we must be united in our worship of Him and not allow envy and strife to come between us.  Christians cannot effectively witness to the world if we are at war with each other.

Verse fourteen states, But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.  This would have referred to God’s work during the reign of Hezekiah, when He would empower the people of Israel to defeat the Philistines, Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites.  Today, it applies to the followers of Christ who have been given the power to spiritually defeat all their enemies. 

Verse fifteen adds, And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.  Isaiah said that God was going to destroy the people of Egypt, or was reminding them of what God had done the first time He delivered the people of Israel from bondage.  We as Christians, if we begin to feel defeated by the world, need to remember that we are already delivered from the power of sin and death by our faith in Jesus Christ. 

Verse sixteen continues, And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.  Isaiah said there would be a highway for the dispersed people to come back to Israel like there was in the day that they came out of Egypt.  Jesus Christ is our only way to God today, and accepting His salvation does not require any hard work on our part.  We simply have to accept Him as our personal Savior and Lord by faith.

 

 

Isaiah 11:1

Isaiah 11:1 says, And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:  The house of Jesse was the one that produced the house of David, who was the one that God’s promise of an everlasting kingdom was made to, and the Branch was Jesus Christ, who fulfilled God’s promise to David.  Jesse was considered to be a small and insignificant family, before David became a mighty king.  Jesus was considered to be a small and insignificant person before He began His ministry and then became the everlasting mighty King after His death, burial, and resurrection.   He is said to be a rod out of the branch, which means a twig and not a mighty branch as Israel had been called before, according to Matthew Henry.  He also points out that here the prophet moves from temporary restoration of Israel, God’s chosen people, to everlasting restoration of God’s chosen people, or all who will put their faith in Jesus Christ.   

Verse two adds, And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;  Isaiah said this coming Branch, Jesus Christ, would have everything resting on Him.  This was made possible by the Spirit of God resting on Him.  This happened when He began His ministry, though He Himself was God.  This tells us that He was not just God, but fully human as well.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us, giving us access to all the power of God.   

Verse three continues, And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:  Jesus was going to judge by the actions of people and not just by their words.  It is not enough to just proclaim empty words that proclaim that we are a Christian, but our lives should reflect that fact.  Some people today profess to be followers of Christ but then change Who He is by proclaiming Him to just be one way to salvation.  Some profess to be Christians, but their actions never show it.  We are not saved by our actions or works, but once we are saved, our actions or works should show this to the world and to God. 

Verse four states, But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.  Isaiah said that God would judge the poor with righteousness.  Too often, the poor in the world don’t get the justice that comes from the righteousness of God but are treated less fairly than the rich.  Jesus Christ will never do this, but He will always deal righteously with everyone, I believe especially those who are poor materially who are treated unfairly by the powers of the world,   

Verse five adds, And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.  Jesus Christ is girded in righteousness and faithfulness.  These two things are constantly surrounding Him.  We can always rely on Jesus Christ’s actions to be righteous and for Him to always be faithful to those who put their faith in Him.  He will always want what is best for His people, even when they may not know what they need themselves.   

Verse six continues, The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.  Isaiah said when the kingdom of Jesus Christ comes that even the animals that were now a threat to other animals would live in peace with one another and would be led by a child.  Those animals that had been a threat to people would be tame.  I believe this is the way it was in the beginning before mankind sinned and that when Jesus Christ returns, things will just be restored to what they should have been all along.  Of course, this would also apply to all people who had been enemies.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we should live at peace with all people, especially our fellow Christians. 

Verse seven says, And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.  This is just a continuation of telling us about how peaceful things will be in the coming kingdom of God, which we can only be a part of by accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.   

Verse eight adds, And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.  Even small children will be able to play with what had been deadly animals in the coming kingdom of God.  We are never going to see this in the world today, but it is the peace that we will see in the coming kingdom.   

Verse nine continues, They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.  In the coming kingdom of Christ, the knowledge of God will be as abundant as the waters that cover the sea.  This is another way of saying that the whole world will be ruled by God’s purpose, from the animals to the people.  In His coming kingdom, everything will be ruled by righteousness, not of man, but of God.