Isaiah 10:19
19 And the rest [sha'ar] of the
trees [`ets] of his forest [ya`ar] shall be few, [micpar] that
a child [na`ar] may write [kathab] them. KJV-Interlinear
19 And the
rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number That a child could
write them down. NASB
A child, ‘naar,’ generally
refers to a child anywhere from infancy to adolescence. But it is generally used as child of pre-school
or pre-education age. Usually the
context determines the use of the word, and here it should be obvious that a
child is a young child who can barely count.
That is the intent here.
However, this verse has a
secondary meaning, and that is simply that there will be so few trees, that the
destruction of Assyria will be so complete and devastating, that it will be
completely obvious that a judgment against them has occurred.
By comparison, if you saw
the aftermath of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in Washington, which occurred
about 1980 or thereabouts, then you know about or perhaps have seen photos of
the huge forests to the north of the mountain, that were totally blown
down. Driving through that area puts you
in awe of the phenomenal power and destruction that is obvious, and there is no
mistake as to the cause.
Now, as for Assyria, you
cannot go to a single point and see the entire empire, but the picture being portrayed
here is of a totally destroyed place.
Not just in the loss of human life, but in the loss of virtually
everything else.
And too, remember that
Assyria was overrun by Babylon and Persia but this degree of devastation did
not occur then. This devastation will
occur at the end of the Tribulation, and also remember that there will be a
pile of bodies stretching for several hundred miles with blood flowing as high
as the horses bridle. Review our Revelations
study.
Counting trees will be
the last thing that anyone, who may survive, will be doing. The battle field will be so horribly
horrifying, not to mention the masses of scavenger animals that will pour out
of seemingly nowhere, to help in the cleanup.
God does not doddle when
it comes time for lasting judgment. He is
thorough and misses nothing.
For those who are going to
die, they will die. For those who are going to be delivered, they will be delivered.
God makes no mistakes, overlooks no one, and He is never wrong.
