The burden of Damascus, the capital of Syria being mentioned first because it was at the head of the league which Israel had joined as a strong ally. Even during the reign of Ahaz the Assyrian ruler Tiglath-pileser had carried away the people of Damascus to Kir, 2 Kings 16:9; but now a further overt... [ Continue Reading ]
DAMASCUS AND EPHRAIM THREATENED... [ Continue Reading ]
The cities of Aroer, the two cities of this name in the country east of the Jordan, with the towns under their jurisdiction, ARE FORSAKEN; THEY SHALL BE FOR FLOCKS, an open pasturage, WHICH SHALL LIE DAWN, AND NONE SHALL MAKE THEM AFRAID, there being no one there to drive them off. The prophecy is n... [ Continue Reading ]
The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, since its fortified cities would be taken, AND THE KINGDOM FROM DAMASCUS AND THE REMNANT OF SYRIA, so that both of them would no longer rank as independent nations; THEY, that is, those who are left of Syria, SHALL BE AS THE GLORY OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL... [ Continue Reading ]
And in that day it shall come to pass that the glory of Jacob, especially the kingdom of Ephraim and all who relied upon it, SHALL BE MADE THIN, be weakened and pine away, AND THE FATNESS OF HIS MESH SHALL WAX LEAN, the picture being that of a man rapidly falling away under the influence of a severe... [ Continue Reading ]
And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn and reapeth the ears with his arm, literally, "and his arm reapeth the ears"; AND IT SHALL BE AS HE THAT GATHERETH EARS IN THE VALLEY OF REPHAIM, the fertile plain southwest of Jerusalem, toward the country of the Philistines. Cf 2 Samuel 5:1... [ Continue Reading ]
Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it; in the land of Israel, AS THE SHAKING OF AN OLIVE-TREE, TWO OR THREE BERRIES IN THE TOP OF THE UPPERMOST BOUGH, FOUR OR FIVE IN THE OUTMOST FRUITFUL BRANCHES THEREOF, SAITH THE LORD GOD OF ISRAEL. In harvesting olives, the trees were first shaken, whereupon a... [ Continue Reading ]
At that day shall a man look to his Maker, instead of trusting in fortresses and in the strength of man's arm, as heretofore, AND HIS EYES SHALL HAVE RESPECT TO THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL, for the small remnant of Israel and also of Judah, the spiritual Israel, returned to the true God and His worship.... [ Continue Reading ]
And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, which the children of Israel had formerly devoted to idolatry, NEITHER SHALL RESPECT THAT WHICH HIS FINGERS HAVE MADE, EITHER THE GROVES, the Asherah-idols picturing one of the Semitic goddesses, very often identified with Venus, OR THE IMA... [ Continue Reading ]
In that day shall his strong cities, namely, those of Ephraim, the northern kingdom, BE AS A FORSAKEN BOUGH AND AN UPPERMOST BRANCH, literally, "like the forsaken places in the forests and mountain summits," ruined strongholds in remote parts of the country, WHICH THEY LEFT BECAUSE OF THE CHILDREN O... [ Continue Reading ]
A Woe upon Israel's Enemies... [ Continue Reading ]
Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, the only one who can bring true redemption, AND HAST NOT BEEN MINDFUL OF THE ROCK OF THY STRENGTH, Jehovah being the one true Rock of Ages, Deuteronomy 32:15, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants and shalt set it with strange slips.... [ Continue Reading ]
In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish; but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow. It was because the northern kingdom, on the whole, had left the true God that its people had, literally, "planted planti... [ Continue Reading ]
Woe to the multitude of many people, with the turmoil and tumult of their advance, WHICH MAKE A NOISE LIKE THE NOISE OF THE SEAS; AND TO THE RUSHING OF NATIONS, THAT MAKE A RUSHING LIKE THE RUSHING OF MIGHTY WATERS! The enemies of Israel, who are also types of the enemies of the Church, are pictured... [ Continue Reading ]
The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters, in an apparently irresistible tidal wave; BUT GOD SHALL REBUKE THEM, AND THEY SHALL FLEE FAR OFF, rather, it, the threatening tide of hostility, AND SHALL BE CHASED AS THE CHAFF OF THE MOUNTAINS BEFORE THE WIND, the picture being taken from the... [ Continue Reading ]
And behold at evening-tide trouble, horror falling upon the approaching enemies; AND BEFORE THE MORNING HE IS NOT, before ever the day dawns, they are destroyed. THIS IS THE PORTION OF THEM THAT SPOIL US, AND THE LOT OF THEM THAT ROB US. Thus the Lord will finally carry out His sentence of punishmen... [ Continue Reading ]