Isaiah 30:17

At the rebuke of one. God had promised His people that, if faithful to Him, five of them would chase a hundred, and a hundred would “put ten thousand to flight” (Lev. 26:8). Because of Judah’s perversity, however, the promised blessing would be reversed. During the time of Isaiah, Piankhi of Egypt (see Vol. II, pp. 52, 77) made the proud boast that with the help of his god, Amen, “many shall turn their backs on a few, and one shall rout a thousand.” With a taunting reproach, however, Isaiah proclaimed that those who flee will be the forces of Egypt, in which the reprobate Jews were placing their trust.

As a beacon. Judah would then be left alone like a solitary tree on a mountain peak, or like a flagstaff on a lofty hill. All passers-by could see the terrible fruitage of transgression.