Isaiah 9:20
20 And he shall snatch [gazar] on the right hand, [yamiyn]
and be hungry; [ra`eb] and he shall eat ['akal] on the left hand, [samo'wl]
and they shall not be satisfied: [saba`] they
shall eat ['akal] every man ['iysh] the flesh [basar] of his
own arm: [zarowa`]KJV-Interlinear
20 And they
slice off what is on the right hand but still are hungry, And they eat what is
on the left hand but they are not satisfied; Each of them eats the flesh of his
own arm. NASB
The state of faction and
discord, division and conflict will be great.
The right is typically symbolized
as that which is respected, that which provides.
The left is typically
symbolized as that which is subordinate, that which is provided for.
Eating of ones own flesh
indicates self-destruction, from internal strife.
So, people will take from
that which is provided, will take that which is provided to others, and still
are not satisfied, still will want more and more, never content, never
satisfied, never attaining any semblance of personal satisfaction or happiness.
Selfishness and
disloyalty will reign supreme as the chief attributes of humanity.
When Bible doctrine is
ignored, when Bible doctrine is not learned as it is supposed to be learned,
understood as it is supposed to be understood, applied to ones daily life as it
is supposed to be applied to ones daily life, then the absence of all of this
results in internal discord in oneself, and that overflows into ones
relationships with others.
There is no loyalty to
others, for those for whom you have responsibility, and especially for those of
whom you do not know such as strangers or neighbors. It becomes an, everyone for himself
mentality.
Most folks grow up in a
family setting where these things are taught, and youngsters learn the basics
of manners and empathy for others at a very young age. These things are ingrained in their learning
and knowledge for life.
When the family setting
breaks down, then that early learning breaks down and children grow up with
dysfunctional attributes for life. But
still they can learn eventually, because these things exist within
society. That learning requires
conscious effort and good decisions on their part, however.
Add Bible doctrine to the
mix and anyone is capable of turning their own life around if they are so
inclined.
But, when that final
generation of history comes onto the scene, when the Rapture occurs and all restraint
is removed from this world, then society on the whole will have virtually no incentive,
no standards by which to guide them, except their own conscience.
And a mind that is
inclined toward bad, will produce and promote only bad. Without structure and standards, then bad is
the only thing in view and the only thing desired. The end result will be the worst decline in society
ever.
And so Isaiah uses the
impending destruction of the northern kingdom, to outline what will be the
standard for those final days of history, and the ultimate decline of humanity.
