Isaiah 17

”If the people you trust do not trust the Lord, their judgment may become your judgment.” Warren W.Wiersbe: With the Word, p.462. This chapter calls to us across the centuries to trust in the Lord and not in mere people.

This prophecy is given against Damascus, the capital city of Aram (Syria), and also against Ephraim (Israel, the ten northern tribes of the divided kingdom.) It relates to a time when both Aram and Ephraim were in an alliance against Judah (see 7:1 – 9:21). The Israelites were going to be judged along with Aram, because they put their trust in their pagan neighbours instead of in God. (The reference to ”imported vines” in verse 10 also concerns this unholy alliance.) The judgment of God is a real thing. Imagine words such as those in (1) being spoken about a great city today: Leeds, for example: ”Watch this: Damascus undone as a city, a pile of dust and rubble! Her towns emptied of people, The sheep and goats will move in And take over the towns as if they owned them – which they will! (2) The Message. This prophecy proved true within a few short years. The Assyrians captured Damascus in 732 B.C. and ten years later conquered Israel. Israel and Syria had huddled together for warmth against the approaching storm of the Assyrians, but their alliance was unable to protect them from the severe weather. To trust in man is always futile.

Verses 4 to 11 relate primarily to Israel. In (5-8) Isaiah says that a small number of Israelites will remain faithful to God and survive His judgment: ”She’ll be like a few stalks of barley left standing in the lush Valley of Rephaim after harvest. Or like the couple of ripe olives overlooked in the top of the olive tree, Or the four or five apples that the pickers couldn’t reach in the orchard.” The Message. No doubt some of these people turned away from paganism to God because they feared the judgment that was coming. Indeed many of them would eventually leave Israel and settle in Judah. But what of those who would not turn to God? They would be driven from the ”strong cities” (9) they had taken from the Canaanites. As the people of Canaan had fled before them, the people of Israel would now show their heels to the Assyrians.

Isaiah pictures the nations of the Middle East ‘‘raging’’ like the ”raging sea” (12). They are raging against the Lord, His people, and ultimately against Jesus (Psalm 2:1-6; Acts 4:25, 26). However, God is so powerful He will drive them back like ”chaff” before the ”wind” (13). Assyria was one of those turbulent nations God the Lord was going to deal with decisively. There is no doubt about as to who is in ultimate control. These verses (12-14) can comfort and encourage us today as we hear terribly disturbing reports from that region of the world.

God’s holiness is dangerous to sinful man. Like Aslan, in C.S. Lewis’ ‘The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe’, He is good, but He isn’t safe! The key to security when faced with the reality of God’s judgment is to trust in Him alone (7 and 10). To place your confidence anywhere else is to court disaster. (See Deuteronomy 8:19, 20). Without trust in God you can have apparent success (10, 11), but it will only be for a limited time. ”We shall never garner the harvest without his help and blessing…The co-operation and blessing of God, sought in answer to prayer, cannot be left out of our calculations, if we are to win lasting success.” F.B. Meyer: Great verses through the Bible, p.275

Prayer: Forgetful I may be at times Lord, but cause me to always remember you, and know that you are trustworthy.