Another nation that some people in Judah wanted to trust in for protection from the Mesopotamian threat was Philistia, on Judah's west, but she too was under the judgment of God.
14:28 This oracle came to Isaiah in the year that King Ahaz died, namely, 715 B.C. The dating of prophecies is rare in Isaiah, so probably this date has some bearing on the interpretation of the oracle.
14:29-32 The Philistines were rejoicing because some king or nation that had oppressed them had lost its power. This may be a reference to David since with the death of Ahaz the power of the Davidic dynasty was at its lowest level so far.165It seems more likely, however, that Assyria is in view (cf. vv. 31-32). This setback led the Philistines to think that this enemy would not oppress them any longer. But Isaiah warned that the oppressor was not gone forever. A worse enemy would come from that nation in the future, probably Assyria or Babylon (v. 29). Only the poorest of the people would survive the coming enemy. Most of the Philistines would starve or be slaughtered (v. 30).
A disciplined enemy from the north would come against Philistia totally demoralizing its inhabitants (v. 31). Evidently messengers from Philistia (and Egypt?) were seeking an alliance with Judea for mutual protection. The Lord advised through Isaiah to trust in Him, Zion being the place of His presence on earth, rather than in Philistia since it was doomed (v. 32).
