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13 The
envy [qin'ah] also of Ephraim ['Ephrayim]
shall depart, [cuwr] and the adversaries [tsarar] of Judah [Yahuwdah] shall
be cut off: [karath] Ephraim ['Ephrayim] shall not envy [qana']
Judah, [Yahuwdah] and Judah [Yahuwdah] shall not vex [tsarar]
Ephraim. ['Ephrayim] KJV-Interlinear
13 Then the
jealousy of Ephraim will depart, And those who harass Judah will be cut off;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, And Judah will not harass Ephraim. NASB
Envy here is written in two ways.
The first, 'qinah,' refers to a jealousy of someone who wants something that you have, or that they perceive that you have, and they want.
The second, 'qana,' refers to a hatred which is driven by jealousy. It has no truthful basis or justification, but is just there because they simply do not like you.
When you deal with lots of people, and especially when you deal with lots of people in what may be considered a competitive situation, then sooner or later you will become the object of their hate. And that hate is driven by their jealousy and further fueled with their gossip against you, neither of which are right, but they just want you to hurt or be hurt and therefore fail in anything or everything. It matters not what your failure is, they just want you to fail in order to justify their hate against you.
And this principle will apply to everyone, even you, since you live in a world that is populated with people. Whether it comes through your work, through your hobby, through your social life, whatever, sooner or later you will become a target.
And if you happen to be advancing in your spiritual life, in the correct way, and thus you learn that you need not compete in this world because it is really the Lord who is driving your life, then others, who are not so inclined in their spiritual life, will hate you because they have to work and you seem to be getting somewhere, even if you are not, so they hate you.
Their hate is not based on logic or even facts, it is simply an emotional reaction of someone who lacks a spiritual life. With no spiritual life or with an ineffective spiritual life, then there are no certainties, no confidences in life that are resident within their soul.
When you lack a spiritual life, then insecure emotion makes up a great deal of all that you have.
Whereas, the growing believer has or should have confidence in Gods care for himself.
And so we now have the relationship between the two nations that were created when Israel split. Samaria, also called Israel, also called Ephraim, was the northern kingdom, and Judah was the southern kingdom.
Their struggle between them was intense and demonstrates those who struggled for their own plan for life as was the case for Samaria, and then there was Judah which represented the nation of Gods choice and therefore blessing.
Samaria was thus jealous, which led to hate, which led to their attempts to destroy Judah.
Now that was back in Isaiah's day.
This principle also applies to all people, including you, who will come face to face with those who would destroy them over nothing. And that is a lot of what jealousy is. A lot to do about nothing. A struggle for removing someone when no removal is needed or even necessary.
Ephraim rejected God but wanted Gods approval. They wanted to be the chosen of God, even as they rejected God.
Judah on the other hand was Gods chosen, and even when Judah was disobedient, they still received Gods favor. More than enough to upset Ephraim.
Judah on the other hand, became an adversary of Ephraim. Vex, 'tsarar,' means adversary, afflict, distress, oppress, oppose, upset, irk, annoy. And Judah, being Gods chosen, would not let Ephraim forget that. Kind of like gloating over ones position or presumed importance. A nose stuck in the air, or a holier than thou sort of attitude.
Therefore, both of these descriptions are of inner hostilities within the Jewish nation.
When Christ takes the reigns of His kingdom, which begins at the second advent, then these emotional and behavioral and even overt hostilities and attitudes will cease.
If you have not yet begun to fit the pieces of this puzzle together, when Christ returns, the world will not be the same. Not by a long shot.
Life will change in the animal kingdom, in the philosophy realm, as well in the human realm.
But we still need to deal with the gentiles, as well as the geographic makeup of the world. Both of which will see dramatic changes, too.
And how do these future changes relate to what we have now?
Why do we have what we have now, and why will things change in the future?
What do you suppose the difference is between the two times in history and why will we never be able to achieve what Christ will achieve?
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