“And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.”
As for all the hills that were cultivated with the hoe, you will not go there for fear of briars and thorns, but they will be for sending out oxen and for trampling by sheep—the judgment is complete: what was once cultivated for human food production becomes pasture for animals, and humans cannot even access the land due to thorns and briars. The specific mention of fear emphasizes the psychological effect of judgment; the land becomes hostile and dangerous to humans. The assignment of land to oxen and sheep suggests reversal of priority; animals inherit what humans cultivated. This verse concludes the judgment oracle; the devastation of Isaiah 7:17-25 is thorough and includes economic, social, psychological, and environmental dimensions. Yet even in this devastation, the land supports animals, suggesting that nature continues and that eventual recovery might be possible.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
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