Isaiah
24:10
10 The city [qiryah] of
confusion [tohuw] is broken down [shabar]: every house [bayith] is
shut up [cagar], that no man may come in [bow']. KJV-Interlinear
10 The wasted city is broken down; every
house is shut up so that none can enter. ESV
The word for
confusion, ‘tohuw,’ means emptiness, vanity, waste, destitution of form, and
refers to the destructive state of the city, as well as the wilderness that
results from its destruction and depopulation.
Broken down,
describes the destruction. The buildings
and roads and all that makes up a city, are in a shambles.
Homes shut up,
refers to both the destruction of buildings making it impossible to enter them,
or they no longer have an entry, as well as anyone who is inside is shut up and
either hiding in extreme fear or they are trapped and unable to get out.
All of these
things, describe the state of the city.
Isaiah is typically
writing about Jerusalem, but later he uses the plural referring to many cities
or many nations that will be brought to judgment, and so this state of destruction
applies to all of the world. The magnitude
of the destruction worldwide will be beyond imagination.
Note quickly,
that these prophecies are for future events, and perhaps a future generation.
The timing of course we do not know. But
in as far as the future of humanity is concerned, it is not going to be a
bright one, but one of a total cleansing of the evils that will have saturated
the human race.
Most of these
events and disasters will be brought on by mans own actions.
