Isaiah 11:14
14 But they shall fly [`uwph] upon the shoulders [katheph]
of the Philistines [Palishtiy] toward the west;
[yam] they shall spoil [bazaz] them [ben] of the east [qedem] together: [yachad] they
shall lay [mishlowach] their hand [yad] upon Edom ['Edom] and Moab;
[Mow'ab] and the children [ben] of Ammon [`Ammown] shall
obey [mishma`ath] them. KJV-Interlinear
14 And they
will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines on the west; Together they
will plunder the sons of the east; They will possess Edom and Moab; And the
sons of Ammon will be subject to them. NASB
The subject of this
chapter is the sudden and awesome changes that will occur after the Second
Advent, when Christ returns and takes the throne or rulership.
When an invading force is
powerful and invades suddenly such that it overwhelms its enemies, then what occurs
is being described here in a symbolic way.
The Philistines lived on
the southwestern side of the land of Canaan, which is to the west of Judea.
Edom was situated to the
south, while Moab was to the east on both sides of the Jordan River.
Ammon was to the southeast
of Judea.
So all of these countries
were historical and the usual enemies with which Judah and Israel had to fight
over and over again from the time of the judges through the time of David, and
after the split of the nation following the death of Solomon.
But when Christ returns,
the tables will be turned. Christ
Himself will defeat all enemies which will exist across the entire planet.
But after a victory in
any given battle, there is a collection of the spoils, not only from the battle
field, but from the home countries that have been defeated.
All of these countries which
have historically surrounded Israel, will be defeated and in fact they will be
unpopulated. There will not be a living
soul within any of them. Certainly no
enemies will be alive.
This leaves them wide
open for the taking of anything and everything that they once possessed.
To fly upon the
shoulders, is a figure of speech which describes the fast the furious taking of
possession of these lands and property.
There is nothing to stop it and no one to prevent it.
The shoulder is that of a
man or a beast, but it is also a word that represents the border of a
country. And so the Jewish people will make
a rapid descent across all borders, which those borders no longer exist as a
barrier.
To spoil them says it
all. Those who will survive and move in
to the Millennium, will have at their disposal phenomenal wealth and resources,
simply for the taking.
To lay their hand, is
another figure of speech, which indicates the ease of the taking and the lack
of any opposition.
The children of Ammon,
will obey. Ammon was a country that
existed long ago, but they have descendants, both in physical offspring as well
as in the pattern of attitude against the Jews.
Obedience here means defeated, subdued, and therefore obedient. With everyone dead, there is no one to be
disobedient, no one to oppose, no one to hinder the occupation of these lands.
Therefore the Jews will rule
and occupy all that they take, with no opposition.
This verse describes the
rapid advance of Christs victory, on the neighboring countries.
After delivering
Jerusalem and therefore Israel, who had occupying forces within their borders,
now the borders will be extended and no longer be a hindrance, and now the Jews
will occupy those neighboring lands, and own them. After all they no longer have any living owners.
This verse also indicates
that the remnant who will be delivered, will not be a humble dozen or so of
people, but that number will be rather significant.
