(Isa. 10:17–19; refer in this text to 2 Ne. 15:6)
Trees in general were highly valued by the inhabitants of the ancient Near East as sources of food, fuel, and building material… . The loftiness of trees, along with the great value men placed upon them, made trees an ideal metaphor for arrogance and materialism.
In the same fashion, characteristics of the lowly briars and thorns render them an appropriate metaphor for pride and worldliness… . All thistles … are invasive, noxious, and unruly, doing harm to any that would touch them–traits commonly found in the proud and worldly as well.
Isaiah coupled the lowly briars and thorns with the lofty trees of the forest to illustrate and foretell the fate of the ungrateful, rebellious, and worldly, be they rich or poor, great or small. For example, in speaking of the destruction of the boastful Assyrians, Isaiah prophesied that the flame of the Holy One would devour Assyria’s thorns and briars “in one day” and also “consume the glory of his [Assyria’s] forest,” so that the remaining trees would be so few even a child could count them (see Isa. 10:17–19).
(Terry Ball, Thy People Shall Be My People and Thy God My God: The 22nd Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1994], 23.)
The “forest” (people) of Assyria shall be destroyed so completely that a child will be able to count those (‘trees’) who remain. The Babylonians and Persians later fulfilled this prophesy, destroying completely the Assyrians as a nation and people.
(Hoyt W. Brewster, Jr., Isaiah Plain and Simple [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1995], 102.)