Isaiah 34
OGCEXAMINATION Chapter S THIRTY-FOUR AND THIRTY-FIVE
DEFINITION
(Define the following words or phrases as they were discussed in the comments.)
host of heaven
sword of Jehovah
Edom
line of confusion
night-monster
book of Jehovah
wilderness
glory of Lebanon
streams in the desert
highway
fool
Zion
MEMORIZATION
And a _____ shall be there, and a ______, and it shall be called _____ _____ _____ _____; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for the _____: the _____ man, yea fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor shall any _____ _____ go up thereon; they shall not be found there; but the _____ shall walk there: and the _____ of Jehovah shall return, and come with _____ unto Zion; and everlasting _____ shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and _____, and sorrow and _____ shall flee away. (Isaiah 35:8-10)
EXPLANATION
Explain why the prophets spoke of the coming Messianic age in terms of cosmic cataclysms?
Explain the practice of using Edom to represent all God-opposing human governments.
Explain why the prophets used figures of speech depicting a rejuvenated land to portray the Messianic age?
APPLICATION
(In its context every scripture has one meaningthe author’s intended meaning. How may the following be applied in the believer’s life?)
What application may be made in proper Bible study today of the evident prophetic manner of depicting the Messianic age by cosmic upheavel?
What application may be made of God’s attitude toward Edom in today’s world of God-opposing human ideologies?
What application may be made in teaching today what God’s Way is like from Isaiah’s description of the Way in chapter 35?
SPECIAL STUDY THE GOD OF THE OLD TESTAMENT IS THE GOD OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
by Seth Wilson GOD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AS LOVING GOD IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
THE GOD OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
THE GOD OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
1
Thou shalt not kill (Exodus 20:13) Anger forbidden: Psalms 37:8; Proverbs 14:17; Proverbs 16:32; Proverbs 27:4. The thought of foolishness is sin; the scorner. an abomination Proverbs 24:9.
The teaching of Jesus on killing. Matthew 5:21-26. Hatred forbidden: 1 John 3:15.
Thou shalt not commit adultery. Exodus 20:14. Lust not Proverbs 6:25; he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul Proverbs 6:32-33. Thoughts of the wicked, abomination; words of the pure, pleasant. Proverbs 15:26. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he Proverbs 23:7.
The teaching of Jesus on adultery. Matthew 5:27-32. Works of the flesh: Galatians 5:19; 1 Corinthians 6:15-20.
Thou shalt not swear by my name falsely, neither profane the name of God Leviticus 19:12.
The teaching of Jesus on oaths. Matthew 5:33-37. James 5:12.
Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear grudge against children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself Leviticus 19:18. Say not that I will recompense evil, but wait on the Lord and he will save thee Proverbs 20:22; also Proverbs 24:29.
The teaching of Jesus on revenge. Matthew 5:38-42. 1 Peter 2:19-20; Romans 12:19-21.
Do good unto enemies: If thou seest the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, thou shalt surely help him Exodus 23:5. If thy enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; if he be thirsty, give him water to drink Proverbs 25:21. Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thy heart be glad when he stumbleth Proverbs 24:17.
The teaching of Jesus on the treatment of enemies. Matthew 5:43-48.
The love of God. John 3:16; Romans 5:8.
The prodigal son. Luke 15:11-32.
The woman of Samaria. John 4:1-42.
The sinful woman. John 8:3-11.
The robber on the cross. Luke 23:39-43.
The gracious invitation. Matthew 11:28-30.
Love the supreme ideal of life. 1 John 4:17-21; 1 Corinthians 13.
- But because the Lord loved you and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt Deuteronomy 7:8.
The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind; the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down; the Lord loveth the righteous; the Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow Psalms 146:8-9.
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. Isaiah 63:9.
Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth: keeping lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin. Exodus 34:6-7.
The entire book of Hosea especially ch. Isaiah 11:1-4: When Israel was a child. I loved him. Yea, I taught Ephraim to walk. I drew them with the cords of a man, with hands of love.
Jehovah will smite Egypt. they shall return unto him. and he will heal them Isaiah 19:22. In returning and rest shall ye be saved Isaiah 30:15. Let the wicked forsake his way and return unto Jehovah. for he will abundantly pardon Isaiah 55:7.
O Israel, return unto thy God. I will heal their backsliding. I will love them freely Hosea 14:1; Hosea 14:4 a; the entire chapter deals with return of the prodigal nation. Return unto me, and I will return unto you saith the Lord of hosts Malachi 3:7.
Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and the stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of the Law Deuteronomy 31:12.
Miraculous blessings given to Gentiles: the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:16) and Naaman the leper (2 Kings 5:1-15.
Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy Micah 7:18.
But he, being merciful, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea many a time turned he his anger away Psalms 78:38.
It is of Jehovah’s lovingkindness that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not Lamentations 3:22.
He will again have compassion upon us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea Micah 7:19.
But if the wicked turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes. he shall not die. None of his transgressions that he hath committed shall be remembered against him Ezekiel 18:21-22.
Ho every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters and he that hath no money, come ye. buy wine and milk without money and without price. incline your ear and come unto me; hear and your soul shall live. Let the wicked forsake his way. and return unto our God for he will abundantly pardon. though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow Isaiah 55:1; Isaiah 55:3; Isaiah 55:7; Isaiah 1:18.
Hatred stirreth up strifes; but love covereth all sins Proverbs 10:12. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with thy mind, and with all thy strength Deuteronomy 6:5. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself Leviticus 19:18.
GOD IN THE NEW TESTAMENT IN JUDGMENT AS GOD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
THE GOD OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
THE GOD OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
God cursed Adam, Eve, and the serpent. Genesis 3:9-21.
John the Baptist announced the coming of the kingdom but also of judgment and punishment by fire. Matthew 3:8-12.
God cursed Cain. Genesis 4:9-15.
Unbelievers condemned: Isaiah 3:18; Revelation 21:8.
God destroyed man with the flood. Genesis 6, 7.
Jesus pronounced judgment on Chorazin and Capernaum, predicting a worse fate for them than that of Sodom. Matthew 11:20-24.
God ordered capital punishment. Genesis 9:4-6.
Woe to the Pharisees and lawyers Luke 11:42-54.
God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Genesis 19.
Jesus taught the coming of torment in fire after deaththe rich man and Lazarus. Luke 16:19-31.
God plagued Pharaoh and slew the first born. Exodus 12.
This punishment Jesus promised is without end. Mt. 25-46.
God destroyed the Canaanites. Joshua 23:5-9.
As they were destroyed by flood in Noah’s day, so shall it be in the days of the Son of Man. But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed Luke 17:28-29.
The bears destroyed children, 2 Kings 2:23-25.
God spared not the ancient world, but saved Noah, burned Sodom and delivered Lot; he shall still deliver the godly, but the blackness of darkness is reserved for false teachers and other sinners. 2 Peter 2:9to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.
Saul was commanded to slay the Amalekites. 1 Samuel 15.
God punished Israel and carried his people into captivity. 2 Chronicles 36:16-20.
God is a God of vengeance. Psalms 94:1.
-
Peter quoted and approved Moses-’ saying, For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Acts 3:22-23.
Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord. Quoted from Deuteronomy 32:35 in Romans 12:19; Hebrews 10:30.
Ananias and Sapphira slain for lying. Acts 5:1-11.
For if the Word spoken through angels proved stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation Hebrews 2:2-3.
For if we sin wilfully after having received a knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fierceness of fire that shall devour the adversaries Hebrews 10:26. Those disregarding Moses-’ Law died without compassion; how much more shall one suffer who spurns the new covenant. Hebrews 10:28-29.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God Hebrews 10:31.
For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. Hebrews 12:25-26. For our God is a consuming fire Hebrews 12:29.
Paul, by the Holy Spirit, blinded Elymas. Acts 13:8-12.
Herod was smitten by an angel of the Lord eaten of worms and died. Acts 12:22-24.
Behold then, the goodness and severity of God Romans 11:22.
The devil, the beast, and the false prophet shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. Revelation 20:10.
Anyone not written in the Book of Life is to be cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:15.
Isaiah 34:1-7
D. FOES WILL FALL, CHAPTER 34
- SLAUGHTER
TEXT: Isaiah 34:1-7
1
Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye peoples: let the earth hear, and the fulness thereof; the world, and all things that come forth from it.
2
For Jehovah hath indignation against all the nations, and wrath against all their host: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.
3
Their slain also shall be cast out, and the stench of their dead bodies shall come up; and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
4
And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all their host shall fade away, as the leaf fadeth from off the vine, and as a fading leaf from the fig-tree.
5
For my sword hath drunk its fill in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Edom, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.
6
The sword of Jehovah is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams; for Jehovah hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7
And the wild-oxen shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be drunken with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.
QUERIES
a.
Who are the nations Jehovah will slaughter?
b.
How are the heavens to be rolled up?
c.
When did Jehovah’s sword drink its fill in heaven?
PARAPHRASE
Come close and listen to me, all you nations of the world. All of creation had better pay attention to what I have to say! For the Lord of Creation is filled with wrath against the whole world because it has schemed to usurp His sovereignty by human governments. Because human empires are in rebellion against God’s rule of man. God has marked them for utter destruction. Their destruction will not only be total, it will be humiliating and horrifying. It will be as when a city is conquered and its slain are cast out into the streets and left unburied and the stench of rotting flesh permeates everything. The destruction of the world empires will be so complete it could furnish enough blood to wash away the mountains. When God finishes His destruction of all that oppose Him, even the material world will be dissolved. The planets of the heavens will be dissolved, the skies will be taken away just like the scroll is rolled up and put away, and the stars will go out of existence like leaves dying and dropping from a fig-tree. My sword of wrath in heaven is filled to staggering. It is going to stagger forth upon Edom, one of those kingdoms opposing My sovereignty, as an example of the inevitable judgment that is to come upon all kingdoms opposing Me. This sword of the Lord is about to be saturated with blood and gorged with flesh like the sword used to slay lambs and goats. It is Edom that will come under Jehovah’s bloody, sacrificial sword. The small and the great, weak and powerful, rich and poor alike are going to be slaughtered in Edom. The land will stagger and reel with blood like a drunken man reels from wine. Their whole land will be saturated with dead bodies.
COMMENTS
Isaiah 34:1-4 JUDGMENT ENVISIONED: Once again Isaiah is bringing a section of his written prophecy to a climactic conclusion. He has done so before in Chapter s 6, 12, and 23. These two Chapter s (34 and 35) are the climactic conclusion to the section warning Judah not to seek help from Egypt (28-35). Chapter s 34 and 35 summarize the reasons Judah should not seek help from pagan, worldly, God-opposing governments: (1) because God has decreed their doom; (2) because God has a glorious future planned for Zion.
What God is going to do will involve the whole cosmos (creation) so (Isaiah 34:1-2) He calls, through the prophet, the whole creation to attention. What God is going to do involves not only the earth but heaven. He is going to defeat all the principalities, powers, world rulers of this present darkness, the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. and disarm them, and make a public example of them, triumphing over them in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 6:12; Colossians 2:15). God is not going to utterly slaughter all the power that opposes Him in Isaiah’s day. Furthermore, the total physical destruction of the world is probably not even intended here. The defeat of the spiritual power that opposes God and enslaves men is much more imperative and cosmically significant than the physical destruction. In other words, the victory Christ accomplished over the world, the flesh and the devil, on the cross and at the resurrection was the great slaughter probably referred to here. Of course, God destroyed His enemies, the great world empires that were possessed by the devil to attempt to thwart God’s redemptive program in the earth. He destroyed them one by one. And, God will ultimately destroy all physical kingdoms with the destruction of the universe, and He will create a new heaven and a new earth (2 Peter 3:8-13). But all that would be of little consequence without the once-and-for-all defeat of Satan and his hosts at the cross. It was at the cross (and the empty tomb) that God brought to nothing things that are, destroyed the wisdom of the wise, (1 Corinthians 1:18-31), cast out the ruler of this world and destroyed his power (John 12:31; John 16:11; Hebrews 2:14-15; 1 John 3:8). Now this work, culminated in the cross and resurrection, began as God took the people of Isaiah’s day and destroyed their pagan enemies, one by one, and delivered a faithful remnant through which God brought the Messiah into the world in order to deliver them from their enemies (cf. Luke 1:67-79). Isaiah is predicting the same great overthrow of the world-opposition as Joel predicts (Joe 2:28 to Joe 3:21; see our comments, Minor Prophets, College Press). It is the same overthrow of world-opposition Isaiah predicted earlier (Isaiah 13-23; see our comments, Isaiah, Vol 1, College Press). It is the same overthrow of world-opposition Ezekiel predicts (Ezekiel 38-39) and Daniel predicts (Daniel 2-11) and Zechariah predicts (Zechariah 9-14). It was accomplished in the cross and resurrection when Christ took captivity captive and will be consummated at His second coming.
The Jewish prophets portrayed the end of the Jewish dispensation and the beginning of the new era (the Messianic age) as a Day of Jehovah, a great judgment and redemption. The Messianic age was portrayed in eschatological, cataclysmic, cosmic figures of speech. It is even referred to in the New Testament in somewhat the same way: (Just to list a few)
Matthew 23:37 to Matthew 24:35
Much modern-day interpretation of O.T. prophecy alleges the main function of the prophets was to predict the so-called rapture, tribulation, millennium, and the Second Coming of Christ. It seems totally incongruous to us that the prophets would devote as much detail as is alleged to the end of the so-called church age. Their main predictive function, as the New Testament plainly points out, was to proclaim the First advent of Christ and the establishment of the kingdom of God upon the earth, the church (cf. 1 Peter 1:10-12; 2 Peter 1:12-21; Luke 24:25-27; Luke 24:44-49, etc.).
If modern readers of the Bible could project themselves back into the days of the prophets or the apostles, or if they could assimilate the Jewishness of those Jews, they might easily understand how eschatological, cataclysmic and cosmic it would seem to talk of the abrogation and abolition of a religious system (Judaism) with 1400 years of heritage. It was their whole existence, politically, socially, religiously. To predict a New Era which would completely replace the Old would seem like a prediction of the end of the world-order. And the prophets were called upon to portray the New Era in just those figures. Of course, there is always the typical element in every Day of the Lord, which points to God’s ultimate Day, the literal, actual consummation of judgment and redemption. And that is probably the case with our text here in Isaiah. Even God’s awful judgment of sin in the crucifixion of Christ and God’s glorious act of redemption in Christ’s resurrection is, in addition to being His literal, historical work of salvation, a prophecy, promise and type of the final, consummating work at Christ’s Second Coming.
Isaiah 34:5-7 JUDGMENT EXEMPLIFIED: Edom is now cited as a representative of the God-opposing human governments. Edom was one of the first human governments to oppose God’s redemptive work in placing His covenant people in the land of Canaan. The covenant people were later opposed by Ammon, Moab, Syria, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome. All these, and others, were, in their own times, condemned by the prophets and judged by God. Even the sinful covenant peoples (Israel and Judah) were condemned and judged because they chose carnal, human systems of government rather than government by the rule of God’s word. Probably the most graphic symbolism of God’s defeat of the attempt by human government to overthrow the rule of God in men’s hearts (the establishment of God’s kingdom among men) is the symbolism in the book of Danielin the great image (ch. 2) and the four beasts (ch. 7).
The sword of the Lord in heaven is filled with blood. In other words, the wrath of God has been accumulating (cf. Revelation 15:7), and it is symbolized by a sword poised to vent its full fury on God’s enemy. God is longsuffering but He will not be opposed forever. The judgment of God is portrayed as a great sacrifice. This is a figure used elsewhere in the Old Testament (Zephaniah 1:7-18; Jeremiah 46:10; Jeremiah 50:27). Sacrifice was worship of the Lord. Slaughtering of animals was never very pretty to behold. In fact, it is always rather revolting. But in spite of the revolting and almost sickening splashing of blood and burning of flesh, God was glorified. The punishing of sin in the innocent and perfect Jesus is an idea both revolting and repulsive to the human egonevertheless God is exalted in it. So, God will be glorified in the slaughter that is necessitated at the judgment of human, God-opposing governments. Edward J, Young considers the lambs and goats of Isa 34:6 to be figurative of the general citizenry of Edom and the wild-oxen and bulls of Isa 34:7 to symbolize the leaders of the nation. Whatever the case the point being made is the awfulness and completeness of judgment upon those who have so persistently opposed God’s redemptive work in the world by opposing His people. This should be a graphic warning to all governments in any age opposing God’s people in any way.
QUIZ
Why do Chapter s 34 and 35 seem to form a climax in Isaiah’s book?
Cite N.T. passages to show that God defeated His opposition at the cross.
Why do we think Isaiah is predicting the cross and empty tomb accomplishment?
What other O.T. prophets predicted God’s defeat of His opposition at the cross and establishment of the church?
Why would the Jewish prophets speak of God’s victory as if it were the end of the present world-order?
What N.T. passages confirm this?
Why is it most probable that the O.T. prophets spoke mainly of Christ’s first coming?
What part does Edom play in this drama?
Isaiah 34:8-17
- SHAMBLES
TEXT: Isaiah 34:8-17
8
For Jehovah hath a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
9
And the streams of Edom shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.
10
It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever; from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.
11
But the pelican and the porcupine shall possess it; and the owl and the raven shall dwell therein: and he will stretch over it the line of confusion, and the plummet of emptiness.
12
They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there; and all its princes shall be nothing.
13
And thorns shall come up in its palaces, nettles and thistles in the fortresses thereof; and it shall be a habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches.
14
And the wild beasts of the desert shall meet with the wolves, and the wild goat shall cry to his fellow; yea, the night-monster shall settle there, and shall find her a place of rest.
15
There shall the dart-snake make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shade; yea, there shall the kites be gathered, every one with her mate.
16
Seek ye out of the book of Jehovah, and read: no one of these shall be missing, none shall want her mate; for my mouth, it hath commanded, and his Spirit, it hath gathered them.
17
And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them by line: they shall possess it for ever; from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.
QUERIES
a.
How could the smoke of Edom go up forever?
b.
What is a night-monster?
c.
What is the book of Jehovah?
PARAPHRASE
Yes, the Lord will bring Zion its day of recompense. Edom has had its day opposing Zion, but the Lord will bring vengeance upon Edom at the proper time. Edom’s streams will be fouled with tar and pitch and her soil turned into sulphurous dust and her land into burning, smoldering pools of tar, not fit for habitation. This desolation of Edom will never end. It will be an uninhabited kingdom forever, from one generation to another. It will never again be made a habitable place. The only creatures inhabiting this territory henceforth will be wild, unclean creatures of loneliness and desolationpelicans, porcupines, owls and ravens. God has measured that kingdom by His standards of righteousness and justice, and it is found to be fit only for destruction and desolation. They shall call it, No Kingdom There, and its princes shall soon all be gone. Thorn bushes and weeds will grow up inside its palaces and mansions; its fortresses will fall into complete disuse and be the haunts of wild jackals and ostriches. The animals of the desert will forage there along with wolves and wild goats. The screeching night-thing will settle there and build her nest. The dangerous darting snake and the scavenging vulture will settle there and reproduce their young. Search what the Lord has caused to be written in His book; not one of these predictions shall go unfulfilled because the Lord who revealed the predictions through my mouth is the same Lord whose Spirit will cause the wild animals to inhabit the desolation of Edom. The Lord of Creation has set this territory aside and marked it off to be given to those doleful and despised wild creatures from one generation to another.
COMMENTS
Isaiah 34:8-10 WASTE-LAND: The vengeance of the Lord serves also as a recompense for Zion. Edom has vented its age-old hatred (which began with the family feud between Esau and Jacob) upon Zion with an unrelenting passion (cf. Obadiah). Edom stood aloof, rejoiced, and joined in when other pagans plundered Jerusalem. God’s sovereignty and His sovereign program cannot go on being thwarted forever. If His sovereignty is to be verified, rebellion must be punished. Edom’s time has come, or is very near. When it happens, Zion’s cause will be vindicated.
Malachi 1:3, 300 years after Isaiah, says the mountains and the heritage of Esau (Edom) were laid waste and left to the jackals of the desert. Then Malachi 1:4-5 represents the Edomites vowing they will rebuild and the Lord vowing He will tear down again. The territory of Edom was made desolate by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, and Greeks (Seleucids) in succession. However, there was a brief period of recovery in the time of the Maccabeans, and Edom once again appears as an adversary of Israel of some importance. Gradually, however, Edom had to yield to the superior power of the Romans and was later, overrun and conquered by the Mohammedan Arabs who completed the ruin of the land. It is now, and has been for more than a thousand years, one of the most desolate territories of land upon the face of the earth. Isaiah would hardly seem to demand a literal turning streams into pitch. The present land of once ancient Edom has no perennial rivers. It has numerous wadis (dry stream beds) which sometimes run with torrents when the winter rains flood them. Isaiah’s intent, no doubt, is that Edom should be visited with a destruction and desolation so complete it could be likened unto that of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24; Jeremiah 49:18). Men have passed through this area again and again since those days and still do, though they all testify to its utter desolateness. The word forever must be understood as hyperbole here.
Isaiah 34:11-15 WILD-LIFE: There is some disagreement among translators as to the exact identification of the animals in these verses. The only one generally agreed upon is the raven. The kooth is translated, cormorant, pelican or hawk. The kipod is translated, bittern, hedgehog or porcupine. Whatever their specific genre, the intent of the prophet seems to be to describe only animals that inhabit desolate, deserted places not inhabited by human beings. These forlorn beasts of the desert nights will move in and make this territory their possession. No other creatures will want it. God has measured off this territory for this specific group of unclean animals. The measuring-tape and the plumb-line are tohu and vohu and are the same two words used in Genesis 1:2 and translated waste and void, or confusion and emptiness. In other words God has marked Edom for systematic or planned reduction to chaos. All the nobles (rulers by birth) of Edom will disappear, and none will remain to constitute a kingdom. So the territory will be called, No Kingdom There. Its palaces and cities will be deserted and overgrown with brush and thorns. In Isaiah 34:14 the word in Hebrew lyilyith is translated night-monster in the ASV and satyr in the RSV. Some say it is a word with Akkadian root meaning some kind of storm-spirit. Most Hebrew lexicons define it as screech-owl. Lilit was the name of a female demon or wicked fairy, in whom the Assyrians (Akkadians) believeda being thought to vex and persecute her victims in their sleep. The Hebrew word for night is layeloh. Whatever the case, the night-monster or screech-owl is added to the arrow-snake and vulture to indicate a place where dwells every odious, despised, scary creature known. The prophets were poets and used imagery. When so doing they were free to use even the beliefs and superstitions of their contemporaries to intensify the force of their messages.
Isaiah 34:16-17 WORD OF THE LORD: Some have said the book of Jehovah was a volume collected of the works of Moses, some of the prophets before Isaiah, and the psalms of David. But there is no evidence of such a collection then. It is better to understand the book to be that of Isaiah’s own writings up to that point. Nothing contained in his writings shall fail of fulfillment is the prophet’s warning, for his writings are the work of Jehovah. Every utterance of his, even in the minute detail of the animals marked to possess Edom’s territory, will come to pass, for although the predictions come through the mouth of Isaiah, it shall be the Spirit of the living God which shall bring them to pass. The Lord allots to all the nations of the earth their boundaries (cf. Jeremiah 27:5 ff). He has now allotted Edom to the unclean beasts and birds which are mentioned. He has marked it desolate (cf. Matthew 23:38). All kingdoms which oppose God are marked for destruction (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:24-28; 1 Corinthians 15:50). Edom is here typical and representative.
QUIZ
How will Edom’s judgment be recompense for Zion?
Were Edom’s streams literally turned into pitch?
What does the list of these particular animals portray about Edom?
What is the territory of ancient Edom like today?
How could Isaiah be certain his predictions would be fulfilled?