After the prophecy of the destruction of all of Judah’s enemies, Isaiah is now to proclaim the destruction of Jerusalem. It was not a happy message. At the end of the day, God was not going to be patient for much longer. The hearts of the people had turned, and the hope of repentance and revival had passed. Now, Isaiah was tasked with revealing the pain that lie ahead.
The pain that was predicted was the tearing down of walls the pillaging and destruction of the temple and the bloodless capture and exile of the people. That had to sound preposterous to the people, after all, things under Hezakiah were very nice. They were experiencing peace and prosperity like the days of old. Nothing could go wrong…until it did.
In present day, we can never assume life will continue problem free. in the blink of an eye peace can turn to chaos, and prosperity to economic devastation. Fighting from within and pressures from without–remind us that as in the days of this prophet, God’s people must repent and pray for revival and renewal. God is patient, but, as with Israel and Judah–that patience will run out. We need to be proactive and humbly seek Him with all our hearts. We also need to be grateful for what we have and not take it for granted. Please join me in humble prayer.
God Bless You
The oracle concerning the valley of vision.
What do you mean that you have gone up,
all of you, to the housetops,
2 you who are full of shoutings,
tumultuous city, exultant town?
Your slain are not slain with the sword
or dead in battle.
3 All your leaders have fled together;
without the bow they were captured.
All of you who were found were captured,
though they had fled far away.
4 Therefore I said:
“Look away from me;
let me weep bitter tears;
do not labour to comfort me
concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
5 For the Lord God of hosts has a day
of tumult and trampling and confusion
in the valley of vision,
a battering down of walls
and a shouting to the mountains.
6 And Elam bore the quiver
with chariots and horsemen,
and Kir uncovered the shield.
7 Your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
and the horsemen took their stand at the gates.
8 He has taken away the covering of Judah.
In that day you looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest, 9 and you saw that the breaches of the city of David were many. You collected the waters of the lower pool, 10 and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall. 11 You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago.
12 In that day the Lord God of hosts
called for weeping and mourning,
for baldness and wearing sackcloth;
13 and behold, joy and gladness,
killing oxen and slaughtering sheep,
eating flesh and drinking wine.
“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”
14 The Lord of hosts has revealed himself in my ears:
“Surely this iniquity will not be atoned for you until you die,”
says the Lord God of hosts.
Walking With God 