The tables are turned for Israel in these chapters. Israel is no longer the captive, but the captor, and all of the nations set against it are wailing from the weight of their troubles. The Moabs are fleeing as fast as they can, and the ones who don't flee fast enough get eaten by lions. Lions again! Philistia is going to be eliminated completely without so much as a remnant left. And Babylon, to whom the main taunt-song is dedicated, won't be happy even in the grave. All the kings of all the nations and generations are apparently waiting to see the infamous leaders of Babylon, and the shades are awakened to meet them.
Aside from proclaiming what will happen to the enemy nations, there are some really strong images of the nether world here. The people are weak, the couch is the maggot, and the covering the worm. It is full of shades of the formerly glorious, who aren't against taunting the new arrivals in Isaiah. All and all, I think we can assume it is a dreary place, if not downright terrifying. It's no wonder that with the resurrection we can say now, oh death where is your sting? Certainly we still grieve when people die because we would rather have their company on earth now. And we all still appear to die. It is only an appearance though, in that we don't spend time in the nether world waiting for the savior. From all accounts of near-death experiences, it would seem you're given the choice to "go to the light" right away without any real taste of death or a nether world. So when one considers the idea of death in the old testament, we really don't die.
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3 comments:
The thing this most reminds me of is book 11 of the Aenid, with the bit about the shades of the death and the kings of nations rising to greet them. The could be some influence, actually, as there is some overlap in their timelines. (Also nightmares of having to translate that from Latin. Gag me.)
I knew I should have learned Latin! In the meantime, I will have to take your word on it.
I must have been very tired when I wrote that comment. Umm. It is book 6, not 11. And the story is called the "Aeneid" not the "Aenid". Mama mia. Ah, well.
There's an interesting website (can't vouch for its translation) that has the site with both versions (English and Latin) available; if you feel like checking it out:
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~loxias/aeneidbook6.htm
Latin is worth the time to check out, if you ever feel like you have the time. The UK's national archives are simply quite brilliant, and practical:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/latin/beginners/
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