In | A Remnant of Trees, Part 2

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Therefore the LORD God of hosts
will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors,
and under his glory a burning will be kindled,
like the burning of fire.
The light of Israel will become a fire,
and his Holy One a flame,
and it will burn and devour
his thorns and briers in one day . . .
The glory of his forest and of his fruitful land
the LORD will destroy . . .
The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few
that a child can write them down.

In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness.
Isaiah 10:16-22 ESV

The light of YHWH provides warmth and guidance in times of obedience and fidelity, but becomes a devouring fire when His people are disobedient and disloyal. The wickedness of the people becomes a kind of kindling, a fuel of “thorns and briars.” The additional reference to a forest burning suggests both a vast amount of judgment and an enormous amount of fuel (wickedness) to fuel YHWH’s flame.

Following this conflagration, a tiny portion of trees will remain—a “remnant so few that a child can write them down.” This remnant will turn away from political alliances and surrender to YHWH—the God of their ancestors.