v.33
… and the land will be purged of idolatry and child sacrifice
[Introductory
Comment: The
chapter is an onward flowing pathway: Israel being chided for
relying on Egypt and not the Lord [v.1-7], them being chastised
for not listening to God [v.8-11], but then being warned by the
Lord of the consequences that will follow [v.12-14], all because
they refused to repent [v.15-17]. However that is not the end
for the Lord reaches out to them with an offer of blessing if
they will cry to Him for help [v.18,19] when He will teach them
and speak so clearly they will throw their idols away [v.20-22].
When that happens He will pour out His blessings on the land [v.23,24]
and bring down their enemies bringing total transformation [v.25,26].
The concluding Part reveals the Lord bringing judgment on the
world and joy to Israel [v.25-33] in terms not dissimilar to that
found in Ezekiel 38 & 39.]
PART
ONE: v.1-7: Chiding Israel for Relying on Egypt & not God
v.1
(This people act independently
of God) ‘Woe
to the obstinate children,'
declares the Lord,
‘to those who carry out plans that are not mine,
forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit,
heaping sin upon sin;
v.2 (They
go to and rely on Egypt…) who
go down to Egypt
without consulting me;
who look for help to Pharaoh's protection,
to Egypt's shade for refuge.
v.3 (…but
it will only bring shame on them) But
Pharaoh's protection will be to your shame,
Egypt's shade will bring you disgrace.
v.4 (You
send envoys to Egypt but they won't help) Though
they have officials in Zoan [on
the Nile delta]
and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,
[also in Egypt]
v.5 everyone
will be put to shame
because of a people useless to them,
who bring neither help nor advantage,
but only shame and disgrace.'
v.6
(The
envoys have to travel through the dangerous south to get to Egypt)
A prophecy concerning the animals
of the Negev:
Through
a land of hardship and distress,
of lions and lionesses,
of adders and darting snakes,
the envoys carry their riches on donkeys' backs,
their treasures on the humps of camels,
to that unprofitable nation,
v.7 to
Egypt, whose help is utterly useless.
Therefore I call her
Rahab the Do-Nothing. [i.e.
powerless dragon]
PART
TWO: v.8-17: Obstinate Refusal will bring destruction
v.8-11
Their refusal to listen to God
v.8
(Write down God's warning
as a long lasting reminder) Go
now, write it on a tablet for them,
inscribe it on a scroll,
that for the days to come
it may be an everlasting witness.
v.9 (For
these foolish people don't listen to God) For
these are rebellious people, deceitful children,
children unwilling to listen to the Lord's
instruction.
v.10 (They
refuse God's messengers) They
say to the seers,
‘See no more visions!'
and to the prophets,
‘Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,
prophesy illusions.
v.11 Leave
this way,
get off this path,
and stop confronting us
with the Holy One of Israel!'
v.12-14
Rejecting God has destructive consequences
v.12 (Refusing
to listen has consequences…) Therefore
this is what the Holy One of Israel says:
‘Because
you have rejected this message,
relied on oppression
and depended on deceit,
v.13
(You rebellion will come
crashing down on you…) this
sin will become for you
like a high wall, cracked and bulging,
that collapses suddenly, in an instant.
v.14 (…and
will break you to pieces) It
will break in pieces like pottery,
shattered so mercilessly
that among its pieces not a fragment will be found
for taking coals from a hearth
or scooping water out of a cistern.'
v.15-17
Refusal to repent means judgment
v.15
(You rejected your only hope
- repentance) This is what
the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:
‘In
repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it.
v.16
(You thought you could escape
my judgment) You said, “No,
we will flee on horses.”
Therefore you will flee!
You said, “We will ride off on swift horses.”
Therefore your pursuers will be swift!
v.17 You
will be left with only a tiny remnant) A
thousand will flee
at the threat of one;
at the threat of five
you will all flee away,
till you are left
like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,
like a banner on a hill.'
PART
THREE: v.18-26: Repentance will bring blessing to Israel
v.18,19
But God wants to bless them if only they will turn to Him….
v.18
(But still God wants to be
there for you) Yet the Lord
longs to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show you
compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him!
v.19
(Cry for help & God will
be there for you) People of
Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious
he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will
answer you.
v.20-22
… so that He may teach them and guide them when they abandon their
idols…
v.20
(His disciplining also comes
with His grace) Although the
Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction,
your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will
see them.
v.21
(You will hear His guidance)
Whether you turn to the right
or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying,
‘This is the way; walk in it.'
v.22
(Then you will abandon your
idols) Then you will desecrate
your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold;
you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them,
‘Away with you!'
v.23,24
…. and He will bless their land and their economy…
v.23
(Then He will also bless
your crops and herds) He will
also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the
food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that
day your cattle will graze in broad meadows.
v.24
(Food for your work beasts
will be plentiful) The oxen
and donkeys that work the soil will eat fodder and mash, spread
out with fork and shovel.
v.25,26
… and utterly transform their lives when the enemy falls
v.25
(When God fights your enemies,
water will be abundant) In
the day of great slaughter, when the towers fall, streams of water
will flow on every high mountain and every lofty hill.
v.26
(When God blesses, His glory
will transform everything) The
moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times
brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds
up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted.
PART
FOUR: v.27-33: Judgments against the world, joy in Israel
v.27-29
He will come in power on the nations of the world & Israel
will rejoice
v.27
(God's power and authority
is coming…) See, the Name of
the Lord comes from afar,
with burning anger and dense clouds of
smoke;
his lips are full of wrath,
and his tongue is a consuming fire.
v.28 (…to
bring destruction on the nations…) His
breath is like a rushing torrent,
rising up to the neck.
He shakes the nations in the sieve of destruction;
he places in the jaws of the peoples
a bit that leads them astray.
v.29 (…but
for Israel it will be a time of rejoicing) And
you will sing
as on the night you celebrate a holy festival;
your hearts will rejoice
as when people playing pipes go up
to the mountain of the Lord,
to the Rock of Israel.
v.30-32
He will come in power on them and Assyria will fall and Israel
rejoice
v.30
(His people will hear and
see His coming deliverance) The
Lord will cause people to hear his majestic voice
and will make them see his arm coming
down
with raging anger and consuming fire,
with cloudburst, thunderstorm and hail.
v.31 (He
will just speak and Assyria will be brought down) The
voice of the Lord will shatter Assyria;
with his rod he will strike them down.
v.32 (All
they fall, Israel will be rejoicing) Every
stroke the Lord lays on them
with his punishing club
will be to the music of tambourines and harps,
as he fights them in battle with the blows
of his arm.
v.33
… and the land will be purged of idolatry and child sacrifice
v.33
(The place of evil sacrifice
– see 2 Kings 23:10 - will be purged clean) Topheth
has long been prepared;
it has been made ready for the king.
Its fire pit has been made deep and wide,
with an abundance of fire and wood;
the breath of the Lord,
like a stream of burning sulphur,
sets it ablaze.
CONTINUE
TO CHAPTER 31