And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
The verse is God's answer to Isaiah's cry, Lord, how long — how long would none of His chosen people understand and repent and be healed. It foretells that persistent rebellion would end in devastation, with men removed far away and a great forsaking leaving the land desolate and abandoned. Those severe judgments would take the form of war, exile, oppression and loss of national power, with the ten tribes scattered among the nations and Judah itself eventually taken captive. The forsaking stands together with the rebuke of continual backsliding, refusal to repent, rejection of the word of the Lord and false assurances of peace, and with the call to amend ways and doings and to hear the Lord so that the soul may live.
It defines the prophet's duty to lift his voice in protest against prevailing evils and to keep delivering messages of warning and entreaty to rebellious, erring Judah until the widespread desolation and exile come. Because the evils that had multiplied for many generations could not be removed in Isaiah's day, he must be throughout his lifetime a patient, courageous teacher, a prophet of hope as well as of doom. The judgments would lay bare God's displeasure, yet they could lead to repentance those who recognized His hand in them.
The desolation would not make Isaiah's mission fruitless and his burden of soul would not be borne in vain, for warning and appeal were to continue until it came and a remnant would ultimately be saved. The promised land would not remain forsaken forever, but the divine purpose would finally be accomplished in a remnant that should return, in whom would appear the full fruitage of his efforts and of the labors of all God's faithful messengers. As part of Isaiah's commission, this warning of removal and desolation is applied to sounding a warning and preparing people for the coming day of God.
The verse is God's answer to Isaiah's cry, Lord, how long — how long would none of His chosen people understand and repent and be healed. It foretells that persistent rebellion would end in devastation, with men removed far away and a great forsaking leaving the land desolate and abandoned. Those severe judgments would take the form of war, exile, oppression and loss of national power, with the ten tribes scattered among the nations and Judah itself eventually taken captive. The forsaking stands together with the rebuke of continual backsliding, refusal to repent, rejection of the word of the Lord and false assurances of peace, and with the call to amend ways and doings and to hear the Lord so that the soul may live.
It defines the prophet's duty to lift his voice in protest against prevailing evils and to keep delivering messages of warning and entreaty to rebellious, erring Judah until the widespread desolation and exile come. Because the evils that had multiplied for many generations could not be removed in Isaiah's day, he must be throughout his lifetime a patient, courageous teacher, a prophet of hope as well as of doom. The judgments would lay bare God's displeasure, yet they could lead to repentance those who recognized His hand in them.
The desolation would not make Isaiah's mission fruitless and his burden of soul would not be borne in vain, for warning and appeal were to continue until it came and a remnant would ultimately be saved. The promised land would not remain forsaken forever, but the divine purpose would finally be accomplished in a remnant that should return, in whom would appear the full fruitage of his efforts and of the labors of all God's faithful messengers. As part of Isaiah's commission, this warning of removal and desolation is applied to sounding a warning and preparing people for the coming day of God.