Ezekiel part 3—Israel’s Scattering & Gathering, and prophecies about Neighboring Nations

https://www.alittleperspective.com/ezekiel-scripture-pictures/

     The ancient prophecies/histories of the nations of the Middle East provide background to the conflicts there today.  The same adversarial relationships describe Israel's neighbors and herself.  

Ezek 12—Ezekiel is instructed about making God’s words relevant, and no more to be postponed
1 The word of the Lord also came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house. [Compare Deut 29:4, Isa 6:10, Isa 29:10, Mark 8:14-21, Luke 8:10, Rom 11:8, Eph 4:18, 2 Thes 2:10-12]
     The Lord instructs Ezekiel to communicate with the people using a sort of combination of object/symbolic/demonstration lessons . . . lessons that would SIT well, that is, they were Surprising, Interesting, and Troubling.  
1.	 Ezekiel is to pack up during the day and move, in plain sight of all, with the hope the Israelites will take notice and consider
2.	Next he is to remove his stuff in the people’s sight, as a person taken into captivity
3.	He is to dig a hole in the wall and carry his stuff out through it
4.	Further, he is to carry his stuff on his shoulders in the twilight, with his face covered, so he can’t see the ground; all this as a sign/symbol/representation to the Israelites
     The next morning the Lord asks Ezekiel if the people didn’t ask him what he was up to.  He is to explain that all this was essentially a visual parable of what is to happen to the prince/ruler, the people of Jerusalem, and the Israelites among them.  They will be removed and brought into captivity.  Their prince will bear his stuff on his shoulder and leave at twilight (an ignominious flight).  They’ll dig through the wall for their escape, and the prince’s face will be covered so he can’t even see the ground before him.  He will be taken as in a net or with snares/traps and brought to Babylon, but he’ll never see it, even though he’ll die there (Zedekiah fled when Jerusalem fell, but his pursuers caught up with him: he was blinded after they killed his sons before his eyes, and then taken captive to Babylon).  
     Continuing, the Lord says He will scatter all the king’s helpers to the winds, and his armies will be chased & killed by the sword.  The people will acknowledge the Lord, and that He was behind all that happened to them, when they are scattered/dispersed among other nations.  God will spare a few Israelite survivors of the wars, famine, and pestilence/disease, to testify of their abominations when they are carried away among the heathen.  They will acknowledge their God.  
     Ezekiel is to eat and drink with quaking and trembling, and fear.  It’s a representation of how the residents of Jerusalem and the land of Israel will do as their nation is destroyed because of their violent lifestyles.  
     The Lord asks, What’s this saying so prevalent in the land of Israel that Life goes on as usual, and all the dire prophecies fail to come about?  He says to Ezekiel, Tell them “I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel . . .” the days are quickly coming when the prophecies will be fulfilled.  There won’t be any more foolish “visions” and flattering false prophecies among the House of Israel.  
     “For I am the Lord: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged [delayed]: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord God.”
     While people are saying Ezekiel’s prophecies are a long way off in coming, the Lord says, None of My words are to be postponed any longer.  All I [God] have said will be done.

(Ezek 17 is covered in part 2, the riddle or parable of the eagles & the cedars; it touches on king Zedekiah’s  hopes for an Egyptian alliance which will cause his downfall before the Babylonian king.)

Ezek 19—a parable of lions, and a parable of a vine:  the strong taken captive; no rulers left
     A “lamentation for the princes of Israel” . . .
     What is your mother?  A lioness with cubs.  One cub grew to a strong young lion, catching prey and devouring people.  But the nations heard of him, caught him in a pit. and he was taken in chains to Egypt.
     The lioness lost hope in that cub, and took another of her cubs to grow into a strong young lion.  He learned to hunt prey, and devoured people.  He laid waste to the cities, the palaces, and the land.  The land was full of his roaring.  
     But then the nations all surrounded him on every side, and took him in a net and put him in a pit in chains.  They brought him to the king of Babylon to be imprisoned.  His voice would no more be heard in the mountains/hills of the land of Israel.
      A second parable:  thy mother is like a fruitful vine full of branches, planted by the waters.  This vine had strong branches that bore rule.  She was exalted in her multitude of lofty branches.  But then she was plucked up in fury.  She was thrown down, and the east wind dried up her fruit.  Her strong branches were broken and withered.  They were consumed in fire.  “ And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground.”  The fire of one of her branches has destroyed all her fruit.  She is left without a strong branch to bear rule.  This is the lamentation.
    The first parable (of the lions) would appear to refer to the rule/leadership of Joseph who was taken into Egypt as a slave, yet he (and probably his line) essentially ruled the Children of Israel there.  But the leadership/rule of the Children of Israel eventually passed to the tribe of Judah, King David’s line.  Under the rule of Judah Israel prospered.  But Israel’s jealous neighbors conspired to destroy him, and he was carried away to Babylon.  Similarly, in the 2nd parable:  Israel prospered like a well-watered (grape) vine by a stream or body of water.  But she was pulled up, her branches broken and burned.  She is left without an heir to her throne.  (Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, saw his heirs killed before his eyes; other Jewish royalty had been imprisoned in Egypt and Babylon.)

Ezek 20—the Lord likens His future rescue of His people to what He did in the Exodus from Egypt
     In the 7th year (presumably of captivity, that is, of Zedekiah’s reign—while Ezekiel and the first captives were already in Babylon), the elders of Israel come to the prophet Ezekiel to inquire of the Lord.  But the Lord replies, “Are ye come to inquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.”  He then lists their history . . .
     The language of this chapter is so beautiful and powerful, the following is a just poor summary:
     The Lord made Himself known to Jacob/Israel’s posterity in Egypt, and brought them out of slavery.  He told them to throw away the idols of Egypt, and gave them the Law of Moses (a law of Justice and Mercy) to live by, including Sabbaths as a sign of the covenant between them and God.  But they rebelled against Him in the wilderness, continuing to worship Egypt’s gods (“for their heart went after their idols”), despising His laws, and polluted His Sabbaths.  Nevertheless, the Lord yet cared for them (that His name would not be profaned by the heathen nations, who knew He had rescued Israel from Egypt) and brought them into a land the Lord had chosen for them, a land “flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands”.  See
https://www.gotquestions.org/Israel-milk-honey.html
https://www.penn.museum/sites/canaan/Climate%26Fauna.html
     The Lord admonished Israel not to follow the idolatry of their fathers in Egypt, nor follow their old traditional codes of law, but to follow/keep His laws of Justice and to keep His Sabbaths holy.  Still, they rebelled against/despised His laws and polluted His Sabbaths.  He warned them of His anger, yet He held back for the sake of His reputation among the heathen.  He left them to their abominations (including sacrificing their children in fire to idols).
     “Thus saith the Lord God; Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed me . . .”  for when He brought them into the Promised Land (by His hand they were able to settle there), they made every hill and all the large trees places of idolatry/idol worship.  The Lord asks “Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye whoredom after their abominations?”  Aren’t you still going on in those ways?  Why should I [God] listen to/answer your inquiries [pleas for care & protection, good fortune—just as the Greeks would go to their oracles]?
     And yet, the Lord promises after all that He will bring/gather His people out of captivity among the nations, as He did when He rescued them from Egypt.  In the “wilderness of the people” He will plead with His people face to face to put away all their wicked ways and serve Him.  In this wilderness/captivity He will purge the rebels and sinners from among them.  “For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord God, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things.”  [Note the great work that Ezra and Nehemiah did among the people to bring them back to God, when He had brought them back {through Cyrus) to their land, Israel].
     Then will the Lord accept their sacrifices, and they will honor Him with holiness of thought and behavior before the heathen.   Israel will acknowledge and loathe themselves for the evils they [their fathers] committed.    They will know the Lord is their God, and has dealt with them in mercy, despite what they as a people deserved.  
     Ezekiel is to prophesy against the forests south of him (as he was in Mesopotamia, Israel would be south of him), that the Lord would start a fire in those forests to devour all the trees, living or dead,  Thus all people will know that the Lord was behind the destruction.  
     Ezekiel answers, Lord, they say I’m speaking in parables.  [Implying either that he is not being direct and clear, or that his stories are like folktales.]

Ezek 36—the gathering of Israel (see also Ezek 28:24-26)
     Because Israel’s neighbors considered the conquest of Israel their chance to encroach on Israel’s territory, the Lord says He will bring them to shame.  Note that after the Assyrian conquest, Israel & Judah were once again one kingdom (as they had been in the days of King David), ruled by David’s lineage.  

6 Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen . . .
8 But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come . . .
     The Lord promises to prosper Israel.  The cities will be repopulated.  What had become wasteland will be rebuilt.  “And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.”  
     Before, the House of Israel defiled their own land with their iniquities and idolatries (like an unclean, separated woman), so the Lord poured out His fury on them.  He scattered them among the heathen.  But then the Lord had pity on them, not for their own sakes (because they profaned/disrespected God’s name among the heathen), but for His own name’s sake.  He will make His name holy/reverenced again.  He promises to gather them out of all the nations where they are scattered and bring them back to their own land.  He will cleanse them from their filthiness and idolatries (He speaks of clean water, as if in washing away their sins, like in baptism).

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes [what is legal and what is not] and ye shall keep my judgments [establishing innocence or guilt, and sentencing Laws], and do them.
28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

Ezek 25—vs Ammonites, Moab, Seir/Edom, Philistines
4 Behold, therefore I will deliver thee [Ammonites] to the men of the east for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk.
5 And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couchingplace for flocks: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
6 For thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel . . .
11 And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the Lord.
12 ¶ Thus saith the Lord God; Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them . . .
14 . . . I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord God.
15 ¶ Thus saith the Lord God; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it [the land of Israel] for the old hatred . . . [remember the stories of Samson & Delila, David & Goliath, etc]
17 And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.
https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-near-eastern-world/ammonites-moabites-edomites-in-the-bible/ Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites
https://www.gotquestions.org/mount-Seir.html Mt Seir belonged to Edom
https://bibleatlas.org/mount_seir.htm map, scriptures, & Encyclopedia entries for Mt Seir/Bozrah

Ezek 35—prophecies vs Mt Seir (Edom) & Idumea
2 Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it,
3 And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate.
4 I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.
5 Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end . . . 
     The Lord chastises Edom for gleefully anticipating taking advantage of Israel’s troubles, thinking to take over the land of Israel.  Edom will be destroyed and will know that God is the Lord.  In the last verse of the chapter Idumea is included in the desolation.  Likewise, Idumea is only hardly mentioned in Ezekiel 36 (verse 5) “Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey.”  Idumea, like Edom, joyfully considers the conquest of Israel as a chance to take over the land.
https://www.biblestudy.org/meaning-names/idumea.html valuable info about Idumea & its history

Ezek 26-27—prophecies vs Tyre
     In the 11th year (of the Jewish king Zedekiah, and the captivity of the first group carried/taken to Babylon) the Lord speaks to Ezekiel against Tyre.  Tyre had a long history with Israel.  The king of Tyre was friends with Kings David & Solomon of Judah.  But by the time of the Babylonian conquest Tyre had an adversarial relationship to the land & people of Israel.  
https://www.worldhistory.org/Tyre/ background info & history of Tyre, a wealthy Phoenician city

2 Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste:
3 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up.
4 And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock.
5 It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God: and it shall become a spoil to the nations.
6 And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the Lord.
7 ¶ For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people.
     Chapter 27 is a lament for Tyre . . . speaking of her rich trade among the islands of the Mediterranean, as well of Egypt, Persia, Syria, Judah, and other lands of the Middle East.  “Tyrus, O thou that art situate[d] at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord God; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.  Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty.”  This chapter is abundant with details about the products and trade goods of various ancient lands and peoples of the Middle East.
https://bibleatlas.org/tarshish.htm Tarshish, located in what is now Spain
https://biblehub.com/ezekiel/27-13.htm Javan, Tubal, and Meshech (scroll down for commentary)
https://biblehub.com/topical/t/togarmah.htm Togarmah
https://bibleatlas.org/dedan.htm Dedan, in Arabia/Persian Gulf

Ezek 28—prophecies vs Tyre & Sidon
     Prophesy against & lament for Tyre (Note the mention of Daniel)
2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord God; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
3 Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:
4 With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures:
5 By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches:
6 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God;
7 Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness.
     Tyre is described as a garden like Eden, with all sorts of precious stones:  sardius, topaz, diamond, beryl, onyx, jasper, sapphire, emerald, carbuncle, gold.  Finely crafted musical instruments:  tabrets and pipes (tambourines or small drums, and flutes) that would be played for joyous occasions.  But the prosperity of trade brought violence (no doubt robbery & theft).

     Prophesy vs Zidon/Sidon (sister Phoenician city to Tyre)
22 And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her.
23 For I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her by the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I am the Lord.

Ezek 29-32—prophecies vs Egypt
     In the 10th year (of King Zedekiah in Judah, and the 1st group of Captives in Babylon, where Ezekiel was), the Lord gives a prophesy against Pharaoh and all Egypt:

3 Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.
4 But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales.
5 And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven.
6 And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.
7 When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and rend all their shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and madest all their loins to be at a stand.

     The kingdom of Judah had hoped for help from Egypt against Babylon, and Pharaoh didn’t come through.  “Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and cut off man and beast out of thee.  And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste; and they shall know that I am the Lord: because he hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it.”  The prophesy is that Syene to Ethiopia will be wasted & desolate for 40 years, perhaps other cities as well, but after 40 years the Lord will gather them from where they have been scattered and bring them back to their land, though they will not be so high and mighty.  Pathros is a name for southern Egypt.
https://bibleatlas.org/syene.htm interesting info about Syene, including a Jewish colony there; click on the map to enlarge it.
     In the 27th year the Lord tells Ezekiel that Nebuchadrezzar and his army’s wages for their service against Tyre, He will give them the land of Egypt and its spoil.  All this to convince God’s people that He is Lord [when these prophecies come to pass].
     Not only Egypt, but her allies to the south (Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, various mixed peoples, and Chub) will fall by the sword of the Babylonians.  Zoan (in the Nile delta) and other cities will be burned and destroyed.  
https://bibleatlas.org/lud.htm an explanagion of Lydia/Lud in Ezek 30:5
https://bibleatlas.org/memphis.htm about Noph (Memphis)
https://bibleatlas.org/dispersion.htm interesting info about the scattering of Israel over the centuries
https://bibleatlas.org/zoan.htm about Zoan (Tanis) in the Nile Delta
https://biblehub.com/ezekiel/30-14.htm No is the city of Thebes
https://biblehub.com/ezekiel/30-15.htm Sin is another city in the Nile Delta
     In the 11th year the Lord says metaphorically that He has broken Pharaoh’s arm(s) and it (they) won’t be bound and healed in order to hold a sword.   God will scatter the Egyptians among the nations.  He will strengthen the king of Babylon and allow him to conquer Egypt.  Even the Egyptians will recognize that God is Lord (Ruler, Master,  the Superior Authority).
     Two months later, in the 11th year, the Lord gives Ezekiel a parable about Assyria for Egypt to take heed:  Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon (famous for exceptional trees).  He was tall and thick with long branches.  He grew in a well-watered place.  The birds of the air made nests among his branches, and raised their young.  In the shade of his branches all the beasts of the field gave birth to their young.  The great nations lived in his shadow.  The firs and the chestnut trees were nothing next to him.  He was so beautiful that all the trees in the Garden of Eden envied him.  But because he was so full of himself, God brought his downfall at the hand of a heathen [the Babylonian Empire], who would drive him out for his wickedness.  “I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.”  All of his allies will fall with him.  (Compare the fall of Babylon:  Rev 14:8, Rev 18, Isa 13:19, Isa 14, Isa 21:9, Isa 47:5)  Egypt/Pharaoh’s egotism is like Assyria’s before his fall.
     Near the end of the 12th year Ezekiel is to take up a lament/mourning for Pharaoh:  You are like a young lion among the nations, a whale in the sea.  You walked through their rivers and befouled them.  But God will spread His net over you by the hands of many people.  You’ll be brought up onto the land, tossed out in an open field where you will be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.  Your flesh will lay on the mountains, your blood will fill the valleys.  Your blood will water the land where you used to swim, and the land and rivers will be full of you.  God will blanket the heavens to darken the stars and moon, and cover the sun with a cloud [likely a description of the smoke of burning cities when Babylon conquers Egypt].  “Yea, I will make many people amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall . . .”   
     A couple weeks later the Lord again tells Ezekiel to make a wailing for Egypt.  Egypt will join other nations in hell, who were or would be conquered/destroyed by Babylon’s armies:  Asshur (Assyria), Elam (Persia), Meshech, Tubal, Edom, and Zidon/Sidon (sister Phoenician city of Tyre).
https://biblehub.com/ezekiel/32-26.htm regarding Meshech & Tubal, click back & forward for the other nations listed.

Isaiah–part 2, chapters 11-35

Though this lovely image is the popular remembrance of Isaiah’s prophecy of a Messianic Age, it’s not quite accurate to the text. Still, I think it portrays well enough the message of peace prophesied to come. https://static.wixstatic.com/media/515f93_24c3a265927b4a91b8b2f1397540dcb3~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_720%2Ch_357%2Cal_c%2Cq_80/file.jpg

Isa 11—a Savior descendant of Jesse (King David’s father) & a Messianic age
     A branch will shoot forth from the trunk of Jesse (the idea is restated as a poetic device). 
2 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;
3 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:
4 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.

     A Messianic age of peace will be ushered in.  (Poetic parallelisms paint an ideal of peace).
Wolf dwells with lamb
Leopard lies down with kid (goat)
Fatted calf & young lion
A child will lead them
Cow & bear feed together, lion will eat grains like an ox (note zoo & pet foods are plant based)
A nursing infant will play on the hole of the asp
A toddler will put his hand on the home of a cockatrice (fabled serpent)
And yet none of these will be hurt in God’s country, for the whole earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord, like the oceans cover most of the earth.

     The Messiah will stand like a banner, and the people of the world will seek him, and in him find glorious rest (respite from violence).  In that era the Lord will recover the remnant of his people from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros (upper Egypt), Cush (south of Egypt), Elam (Iran), Shinar (Babylon/Southern Mesopotamia), Hamath (a Syrian city), and the islands of the [Mediterranean=in the midst of the lands] sea . . . from every corner of the earth (note the description of the earth as having 4 corners is meant as a language device, not a literal belief about the shape of the earth—the ancients were just as capable as we, perhaps even moreso, of metaphoric thinking. We still reference the cardinal directions of earth as north, south, east, and west:  4).  The adversarial relationship between the kingdoms led by the tribes of Ephraim & Judah will be allayed, and they will work together against their enemies.  It appears that Egypt will be wiped out and the Nile delta will be dried up.  The Children of Israel will make a highway from Assyria back to their land, as they made when they arrived from Egypt in the Exodus.

Isa 12—Israel will praise God for saving the nation from annihilation
1 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.
2 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.
3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
4 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.
5 Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.
6 Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

Isa 13-14—a prophetic burden, bad news for Babylon
     With what powerful poetic language the Lord through Isaiah paints a picture!  The Lord calls His holy & mighty ones against Babylon with a banner & a voice from a far country, and they are as a multitude upon the mountains.  All will be faint with fear, the sky will be darkened (probably from the smoke of burning cities).  So many men will be killed those left will be a precious “commodity”.    Everyone will flee to their own lands (no doubt people from many lands served in the seat of Babylon as soldiers, courtiers, and bureaucrats).  Men, women, and children will die horrible deaths.  Babylon will be overthrown as completely as Sodom & Gomorrah, and left uninhabited from one generation to the next, except for wild beasts and nomads who will camp there.  
About the Medes:
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/medes-and-media 
A message for us as well as them:
“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.”

“For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to [embrace]  the house of Jacob.”

In the year King Ahaz of Judah died came this prophecy:
     The allies of the Jews will bring them back to their land, and the captors of the Jews will become their captives, “and they shall rule over their oppressors.  And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve”.
     A proverb vs Babylon:  How hath the oppressor ceased (been stopped)!  The wealthy city is gone!  The Lord has broken the rule of the oppressor who thrashed/clobbered and ruled the nations in anger (harshness).  Now the whole earth is at peace and quiet, and sings in relief.  Isaiah uses the metaphor of trees glad that the clearer of forests is gone and none is come to replace him.  He uses the picture of Hell being disturbed, making way for Babylon among all the kings there.  They taunt him that he is no better than they:  you thought you were so great, like a god.  Is this the guy who made other nations tremble with fear, destroyed them and made them all like wilderness? They ask in derision.  Other kings have been buried honorably, but you will be disrespected, your heirs killed.  
     Verse 25 suddenly inserts Assyria instead of Babylon.  This could be a parallelism, likening the two to each other, or a combining of the two as nations of Mesopotamia, or a different “chapter”.  The siege of the Assyrian army is the one that departed from Jerusalem, and Assyrian warfare was even more brutal than that of Babylon.  Note in verse 24 that what the Lord intends or proposes to do He will accomplish.
     But the Lord warns the nations of Palestine not to get too cocky, because evil/bad news is yet to come:  famine and the sword (warfare).  The poor will have food and safety because they are the only ones left after the people considered more important (the wealthy & skilled) are taken captive, only the poor are left.  The smoke coming from the north refers to the aggression of conquerors from the north (who would, no doubt, burn city after city, causing smoke).  When the corrupt leaders of the Jews (or any nation) are gone, the poor of God’s people will be able to trust in the Zion that the Lord has founded.

12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north [the most honored seating]:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High [God].
More info about these verses at https://biblehub.com/isaiah/14-12.htm 

Isa 15 & 16—dire prophecies about Moab
Isa 17—fateful prophecy for Damascus (Syria), & a few comments toward the posterity of Jacob/Israel
Isa 18—prophecy of woe for a land beyond Ethiopia, as well as Jerusalem
Isa 19 & 20—prophecy of bad news for Egypt, followed by conversion to the Lord
Isa 21—Elam & Media vs Babylon, which will fall (a prophet is described as a watchman)
Isa 22—Isaiah mourns for Jerusalem (famous quote:  let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die)
	And a particular prophecy of the fall of one man (the treasurer) and the rise of his successor
Isa 23—vs Tyre & Zidon (they may flee to Tarshish/Spain or Chittim/perhaps Cyprus).  Tyre & Sidon were Phoenician cities on the Mediterranean coast, wealthy from shipping and trade, establishing trading colonies all around the Mediterranean.  For more info, see https://phoenician.org/phoenician_history/  click links
Isa 24—it seems to Isaiah that the Lord has laid waste to the whole earth (prophetic tense, as if the future has already happened), “The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.”  “The pit” would be a place for prisoners.

Isa 25—Isaiah praises God so beautifully (read the chapter!), foretells good for Jerusalem
6 ¶ And in this mountain [Zion] shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.
7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations . . .
8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.
9 ¶ And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

Isa 26—A song to be sung in the future:  God brings Justice for the poor & the upright  
     Trust in the Lord, Isaiah pleads.  He will bring down the proud and the oppressors.  (Comp. Mary's faith in and praise for God in Luke 1:50-55)  The poor & needy will walk over the high & mighty.  “Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.”  Even when the wicked are shone favors, they still continue in their ways, and don’t learn any better.  Isaiah continues the theme of a woman in childbirth, the pain that must be endured before the joy.

Isa 27—The Lord will save Israel from her enemies, and one day Israel will worship the Lord again
     The Lord will punish the sea serpent Leviathan.  See https://biblehub.com/isaiah/27-1.htm
     The Lord will care for & tend Israel like a cherished vineyard.  The briars & thorny brush are nothing to the Lord, who will burn them.
      Has the Lord been as hard on Israel as upon her enemies? (A rhetorical question).  The bad part of the Lord’s “vineyard” will be purged by the rough metaphorical (prob hot, dry) windstorms from the east.  By that foreign invasion will the altars, groves, and idolatrous images be destroyed.  The cities will be destroyed such that cattle will feed in them.  The Lord will not show mercy on those ignorant/foolish worshippers of idols.  The Lord will yet call the Children of Israel from Assyria and from Egypt, and they will worship the Lord on the Temple mount in Jerusalem.

Isa 28—woe to Ephraim, and the drunken partiers of both the northern & southern kingdoms
   Quotable verse:  “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little . . . But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little;” in the context of the people refusing to believe what is in store for them:  “Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge [invading armies] shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves”.  The Lord through Isaiah makes a promise:  “Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste [be on the run].”    Isaiah uses the metaphors of building, a small bed, and farming for God’s Judgment/Justice and Wisdom.

Isa 29—woe to Ariel, the city of David (Jerusalem)
     Quotable verse:  “And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust” foretelling the destruction of God’s people, and all that’s left is their voice from the grave  (the books left behind).  
     Interesting for readers of the Book of Mormon is the prophecy “Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire” which was written about the destructions in America at the time of Christ’s death.  And the verses following about a sealed book that the educated could not read, and the uneducated felt inadequate to read.  The verses about the hypocrisy of the religious and a marvelous work to come forth is oft quoted regarding the foundation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as those about the conspirators who work in the shadows to try to destroy God’s work.  One day the spiritually deaf and blind will be enlightened, the poor & meek will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel .
     Those who fight against God’s people will one day be like a dream that passes away, yet leaves one hungering.  “It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.”  The ferocious will become nothing, those who scorn God will be destroyed, those that watch for opportunities to aggrandize themselves at the expense of others will be cut down.  Those who try to entrap warning voices by twisting their words against them, as well as corrupting Justice for something worthless is so reminiscent of Jesus’ experience, as well as the prophets before Him, and pretty well the warning voices of any age.  But the time will come when the God who saved Abraham will take away the shame and fear that has been thrust upon the posterity of Jacob/Israel.  Those who recognize God’s hand in it will hold Him in holy awe.  “They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.”
     
Isa 30-31—woe to those who rely on Egypt as an ally, without consulting the Lord
     Woe to those who think they can get away with their sins by allying themselves with Egypt (vs the Assyrians & later the Babylonians), rather than repenting.  Egypt sees no profit in helping them out, and will be ashamed of attempts to do so.  
     Isaiah’s prophecies are to be written in books so that those from the future can witness the truth of his words and warnings.  The children of Israel are like rebellious, lying children.  “Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: [get out of the way and stop talking about God].”  Because you despise God’s word, and trust in oppressing others and depend on your own perversity, you’ll be destroyed like a besieged city whose walls are breached, or a pot burst in the fire and broken into such small pieces that it is useless.  You could be saved by returning to God, but you refuse.  You figure you can get out of town quick, and so you will have to, and all that will be left of you will be your empty ineffective call to arms (metaphorically a flag or beacon).
     But the Lord will wait patiently and will have mercy “for the Lord is a God of [righteous] judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.”  Those who dwell in Jerusalem will weep no more.  When you cry to Him, He will hear and answer.  Though now your lives are filled with adversity and affliction, at long last those that teach righteousness and the way to walk therein will no more be relegated to a corner.  You will cast off idolatries like a menstruous cloth (In the days before women’s products, they had to more or less diaper themselves.  These cloths would be extremely detested.)   And then the Lord will send rain for your crops, and bless your grounds.  Your animals used in agriculture will be well fed.  Your mountains and hills will be well watered with rivers and streams (when once the conquerors are done).  The lights in the sky will seem brighter when the Lord heals the breaches in your walls and the wounds you carry.  The Lord will take retribution on Assyria, and you will again sing and pipe with the gladness of a holy feast.
     The Egyptians are mere mortals, and their horses (military might) are as well.  The Lord is all powerful.  He is like a lion against shepherds, fearless in fighting for Jerusalem.  He is as invulnerable to capture as birds that fly away, and He will deliver Jerusalem from captivity.  Turn back to God, from whom you have revolted, and when you throw away your idols He will cause the downfall of Assyria.

Isa 32—A Righteous King to come and warnings of destruction to careless women before then
1 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.
2 And a man [the Messiah] shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest [troubles]; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
3 And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.
4 The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.
5 The vile person shall be no more called liberal [generous], nor the churl said to be bountiful [generous].
6 For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
7 The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right . . .
15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.
16 Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.
18 And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places . . .”

Isa 33—A prophecy of faith and hope, despite difficulties
     Prophecies of good alternate with prophecies of war in this chapter.  I’ll collect the bad & the good separate.
     Woe to those who treat others cruelly when they have not been treated that way.  As silkworms (caterpillars) are gathered, the best of the booty will be plucked & carried off.  The plundering will be like locusts attacking, mowing down the crops.  The toughest & bravest soldiers will cry out in fear/pain, the ambassadors seeking peace will weep bitterly for the impossibility of success.  The highways will be empty, with no travel for trade or pleasure.  The covenant between God and Israel is broken, and He despises their cities and pays no attention to their calls for help.  
     Lebanon, known for its timber, will be ashamed of its baldness.  Sharon, known for fruitfulness will be like a wilderness.  Bashan & Carmel, hill country known for their vineyards (I think) will be left without their vines.  Like chaff and the stubble left after harvest, like lime in the making of cement, and thorny brush, the wicked will be burned.  Listen, far and wide, to what the Lord has done, and acknowledge his power.  Sinners are suddenly afraid, and hypocrites surprised:  who will survive the burning? . . .
     The wicked will be terrified.  His accountants (scribes) & receivers of goods, and storage towers are gone.
     “O Lord, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble . . .  And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the Lord is his treasure.”  Once the old is destroyed, people will once again look up to the Lord.  
     Who will survive the metaphoric (and real wartime) burning of the wicked?  Only those who walk and speak (conduct their lives) uprightly:  those who despise oppressing others for gain, that wave away bribes, that refuse to listen to plans for prospering through killing, and close their eyes to the temptations of ill-gotten gains (reminds one of mafia tactics).  Those are the ones who will find protection and defense from God (rocks would be used as ammunition, bread and water essential staples in wartime and siege).  These are the ones who will see that future king coming in beauty, and the peaceful land over which he reigns.  They won’t see those fierce, conquering warriors of foreign speech they can’t understand.  
     Look at Zion/Jerusalem, and see a peaceful place to live and worship, that will not be destroyed by war.  The Lord will make His people like a place with broad rivers and streams, where no war ships (which were powered by oars in those days) come.  The tackling of the metaphorical or real war ships is made ineffectual, and they don’t capture their prey.  “For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.”  Though His people seem lame, they will win the war.  They will no longer feel sick (weak, despondent), the inhabitants of God’s country will be forgiven their iniquities.

Isa 34—The Lord’s warning to all nations
     Bozrah is the name of an Edomite city, as well as a city of Moab (descendants of Lot).  Idumea was also an area controlled by Edom (descendants of Esau).  See https://bibleatlas.org/idumea.htm 
     For info about unicorns mentioned in the Bible, see https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-unicorn.html  Cormorants are various species of aquatic birds.  All these refer to the lands of Israel’s enemies becoming wilderness (similar to a wildlife reserve in our day).  While satyrs in Roman mythology were half man half goat, Isaiah was probably referring to a rough haired wild goat.  See https://www.biblestudytools.com/encyclopedias/isbe/satyr.html 
     Although these verses refer specifically to Edom, they may be considered a cautionary tale to all who fight against Zion, the Lord’s people.

Isa 35—Good things are promised to God’s country & people
     The desert will blossom as a rose.  (Regarding Lebanon, Carmel, & Sharon, see Isa 33 above).
     Weak hands and feeble knees will be strengthened (metaphorically, physically)
     The fearful of heart can be strong, unfearing.  Know that God will save you.
     The eyes of the blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf unstopped (those who couldn’t see or hear God’s Truth will come to understand).
     The lame will leap like a deer, those unable to speak will sing.
     The wilderness, the desert will be well-watered.
     An holy highway will be built, and those who travel it, even if fools, will not err.
     No predators will haunt that holy highway, the redeemed of Israel will walk it safely.
     “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”