Isaiah 7:25
25 And on all hills [har] that shall be digged [`adar] with the
mattock, [ma`der] there shall not come thither [bow'] the fear [yir'ah] of briers
[shamiyr] and thorns: [shayith] but it shall be for the sending forth [mishlowach] of oxen, [showr] and for
the treading [mirmac] of lesser cattle. [seh] KJV-Interlinear
25 And
as for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the hoe, you will not go
there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place for pasturing
oxen and for sheep to trample. NASB
This verse completes the
description of the horrific state of the land during and after the invasion
that is about to take place.
Ahaz despised Isaiah and
instead of turning to God for his defense, he turned to his alliance with
Assyria in his attempt to defeat the alliance of Syria and Israel.
But once that alliance,
of Syria and Israel, are disrupted in their invasion, then Assyria will turn on
Ahaz, and when we get to the next chapter, we will see that the double cross
will come swiftly and without mercy.
The valleys are the
typical place of farming and grazing. The hills are not typical locations for
farming. And this description is of those
hard to get at places where only grazing animals can reach and survive.
The mattock is a shovel
or hoe that is used to remove weeds, and otherwise cultivate or maintain or
plant the vines or crops.
And here is the
completion of the description of a land that is thoroughly destroyed, such that
people will flee from the cities, abandon the valleys, and go to the hills or
mountains where they may eek out a living as best they can by cultivating an
otherwise uncultivable ground.
These places will be thoroughly
overtaken by the weeds and thorns and though they will be virtually
unmanageable, they will also be a place of hiding and defense for eluding any
enemy that might come looking for them.
Thick thorn bushes provide a defensive wall that many do not want to
enter, thus the fear is not of fright, but of reluctance. Enemy forces will be reluctant and
unmotivated to pursue or to even search out people that might be hiding within
the thick thorn bushes.
So, a disaster and a
difficult environment, will in the future, turn out to be a blessing.
The land is described as
thoroughly destroyed. The population is hammered
down to a small remnant. Life in the cities
is not safe and so people are forced into the hills and otherwise inhospitable
places in order to survive.
Life has to function
within the confines of an area that is overrun by thorns and good for only
substandard livestock. Livestock that runs free for the most part and is not
confined or otherwise contained in an orderly fashion. But yet there are sufficient provisions, for
those in hiding, to survive with some comfort.
The inhospitable living
environment is both difficult but also provides protection in that an enemy is
reluctant to search through it, or searches indiscriminately. There is not much booty to gain from the
rocky hills, so the draw for riches and plunder is not in the hills but in the
cities and valleys. So there is little
incentive to venture into a difficult pursuit that promises nothing.
