ISAIAH 17
AS I SAID PREVIOUSLY, Isaiah 13 began a section ending at Isaiah 23:18 where GOD GIVES ISAIAH prophesies against the nations. It is fitting for judgment to begin at the house of God, so the LORD has first spoken to Israel and Judah. But now, the LORD speaks against THE NATIONS.
GOD'S JUDGMENT TO COME on SYRIA & ISRAEL.
ISAIAH 17 OPENS WITH....
The Burden Against Syria and Israel & GOD'S prophecy of doom upon Syria and Israel.
Verses 1-6 tells us The LORD speaks to Damascus and Ephraim.
"The burden against Damascus. "Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they will be for flocks which lie down, and no one will make them afraid. The fortress also will cease from Ephraim, the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria; they will be as the glory of the children of Israel," says the LORD of hosts. "In that day it shall come to pass that the glory of Jacob will wane, and the fatness of his flesh grow lean. It shall be as when the harvester gathers the grain, and reaps the heads with his arm; It shall be as he who gathers heads of grain In the Valley of Rephaim. Yet gleaning grapes will be left in it, like the shaking of an olive tree, two or three olives at the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in its most fruitful branches," says the LORD God of Israel."
A BIT OF HISTORY....
DID YOU KNOW Damascus WAS ONE OF THE GREAT CITIES of the ancient world, AND THE CAPITAL of the ancient nation of Syria. Syria is positioned to the immediate north-east of Israel, and the NORTHERN tribes OF ISRAEL, around the Sea of Galilee, had constant contact and interaction with Syria.
Behold, Damascus WILL CEASE from being a city, and it will be an RUINOUS heap...Damascus was ALSO ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL cities of the ancient world, but the coming Assyrian judgment would reduce it to a heap of ruins.
The fortress WILL ALSO CEASE from Ephraim...As is often the case, the northern kingdom of Israel is referred to by its dominate tribe, Ephraim.
AND SINCE WE HAVE STUDIED ALL OF GENESIS, WE KNOW THAT EPHRAIM WAS ONE OF THE TWO SONS OF JOSEPH, ONE OF THE SONS OF JACOB & RACHEL, AND THE SAME JOSEPH AND HIS COAT OF MANY COLORS!
At this time, ISRAEL WAS DIVIDED.
THE SOUTHERN TRIBES/KINGDOM OF ISRAEL WAS CALLED JUDAH.
AND THE NORTHERN TRIBES/KINGDOM CALLED Israel/EPHRAIM.
AND THIS TELLS US THAT Syria were closely aligned WITH EPHRAIM/ISRAEL AND against Judah.
Since they are such close friends, God will announce His judgment against Ephraim, against Israel, at the same time He speaks to Syria!
AND 2 Kings 15:29 and 16:9 describe the fulfillment of this prophecy when ASSYRIA DESTROYED THE NORTHERN KINGDOM & TOOK THEM ALL CAPTIVE BACK TO ASSYRIA.
AND INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, TODAY, Israel's MODERN DAY interaction with Syria is interesting, and a potential hot-spot for future conflict.
WHAT DO I MEAN?
When Syria occupied the Golan Heights, a strategically crucial high plateau above the whole region of Galilee, Israel was under constant threat of invasion and shelling from Syrian placements on the Golan. But when Syria eventually made a full on invasion of Israel from the Golan, Israel miraculously beat them back and captured the Golan Heights.
Now, Syria insists that this strategically crucial region is theirs and must be given back. The Israelis are adamant that they will NEVER give back land that belongs to them, and is necessary for their security.
In the meantime, Syria fights Israel through terrorism and their support of militia groups in Lebanon. The dream of a "Greater Syria," encompassing Syria, Lebanon, and parts of northern Israel is a powerful influence in the Syrian leadership.
SO AS WITH MOST OF ISAIAH, THERE IS A NEAR AND FAR FULFILLMENT OF THIS JUDGMENT, AMEN?
Verses 7-9 tells us the HUMBLE response to the judgment of the LORD.
"In that day a man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will have respect for the Holy One of Israel. He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands; he will not respect what his fingers have made, nor the wooden images nor the incense altars. In that day his strong cities will be as a forsaken bough and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel; and there will be desolation."
In that day a man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will have respect for the Holy One of Israel...In the midst of such severe judgment, some will respond as they should, with humble respect for God.
He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands...One of God's purposes in judgment is to turn our focus away from our idols and the things we have trusted in instead of Him. This speaks of this purpose being fulfilled.
His strong cities will be as a forsaken bough...In judgment, God would strip away from Israel every wrong thing they might have trusted in - pagan altars, wooden images, incense altars, people, leaders, and even their strong cities would give no protection. Their only hope was in the LORD.
Verses 10-11 tells us God's judgment will bring man's work to nothing.
"Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold, therefore you will plant pleasant plants and set out foreign seedlings; in the day you will make your plant to grow, and in the morning you will make your seed to flourish; but the harvest will be a heap of ruins in the day of grief and desperate sorrow."
You will plant pleasant plants …you will make your seed to flourish; but the harvest will be a HEAP OF RUINS. One aspect of the LORD's judgment against Israel will be to bring their hard work to nothing. They will work hard to plant and grow crops (both literally and figuratively), but the harvest will be a heap of ruins.
This can be one of the most devastating aspects of the LORD's judgment.
HAGGAI 1:6 speaks of this work of the LORD..."You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but do not have enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes."
LUKE 5:1-10, where Jesus tells us, How much better it is to be listening to Jesus, and to have our service directed and blessed BY HIM.
Why did the LORD bring this judgment on Israel?
Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation.
SOME HAVE SAID...this does not seem like a "GREAT" sin.
After all, why does God need us to remember Him? Why can't we just leave Him alone, and He leave us alone?
IN MY LIFE, I HAVE HAD MANY, WHAT I CALL, CLOSE CALLS WITH DEATH, DOOM, AND DISASTER...AND INSTANTLY THANKED JESUS FOR SPARING ME, PROTECTING ME, AND KEEPING ME FROM HARM...THAT IS JUSTTTT THOSE THINGS IN THE NATURAL THAT WE CAN SEE A NANOSECOND BEFORE THEY HAPPEN.
HOW MUCH CLOSER WOULD WE STAY TO JESUS IF WE REMEMBERED THE SPIRITUAL PLANE, COULD SEE INTO THE SPIRITUAL PLANE, WHERE THE DEMONS PLOT AND PLAN, AND IF WE COULD SEE INTO THE HEART OF MAN, THE WORLD, AND SATAN, AND KNOWWWWWWWWW HOW MANY TIMES IN ONE DAY THAT JESUS DEFENDS AND PROTECTS AND SHIELDS US FROM DESTRUCTION?!
WE NEED TO STAY CLOSE TO THE ONLYYYYYYY ONE, WHO SEES ALL, READS ALL HEARTS AND MINDS, AND KNOWSSS ALL PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE... THE ONLYYYYYY ONE, WHO CAN NOT BE CAUGHT OFF GUARD...THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN NOTTTTTT BE TRICKED, DECEIVED, OR MISLED, AMEN?!?!
It is a sin to forget the God of your salvation because He created you, and because He is the God of your salvation.
Satan does not need to make us bank robbers or murderers to destroy us.
It is quite enough to simply make us FORGET.
WE SEE MANY THAT HAVE THAT MOMENT IN TIME, WHEN THEIR HEARTS ARE TENDER, THEY FEEL THE CALL AND CONVICTION OF JESUS CALLING THEM. THEY CHOOSE JESUS IN THAT MOMENT. THEY REPENT, INVITE HIM INTO THEIR HEART AND LIFE TO BE THEIR LORD, SAVIOR, MASTER, AND FRIEND. THEY BEGIN TO SEEK JESUS, THROUGH HIS WORD, IN PRAYER, AND STAYING CLOSE TO JESUS...TRUSTING IN HIM.
AND THEN LITTLE BY LITTLE, DAY BY DAY, THE WORLD INTRUDES, THE BUSY RAT RACE OF LIFE, JOB, FAMILY PRESS IN MORE AND MORE AND THE TIME IN PRAYER, BIBLE READING, SEEKING JESUS IN ALL THINGS....WANS...
AND BEFORE YOU KNOW IT....JESUS HAS GONE FROM THE DRIVER'S SEAT, TO RIDING SHOT GUN, THEN TO THE BACK SEAT, AND THEN PUT IN THE TRUNK....LIKE AN EMERGENCY ONLY FIRST AID KIT, OR SPARE TIRE, ONLY TO BE REMEMBERED AND REACHED FOR IN TIMES OF TRIAL, CRISIS, AND FEAR.
SATAN AND THE WORLD PULLS US AWAY, CAUSES US TO FORGET AND THEN NEGLECT THE ONE ON ONE TIME WITH JESUS. THE ONE ON ONE RELATIONSHIP AND COMMUNICATION WITH JESUS...
We ALL MAKE EXCUSES, CHOICES, DECISIONS, AND SOME OF THEM SEEM LEGITIMATE...IT HAS BEEN A LONG DAY, I AM MENTALLY, PHYSICALLY, AND EMOTIONALLY EXHAUSTED. JESUS UNDERSTANDS...TOMORROW I WILL SPEND TIME WITH JESUS...TOMORROW I WILL PRAY...TOMORROW I WILL READ HIS WORD...
TOMORROW I WILL...
TOMORROW I WILL...
BUT TOMORROW COMES...AND ITS NEW SET OF CHALLENGES, TRIALS, SCHEDULE CHANGES, & UNEXPECTEDS...AND WE SAY,
LATER TODAY I WILL ...
TONIGHT I WILL...
OR WORSE...AGAIN....TOMORROW I WILL.
AS CHRISTIANS, WE FORGET THAT THE WORLD AND Satan DOES NOT care much about how he does it, or what excuse we use, he is just pleased that we FORGET THE GOD OF OUR SALVATION, AMEN?
God ALSO PROMISES HE will destroy the nation that BRINGS the doom upon Syria and Israel.
Verses 12-13a tells us of the rush of the nations against Syria and Israel.
"Woe to the multitude of many people who make a noise like the roar of the seas, and to the rushing of nations that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters."
AND WE KNOW THAT WHENEVER WE SEE JESUS OR ALMIGHTY GOD SAY....((((WOE))))...IT IS HIS WARNING OF DOOM TO COME.
The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters...
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
God will use other nations to bring judgment against Syria and Israel. They will come against them like a flash flood that can't be stopped.
Verses 13b-14 tells us God's judgment against the nations that rush against Israel.
"But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, and be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. Then behold, at eventide, trouble! And before the morning, he is no more. This is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who rob us."
When God ALLOWS the rush of nations AGAINST Israel, it DOES NOT mean that the nations He uses to judge will be walking right with Him and exempt from judgment. Instead, God will rebuke them and they will flee far away. God can use one sinner to judge another, and then judge the sinner He just used!
This is a comforting principle...
WHY?
Even in the midst of judgment, God shows mercy. As bad as it was going to be for Israel, it could have been worse. Instead, God will allow it for a time, then He would rebuke those attacking Israel. Israel was not at the mercy of circumstances or their enemies; they were at the mercy of God.
AND WE NEED TO REMEMBER GOD SPOKE TO THEIR LEADERS, TO THE PEOPLE THROUGH HIS PROPHETS...HE SPOKE, HE WARNED, HE REMINDED OVER AND OVER AGAIN....BUT THE PEOPLE, THE KINGS, THE CIVIC & RELIGIOUS LEADERS OF THE TIME...REFUSED TO LISTEN, REFUSED TO HEAR, REFUSED TO BELIEVE, AND REFUSED TO REPENT, TURN TO THEIR GOD, AND TRUST HIM AND HIM ALONE TO PROVIDE, LEAD, GUIDE, AND PROTECT...FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS....BEFORE THEIR JUDGMENT CAME.
AS I HAVE SAID BEFORE, AS A PARENT AND GRANDPARENT, WHO THINKS OF MYSELF AS BEING FAIRLY PATIENT, I HAVE LEARNED JUST HOW PATIENT, LOVING, LONG-SUFFERING OUR TRIUNE GOD IS...
CAN ANY OF US IMAGINE...SAYING DANGER DANGER DANGER!!!! STOP STOP STOP STOP!!!! COME BACK HERE COME BACK HERE!!! DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT!!!! OBEY ME OBEY ME!!! TRUST ME!!! FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS BEFORE WE PUNISHED OUR KIDS FOR EMOTIONALLY, PHYSICALLY, AND SPIRITUALLY DANGEROUS BEHAVIORS???
SO THE MORE WE STUDY THE BIBLE, THE MORE WE COME TO KNOW THE GREAT I AM...THE GOD WHO NEVER CHANGES. THE GOD WHO NEVER LIES...THE GOD OF AMAZING GRACE, MERCY, LOVE AND PATIENCE. OUR PRECIOUS JESUS CHRIST.
SO WHEN THE LOST, THE BLIND, THE ARROGANT CRITICS AND DEBATERS COME AND SAY...YOUR GOD IS RUTHLESS, MERCILESS, HE ZAPS PEOPLE LEFT AND RIGHT ON A WHIM. HE DESTROYED THE WHOLE EARTH, KILLING ALL OF 7 BILLION PEOPLE, AND SPARED ONLY 8...
WE KNOW DURING THE TIME OF THE FLOOD, THAT OUR ALMIGHTY GOD SPOKE, WARNED, PLEADED, URGED FOR ALMOST 1000 YEARS...BEFORE JUDGMENT CAME.
AND WE KNOW WITH SODOM AND GOMORRAH, THAT GOD SO LOVED, THAT HE TOLD ABRAHAM, IF I CAN FIND 10 RIGHTEOUS IN THE CITIES AND SURROUNDING TOWNS, WHICH EQUALED MILLIONS OF PEOPLE...IF I CAN FIND 10, I WILL SPARE THEM ALL...BUT ONLY LOT, HIS WIFE, AND TWO DAUGHTERS WERE FOUND WORTHY TO BE SPARED.
SO WE SERVE AN AMAZINGLY PATIENT, LOVING, KIND, MERCIFUL AND LONG-SUFFERING JESUS CHRIST.
NO MATTER WHAT THE DAY BRINGS...NO MATTER THE DARK CLOUDS SEEMINGLY ON OUR HORIZONS...STAY CLOSE TO JESUS CHRIST, FIRST AND FOREMOST...HE AND HE ALONE IS ABLE...IF WE WILL CALL UPON HIS NAME, IF WE WILL SEEK HIM, IF WE WILL TRUST HIM....THEN NO POWER ON EARTH OR IN HELL CAN BREAK OR STOP OR ALTER THE PLANS, PROTECTIONS, DIRECTIONS, AND PROVISIONS JESUS HAS FOR US.
COME WHAT MAY....ALWAYS AND ONLY TRUST IN JESUS.
HE HAS NEVER AND WILL NEVER FAIL US!