Such rejoicing was inappropriate, however, because Isaiah saw in his vision that they would fall to an enemy, not because of combat but starvation. This happened when the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem and took it in 586 B.C. (cf. 2 Kings 25:3-4; Jeremiah 52:6). Jerusalem, as well as Babylon, would fall (cf. Isaiah 2:6-22; Isaiah 21:1-10). read more
Therefore Isaiah rejected the attempts of his fellow citizens to get him to participate in their celebration. The terrible end of the city drew tears from him that the present rejoicing could not stop. Isaiah was a compassionate person because he identified with his countrymen in their suffering. read more
The Lord Himself would bring this fate on Jerusalem. The residents would then panic, be subjugated and confused, and cry to the surrounding mountains for help as the city walls broke down. read more
The enemy would be Elam, an ally of Babylon’s to her east, and Kir, whose exact location is unknown but was the destination of some Israelites taken into Assyrian captivity (cf. 2 Kings 16:9; Amos 1:5; Amos 9:7). It was also the place (city or land) from which the Arameans originated (cf. Amos 9:7). Isaiah did not identify the main enemy, Babylon herself, but only two of her allies here, perhaps to emphasize the size (by merism) and or distance of the foe. read more
This enemy would conquer the countryside around Jerusalem and then set up a siege of the city outside her walls at her very gates. read more
Such an attack would be possible because the Lord would remove His defensive screen from around the city. The reason was that the people had relied on physical implements of warfare for their security rather than on Him. Evidently the "house of the forest" of Lebanon was an armory in Isaiah’s day (cf. 1 Kings 7:2-5; 1 Kings 10:17)."The Lord is always the ultimate agent in his people’s experiences . . ." [Note: Motyer, p. 184.] read more
The people would try many forms of defense, but all would fail because they did not depend on the Lord who had made the city what it had become. Strong walls and adequate water would be their hope rather than their God. Hezekiah’s strengthening Jerusalem’s walls and securing her water source were not wrong in themselves. The people’s reliance on these physical securities was their sin."Walled cities usually had two walls with a space between, allowing defenders the open space needed to overcome... read more
Rather, in that day, the people should turn to the Lord in repentance, and reaffirm their trust in Him for their security. He is the sovereign, almighty God who can save. read more
However, they would not repent but rejoice in their apparent security, believing that if they could not save themselves, nothing else could (cf. Revelation 9:20-21). Isaiah saw in the present rejoicing over security (Isaiah 22:1-2 a) the same attitude of self-sufficiency that would doom the Jerusalemites in the future.Normally ancient Near Easterners used cattle and sheep for producing milk and wool; they did not slaughter them to eat very often because these animals produced valuable products.... read more
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Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 22:1
The prophet employed another enigmatic title that implied a contrast with the actual condition of the place described to indicate the object of this oracle (cf. Isaiah 21:1). "Valley of vision" refers to Jerusalem (cf. Isaiah 22:5; Isaiah 22:9-10). Isaiah pictured it as the depressed place (cf. Psalms 125:2) where he received a depressing vision, namely, the inevitable judgment that would come on the city. In this valley there was a notable lack of vision among God’s people when it came to... read more