The Hebrew word that we have translated here in verse 1 as earth or world - a very common use of it is to mean the land, meaning the land of promise. In this chapter, everything centres upon the destruction coming to unfaithful Judah and Jerusalem. We see here the devastation that God is about to bring upon them through

What is described in this chapter is a destruction brought about by the Babylonians. Now, in Isaiah's own time, the Assyrians tried to attack Tyre. They made some progress, but ultimately had to break things off, just as they did at Jerusalem. But in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonians were able to attack and prevail over Tyre. It was,

Tyre and Sidon were two prominent cities of the people called the Phoenicians. These folks were the last of the Canaanites. They also were the great trading nation of their day. They went as far as Spain and Britain. Tyre was very rich. They were renowned for commerce and merchants. They had a commercial alliance with the Egyptians, as we

When we look at the power and the might of these different nations whom God has said He would destroy - to many people this would seem to be unbelievable. The first part of chapter 22 speaks of something happening 150 years in the future. It would be tempting not to trust that God would do such a thing. Well,

We see in this terrible siege that the invading army was strong, very strong. In verses 6-7, Elam bore the quiver, and Kir uncovered the shield. These are Persians in the employ of the Babylonians.We go on to read in verses 8-11 about one of the problems at the Valley of Vision. When the people saw that war was coming

What is the valley of vision? This is speaking of the land of Judah and particularly of Jerusalem. The picture we have here is people rushing out of their houses, going up the stairway, up to the roof to look. It's not mere curiosity, either. It's distress. It's upset. This had been a city that was full of noise, all

We look at two peoples today, two nations. The first is called Dumah. But from these other names here, particularly Seir, we see that this is the land of Edom. The people of Edom came from Jacob's older brother, Esau.The watchman, at least in other places in Scripture, is a minister or elder in the church of Jesus Christ. The

God sets a watchman. Now this watchman is not on Babylon's walls. He is put in this place by God. He is one commissioned by God, watching and reporting back to God and to all those who were hearing and who would later be reading the Word of God, such as us. He is one specially commissioned to do this

Why do we have all these prophecies about and upon all these heathen lands? Didn't God only pay attention to His people? No. For even in Old Testament times, all nations were to submit to Him. Those who did not were not ignored. They were judged.The wilderness of the sea or the desert of the sea - who in the

What comes about because of this change in Egypt that we spoke of yesterday? Well, we could sum it up by saying peace in verses 23 through 25. This reflects what Paul later wrote in Romans 5:1 where he said that since we are justified by grace, we have peace with God. These societies that had been wicked, who had