Lamentations, Habakkuk, Obadiah

Jeremiah lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem, by Rembrandt 1630. Public domain.

2 Kings 23:39-25:30 History recap/outline

--On the death of king Josiah, his 23 yr old son Jehoahaz is made king
	After 3 mos Pharaoh-nechoh took him captive to Egypt, made Jerusalem tributary
--Pharaoh makes 25 yr old Jehoiakim, brother of Jehoahaz king in Jerusalem
	11 yr reign;  Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon makes him tributary
   After 3 years he rebels, Chaldees/Syrians/Moabites/Ammonites sent vs Judah
--at the death of Jehoiakim, his 18 yr old son Jehoiachin made king
	(Babylon has taken all Egypt’s holdings from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates)
	Reigned 3 mos, Nebuchadnezzar’s servants  besiege Jerusalem
	8th year of Nebuchadnezzar, Jehoiakim, the elites, the Temple & king’s treasures, & craftsmen: 
  10K carried away to Babylon.
  https://biblehub.com/2_kings/24-12.htm 
--21 yr old Zedekiah (Jehoiachin’s uncle) is made king by Nebuchadnezzar
	11 yr reign; rebels vs Nebuchadnezzar, 9th yr Jerusalem besieged by Babylonians
	11th year no bread/famine, city broken up, Chaldees are surrounding the city
	Zedekiah & soldiers flee, but he is captured, his army scattered
	Zedekiah’s sons killed in front of him, then his eyes are put out; he is taken to Babylon
--The Temple, the king’s house, and all the great houses in Jerusalem are burned, the walls broken
	The rest of the people in Jerusalem, and the fugitives that joined the Babylonians are carried 
   to Babylon.  The poor are left to work the vineyards.  Gedaliah is made governor.
   A conspiracy kills Gedaliah, the people flee in fear to Egypt.
--37th year of captivity, Jehoiachin is released from prison & lives on the king of Babylon’s allowance
	the rest of his life.

2 Chron 36 History recap/outline (there are a few differences to that above)
--the people make 23 yr old Jehoahaz king after Josiah’s death
	Reigned 3 mos, king of Egypt takes him captive to Egypt; makes Jerusalem tributary
--king of Egypt makes Jehoahaz’ 25 yr old brother Jehoiakim king of Judah/Jerusalem
	Reigned 11 yrs; Nebuchadnezzar carries him & the Temple treasures to Babylon
--8 yr old Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, reigns 3 mos; carried captive to Babylon
--Nebuchadnezzar makes 21 yr old Zedekiah (Jehoiachin’s brother) king of Judah/Jerusalem
	Reigned 11 years, wouldn’t humble himself before Jeremiah, speaking for the Lord
	Rebelled vs his oath & vs Nebuchadnezzar

14 ¶ Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.
15 And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place:
16 But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy.

	Temple & king’s treasures, the king & princes taken captive to Babylon
	The Temple & palaces in Jerusalem are burned, the walls broken down
--Those who weren’t killed were taken captive to Babylon & served there until Persia arose
	Jeremiah’s prophecies fulfilled, the land enjoyed sabbaths, for 70 years
--1st year of Cyrus, king of Persia Jeremiah’s prophecies accomplished:
	The Lord inspired Cyrus to proclaim that God had given him the kingdoms of the earth
	And charged him to build God’s house in Jerusalem.  Whoever of the Jews wish to, can go.
	(it is most probable that someone presented Cyrus with God’s word/Jeremiah’s prophecies).

Lamentations, 5 chapters mourning the suffering of Judah & Jerusalem in the Babylonian conquest

Lam 1  The kingdom of Judah, Jerusalem as the capital, is likened to a bereft woman
1 How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary!
2 She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers [allies and idols] she hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies.

4 The ways [streets/roads] of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness. [Priests & virgins would be employed in celebrations/holy days.]
5 Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the Lord hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy.
6 And from the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed: her princes are become like harts [deer] that find no pasture, and they are gone without strength before the pursuer.

   In such a way the Lamentations continue, personifying Judah/Jerusalem as a woman remembering what life was like for her before her desolation, which the Lord allowed to come upon her for her wickedness.  “The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things . . .”, that is, her enemies have grabbed/looted all her treasures.  “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.”

17 Zion spreadeth forth her hands, and there is none to comfort her: the Lord hath commanded concerning Jacob, that his adversaries should be round about him: Jerusalem is as a menstruous woman among them.  [There was just about nothing that was considered as disgusting to the ancients as a menstruous woman or her clothing.]
18 ¶ The Lord is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment: hear, I pray you, all people, and behold my sorrow: my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity.
19 I called for my lovers [allies & idols], but they deceived me: my priests and mine elders gave up the ghost in the city, while they sought their meat to relieve their souls.  [They died in the famine associated with siege warfare.]

     Judah/Jerusalem is put to shame and laments that there is no one to comfort her.  All her enemies laugh at her troubles, and are glad for them.  She retorts that they will be just like her, punished for their sins/transgressions.

Lam 2  The Lord has finally had enough, and brings the curses He promised via Moses in The Law
“How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger, and cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered not his footstool [Jerusalem] in the day of his anger!”
     In grief/mourning the elders have put dust on their heads and dressed in sackcloth.  Their innards are full of grief.  Children cry for hunger in their mothers’ embrace.  Instead of teaching the people to repent and avoid calamity, the prophets pretended to vain and foolish visions, that would cause the people to be banished from their homeland.  
     “The Lord hath done that which he had devised; he hath fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of old: he hath thrown down, and hath not pitied: and he hath caused thine enemy to rejoice over thee, he hath set up the horn  [that calls people to battle] of thine adversaries.”  Each night was divided into “watches” (shifts) for the soldiers—and now they are full of prayers/petitions/pleadings with the Lord for the sake of starving children in the streets.  Starving women become willing to eat their own infants (the unit of measure called a “span” is the widest that a hand can stretch out from tip of thumb to pinky, perhaps about 9”).

Lam 3 Lamenting all the Lord has done in consequence of wickedness, the prophet remembers that God is merciful and compassionate.
21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
22 ¶ It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
24 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
25 The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.

    A man will put his face in the dust (in prayer), with the hope of God’s mercy.  He puts up with physical abuse from those who accuse him, trusting that “the Lord will not cast [him] off for ever . . .”

32 But though he [God] cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.
33 For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.

    Like a good parent, God doesn’t delight in punishing the bad deeds of His children, yet He knows He must hold them  accountable, for their own sakes.
    Jeremiah asks rhetorically of God’s all-powerfulness.  Whatever He says, good or bad, will happen.  And why should a man complain at being punished for his own sins.  In suffering, God’s people ought to do some soul-searching and turn to the Lord, praying for His mercy/pardon/forgiveness.  Jeremiah recalls his experience in prison, and how he called on the Lord for help.  God listened to him then, so he calls on Him again to recompense his enemies.

Lam 4  A lament for the horrors of a besieged city.
    “The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!” Gold lasts, pottery is temporary. Gold is precious, pottery is not.
    Even mother whales give milk to their babies, yet women of God’s people have become as careless of their young as ostriches.  Young children go hungry and thirsty in the besieged city.  Those who used to eat all sorts of delicacies are now desolate.  Those who used to dress so fine sit in poop.  Sinful Sodom didn’t suffer this much, because it was destroyed quickly.  The people of Jerusalem, who used to have every sign of health are now skin and bones.  Those that were killed by the sword were better off than those dying of hunger, and women cook their own children to eat. No one would have believed that Jerusalem would be overrun so by its enemies.
     The prophets and priests (who should be the epitome of Justice) shed the blood of just/good/righteous people.  Thus the Lord caused that the conquering army gave the prophets and priests no special treatment (as they would be used to).   People waited for help from another nation (Egypt) in vain.  The conquerors hunt out and pursue those that flee to the mountains or wilderness, including the king (the Lord’s anointed), whom they thought would still be over them even in captivity.  
     Speaking ironically, Jeremiah invites Edom to be glad at Jerusalem’s destruction, because Edom will drink from the same cup and offer all she has to the conquerors.  There will at last come an end to Zion’s punishment, and it will be Edom’s turn to be punished for her sins.

Lam 5  Jeremiah lists the things his people have suffered, and his belief in God, but ends on a sad note
   Jeremiah tells the things his people have suffered, asking “Remember, O Lord, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach . . .”  Strangers have taken their inheritances, the people are orphaned/fatherless (left without protectors/providers), their mothers widowed.  Instead of gathering wood and bringing water from the well, they have to pay for both.  They no longer have the benefits employees would, rather, they work like slaves.  They’ve paid the Egyptians & Assyrians for help with the money that could have bought them food.  
     The people of Judah suffer for the wickedness of their fathers.  Instead of being governed by people with the right to rule, they are ruled over by servants (of Nebuchadnezzar).  No one is delivering them from their fate.  They’ve suffered terrible famine.  Their women, even young women, were raped.  Princes were hanged by their hands.  The elders/elderly were given no respect.  Young men and children were set to work grinding grains and gathering wood (chores they would have thought beneath them).  The elders no longer sit at the gates of the city (a sign of wealth/leisure and honor/importance), and the young men no longer party or dance to the music.  All joy is ceased and turned to mourning.  Instead of living like kings, they are full of woes, suffering because of their sins.  Their hearts are faint, their eyes dim (vs bright with hope/energy/anticipation . . .)  Their precious Zion is become a wilderness where foxes live.  Jeremiah pleads,

19 Thou, O Lord, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation.
20 Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time?
21 Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.

    But then he laments, “thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth [angry] against us.”
Thus ends this set of Jeremiah's writing. It doesn't mean that it's the last he thought or wrote.


The Book of Habakkuk
     “He spoke often of an imminent Babylonian invasion (Habakkuk 1:6; 2:1; 3:16), an event that occurred on a smaller scale in 605 BC before the total destruction of Judah’s capital city, Jerusalem, in 586 BC. The way Habakkuk described Judah indicates a low time in its history. If the dating is to remain close to the Babylonian invasion, Habakkuk likely prophesied in the first five years of Jehoiakim’s reign (609–598 BC) to a king who led his people into evil.”  https://www.insight.org/resources/bible/the-minor-prophets/habakkuk 
     The book of Habakkuk has only 3 chapters.  He bemoans the wickedness of his time, “Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.”  He speaks of the rise of the Chaldeans (Babylonians).  While their king thinks his god has given him his power, Habakkuk says that God is using him as a form of correction for His people.  He uses fishing metaphors to capture the attention of his hearers/readers.  As far as God’s character/nature, he says, “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?”  In other words, though God is too pure to countenance evil, yet He postpones judgment/punishment (until the time is right).  Habakkuk describes himself as a watchman on the tower.  God tells him to write his vision, and when it is time, it’s truth will be revealed.  The conqueror is greedy to expand his empire, but “Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!”
    Highlights:  “the just shall live by his faith,” and “the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”
     The third chapter is a prayer/psalm, which some have thought indicates he could have been a Temple priest.  (see reference cited above).  In his psalm of praise Habakkuk refers to God’s hand in Israel’s history, especially in the Exodus.  No matter what disasters occur, Habakkuk says, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.  The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.”

The Book of Obadiah
    The book of Obadiah is the shortest in the Old Testament, only 1 chapter.  “The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom . . .”  The time is unreferenced, except that the Edomites thought to profit by the calamities befallen the Jewish nation.  The Lord through Obadiah promises that Zion/the House of Jacob will one day be delivered and re-possess their lands, and the kingdom of Esau/Edom will be destroyed.  The rule of the enemies of the Jews will be overturned.  Holiness will return to the Jewish nation.

Isaiah part 4–Isa 51-66; Messianic chapters

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Melozzo_da_forl%C3%AC,_
angeli_coi_simboli_della_passione_e_profeti,_1477_ca.,_profeta_isaia_00.jpg

Isa 51—Look to your ancestry & history to find the goodness of God
     Listen to me, you that are trying to find God and to be godly.  Look at the examples of your ancestors (and if none of your biological ancestors were good, your spiritual ancestors), Abraham & Sarah (the rock and the quarry from which you are sculpted).  I, the Lord, chose him alone for the promised lineage, and blessed him (and in him, you), and increased him (both in wealth and posterity, even though it looked like he wasn’t going to have any posterity).  So when it looks like your land is barren and waste, be comforted that it will one day be like Eden, and full of joy and gladness, and grateful songs.
     Listen to me (poetic repetition).  I will make a law which will enlighten my people about Justice.  My righteous judgements have already been decided, and I will save you.  Those who wait on Me will trust Me.  The heavens and the earth will vanish like smoke, but My salvation and righteousness are forever. 
     Listen to me (He reiterates), all who understand (and live) righteousness, those who keep Me in their hearts.  Don’t be afraid of the condemnation/fault finding and ridicule of people.  They will be destroyed like moth-eaten clothes.  But My righteousness and salvation will last from one generation to the next.
    Isaiah in poetic form calls on God to use His strong arm once again, as He did in the past.  He refers to the Exodus, the crossing of the sea.  So will God’s people (for whom He has paid the kidnapper’s ransom) return with singing back to Zion/Jerusalem/the Holy City—and there will be no more sorrow and mourning.  
For a discussion of “Rahab” and the dragon, see
https://biblehub.com/isaiah/51-9.htm 
     The Lord responds that He is the one who provides comfort.  Then why be afraid of mere mortals?  Why forget that the Lord is our Maker, and the Creator of the heavens and the earth (see Gen 1-2)--and fear the oppressor every day as if he is ready and able to destroy?  What will happen to the oppressive anger of those that threaten destruction?  An exiled person in captivity hastily goes to work, hoping not to die imprisoned, and that his rations won’t be cut.  But God divided the sea (in Creation and in the Exodus), which shows Him far more powerful than any mere human.  He is called The Lord of Hosts (like millions).   The Lord reassures Isaiah that He has put the words in his mouth.  He is protecting him in the shadow of His hand.  Along with planting the stars in the heavens, and laying the foundations of the earth, He says to Zion/Jerusalem/the Holy City, You are my people.  That is, the God who is powerful enough to create the heavens and earth can certainly take care of His people.
     Wake up, get up, Jerusalem.  Isaiah writes poetically of drunkenness as if Jerusalem is suffering from the debilitating after-effects of overindulging in drink.   They have drunk it to the dregs, the bottom of the cup, and wrung the last drops from the leather wine bags.  The prostrating intoxicant is the Lord’s anger and the fear of it that has overwhelmed the people.  
     No one is left to lead Jerusalem, speaking of the city as a woman/mother, of all the sons she bore.  None of her grown sons are left to help her in her old age/weakened state.   Who will comfort her?  Desolation has come by famine, destruction by the sword/warfare.  Her sons have fainted in battle, and lie at the head of the streets (the center of the city).  They thrash angrily and powerlessly as a bull caught in a net, filled with anger at the Lord and His rebuke.
     So listen, you that are drunk from affliction rather than wine, this is what the Lord says (the one who pleads your cause), Look, I have taken the last of my fury against you (and your fears) out of your hand (trembling could have the triple meaning of fear, and of over exhaustion or overindulgence).  You’ll never have to drink that again.   Instead, I’ll give it to those who made you bow to the ground so they could walk on you.   (A terrible prophesy against all those who have abused the Jews or any of God’s people).

Isa 52—How beautiful are those that leave evil and teach the love of God
1 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise , and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. [In other words, get up and dust yourself off, sit in a proper seat.  Take off the chains, slavery to sin.]
3 For thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for nought [nothing]; and ye shall be redeemed without money.
     The Lord reminds the people of their sojourn in Egypt before the Exodus, and their howling subservience/captivity to Assyria.  People have been speaking ill of Him, but they will know one day that He is the one speaking through Isaiah, His servant.
     This chapter is so beautiful, it kills me not to quote essentially the whole thing.  My summary can’t do it justice, but I’ll try to put it in terms more understandable to modern readers.
     “How beautiful upon the mountains . . .” are the feet (representing the whole body) of those that teach the Gospel/Good Tidings of Salvation, that reassure the people that God reigns over all, especially His chosen.  He likens the prophets to watchmen on a tower for defense against enemies, who will joyfully sing in harmony when the Lord frees His people.  He invites all who have been wasted to join the joyous singing when they find comfort in the Lord.  The Lord rolled up His sleeves, so to speak, before the whole world, so that they could see that Salvation came/comes through the God of Israel.
     “Depart . . .” from unclean things, he says, likening it to the requirements of the Law of Moses (the Law God gave through Moses) for the priests that officiate in the Temple rites.  When the people of the Lord leave/return from Babylon (symbol of sin’s captivity) they won’t have to escape in a hurry looking over their shoulder, because God will lead them away and “have their backs”.  
     Verses 13-15 refer to God’s servants, and the Messiah in particular.  They’ll be wise, and honored.  People are astonished that God’s chosen servants may be nothing to look at (or even ugly).  Yet those who rule the nations (no matter how they exercise control/power) will finally have their eyes opened and have to consider what God is able to do.

Isa 53—One of the most beautiful chapters in all scripture, listen also to Handel’s “Messiah”
     Who believes the prophets?  Who recognizes the works of God?  The Messiah will grow up like a tender plant out of dry ground.   He won’t be handsome and impressive physically, people aren’t impressed to follow or look up to him.  In fact, he’ll be despised and rejected.  His life will be full of sorrow and grief; he’s not the kind of guy we’re attracted to, and we figured he was a nothing/loser.  (Isaiah writes so powerfully that one would suspect he lived this kind of experience, or at least knew someone close to him that did.)
     Speaking in prophetic tense (the future written in past tense, so positive that it will happen), Isaiah writes:  He carried the weight of all our sorrows and griefs, and yet we figured it was because he was afflicted by God.  He was wounded, he was beaten for our transgressions and iniquities.  He suffered for the peace we had no right to enjoy (because of our wickedness).  Yet by the lashes of the whip he took for our sake, we are healed/pardoned/let off the hook (as when a foe or a PIC demands that someone suffer the punishment for all, when something is amiss). We have all gone astray like sheep.  We’ve all gone our own ways.  And God has punished him for our bad behavior.  
     Again, in prophetic tense:  the Messiah/Prophet was oppressed and afflicted, but didn’t make a noise about it.  He was brought like a lamb to be slaughtered, or a sheep to be sheared, and didn’t make a sound (This metaphor seems different from what I know of sheep, who bleat about such things, but maybe it was different in Isaiah’s time/place).  He was taken out of the prison to the executioner, without having been given a fair trial.  Who’s going to speak up in his defense against the people of his time?  Because God’s people were bad, he was wounded.  He was buried with the rich & wicked although he was not deceitful nor violent.
Some important clarification is found at
https://biblehub.com/isaiah/53-9.htm 
     Yet it was part of God’s plan to have him beaten and grieved.  When he is placed on the sacrificial altar for the wickedness of the people (as in the Temple rites of the time an unblemished animal was sacrificed as a sin offering), he will see his offspring (those that call him father of their souls).  His life will be lengthened, and he will be blessed/prospered.  God will see the agony of his soul and will be satisfied.  The knowledge of this righteous servant will justify many, for he will bear their iniquities (he knows what it’s like to be human).  And for all that he willingly bore for others (death and dishonor), he will be given the greatest of honors and rewards (Isaiah is using a metaphor of military heroes’ honors & rewards), and he will intercede for the guilty.
For a discussion about the Jewish view vs the Christian view of this chapter, see
https://www.learnreligions.com/isaiah-53-interpretations-4175126 
     
Isa 54—"Sing O barren,” a song of hope for the hopeless
     “Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord . . .”
     Once again, this is such a beautiful, poetic chapter that it’s hard not to just quote the whole thing.  But it can be understood on more than one level:  1. with reference to barren women (note Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Hannah . . . and every woman who weeps over infertility.  In the broader culture of the times, a woman might be put away (divorced) for not providing an heir for her husband/tribe.   2. The House of Israel was often referred to in terms of a wife, and one that was separated/divorced from God.  In either case, this chapter offers hope.  
     Israel is a small country, and sometimes has lost territory.  But God promises that one day it will gain land, like a tent that is made larger to accommodate more people, a larger tribe.  The nation/posterity of Israel will one day inherit cities the Gentiles (non-Israelites) once inhabited—whether ones they had conquered and taken over, or ones conquered and emptied by other nations/Empires (such as Assyria and Babylon, later other conquerors).  
     Those embarrassed by infertility will no longer bear that sorrow (whether they feel It only in themselves, or whether others make them to feel that way).  The House of Israel will no longer feel the shame of being abandoned by God for her sins.  In fact, all those who have felt the shame of youthful mistakes will no longer have to blush over them (remember Isa 1:18, though their sins be as scarlet, they shall be whitened).  God will call Israel, and every sinner, back as a loving, forgiving husband.  God may cast us off for a time (or, it may feel that way, but He is always willing to show mercy when we come to ourselves and return our hearts to Him), but He will embrace us once again.  Things that seem as immovable as the mountains or hills would relocate before God would separate us from His kindness and the promises/covenants He has made.
     “O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, . . .” God will adorn your lives as a home made beautiful with precious stones.  “And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.  In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.”  Whether the nation of Israel or a woman suffering through a troubled life, God will eventually cause the children/posterity to be taught about Him, wherein they will find peace.  Israel, and the woman saved by God, will be settled in righteousness and no longer be oppressed or in fear/terror from those who would torment them.  Such is the great hope held out, not only for Israel, but for all who are abused.
     People will gather against God’s chosen, but not by Him.  Whoever conspires against His chosen will He cause to fall.  God creates His own tools to destroy, and all those who think they can create the means to destroy His chosen will be condemned by His chosen.  This seems a promise God made to Isaiah, and all His servants:  you will be able to put in their places all those who try to destroy you.  “This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.”

Isa 55—Oh, every soul that thirsts or hungers, come to the waters . . .
     “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.  Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.”
     This is yet another chapter that is a beautiful and poetic entreaty to come to God to find the abundant life:  come access precious refreshment for your spiritual hunger and thirst, for free!  Why spend money for things that won’t satisfy?  Listen and attend to me to find what is good in life.  In a time and place where starvation is a reality, fatness is a sign of richness of life.
     The Lord again uses King David as an example of a righteous leader, and the covenant God has made with Israel.  Allies they never knew will come running to join with them because of the Lord.
     “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near,” the Lord invites the wicked to repent and return to Him, with the promise of forgiveness.  
     “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.”  While humans may hold grudges, the Lord is above all that.  He uses the simile of rain and snow falling and watering the earth and the seeds of the sower, feeding the hungry. (compare Matt 5:45) Instead of weeds, trees will grow--as  a sign of God’s everlasting promise.
     “For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands [for happiness].”

Isa 56—Those who are righteous and keep God’s commandments will have a place in His Kingdom
     “Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.”
     The Lord mentions in particular keeping the Sabbath and not doing evil (respecting God and fellow beings) in order to be blessed.  No matter if a person is a foreigner (non-Israelite) or a eunuch (a servant prevented from fathering children, which was so important to people of the past and many today), those who obey His covenant (most especially His Sabbaths) will live and be remembered forever in God’s house.   They will be gathered to His Holy House (the Temple or His heavenly residence) and their offerings will be accepted.  It seems apparent that the Lord through Isaiah was comforting specific people of Isaiah’s time (a/some foreigner(s), a/some eunuch(s)), but His promises are extended to all who come to Him at any time & place.
     The Lord likens the people who should be watching over His people to watchdogs too lazy to rouse themselves and bark a warning of danger.  They are greedy shepherds out for their own gain.  They foolishly party on, thinking they can continue more and more without consequences.

Isa 57—Woe to those who follow wicked ways, peace to the humble & contrite who trust in Him
“The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come,”  that is, nobody cares when good people are lost.  They don’t consider that God will protect them from the bad things to come.
     But woe to the children of whores, adulterers, workers of sorcery/witchcraft/the black arts, who speak evil or mock the Righteous and worship idols, even to the killing/sacrificing of children.  The Lord accuses them of adultery against Him in their idolatry.  They have invited/enticed allies from near and far, high (eg the king) and low, and not trusted in the Lord.  The Lord asks who made them afraid, so that they lied without taking it to heart.  He let it go in the old days, but even their good behavior will not profit them.  He leaves them to the protection of their false gods, while He will bless those who put their trust in Him, and they will inherit the Holy Land.  
     “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”  
     God says that He will not forever be angry, or people would give up hope.  He punished Israel for covetousness and pride.  But He will heal Israel, comfort and restore him/her.  Yet, “the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.  There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.”  
     It is apparent that God recognizes that children raised by the wicked become wicked (they most often live the lives they are accustomed to, the ironic inversion of the admonition to train up a child and he will not depart from his upbringing).  Yet those that repent will be healed and forgiven.

Isa 58—Fasting and the Sabbath 
     “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.  Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.”  They make a show of being religious and caring about God and what He wants, but it’s a hollow pretense.

They say, Why should we fast?  God takes no notice (we still suffer troubles).  
God does take notice:  He sees that while fasting you take your own pleasure, making others work.  You use the fast day for strife and debate.  You hit people with your wickedness.  This is not the way to fast. 

“Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? [Make an outward show of fasting/sorrowing] wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?”  

“Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?  Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?”  Free the people from their heavy burdens (eg financial & physical overwork).  Stop speaking foolishness.  Have compassion on the poor and afflicted.

Here are the promises:  health & vitality, a righteous rep, the Lord will have your back.  When you call on the Lord, He’ll answer.  Your career will rise and shine like the noonday sun.  God will guide you constantly, and you will live a life of abundance.    You will heal and repair the lands of your inheritance.

“If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:  Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”

Isa 59—It’s not God who is responsible for your troubles, but your own bad choices.
     “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:  But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”
     You’ve got blood on your hands, lies on your lips, perversity on your tongue, mischief on your mind, the Lord complains.  The Lord likens them to spiders and snakes (conventions of evil conniving).  But they can’t weave a web to hide/clothe their wickedness.  
     Nobody calls for Justice.  They stay in the dark, away from the light.  They grope in the dark like blind men or zombies.  They know nothing of peace.  They roar like angry bears, and coo like mournful doves.
     Cross reference verse 17 with Eph 6:11-24, the whole armor of God.  God will come with His recompense to everyone who is an enemy to Him.  The Lord will raise His flag that it be seen from the west to the east.  He will come as a Redeemer of those who turn away from their transgressions.  The Lord promises that His covenant, His Spirit will remain with His servant (who speaks His word) and the descendants of His servant forever.
     
Isa 60—Arise, shine (compare Handel’s “Messiah”)
     “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.  For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.”
     So many peoples/nations will come to the aid of Israel that Israel will be awestruck.  They will bring back the dispersed/diaspora, as well as wealth to Israel.  Allies will come to rebuild Israel.  Even former enemies/antagonists will acknowledge Israel’s right to rule, that Jerusalem is “The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.”  Those nations that are against Israel will perish/be destroyed.  Though Israel has been hated, God will make her “an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.”  Then Israel will know that the Lord,  the Holy One of Israel is Israel’s Savior and Redeemer.  Israel will be prospered and will be freed from war.  The light of the sun & moon will be darkened by the light, the glory of Israel’s God.  Mourning will end.  The people of Israel will be righteous.  They will inherit the land forever, and though a small nation, it will be powerful.  The Lord will bring it to pass in His time.

Isa 61—The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me:  Messianic words
1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
     When Jesus read these words in his hometown, Nazareth’s, synagogue, and said that he was the embodiment of this prophecy, an incident ensued where he was about to be thrown over a cliff.  See Luke 4:16-30.  It was a Messianic message, which some would interpret in a political way:  the day of vengeance of God must surely be the freeing of Israel/the Jews from all foreign rule.  That’s what they were looking for.  But Jesus spoke of freeing people from spiritual bondage and mourning.  One might extend the meaning of these verses to those captive/imprisoned to sins/addictions, debt, and human cruelty & greed.
     The Lord through Isaiah promises that the land of Israel will be healed and repaired.  That foreigners will be their servants (perhaps “employees”, in today’s terms).  The remnant of Israel, known to us as the Jews, will be considered the teachers about God (which the Bible became, Judeo-Christian values became the saviors of civilization).  Israel will be nourished by the riches of the Gentiles (non-Jews).  Israel's shame/embarrassment/dishonor will be replaced by twice the honor & everlasting joy.  
     The Lord says that He loves judgement (Justice), hates robbery (especially as an hypocritical/ironic offering).  He will see that His people do His work in honesty, and He will make an eternal covenant/promise with them.  Israel’s posterity will be acknowledged as the Lord’s chosen/blessed.  
    Isaiah then rejoices in the Lord and His goodness to him, and that He will cause righteousness to spring up as buds and a garden.

Isa 62—For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace
     “I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”  The watchmen are the prophets, who will keep preaching, teaching, reaching out, for Israel’s sake, until the people are known for their righteousness.  The land of Israel will no longer be called forsaken of the Lord.  The land will be like a jewel, a crown, like a bride in whom the husband rejoices.  The Lord promises that then the products of the land and the labor of the people will no longer be consumed by Israel’s enemies.  Metaphorically a highway will be built for the return of the posterity of Israel, as if signaled to rally ‘round a flag (a standard is a banner or flag).  Isaiah prophesies to the end of this world, that Israel’s Salvation/Redeemer is coming to reward those on the Lord’s side, “the holy people.”
     
Isa 63—the Lord will come clothed in red, it will be a day of vengeance
     “I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.”
     Since there was no one to join Him, the Lord Himself will bring vengeance in His anger on the wicked and powerful.  

7 ¶ I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.
8 For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour.
9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.
10 ¶ But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.
     Yet where is the God of the Exodus from Egypt?  Look down from Heaven with mercy.  Even though Abraham and Jacob/Israel passed away (died) before they could know us, the Lord is still our Father, our Redeemer.  Isaiah asks why the Lord has made the people err and harden their hearts against reverencing Him.  I have previously discussed whether it is the Lord that hardens our hearts , or we ourselves.  It was the way of speaking that the ancients had in acknowledging God’s omnipotence.  Nothing happens without His permission.  But the Old Testament testifies constantly that we can and do choose what we do and become.  Otherwise, why would the Lord plead for us to do right, keep the covenants He has made with us, and turn away from evil?  Isaiah pleads with the Lord to return the land of Israel to the people of Israel.  Those who have taken it away were never His people.

Isa 64--Isaiah’s lament:  If only God, you would come!
     “Oh that thou wouldest rend [rip open] the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence . . .”  The description of destruction that follows can be somewhat unnerving to contemplate (things melting and boiling from fire) in real life, especially if it was worldwide.  We expect the old earth to pass away and a new heaven & earth to follow (see Isa 65:17) . . . we hope we’ll be caught up to meet the Lord before that.  But another way to look at this would be a more localized (or at least not a global) event or chain of events, perhaps like a volcanic or meteoric event.  In either case, the nations would be trembling in fear.   Those destructions can do away with evil nations.  Compare that to the following . . .
     “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.  Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth [angry]; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.”  In other words, though the Lord is angry when we behave wickedly, yet when we turn to Him, we will be saved.  That is what is implied here.
     “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.  And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.”  Perhaps a bit of hyperbole, but the point is that none of us is without sin, or the need for Grace/Pardon.
     “But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. Be not wroth [angry] very sore [greatly], O Lord, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.”  While a pot doesn’t have a choice in what It becomes, we do.  We may choose iniquity or not.  In the context of all God has said about choosing who we serve, the behaviors and attitudes we choose to indulge in, and that we should repent and return to Him, we can’t believe that what Isaiah is saying here is that we have no free will.  We are just pleading that God will have mercy on us in our human characteristics and fallibility, because those are God-given.  God has not made us infallible or perfect, in His purpose and Plan.  Believing that God is the ultimate Good, we have to trust that He has good reason for doing what He does.  So often we “learn by the things [we] suffer.”
     Isaiah implores the Lord to see the destruction that has made His land/cities desolate/wilderness, the holy house/Temple burned, with the implication of healing them, having mercy on them/His people.  He pleads for an end to the afflictions with a question posed in both the positive and the negative—Will You have mercy on us, or will You continue to afflict us so horribly?

Isa 65—God has spread His hands wide constantly while His people refuse His help, yet God foretells a Millennial future happiness
     “I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts . . .”  Ironically, the Lord is sought by those who were not His people (v. 1, that is, the Gentiles), while His people turn away from Him.  He describes their idolatrous worship and their smug attitude of being holier than God.  Their posture and behaviors are as obnoxious as smoke in the nostrils all day long.  The Lord will serve them right for their and their fathers’ iniquities.
     As the old saying goes, Don’t destroy a cluster of grapes because it will be a blessing (will be made wine, which blesses the house), so the Lord will not destroy all.  He will save some:  His land, and His “elect [chosen] shall inherit it and [those who serve Him] shall dwell there.”  Sheep shall there safely graze (comp Zeph 3:13 “they will graze peacefully like sheep”).
     The Lord then returns to His accusations against those that forsake Him.  He will allow them to be slaughtered, “because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.”
     God will take care of His servants, while those who rejected Him will go hungry.  His servants will be joyous, and those who don’t serve Him will be ashamed, cry with sorrowful hearts, howl in misery.  Israel will be cursed, and His servants called by another name.  But the troubled times of the past will be forgotten (even by God), and people will bless themselves and swear by the God of Truth.
     “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.”  God will make Jerusalem a cause of Joy, “and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.”  No more will an infant only a few days old die.  A man will live to be 100 years old (but a 100 year old sinner will be accursed).  People will build and enjoy the fruits of their labor, no one will take them away:  “and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.”  The Lord will be quick to answer their prayers, even before they ask and while they are yet speaking. 
     “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.”

Isa 66—The Lord wants contrite spirits who reverence His word.  He will recompense the wicked.  A new Israel will be born, A New Heaven and Earth will be brought forth
     “Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.”  (Compare Ps 34:18, Ps 51:17, Matt 5:3)  In other words, the Lord reigns in Heaven:  how pathetic compared to that is a house built for Him by humans.   What does humankind have to offer Him?   This is what He looks for and appreciates:  those with a poor/humble and contrite spirit, who reverence His word.
     The Lord lists a group of things considered abominable, and they are those who choose their own ways instead of His.  He will leave them to their own delusions & fears, because when He called none of them answered.  When He spoke they didn’t hear.  They did evil and chose things that God didn’t like.
     The Lord encourages those who give heed to His word, and are hated by their brethren/cast out for God’s sake.  The Lord will be glorified, and fulfill His words, while the wicked will be ashamed.  (comp Matt 5:11-12).  The voice of the Lord speaks from His Temple, and He brings recompense on His enemies.  Meanwhile He uses the metaphor of a woman giving birth to describe the future birth of His nation, coming before even the pains thereof.  He poses the rhetorical question of whether He would bring on the birth pangs and not let the birth happen.  “Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn [at present] for her . . .”  The Lord continues the theme with the newborn suckling and the joy all feel at the birth.  The Lord promises “peace . . . like a river.”  
     The Lord consoles those that care for Zion that He will retaliate against those who have been against His servants and His Laws.  He will consider not only their behavior, but their thoughts.  (comp Prov 23:7, Matt 5:27-28).  The Lord says He will gather people from all nations and send those that escape His anger to tell the Gentile nations of God’s glory/power.  They will bring scattered Israel back to Jerusalem, who will make an acceptable offering to the Lord (and choose new priests).  In this new Heaven and earth everyone will worship God.  (The last verse is a yucky ending for those that have transgressed against God).

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.”