2 Nephi 20:16 - 20:20

2 Nephi 20:16 Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, send among his fat ones, leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire.

Therefore the nations of the earth that vex Israel or each other are the axe or the saw in the hand of Jehovah. The Assyrians are the axe of Jehovah to be used against the tree which is Judah.

2 Nephi 20:17 And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame, and shall burn and shall devour his thorns and his briers in one day;

However, Judah will survive the attacks by the Assyrians and Assyrians will be destroyed by another power.

2 Nephi 20:18 And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body; and they shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth.

The supposed glory that the Assyrians think they possess because of their military power will fail as have all despots over the history of the world. They all fall in time regardless of how powerful they seem.

2 Nephi 20:19 And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.

After a while there will be little to show that they even existed or had such a great influence on Israel.

2 Nephi 20:20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them, but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

After awhile Israel will get the message that the Lord is in charge of history and they will learn to rely on Him for direction rather than on their own logic. They will realize that the Lord truly has the truth of how to live and will follow His lead.