Now Isaiah commences a whole new theme. He is going to explain how the Lord intends to commence his work in preparation for the coming Millennium. Amazingly the work is going to begin with the Gentiles. It will be among them that a mighty standard will be raised up to which the Israelites from all over the world can rally.
23. And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their face towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
It will be an amazing situation. The Israelites of the latter days who will have been spurned, persecuted, deprived of their rights and locked up in fetters will suddenly be elevated to a position where kings and queens will seek to nourish them and support them. Royal families will bow before them and honor them.
24. For shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives delivered?
But before this prediction becomes a reality, it will seem impossible to fulfill. For centuries, the Jews, native American Indians, Polynesians and other remnants of Israel will have been suppressed and virtually serving as captives of the Gentiles. Under these adverse circumstances they will read the prophecy in Isaiah and exclaim, "How shall the prey be taken from the mighty Gentiles? Or the lawful captives delivered?"