Isaiah 17
17
1A message about Damascus. Look, Damascus will cease to exist as a city. Instead it will become a pile of ruins. 2The towns of Aroer will be abandoned. Flocks will live in the streets and rest there, because there won't be anyone to chase them away. 3The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim,#17:3. In other words, Samaria, capital city of the northern tribes symbolized by Ephraim, will be destroyed. Damascus will no longer be a kingdom, and those that are left of the Arameans will be like the lost glory of Israel, declares the Lord Almighty.
4At that time the glory of Jacob will fade away; he will lose his strength.#17:4. “He will lose his strength”: literally, “the fat of his flesh will become lean.” 5It will look as empty as fields after reapers have harvested the grain, gathering up the grain in their arms. It will be like when people pick the heads of grain in the Valley of Rephaim. 6Yet there will be some left behind, like an olive tree that has been shaken—two or three ripe olives are left at the top of the tree, four or five on its lower branches, declares the Lord, the God of Israel.
7At that time people will pay attention to their Creator and look to the Holy One of Israel. 8They won't believe in the altars they built and the idols they made; they will not look to the Asherah poles or the altars of incense.
9At that time their fortified cities will be like places left to be taken over by bushes and trees, just as they were previously abandoned when the Israelites invaded.#17:9. The reference is made to the time when the Israelites conquered the land. This is made explicit in the Septuagint which states that the cities will be abandoned just as the Amorites and the Hivites had done when confronted by the Israelites. The country will become completely desolate.
10You have forgotten the God who saves you; you have not remembered the Rock who protects you. So, even though you plant beautiful plants and grow exotic vines, 11even though you make them grow on the day that you plant them, and have them blossom in the morning that you sow them,#17:11. Clearly an impossibility, and is to be taken as a symbol of the rapid “cultivation” of pagan fertility religions. your harvest will heap of trouble on a day of grief and pain that cannot be cured.
12Disaster is coming to the many nations that growl, growling like the raging sea! Disaster is coming to the peoples who roar, roaring like thundering waters!#17:12. While the nation is not named, this prophecy probably applies to Assyria. 13The nations roar like the roaring of crashing waves. But he#17:13. “He”: referring to the Lord. confronts them, and they run far away, blown by the wind like chaff on the mountains, like tumbleweeds driven by a storm. 14Sudden terror comes in the evening! By morning, they're gone! This is what happens to those who loot us, the fate of those who plunder us.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Isaiah 17
17
A Prophecy about Damascus
1This is God’s message for Damascus:
“Behold, Damascus is gone!
It is no longer a city, only a heap of rubble.
2Her ruins # 17:2 Or “The towns of Aroer.” Aroer means “ruins.” will be abandoned—
left for flocks to lie down in with nothing to fear.
3Damascus will lose the power of her fortress,
and the strongholds of the northern kingdom # 17:3 Or “Ephraim.” will disappear.
The remnant of Syria # 17:3 Or “Aram.” will be like Israel—stripped of its glory,”
says the Lord Yahweh, Commander of Angel Armies.
4“On that day, the beautiful splendor of Jacob’s northern tribes
will be brought low, and they will become like skin and bones.
5It will be as when a farmer harvests the standing grain
and gathers armloads of grain,
and as one gathers ears of grain in the Valley of Giants. # 17:5 Or “mighty men” (Hb. rephaim). Jesus’ life within us will soon reap a harvest of glory (see James 3:18). Armloads (sons and daughters of power) of grain (spiritual harvest) will be seen in coming days through mighty men and women.
6Yet some gleanings will remain,
as when an olive tree is shaken, # 17:6 Olives were harvested by shaking (Hb. “beating”) the tree. See Heb. 12:26.
leaving two or three olives in the highest branches # 17:6 The Torah required farmers to leave some fruit behind for the poor and the stranger to glean. See Lev. 19:9–10. “Two or three” are sufficient for any need when they gather in agreement with Jesus. See Matt. 18:19–20. The uppermost branches point us to our heavenly life in the heavenly realm, our glorious resurrection life (see Col. 3:1–5).
and four or five on its fruitful branches,” # 17:6 Or “on her boughs, the many-branched one.” This points to the fruitful branches of Christ as he branches out through us and brings his fruit to the earth through yielded believers. See John 15:1–8. God appoints some to the “four or five” grace ministries appointed to “nurture and prepare all the holy believers” (see Eph. 4:11–12).
declares Lord Yahweh, the God of Israel.
7In that day, people will gaze toward their Creator, # 17:7 Or “At that time, the Adam will look toward the Creator.” See James 1:22–25.
and their eyes will look in faith toward the Holy One of Israel.
8They will not be infatuated with the religious altars
their own hands crafted,
nor by what their own fingers have made, # 17:8 See Acts 17:18–34.
nor with their sacred groves # 17:8 Or “poles” or “goddesses” (Hb. asherim). Asherim (plural) had a specific pagan context with the Canaanite religions stretching back into Israel’s history. See Ex. 34:13–14. or altars of incense.
9On that day their bustling cities will become deserted
like those conquered by the Israelites—
abandoned to thickets and undergrowth,
it will all become desolate.
10For you have ignored and forgotten the God who saves you
and have not remembered your Rock of Safety. # 17:10 See Deut. 32:15.
So what do you do?
You cultivate your beautiful gardens and plant imported vines.
11Even if on the day you plant them they begin to grow,
and even if immediately you see them bud,
your harvest will wither away in a day of grief and agony.
The Uproar of the Nations
12Ah, the thunder of many people joining together! # 17:12 That is, the armies of Assyria. See Ps. 2:1–3.
They roar like the roar of the sea.
Woe to the uproar of the many nations!
They thunder like the crashing of ocean waves.
13The nations are roaring like the roar of a massive waterfall,
but when God rebukes them they disperse
like chaff on the mountains,
like a tumbleweed whirling in the wind.
14In the evening—behold, sudden terror!
Before the morning comes, they vanish!
Such is the fate of those who plunder and try to rob us. # 17:14 See John 10:10.
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