"And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.” Isaiah 10:34 (Photo by Serge Trad on Unsplash)

In this chapter we see several strands of prophecy. Possibly some of it was prediction based on readily observable facts, but it all came from God. Some of what Isaiah spoke about was already happening. In the same way we can talk about how the West is obeying Satan and leading itself to a very dark end. Many Christians follow the same destructive path, as if they want to reproduce these awful days in the life of Israel and Judah. Yet, we can predict what will happen, given plentiful signs in history and present day errors.

"And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.” Isaiah 9: 9-10 (Image by Bernd from Pixabay)

It is worth remembering, and praying about – God will not spare His own people if they refuse to obey. Do we obey today? Are we truly faithful? Then why is our nation struggling and bringing together such evil ways and laws?

"Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks:" Isaiah 8:7 (Photo by Wolfgang Hasselmann on Unsplash)

Verses 1-4

1. “Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz.
2. And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
3. And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz.
4. For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.”

"Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field;" Isaiah 7: 3 (Photo by tian dayong on Unsplash)

srael went its own way, leaving just two tribes to live under Judah. That was a big mistake, for God chose all 12 tribes to be united. As a result of this basic error, Israel and Judah, their unity broken, were prone to attacks by other nations. Sometimes, this disunity even went so far as to join forces with enemies, such as Syria, so that they could defeat Judah. Both Syria and Israel conspired to beat Judah and then to put a puppet king to rule on behalf of the enemy. But, God had other plans, leading to the demise of the tribe of Ephraim. The chapter closes with the remarkable prophecy about the coming of the Messiah.