Isaiah 21:11-17

b. EDOM AND ARABIA

TEXT: Isaiah 21:11-17

11

The burden of Dumah. One calleth unto me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?

12

The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye: turn ye, come.

13

The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye caravans of Dedanites.

14

Unto him that was thirsty they brought water; the inhabitants of the land of Tema did meet the fugitives with their bread.

15

For they fled away from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war.

16

For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of a hireling, all the glory of Kedar shall fail;

17

and the residue of the number of the archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be few; for Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath spoken it.

QUERIES

a.

Why is someone asking the Watchman of the night?

b.

What is the caravan of the Dedanites?

c.

What are the years of a hireling?

PARAPHRASE

The message of God for the land of deathly silence, Edom. Someone from among you keeps calling, calling to me, Prophet-watchman. What part of the night is it? Prophet-watchman, What part of the night is it? Will the morning of relief never come? The Prophet-watchman replies, Yes, there will be a morning of relief to those who take refuge in the Lord, but the night of death and destruction also comes to those who do not see Him. If you wish to know the meaning of God's message to you, His command to you is turn from your rebellion and come to Him.
The message of God for the land of Arabia. Your land will be occupied by your enemies and be so dangerous that caravans from Dedan will have to hide for their lives. Travelers will have to be secretly given food and water by the people of Tema. The people of the land of Arabia will be fugitives in their own land from the swords and bows of war. An exact time has been fixed for the destruction of Arabialike employers fix a definite time of hiring laborers. One year and the fame of Kedar shall disappear, and her once mighty fighting men will be reduced to only a handful of nomadic tribesmen. This will surely come to pass because Jehovah, the God of Israel, has said it.

COMMENTS

Isaiah 21:11-12 DEATH: Dumah is probably the Hebrew word A-dom (Edomred) which the prophet has used as a pun by removing the a sound from the beginning of the word and placing it at the enddutn-A. Dumah means stillness like the silence of death. Edom is the subject of some of the severest judgments of the Old Testament, (Cf. Isaiah 34:5 ff; Jeremiah 49:7 ff; Amos 1:11-12; Obadiah 1:1-21, for examples). Edom is the only neighbor of the Israelites who was not given any promise of mercy from God. She was a nation descended from Esau, brother of Jacob, and thus the Edomites were brothers of the Jews. Esau was a profane person who irreverently sold his birthright for pottage. But Edom was haughty, insolent, irreverent, insensitive and implacable. She not only applauded every tribulation that came upon the Jews, she exploited their misfortunes to her own gain. (see our comments on Obadiah in Mino rProphets, College Press). God pronounced Edom's obliteration. They disappeared as a nation in about 70 A.D. So silence of death fell upon the region of Mt. Seir, Edom's ancient stronghold.

Watchman, what part of the night is it? would be a more literal translation of that phrase. The idea is like that of an ill person suffering through a long night of affliction, repeatedly asking, How long until morning? The question is, Will the night of judgment you pronounce upon us ever break with the dawning of a morning of relief? The watchman (Isaiah) answers, Yes, morning will comerelief comes, but so does the night. In other words, relief comes to those who turn and seek the Lord, but night continues to come to those who do not, That this is the answer is apparent from the phrase, if ye will inquire. That is, If you are really inquiring, Edom, then make your inquiry in the form of a penitent turning unto the Lord, and the morning will come to you. If you do not, then the night comes.

Isaiah 21:13-17 DESTRUCTION: The Arabians were descendants of Ishmael, half brother of Isaac. Esau married Ishmael's daughter so the Edomites and Arabians were related. Kedar was one of the 12 sons of Ishmael. Arabia was therefore closely related to the Jews. Ishmael began mocking the Jews when he was 16 (Genesis 21:9). Their hatred for the Jews was, like Edom'S, born of envy, and nurtured over many centuries. Jeremiah tells us something of their desert, nomadic existence (Jeremiah 49:28-33). Their territory was (Kedar) in the northern part of the Arabian desert. The prophet Isaiah describes their coming judgment. Their land will be so thoroughly overrun and occupied by enemy troops that caravans will be unable to travel in safety. They will have to hide in the forests. They will be fugitives in their own country. They will be fed and given water secretly. They will be outlaws in their own land. They will be out numbered and out-gunned. Those mighty archers and horsemen of Arabia, those fierce fighting nomads of the steppes will have to flee from the superior forces of an enemy occupying their lands. Their number will be reduced to few. It is not difficult to see the fulfillment of this. There has long been a darkness over this land with the false religion of Islam. They have been a weak, nomadic, disunited people warring against one another for centuries. This has been due to their irreverence for the deity and exclusiveness of God's True Prophet, Jesus Christ. Morning can never come to these two brothers of Israel until they turn to God's Messiah. The Edomites had the audacity to put forth Herod, the Idumean as king of the Jews. The Herod family, in its insolence toward Jehovah, contributed to the crucifixion of Christ. The Arabians had the audacity to declare that Mohammed was a Prophet equal to Jesus. Whoever does not kiss the son will die (Psalms 2:11). The insolence and irreverence of these two peoples is the cause of their judgment. Haughtiness toward God's covenant people is haughtiness toward God Himself, God's faithful servants are the apple of His eye. Love God, love His children. Those today who haughtily despise the church of Christ will reap God's judgment.

QUIZ

1.

What does Dumah mean?

2.

What is the watchman's answer about the night?

3.

What relationship did Edom and Arabia have to the Jews?

4.

What is the main cause of their judgment?

5.

How have these prophecies been fulfilled?