Daily Devotions
Isaiah
"Their valiant ones"
Text: Isaiah 33:7
A CRYPTIC REFERENCE
Isaiah used a cryptic phrase, “the valiant ones.” The problem is that this phrase was used only here. This has given rise to its actual meaning.
“Surely their valiant ones shall cry outside,
The ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.
The highways lie waste,
The traveling man ceases.
He has broken the covenant,
He has despised the cities,
He regards no man.
The earth mourns and languishes,
Lebanon is shamed and shriveled;
Sharon is like a wilderness,
And Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.”
Isaiah 33:7-9
1. The scenario described.
a) There was a war.
b) Ambassadors of peace had failed in their bid for a peace treaty and thus they wept.
2. The aftermath of war.
a) The highways were laid waste.
b) The traveller no longer journeys.
c) No covenant (treaty) is honoured.
d) All cities were despised.
e) No man is regarded.
f) The earth mourns as it languishes.
g) These had been destroyed by “the valiant ones”.
3. Famous sites.
a) Lebanon which boasted of luscious forests was now shrivelled.
b) Sharon was once excellent pasture but it had become a wilderness.
c) Bashan and Carmel were also famous for their rich fertile soil
but they were now barren and fruitless.
4. The valiant ones.
a) This phrase may well describe the powerful enemies
that would conquer all these areas and Assyria too.
b) The historical context would suggest that the Babylonians could have been
in Isaiah’s mind.
c) The theological context may suggest that this could be a reference to
the “hosts of the LORD”.