ISAIAH 17 AN ORACLE CONCERNING DAMASCUS

Isaiah 17

An oracle concerning Damascus

Isa 17:1  The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. 

This is a prophetic declaration from God foretelling calamity upon Damascus, the capital of Syria. Both the city and the kingdom would be reduced to rubble. This prophecy was fulfilled by Tiglath-Pileser (2 Kings 16:9) during the reign of King Ahaz.

Isa 17:2  The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid. 

Aroer along with its surrounding towns, would be abandoned. The desolate land would be left for flocks to graze in peace, undisturbed by people. This Aroer must be a lesser-known place in Syria—or it may be a poetic allusion, underscoring the reach of judgment across borders as the well known Aroer was of Moab.

Isa 17:3  The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the LORD of hosts. 

The strongholds of Ephraim, Damascus, and other Syrian territories would fall. Since Ephraim and Syria had formed an alliance, they would share the same ruin, declared by the Lord.

Isa 17:4  And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean. 

On that day, Israel’s strength and dignity would wither, becoming feeble and emaciated, like a man wasting away from illness.

Isa 17:5  And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim. 

Corn in scriptures stands for grains such as wheat, barley etc. Just as a farmer cuts down his grain and clears the field, so the enemies of Ephraim would come and sweep through, removing the people and wealth to a distant land. The valley of Rephaim, known for rich harvests, would become a scene of desolation.

Isa 17:6  Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the LORD God of Israel. 

The judgement upon Ephraim and Syria is further depicted through the imagery of gleaning grapes from the vine, leaving only a few clusters behind, and of thoroughly shaking an olive tree so that merely a handful of berries remain clinging to the highest and outermost branches. In the same way, only a weak and scattered remnant would be left in the land. This prophecy was historically fulfilled when the ten northern tribes of Israel were carried away into exile by Tiglath-Pileser and later by Shalmaneser (2 Kings 15:29; 17:6). 

Isa 17:7  At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel. 

Afflicted by calamity, the people sense the danger and realise that none but God can protect them. They recognise their guilt and for a time they turn their eyes to God, seeking His protection.

Isa 17:8  And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.

They would abandon their idolatrous shrines and realise that the altars, images, and sacred groves they had made could not deliver them.

Isa 17:9  In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation. 

Israel’s fortified cities would be deserted, like the uppermost branch left unharvested. A few cities will be left for the children of Israel to dwell while the rest of the kingdom would be destroyed.

Isa 17:10  Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips: 

Because Israel forgot their Saviour and neglected their refuge, they sought satisfaction in foreign customs and alliances, and took delight in worshipping foreign gods and images, symbolised by planting exotic vines in their land.

Isa 17:11  In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow. 

Continuing the imagery of people carefully nurturing their cherished plants, tending them from morning with eager expectation of a prosperous yield. But the time of harvest brings bitter sorrow and grievous disappointment. Their labours symbolised their misplaced trust in foreign alliances and false gods that proved futile as their enemies devastated the land and their idols proved powerless to save them.

Isa 17:12  Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! 

Woe is pronounced upon the confederate armies of many nations, whose advance is likened to the restless roaring of the sea and the surging of mighty waters. The armies march with the deafening clamour of weapons — an overwhelming flood of nations rising up in rebellion against God’s people.

Isa 17:13  The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. 

Though these nations rise like a surging flood, at God's rebuke they will scatter like dust on the mountaintops—swept away by the wind, driven like chaff in the fury of the whirlwind. They will be unable to stand against the power of divine judgement.

Isa 17:14  And behold at evening tide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us. 

Trouble might arise by evening, but by dawn it would vanish. Such would be the fate of those who plunder and oppress God's people.

 

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