Isa 7:21 It shall be in that day That a
man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep; 22 So it shall be, from the
abundance of milk they give, That he will eat curds; For curds and honey
everyone will eat who is left in the land. 23 It shall happen in that day, That
wherever there could be a thousand vines Worth a thousand shekels of silver, It
will be for briers and thorns. 24 With arrows and bows men will come there,
Because all the land will become briers and thorns. 25 And to any hill which
could be dug with the hoe, You will not go there for fear of briers and thorns;
But it will become a range for oxen And a place for sheep to roam.
This chapter closes out with a prophetic picture of
the desolation of the land due to the conquering nations of Egypt and Assyria. Verses
21 and 22 remind the people that what was once tillable farmland will become
nothing but undeveloped pastureland. A man could hope to have a cow and maybe a
couple of sheep but that will be about it. The land will no longer be colonized
except for colonies of bees.
Verse 23 says that what could have been a fruitful
vineyard worth lots of money will be nothing but the underbrush of briars and
thorns.
Verse 24 says that the land will be good for nothing
but hunting. The land that was once fruitful in every way will be turned into a
hunting preserve.
Verse 25 tells us that the land will be utterly
overrun by briars and thorns. In modern terms, the thorns and briars will be so
bad, you wouldn’t bother looking for your golf ball! It will only be fit for
tough oxen and thick wooled sheep.
Contrast the condition of the land when the Israelites
first spied it out! Nu 13:23 Then they came to the Valley of Eshcol, and
there cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes; they carried it between two
of them on a pole. They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs.
Grapes so lush it took two men to carry the cluster!
What does this mean for you and I? Simply put, in the
eternal scope of things it’s one or the other. God’s eternal blessing for
people who have put their faith in Christ, or God’s eternal lack of anything good
for those who reject His Son.
It’s heaven or hell. What will it be for you, clusters
of grapes or everlasting thorns?
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