shall not rise from the evil that I

will bring upon her' (Jer. 51:63,64).

The modern state of Iraq corresponds with ancient Chaldea.  It is an

independent state, whose first monarch was king Feisal, elected in 1921.  By

a treaty concluded in 1922, Britain agreed to terminate its mandatory

responsibilities when Iraq gained admission to the League of Nations.  One of

the countries, therefore, of great importance in prophecy is the land of

Mesopotamia.  Every development there should be watched, for each is a

further step towards the end.

Immediately preceding these verses, the prophet writes:

'I will break the Assyrian in My land, and upon My mountains tread him

under foot' (Isa. 14:25).

Babylon and Jerusalem are the two great cities of prophecy, and

Palestine necessarily comes into view.  The 'burden' is dated, 'In the year

that king Ahaz died'.  The record of the life of Ahaz is found in 2

Chronicles 28, where we read that, because of his idolatry, Judah was

delivered into the hands of Syria and Israel.  Ahaz robbed the house of the

Lord, and shut the doors of the temple, and ruined not only himself but his

Palestine is warned not to rejoice because 'the rod of him that smote

thee is broken' (i.e. at the failure of the king of Judah) 'for out of the

serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice'.  This looks forward to the

time of the end, when the troubles of Palestine that are now gathering

strength shall reach their climax.

The Lord's answer to the vexed question now agitating Palestine is:

'The Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of His people shall trust in it' or

'betake themselves unto it' (margin), (Isa. 14:32).

Both in Psalm 60 (verses 6 -8) and in Psalm 108 (verses 7 -9) the final

triumph of Judah over Philistia is assured.

Present -day movements in Palestine are likened to the appearance of

leaves on the fig tree: 'Ye know that summer is nigh'.  Every movement in

Palestine is of great interest to the child of God, for the people of Israel

and their land are keys to prophetic interpretation.

For our present purpose we must pass over Moab and Damascus without

comment, except to suggest that the exhortation: 'Let Mine outcasts dwell

with thee, Moab' (Isa. 16:4) may have reference to the days when those in

Judæa shall flee to the mountains (Matt. 24:16).

With regard to the 'woe' pronounced in chapter 18, we cannot agree with

the commentators that Ethiopia is addressed.  The people addressed are

'beyond the river of Ethiopia' and accustomed to send ambassadors by 'sea'.

The LXX speaks of this land as 'the land of winged ships'.  Messengers are

sent 'to a nation scattered and peeled' (Isa. 18:2).  Govett translates the

passage: 'To a nation dragged away and plucked'.  These words are a wonderful

epitome of Israel's experiences, and the words that follow: 'A people