Lessons About Unfaithfulness, Chapter Eighteen

IMAGINE what it was like to be in an ancient city under siege.  Outside the walls is the enemy-strong and ruthless.  You know what other cities have already fallen to him.  Now he is determined to conquer and plunder your city and rape and kill its inhabitants.  The enemy armies are far too powerful to confront directly in combat;  you can only hope that  the walls of the city will keep them out.  As you look out over the walls, you can see siege towers brought by the enemy.  They also have siege engines capable of hurling boulders to smash your defenses.  You see their battering rams and scaling ladders, their archer and chariots, their hordes of soldiers.  What a terrifying sight!

In Isaiah chapter 22, we read about such a siege-a siege against Jerusalem.  When does it happen?  It is difficult to pinpoint any one siege in which all the features described are fulfilled. Evidently, the prophecy is best understood as a generic description of the various sieges that will befall Jerusalem, a general warning of what lies ahead.

In the face of the siege that Isaiah describes, what are the inhabitants of Jerusalem doing?  As God's covenant people, are they crying out to Jehovah to save them?  No, they are showing a very unwise attitude, one like that found today among many who claim to worship God. 

Next time:  A City Under Siege

From the Book Isaiah's Prophecy Light for all Mankind, 2000