Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 17:1
The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from [being] a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
1. The burden of Damascus ] See on ch. Isa 13:1. The title explains why the prophecy was included amongst those against foreign nations, but is not quite accurate as a description of its contents. The overthrow of Damascus, although mentioned first, is but an incident of the humiliation of its ally Ephraim, which is the principal theme of the oracle.
a ruinous heap ] The words in Heb. are in apposition; one of them is an anomalous formation, is wanting in the LXX., and is rejected by some critics as possibly a dittography.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
1 3. The fate of Damascus.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The burden of Damascus – The oracle indicating calamity or destruction to Damascus (see the note at Isa 13:1). Damascus is taken away. That is, it shall be destroyed. It was represented to the prophet in vision as destroyed (see the note at Isa 1:1).
And it shall be a ruinous heap – See Isa 35:2. This took place under the kings of Assyria, and particularly under Tiglath-pileser. This was in the fourth year of Ahaz 2Ki 16:9.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 17:1-5
The burden of Damascus . . . The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim
The oracle concerning Damascus and Israel
The curse pronounced upon it [Damascene-Syria] falls also upon the kingdom of Israel, because it has allied itself with the heathen Damascus against their brethren in the south and the Davidic kingdom.
From the reign of Hezekiah we are here carried back to the reign of Ahaz, and indeed back far beyond the death year of Ahaz (Isa 14:28) to the boundary line of the reigns of Jotham and Ahaz, soon after the conclusion of the league which aimed at Judahs destruction, by which revenge was taken for the similar league of Asa with Benhadad against Israel (1Ki 15:9). When Isaiah incorporated this oracle in his collection, its threats against the kingdoms of Damascus and Israel had long been fulfilled. Assyria had punished both of them, and Assyria had also been punished, as the fourth strophe (verses 12-14) of the oracle sets forth. The oracle, therefore, stands here on account of its universal contents, which are instructive for all time. (F. Delitzsch.)
The fall of Damascus
When cities do not pray they go down. (J. Parker, D. D.)
The loss of faculty as a judgment
It is possible for a man to moralise about the fate of a city, and forget that the principle of the text is aimed at all life. Life poorly handled means loss of life; faculty fallen into desuetude means faculty fallen into death. (J. Parker, D. D.)
The cities of Aroer
The cities of Aroer represent the land to the east of the Jordan, in which the judgment on Israel, executed by Tiglath-Pileser, began. There were, in fact, two Aroers; an old Amorite Aroer, which fell to the tribe of Reuben, situated on the Amon (Deu 2:36; Deu 3:12, and elsewhere); and an old Ammonite Aroer, which fell to the tribe of Gad–Aroer before Rabba (Rabbath Ammon, Jos 13:25). The site of the ruins of the former is Arair, on the high northern bank of the Mugib; the situation of the latter has not yet been ascertained with certainty. The cities of Aroer are these two Aroers along with the cities on the east of Jordan like them, just as the Orions in Isa 13:10, are Orion and stars like it. (F. Delitzsch, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER XVII
Judgments of God upon Damascus, 1-3;
and upon Israel, 4-6.
Good effects of these judgments on the small remnant or
gleaning that should escape them, 7, 8.
The same judgments represented in other but stronger terms,
and imputed to irreligion and neglect of God, 9-11.
The remaining verses are a distinct prophecy, a beautiful
detached piece, worked up with the greatest elegance,
sublimity, and propriety; and forming a noble description of
the formidable invasion and sudden overthrow of Sennacherib,
exactly suitable to the event, 12-14.
This prophecy by its title should relate only to Damascus; but it full as much concerns, and more largely treats of, the kingdom of Samaria and the Israelites, confederated with Damascus and the Syrians against the kingdom of Judah. It was delivered probably soon after the prophecies of the seventh and eighth chapters, in the beginning of the reign of Ahaz; and was fulfilled by Tiglath-pileser’s taking Damascus, and carrying the people captives to Kir, (2Kg 16:9,) and overrunning great part of the kingdom of Israel, and carrying a great number of the Israelites also captives to Assyria; and still more fully in regard to Israel, by the conquest of the kingdom, and the captivity of the people, effected a few years after by Shalmaneser. – L.
NOTES ON CHAP. XVII
Verse 1. The burden of Damascus.] Which is, according to the common version, The cities of Aroer are forsaken. It has already been observed by the learned prelate that the prophecy, as it relates to Damascus, was executed in the beginning of the reign of Ahaz, probably about the third year. If we credit Midrash, the Damascenes were the most extensive and flagrant of all idolaters. “There were in Damascus three hundred and sixty-five streets, in each of these was an idol, and each idol had his peculiar day of worship; so that the whole were worshipped in the course of the year.” This, or any thing like this, was a sufficient reason for this city’s destruction.
A ruinous heap] For mei, “a ruinous heap,” the Septuagint reads lei, “for a ruin,” the Vulgate kei, “as a ruin.” I follow the former.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The burden of Damascus; both of that city and kingdom, as appears from Isa 17:2,3.
It shall be a ruinous heap: this was fulfilled by Tiglath-pileser, 2Ki 16:9, although afterwards it was re-edified and possessed by another sort of inhabitants.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1. Damascusput before Israel(Ephraim, Isa 17:3), which ischiefly referred to in what follows, because it was the prevailingpower in the league; with it Ephraim either stood or fell (Isa7:1-25).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The burden of Damascus,…. A heavy and grievous prophecy, concerning the destruction of it; the Arabic version is,
“the prophecy of Isaiah concerning Damascus;”
and the Targum is,
“the burden of the cup of cursing to give Damascus to drink.”
Behold, Damascus is taken away from [being] a city; a kingdom, as the Targum; it was the head of one, but now its walls were demolished, its houses pulled down, and its inhabitants carried captive; this was done by Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria, 2Ki 16:9 it had been a very ancient city, see Ge 15:2 and the head of the kingdom of Syria, Isa 7:8, and though it underwent this calamity, it was rebuilt again, and was a city of great fame, when destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, Jer 49:24 after which it was raised up again, and was in being in the apostle’s time, and still is, Ac 9:22
2Co 11:32
and it shall be a ruinous heap; or a heap of stones, as the Targum and Kimchi interpret it. A “behold” is prefixed to the whole, as being very wonderful and remarkable, unthought of, and unexpected.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The first turn: “Behold, Damascus must ( be taken) away out of the number of the cities, and will be a heap of fallen ruins. The cities of Aroer are forsaken, they are given up to flocks, they lie there without any one scaring them away. And the fortress of Ephraim is abolished, and the kingdom of Damascus; and it happens to those that are left of Aram as to the glory of the sons of Israel, saith Jehovah of hosts.” “ Behold,” etc.: hinneh followed by a participle indicates here, as it does everywhere else, something very near at hand. Damascus is removed (= , cf., 1Ki 15:13), i.e., out of the sphere of existence as a city. It becomes , a heap of ruins. The word is used intentionally instead of , to sound as much as possible like : a mutilated city, so to speak. It is just the same with Israel, which has made itself an appendage of Damascus. The “cities of Aroer” ( gen. appos. Ges. 114, 3) represent the land to the east of the Jordan: there the judgment upon Israel (executed by Tiglath-pileser) first began. There were two Aroers: an old Amoritish city allotted to the tribe of Reuben, viz., “Aroer on the Arnon” (Deu 2:36; Deu 3:12, etc.); and an old Ammonitish one, allotted to the tribe of Gad, viz., “Aroer before Rabbah” (Rabbath, Ammon, Jos 13:25). The ruins of the former are Arair, on the lofty northern bank of the Mugib; but the situation of the latter has not yet been determined with certainty (see Comm. on Jos 13:25). The “cities of Aroer” are these two Aroers, and the rest of the cities similar to it on the east of the Jordan; just as “the Orions” in Isa 13:10 are Orion and other similar stars. We meet here again with a significant play upon the sound in the expression are Aroer (cities of Aroer): the name of Aroer was ominous, and what its name indicated would happen to the cities in its circuit. means “to lay bare,” to pull down (Jer 51:58); and , signifies a stark-naked condition, a state of desolation and solitude. After Isa 17:1 has threatened Damascus in particular, and Isa 17:2 has done the same to Israel, Isa 17:3 comprehends them both. Ephraim loses the fortified cities which once served it as defences, and Damascus loses its rank as a kingdom. Those that are left of Aram, who do not fall in the war, become like the proud citizens of the kingdom of Israel, i.e., they are carried away into captivity. All this was fulfilled under Tiglath-pileser. The accentuation connects (the remnant of Aram) with the first half of the verse; but the meaning remains the same, as the subject to is in any case the Aramaeans.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The Doom of Syria and Israel. | B. C. 712. |
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. 2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid. 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. 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. 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.
We have here the burden of Damascus; the Chaldee paraphrase reads it, The burden of the cup of the curse to drink to Damascus in; and, the ten tribes being in alliance, they must expect to pledge Damascus in this cup of trembling that is to go round. 1. Damascus itself, the head city of Syria, must be destroyed; the houses, it is likely, will be burnt, as least the walls, and gates, and fortifications demolished, and the inhabitants carried away captive, so that for the present it is taken away from being a city, and is reduced not only to a village, but to a ruinous heap, v. 1. Such desolating work as this does sin make with cities. 2. The country towns are abandoned by their inhabitants, frightened or forced away by the invaders: The cities of Aroer (a province of Syria so called) are forsaken (v. 2); the conquered dare not dwell in them, and the conquerors have no occasion for them, nor did they seize them for want, but wantonness; so that the places which should be for men to live in are for flocks to lie down in, which they may do, and none will disturb nor dislodge them. Stately houses are converted into sheep-cotes. It is strange that great conquerors should pride themselves in being common enemies to mankind. But, how unrighteous soever they are, God is righteous in causing those cities to spue out their inhabitants, who by their wickedness had made themselves vile; it is better that flocks should lie down there than that they should harbour such as are in open rebellion against God and virtue. 3. The strongholds of Israel, the kingdom of the ten tribes, will be brought to ruin: The fortress shall cease from Ephraim (v. 3), that in Samaria, and all the rest. They had joined with Syria in invading Judah very unnaturally; and now those that had been partakers in sin should be made partakers in ruin, and justly. When the fortress shall cease from Ephraim, by which Israel will be weakened, the kingdom will cease from Damascus, by which Syria will be ruined. The Syrians were the ring-leaders in that confederacy against Judah, and therefore they are punished first and sorest; and, because they boasted of their alliance with Israel, now that Israel is weakened they are upbraided with those boasts: “The remnant of Syria shall be as the glory of the children of Israel; those few that remain of the Syrians shall be in as mean and despicable a condition as the children of Israel are, and the glory of Israel shall be no relief or reputation to them.” Sinful confederacies will be no strength, no stay, to the confederates, when God’s judgments come upon them. See here what the glory of Jacob is when God contends with him, and what little reason Syria will have to be proud of resembling the glory of Jacob. (1.) It is wasted like a man in a consumption, v. 4. The glory of Jacob was their numbers, that they were as the sand of the sea for multitude; but this glory shall be made thin, when many are cut off, and few left. Then the fatness of their flesh, which was their pride and security, shall was lean, and the body of the people shall become a perfect skeleton, nothing but skin and bones. Israel died of a lingering disease; the kingdom of the ten tribes wasted gradually; God was to them as a moth, Hos. v. 12. Such is all the glory of this world: it soon withers, and is made thin; but thee is a far more exceeding and external weight of glory designed for the spiritual seed of Jacob, which is not subject to any such decay–fatness of God’s house, which will not wax lean. (2.) It is all gathered and carried away by the Assyrian army, as the corn is carried out of the field by the husbandmen, v. 5. The corn is the glory of the fields (Ps. lxv. 13); but, when it is reaped and gone, where is the glory? The people had by their sins made themselves ripe for ruin, and their glory was as quickly, as easily, as justly, and as irresistibly, cut down and taken away, as the corn is out of the field by the husbandman. God’s judgments are compared to the thrusting in of the sickle when the harvest is ripe, Rev. xiv. 15. And the victorious army, like the careful husbandmen in the valley of Rephaim, where the corn was extraordinary, would not, if they could help it, leave an ear behind, would lose nothing that they could lay their hands on.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
ISAIAH – CHAPTER 17
CONCERNING DAMASCUS AND SAMARIA
Verse 1-6: SYRIA AND ISRAEL JUDGED TOGETHER
1. Damascus, Capital of Syria, is to become a heap of ruins, (Verse 1; cf. Isa 7:16; Isa 8:4; Isa 25:2; Mic 1:6).
2. Deserted, the towns of Aroer will become a peaceable dwelling for flocks, (comp. Eze 25:5; Zep 2:6).
3. As already indicated to Ahaz (Isa 7:7-9; Isa 7:16; Isa 8:4), the defenses of both Israel and Syria will be overrun by the king of Assyria.
4. The glory of Israel will be cut off – his fatness turned to leanness; a very small amount (like gleanings at harvest-time) will be left, (Verse 4-6; comp. Hos 9:11; Isa 10:3; Isa 10:16).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
1. The burden of Damascus. Here he prophesies against the kingdom of Syria, and mentions the chief city in which the seat of the kingdom lay. It was proper that this calamity, like others which came before it, should be described, that the righteous might confidently believe that God would one day assist them, and would not always permit them to be oppressed by the wicked without end. The king of Syria had formed an alliance with Israel against Judah, as we saw formerly in the seventh chapter; and as the Jews were not able to contend with him, and were deprived of other aids, they might also entertain doubts about God’s assistance, as if he had utterly abandoned them. To free them, therefore, from these doubts, he threatens the destruction of that kingdom, from which they would readily conclude that God fought in defense of his people.
It is uncertain at what time Isaiah uttered this prophecy, for, as I have already remarked, he does not follow the order of time in threatening against each nation the punishment which it deserved. But, as far as I am able to conjecture, he foretold those events at the time when those two kings, that is, the kings of Israel and Syria, invaded Judea, and entered into a league to destroy it and the whole Church, (Isa 7:1😉 for, by joining together the Israelites and the Syrians, he summons them to a mutual judgment, in order to show that the only advantage which they had derived from the wicked and disgraceful conspiracy was, to be involved in the same destruction. In this manner Isaiah intended to comfort godly persons who were of the tribe of Judah; for he has his eye chiefly on them, that they may not be discouraged, and not on the Syrians, or even the Israelites, whose destruction he foretells.
Behold, Damascus is taken away. The demonstrative particle, Behold, seals the certainty of the prophecy. When he expressly mentions Damascus, it does not follow from this that the other parts of the kingdom are exempted, but it was customary with the prophets to take a part for the whole, so as to include under the destruction of the metropolis the fate of the whole nation; for what must ordinary towns expect when the citadel of the kingdom has been stormed? Yet there is another reason why the Prophets pronounce heavier threatenings on the chief and royal cities, and especially direct their discourse against them. It is, because a polluted flood of crimes overflows from them into the whole country.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
2.
DAMASCUS
a. COALITION
TEXT: Isa. 17:1-6
1
The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
2
The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
3
And the fortress 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 Jehovah of hosts.
4
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean.
5
And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the standing grain, and his arm reapeth the ears; yea, it shall be as when one gleaneth ears in the valley of Rephaim.
6
Yet there shall be left therein gleanings, as the shaking of an olive-tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost branches of a fruitful tree, saith Jehovah, the God of Israel.
QUERIES
a.
Why does Isaiah pronounce judgment on Ephraim (Israel) along with Damascus?
b.
What relationship did Damascus have to Jehovah?
PARAPHRASE
This is Gods pronouncement concerning Damascus, capital of Syria: Behold, Damascus is no longer to be a city. It is destined to become a heap of ruins! Even the cities of Aroer, lying between Israel and Syria, are destined for desolation. They will be so completely deserted that sheep will pasture in their ruins lying quiet and unafraid with no people to chase them away. The combined power of the Israel-Damascus coalition will end. The supposed glory of this godless coalition will fade like that of Israel when she rejected Jehovah. Israels one-time glory will be a thing of the past, even as a wasting disease may cut down the fatness of a healthy man until he has withered away to skin and bones. Nothing will be left of these two nations. They will be so thoroughly consumed by Gods judgment they will be like a wheat field where the reaper is followed by the gleaners picking up every scrap left behind. They will be like the olive tree that is shaken and has its branches beaten with sticks to gather every berry.
COMMENTS
Isa. 17:1-3 ALLIANCE ANNULED: Damascus was founded some 2,200 years before Christ by Uz, a grandson of Shem (Jos. 1:6; Jos. 4:1 ff). It is the capital of Syria. Its 2,000 ft. elevation gives it a delightful climate. Caravan routes from the east, west and south crossed in the city, carrying treasures of silks, perfumes, carpets, and foods. It has always been strategic both militarily and economically. In Isaiahs day, Damascus (Syria) and Israel (the northern kingdom of the Jews) had formed an alliance to go to war against Judah. Ahaz, king of Judah, made an alliance with Assyria (see our comments on Isaiah 7). Isaiah had earlier (ch. 7) predicted the downfall of the Syria-Israel coalition. Now the prophet repeats Gods judgment upon it. After the Assyrian conquest of Syria and Israel, Damascus was of little importance until 635 A.D. when it became the seat of the Mohammedan world. It really has never regained the prominence or power it had in the days of Isaiah. The cities of Aroer were cities in the far northern reaches of the territory of Israel. They formed a sort of buffer zone between Israel and Syria. This is Isaiahs announcement that Israel would be invaded by the same forces about to occupy Damascus. The entire territory of these two nations allied against Gods remnant (Judah) was to be made so desolate that sheep would pasture in the ruins of their cities and fortresses. There would be no people in these lands to scare the sheep away.
Isa. 17:4-6 AFTERMATH OF THE ATTACK: After the destructive forces of Gods judgment have done their work, the glory of these two nations, especially Israel, will be only a shadow and skeleton of its former self. It will vanish as the fatness of a man leaves him when he is wasting away with an incurable disease. All that will be left of the two will be one or two scattered, left-over, insignificant survivors. These two nations will be picked clean and left barren like a field gleaned, etc.
QUIZ
1.
How old was the city of Damascus?
2.
What was the alliance between Damascus and Israel for in Isaiahs time?
3.
To what extent was Damascus doomed?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
XVII.
(1) The burden of Damascus.Syria, it will be remembered, had been confederate with Ephraim, i.e., with the kingdom of Israel, against Judah in the reign of Ahaz, and the prophet had then foretold its overthrow by Assyria (Isa. 7:1-16). In 2Ki. 16:9, 2 Chron. 28:29, we have a partial fulfilment of that prediction. Writing probably early in the reign of Hezekiah, Isaiah now looks forward to a further fulfilment in the future.
Damascus is taken away from being a city . . .The words emphasise the result of the Assyrian invasion. The city of ancient days (Gen. 15:2) should lose glory and be no more worthy of the name; struck out, as it were, from the list of the great cities of the world.
The cities of Aroer are forsaken.The LXX. and other versions seem to have followed a different text, and give, The cities are forsaken for ever. Taking Aroer as the right reading, we note that there were two cities of the name, one in the tribe of Reuben (Deu. 2:36; Deu. 3:12), afterwards in the possession of Moab (Jer. 48:19), and the other in that of Gad, near Rabbah of Ammon (Num. 32:34; Jos. 13:25; 2Sa. 24:5). The present passage seems to imply a closer connection with Damascus. and therefore a more northern position than that of either of these cities. The latter of the two Just named may, however, have been in alliance with Damascus, and so have shared its fate during the Assyrian invasion. Possibly it may have been chosen for special mention on account of the significance of its name (laid bare) as ominous of utter ruin. The picture of the flocks wandering through the streets of the city reminds us of that of Babylon in Isa. 13:21.
The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim.The alliance of the two kingdoms is still prominent in Isaiahs thoughts. Both shall fall, he predicts, together; and, with a stern, grave irony, he paints the downfall of the remnant of Syria. It shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, i.e., shall be fleeting and transient as that had been proved to be. There is, perhaps, a special reference to Hos. 9:11, Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
1. Burden An oracle, a declaration, or a conviction moving to utter a threat. See Isa 13:1. Later critical scholars reject this phrase here, as added by copyists.
Damascus is taken away It shall be or is destroyed; its name shall be or is erased from the list of cities. It did become ruined by Tiglath-pileser about B.C. 739; then by Shalmaneser, B.C. 723.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Initial Declaration Concerning Syria (Incorporating Israel) ( Isa 17:1-3 )
Analysis.
The Burden of Damascus. “Behold Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap (Isa 17:1).
The cities of Aroer are forsaken. They will be for flocks who will lie down, and none will make them afraid (Isa 17:2).
The fortress also will cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus (Isa 17:3 a).
And as for the remnant of Syria, they will be as the glory of the children of Israel,” Says Yahweh of hosts (Isa 17:3 b).
In ‘a’ Damascus (which represents Syria) is to be destroyed, while in the parallel Syria is to have its glory so dimmed that it will be like that of (northern) Israel. In ‘b and parallel cities, fortress and kingdom will be forsaken and will cease, along with those of Israel (Ephraim).
Isa 17:1-3
‘The Burden of Damascus.
“Behold Damascus is taken away from being a city,
And it will be a ruinous heap.
The cities of Aroer are forsaken.
They will be for flocks who will lie down,
And none will make them afraid.
The fortress also will cease from Ephraim,
And the kingdom from Damascus,
And as for the remnant of Syria.
They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,”
Says Yahweh of hosts.’
This oracle was probably given prior to the sacking of Damascus around 735/4 BC. In it Isaiah links Damascus and Syria, with Ephraim (Israel) and the cities of Aroer. Assuming these to be the cities of Aroer in Moabite territory they had once belonged to the Syrian empire (2Ki 10:33), and also previously to Israel (Jos 13:9; Jos 13:16; Jdg 11:26; 1Ch 5:8). That may be why they are linked here. They were the furthest reaches of Syria’s one time empire, and of the old Israel. This then links this passage back to the previous chapter and indicates that the destruction will go as far down as the Arnon in Transjordan, where Moabite territory begins. On the other hand it is always possible that there were other ‘cities of Aroer’. But it may well be that Syria still saw the cities as theirs even though the Moabites had snatched them back.
The prophecy indicates that Damascus will be sacked and cease to be a city, becoming a ruinous heap; that the cities of Aroer (wherever they were) will become deserted and occupied only by sheep, who will be left alone there with no human beings around to disturb them; that Ephraim (Israel) will cease having fortified cities, having totally lost their independence; that Damascus will have lost kingship; and that Syria will become minuscule.
‘They will be as the glory of the children of Israel, says Yahweh of hosts.’ The ‘glory’ of a nation represented what resources it possessed and what status it had (see Isa 8:7; Isa 10:3; Isa 17:4; Isa 22:18; Isa 60:13; Eze 25:9). Israel will have been minimalised in both departments. Its ‘glory’ will be little. Thus what is left of Syria too will have little status. And all this will be brought about as a result of Yahweh’s word.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Isa 17:1-14 Judgment upon Damascus Isa 17:1-14 records Isaiah’s prophecy against Damascus.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Prophecies Against the Nations Isa 13:1 to Isa 27:13 records prophecies against twelve nations, culminating with praise unto the Lord. God planted the nation of Israel in the midst of the nations as a witness of God’s plan of redemption for mankind. Instead of embracing God’s promises and commandments to mankind, the nations rejected Israel and their God, then they participated in Israel’s destruction. Although God judges His people, He also judged these nations, the difference being God promised to restore and redeem Israel, while the nations received no future hope of restoration in their prophecies; yet, their opportunity for restoration is found in Israel’s rejection when God grafts the Church into the vine of Israel (Rom 11:11-32). The more distant nations played little or no role in Israel’s idolatry, demise, and divine judgment, so they are not listed in this passage of Scripture.
It is important to note in prophetic history that Israel’s judgment is followed by judgment upon the nations; and Israel’s final restoration is followed by the restoration of the nations and the earth. Thus, some end time scholars believe that the events that take place in Israel predict parallel events that are destined to take place among the nations.
Here is a proposed outline:
1. Judgment upon Babylon Isa 13:1 to Isa 14:27
2. Judgment upon Philistia Isa 14:28-32
3. Judgment upon Moab Isa 15:1 to Isa 16:14
4. Judgment upon Damascus Isa 17:1-14
5. Judgment upon Ethiopia Isa 18:1-7
6. Judgment upon Egypt Isa 19:1-25
7. Prophecy Against Ethiopia & Egypt Isa 20:1-6
8. Judgment upon the Wilderness of the Sea Isa 21:1-10
9. Judgment upon Dumah Isa 21:11-12
10. Judgment upon Arabia Isa 21:13-17
11. Judgment upon Judah Isa 22:1-25
12. Judgment upon Tyre Isa 23:1-18
13. Judgment upon the Earth Isa 24:1-23
14. Praise to God for Israel’s Restoration Isa 25:1 to Isa 27:13
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Damascus and Ephraim Threatened
v. 1. The burden of Damascus, v. 2. The cities of Aroer, v. 3. The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, v. 4. And in that day it shall come to pass that the glory of Jacob, v. 5. And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn and reapeth the ears with his arm, v. 6. Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it; v. 7. At that day shall a man look to his Maker, v. 8. And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
Isa 17:1-3
THE BURDEN OF DAMASCUS. The eye of the prophet travels northwards from Moab, and, passing over Ammon as an enemy of small account, rests once more upon Damascus, already threatened in Isa 7:1-9, and probably already partially punished. Damascus is seen once more in alliance with Ephraim (Isa 7:3), and the two are joined with a new power, Aroer (Isa 7:2), which possesses several “cities.” Woe is denounced on all the three powers: desolation on Damascus and Aroer; on Damascus and Ephraim, the complete loss of the last shadow of independence. The Assyrian inscriptions point out, as the probable date of the prophecy, the commencement of Sargun’s reignabout B.C. 722 or 721.
Isa 17:1
Damascus is taken away from being a city. According to Vitringa, Damascus has been destroyed oftener than any other town; but it has a wonderful power of rising again from its ashes. Probably a destruction by Sargon is here intended.
Isa 17:2
The cities of Aroer are forsaken. That the Aroer of this passage cannot be either that on the Arnon, or that facing Rabbath-Ammon (Jos 13:25), has long been perceived and recognized. It is evidently a city of the same name lying much further towards the north. Arid it is a city of far greater importance, having “cities” dependent on it. Now, Sargon’s annals tell us of a “Gal’gar,” a name well expressing the Hebrew , which was united in a league with Damascus, Samaria, Arpad, and Simyra, in the second year of Sargon, and was the scene of a great battle and a great destruction. Sargon besieged it, took it, and reduced it to ashes (‘Records of the Past,’ l. s.c.). There is every reason to recognize the “Aroer” of this verse in the “Gargar” of Sargon’s inscriptions. They shall be for flocks (comp. Isa 5:17; Isa 7:25). It marked the very extreme of desolation, that cattle should be pastured on the sites of cities. None shall make them afraid; i.e. “there shall be no inhabitants to make any objection.”
Isa 17:3
The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim. Sargon did not destroy Samaria on the occasion of his first capture. But he says that he “reduced it to a heap of ruins” on the occasion of its second capture (‘Records of the Past,’ l.s.c.). And the kingdom from Damascus. We do not hear of any King of Damascus after Rezin, who was slain by Tiglath-Pileser about B.C. 732. Damascus, however, reasserted her independence in B.C. 721, and probably set up a king at the same time. In B.C. 720 she was reduced and destroyed. Nothing more is heard of her until B.C. 694the eleventh year of Sennacheribwhen her “governor” is Assyrian Eponym, and she must therefore have been absorbed into the Assyrian empire. The remnant of Syria. This phrase shows that the great blow which struck down SyriaTiglath-Pileser’s capture of Damascus and slaughter of Rezinwas a thing of the past. Syria was already but “a remnant.” Now she was to cease to exist altogether. They shall be as the glory of the children of Israel. Ironical. The irony is made apparent by the next verse.
Isa 17:4-11
A DENUNCIATION OF WOE ON ISRAEL, COMBINED WITH THE PROMISE OF A REMNANT. Israel, having united herself with Syria to resist the Assyrians, will incur a similar fate. Her glory will decay, her population dwindle and almost disappear. Still there will be a few left, who, under the circumstances, will turn to God (Isa 17:7). But it will be too late for anything like a national recovery; the laud will remain “a desolation” on account of the past sins of its inhabitants (Isa 17:9-11).
Isa 17:4
The glory of Jacob shall be made thin. There is reason to believe that the deportation of the Israelites was gradual. Sargon, on taking Samaria for the first time, in B.C. 722, carried off no more than 27, 290 of the inhabitants. Over the remainder he appointed governors, and required them to pay the same taxation as before. About B.C. 715 he placed a number of Arabs in Samaria, probably deporting natives to make room for them. The continuant of a remnant of Israelites in the land down to B.C. 625 is indicated by 2Ch 34:9. The fatness of his flesh shall wax lean (comp. Isa 10:16). Depopulation is primarily intended; but there is, perhaps, also a more general reference to depression, wasting, and misery.
Isa 17:5
As when the harvestman gathereth the corn. Death is the “harvestman” here, and gathers the Israelites by shocks, or sheaves, into his garner. A great depopulation appears in 2Ki 17:25, where we learn that lions so multiplied in the land as to become a terror to the few inhabitants. Reapeth the ears. Mr. Cheyne well remarks that the “ears” only were reaped, the stalk being cut close under the ear. This was the practice also in Egypt. In the valley of Rephaim. The valley of Rephaim was the scene of David’s double victory over the Philistines, related in 2Sa 5:17-25. It is disputed whether it lay north or south of Jerusalem; but the connection with Bethlehem (2Sa 23:13-17) and with the cave of Adullam seem decisive in favor of a southern position. A “valley,” however (’emek), suitable for the cultivation of corn, in this direction, has yet to be discovered.
Isa 17:6
Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it; rather, yet gleanings shall be left in it. There is no mention of grapes, and it is clear that the “gleaning” intended is that of an olive-ground. As the shaking of an olive tree; rather, as at the beating of an olive tree. The olive crop was obtained, not by shaking, but by beating the trees (Deu 24:20). The owner was forbidden to “go over the boughs again,” in order that a portion of the crop might be left for the stranger, the widow, and the fatherless to glean. In the top of the uppermost bough. Where the sticks of the beaters had not reached. Four or five in the outmost fruitful branches; rather, four or fire apiece on its fruitful branches, This is the average that would be left, after beating, on a good-sized branch.
Isa 17:7
At that day shall a man look to his Maker. We have evidence of this revulsion of feeling on the part of Israel in the statement of Chronicles that, in the reign of Josiah, offerings of money were made for the temple service by men of “Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel,” which the Levites collected and brought to Jerusalem (2Ch 34:9).
Isa 17:8
And he shall not look to the altars. The altars at Dan and Bethel (1Ki 12:28-33) may be intended, or the Israelites may have had other idolatrous altars besides these (2Ki 17:11; Hos 8:11). Josiah, about B.C. 631, broke down altars throughout all the land of Israel, in the cities of Manasseh and Ephraim and Simeon (?), even unto Naphtali (2Ch 34:5-7). Apparently he had the consent of the inhabitants to this demolition. Either the groves, or the images, Asherah, the word here and elsewhere commonly translated “grove” in the Authorized Version, is now generally admitted to have designated an artificial construction of wood or metal, which was used in the idolatrous worship of the Phoenicians and the Israelites, probably as the emblem of some deity. The Assyrian “sacred tree” was most likely an emblem of the same kind, and may give an idea of the sort of object worshipped under the name of Asherah. The Israelites, in the time of their prosperity, had set up “groves” of this character “on every high hill, and under every green tree” (2Ki 17:10). Many of them were still standing when Josiah made his iconoclastic raid into the Israelite country (2Ch 34:5-7), and were broken down by him at the same time as the altars. The “images” of this place are the same as those coupled with the Israelite “groves” in 2Ch 34:7, namely “sun-images,” emblems of Baal, probably pillars or conical stones, such as are known to have held a place in the religious worship of Phoenicia.
Isa 17:9
In that day. While a remnant of the Israelites shall repent and turn to God, throwing in their lot with Judah, as it would seem the country generally shall feel the weight of God’s chastening hand, on account of Israel’s former sins and offences. As a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch; rather, as the forsaken tract of woodland and mountain-crest (Kay). The reference is to the condition of the land when it passed out of the possession of the Canaanitish nations. It was then forsaken and desolate. So shall it be once more, when Israel is expelled for the same sins (see 2Ki 17:7, 2Ki 17:8). Which they left because of the children of Israel; rather, which men forsook before the children of Israel; i.e. from which the Canaanites fled as the children of Israel advanced and took possession. The writer ignores the long and fierce struggle which the Canaanites made, and looks only to the resultretirement from a desolated country.
Isa 17:10
Because thou hast forgotten; rather, because thou didst forget. The late repentance of a “remnant” which “looked to their Maker” (Isa 17:7) could not cancel the long catalogue of former sins (2Ki 17:8-17), foremost among which was their rejection of God, or, at any rate, their complete forgetfulness of his claims upon them. The Rock of thy strength. God is first called “a Rock” in Deu 32:4, Deu 32:15, Deu 32:18, Deu 32:30, Deu 32:31. The image is caught up by the psalmists (2Sa 22:2, 2Sa 22:32, 2Sa 22:47; 2Sa 23:3; Psa 16:1, Psa 16:2, 31, 46; Psa 19:14; Psa 28:1, etc.), and from them passes to Isaiah (see, besides the present passage, Isa 26:4; Isa 30:29; and Isa 44:8). Among the later prophets only Habakkuk uses it (Hab 1:12). Israel, instead of looking to this “Rock,” had looked to their rock-fortresses (verse 9). Therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants; rather, dost thou plant, or hast thou planted. Forgetfulness of Jehovah has led to the adoption of a voluptuous religionone of debased foreign rites. There is possibly, as Mr. Cheyne thinks, a special reference to the cult of Adonis. Shall set it; rather, settest it, or hast set it. “It” must refer to “field” or “garden” understood. The later Israelite religion has been a sort of pleasant garden, planted with exotic slips from various quartersPhoenicia, Syria, Moab, etc. It has been thought permissible to introduce into it any new cult that took the fancy. Hence the multiplication of altars complained of by Hosea (Hos 8:11; Hos 10:1; Hos 12:11).
Isa 17:11
In the day; or, in a day (Kay). Shalt thou make; rather, thou makest. Each new slip that is planted is forced to take root and grow and flourish at once; the next morning it is expected to have formed its seed and reached perfection. So the harvest is hurried on; but when it is reached, the day of visitation has arriveda day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
Isa 17:12-14
A PROPHECY AGAINST ASSYRIA. This passage is, apparently, out of place. At any rate, it is quite unconnected with what precedes, and almost equally so with what follows. Still, it must be borne in mind that, until the destruction of Sennacherib’s army, Isaiah has the thought of the Assyrians, as the pressing danger, always before him, and continually reverts to it, often abruptly, and without preparation (see Isa 5:26-30; Isa 7:17-25; Isa 8:5-8; Isa 10:5-19, Isa 10:24-34; Isa 14:24-27). The present prophecy seems, more distinctly than any other in the purely prophetical chapters, to point to the miraculous destruction of the hoot which Sennacherib was about to bring against Jerusalem.
Isa 17:12
Woe to the multitude of many people; rather, Ho for the tumult of many peoples! The advance of an army composed of soldiers from many nations is descried. They advance with noise and tumulta tumult compared with that of “seas that are tumultuous.” Under the circumstances of the time, it is reasonable to suppose the Assyrians to be intended (comp. Isa 22:6, Isa 22:7). The rushing sound of the advance is borne in strongly upon the prophet’s mind, and made the subject of three consecutive clauses.
Isa 17:13
God shall rebuke them; literally, he shall rebuke themhe who alone can do so. There is no need to mention his name. They shall flee far off. The destruction of the great bulk of Sennacherib’s army in the night was followed, as soon as morning came, by the hasty flight of the survivors (2Ki 19:36; Isa 37:37). And shall be chased. Herodotus says that the Egyptians pursued the army of Sennacherib and slew vast numbers (2:141). As the chaff of the mountains (comp. Hos 13:3). Threshing-floors were ordinarily placed upon eminences (2Sa 24:18; 2Ch 3:1), where the wind had freer course and consequently greater power. Like a rolling thing; or, like whirling dust (Kay). The word used commonly means “a wheel.”
Isa 17:14
Behold at evening-tide trouble; rather, terror, as the word is elsewhere always translated. He is not. That spoil us that rob us (see 2Ki 18:13-16).
HOMILETICS
Isa 17:6-11
National repentance may come too late to avert national ruin.
The crisis of a nation’s fate is brought on by slow degrees, and results from a multitude of acts, each one of which, when once done, is past recall. Up to a certain point there is a possibility of retrieval. “Tout peut se retablir,” as a great monarch of our own time said. The modes of action that have brought the state into difficulties may be renounced, or even reversed; and recovery may set in as a natural consequence of such reversal. Or the change of conduct may have appeased God’s anger, and his favor may raise up the nation which he has depressed, to mark his displeasure. Such was the case with united Israel during the period of the judges. Seven times was the nation for its sins “sold into the hand” of a foreign power, its independence suspended, its ruin all but accomplished; and seven times upon its repentance did God raise up a deliverer who restored it to vigorous life and re-established its prosperity. But this process cannot go on forever. A time comes when the sources of national vigor are sapped, when exhaustion has set in, when foreign neighbors have become enormously powerful, and when it would require, not one miracle only, but a series of miracles, to save the state from the consequences of its long-continued misconduct. Then, although the remnant left may perceive its danger, and regret the past, and repent, and put away the evil of its doings, and even reverse its modes of action, turning to God (Isa 17:7) instead of turning away from him (Isa 17:10), and looking to the Holy One instead of looking to idols and vanities, it may be too late to reverse the fiat that has long since gone forth, or to arrest the destruction decreed and determined on. The remnant may save their own souls, but they cannot save their country. The “day of grief and of desperate sorrow’ comes on, whatever they may do; and the nation perishes in consequence of its past misdeeds, despite its tardy amendment.
Isa 17:10
The Rock of our strength.
Irreligious men have many “rocks of strength,” or at any rate think that they have many.
1. “Some put their trust in chariots and in horses,” believe in “big battalions” as really ruling the world, and think they have only to swell their armies in order to sway the course of events at their pleasure. Tell them that “it is nothing with God to help, whether with many or with them that have no power” (2Ch 14:11); assure them that “it is no hard matter for many to be shut up in the hands of a few, and with the God of heaven it is all one to deliver with a great multitude or a small company, for the victory of battle standeth not in the multitude of a host, but strength cometh from heaven” (1 Macc. 3:18, 19); and they open their eyes wide with astonishment, and set down the speaker as a dreamy fanatic.
2. Others regard wealth as a tower of strength, a “rock” that will never fail them. Three things alone are wanted to secure complete success in life, and these are “Money, money, money.” Their highest idea of perfect safety and security is “the Bank of England.” No qualms of fear assail them so long as they have a good balance at their bankers. “Soul,” they say to themselves, “thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry ‘(Luk 12:19). Tell them that riches make themselves wings, talk to them of failures, bankruptcies, revolutions, and they will laugh you to scorn; theirs are safe, they are quite certain, and that is enough for them.
3. A third class “trust in princes,” or great men. They have a patron, a protector, a “friend at court;” and all must necessarily go well with them. Nay, perhaps they have “two or three strings to their bow”powerful friends belonging to both parties; how, then, is it possible that they should not be secure? Christian men have, on the other hand, but one “Rock of strength,” but one Trust, but one Stay, and that is God. God is their “Rock”
I. As BEING FIRM AND IMMOVABLE. All else is shifting and changing. Men die, even though they be princes or primo ministers. Armies melt away, suffer defeat, mutiny. Wealth becomes the prey of the spoiler, is lost through fraud, or taken away by violence. God always remains the samefirm, solid, substantial; something on which we can count, something that will not disappear, that will not change, that we can rely upon as a sure foundation.
II. As BEING A STRONGHOLD AND DEFENSE. The Israelites looked to their fortified cities to protect them (Isa 17:9). The Christian looks to God. God’s strength is such that nothing can prevail against it. He is an absolutely sure Defense, able to save men “to the uttermost.” No one that has relied wholly and solely upon God, has ever found his reliance misplaced or his defense fail him. If we make God our Refuge, we place ourselves in an impregnable citadel. He is omnipotent, and therefore ever able to save; he is faithful, and therefore ever willing to save.
III. As BEING A SHADOW FROM THE HEAT, A SHELTER FROM THE TEMPEST. God not only protects but consoles, not only saves but comforts. He is “the Shadow of a great Rock in a weary land.” When dangers threaten, when calamities come, when we are drooping beneath the noonday heat, or chilled by the pitiless storm, we can rest on him, and he will cheer us; we can make our appeal to him, and he will give us relief and refreshment. It is promised that, ultimately, “God shall wipe away tears from all eyes” (Rev 21:4). Already he does this to a large extent. Not only is he our Defense and Stay, but he is a “Rock” that “follows us” (1Co 10:14) through the wilderness of human life, assuaging our griefs, taking away our sorrows, giving us shelter, comfort, satisfaction, peace, happiness. He is himself an ever-present Joy, possessing which, whatsoever happened to us, we should be content.
HOMILIES BY E. JOHNSON
Isa 17:1-8
Damascus and Israel.
The present oracle bids us turn to a different sceneto the famed city and territory of Damascus. It lies in the vast rich plain east of Mount Antilibanus, on the border of the desert. Through the plain flows the river Barada, probably the Abaca in which Naaman delighted. “In the midst of the plain lies at your feet the vast lake or island of deep verdurewalnuts and apricots waving above, corn and grass below; and in the midst of the mass of foliage rises, striking its white arms of streets hither and thither, and its white minarets above the trees which embosom them, the city of Damascus. On the right towers the snowy height of Hermon, overlooking the whole scene. Close behind are the sterile limestone mountains, so that you stand literally between the living and the dead” (Stanley). The river turns what would otherwise be a desert into a rich garden, full of walnuts, pomegranates, figs, plums, apricots, citrons, pears, and apples.
I. HISTORY OF DAMASCUS. There were traditions of Abraham lingering from early times about the city. Eliezer of Damascus was his steward (Gen 15:2). But the history is a blank till the time of David. He, being at war with Hadadezer, King of Zobah, encountered Syrians of Damascus, who came to succor his foe, and slew of them twenty-two thousand men. He then garrisoned the whole land with Israelites (2Sa 8:5, 2Sa 8:6; 1Ch 18:5). From Solomon’s time we have hints of enmity between Damascus, whose king appears to have been titularly designated “Hadad,” and Israel; also of Rezin, from Zobah (1Ki 11:23; 1Ki 15:19; 2Ch 16:3). The fourth Hadad, with thirty-two subject kings, marched against Ahab, and laid siege to Samaria (1Ki 20:1). In the end, the invader became-subject to Ahab (1Ki 20:13-34). Three years later, Ahab was defeated and slain in his attempt on Ramoth-gilead (1Ki 22:1-4, 1Ki 22:15-37). The Syrians of Damascus were encouraged to a second invasion of Israel, and a second siege of Samaria, which was raised in a panic (2Ki 7:6, 2Ki 7:7). A new page of history opens with the succession of Hazael to the rule of Damascus, and the struggle against the Assyrians. Probably the dread of the latter led to an alliance between Israel and Damascus a century later. The march of Rezin of Damascus and Pekah of Israel against Jerusalem brings us within the scope of Israel’s view (Isa 7:1-6; 2Ki 16:5). Ahaz placed himself under the protection of Assyria; Rezin was slain, his kingdom brought to an end, and Damascus destroyed, its people being carried captive to Assyria (2Ki 16:9; cf. Isa 7:8; Amo 1:5).
II. THE PROPHET‘S DESCRIPTION OF ITS FATE. The fair city will be effaced from the number of those that exist, and will become a heap of fallen ruins. And Israel, which has hung her fortunes on those of Damascus, will share her fate. The very sound of the word Aroer, reminding of the nature of bareness, nakedness, had an ill omen. The strong places of Ephraim, i.e. of Israel, are laid low, and Damascus ceases to exist as a kingdom. And the Aramaeans who do not fall in battle are carried away captive. The fate of Damascus is as pathetic as that of a distressed woman. Cities were in ancient thought generally seen under the ideal of the woman, their beauty as her beauty, their sorrows as hers. Damascus waxes feeble and turns to flee, and fear seizes on her; anguish and sorrow have taken her, as a woman in travail. “The city of praise is gone, the city of my joy!” exclaims Jeremiah (Jer 49:24, Jer 49:25). “Cities have been as lamps of life along the pathway of humanity and religion. Within them science has given birth to her noblest discoveries. Behind their walls freedom has fought its noblest battles. They have stood on the surface of the earth like breakwaters, rolling back or turning aside the swelling tide of oppression. Cities indeed have been the cradle of human liberty. I bless God for cities” (Guthrie).
III. AFFLICTION OF ISRAEL AND HER REPENTANCE. (Verses 4-8.)
1. Images of national decay. The glory of Jacob wastes, the fat of his flesh grows thin. Necessary and constant in thought is the connection between the flourishing of a land and the blessing of God, the withdrawal of his blessing and the withering of its fruits, the failure of the supply of food. We must believe in this connection without hastily presuming, as superstition does, to detect the exact sin which has called down the displeasure of God. Our poet Tennyson, in some dark pictures of superstition in his ‘Queen Mary,’ represents the queen as saying that” God is hard upon the people” because the nobles would not give the Church lands back. And when she exclaims on the “harvestless autumn, horrible agues, plague,” the king replies
“The blood and sweat of heretics at the stake
Is God’s best dew upon the barren field.”
Such are the reasonings of bigotry and fanaticism. Then only do we make the proper application of the lessons of suffering, when we visit our own errors with self-chastisement, and stir up the neglected gift, the forgotten talent, in ourselves. Another image is that of the field of corn falling before the mower. Israel is ripe for judgment, as the field of corn for the reaper. On the broad vale of Rephaim, sloping down to Bethlehem, only an ear or two will be seen scattered here and there. That vale may be viewed as symbolic of the great world, and that reaping as prophetic of the day of judgment, when on the white cloud sits one like the Son of man, having a golden crown on his bead, and in his hand a sharp sickle; and another angel comes out of the temple, and cries with a loud voice to him that sits on the cloud, “Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe” (Rev 14:1-20.). Few will escape the judgment, and yet a few there will be. At the olive-beating, when it seems, at a superficial glance, that the tree is quite stripped, there nevertheless remain “two or three berries high up at the top; four, five on each of its branches.”
2. Redemption of the remnant. This word, “The remnant shall return,” is the standing word of promise and of hope for Israel. It contains the “law of Israel’s history.” The ring is gone, but the finger remains; the tree is felled, but the root-stump may yet send out suckers; kern the bared harvest-field some gleanings may yet be gathered. And so Israel stands as the type of human life. All is not lost while conscience remains, while will may still exert its energy against evil, and in the reformation of the habits. But there must be this reformation, which begins with a looking up to God. The state of the soul depends on the direction of its gaze. We look where we love, and our looking may produce love. Much has Scripture to say on the moral effect of vision. Sometimes it is equivalent to enjoying: “What man is he that will see good?” And as we do not willingly bend our eyes and keep them fixed upon sights which strike pain to the feelings, the prayer, “Turn away mine eyes from beholding iniquity,” is equivalent to the prayer that we may have no relish in evil ways. In the days of repentance men will took up to their Creator. It is when we turn our eyes from our Maker and fix them exclusively on the creature that we forget our dependence. “It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;” this is the thought which expresses the foundation of all reverence, the duty of all worship and obedience. As all idolatry means loss of self-respect, so regard to the great and glorious Creator reflects itself in veneration for the nature he has given us, the image of his own. And he is the Holy One of Israel. In every family, every congregation, every state, there must be an existing ideal of righteousness, of truth, of purity. Such ideals are the shadows of the personality of the holy God. If they pass away from the faith and religious imagination of a people, they fall into sensuality and materialism. The first step, then, towards a better life is to look away from self, and from the evil associations which have grown into one’s habits, or into which one has grown, to God as the Supreme and the Holy. Looking up to God will mean looking away from idols. “He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands; and what his fingers have made he will not regard, neither the groves nor the images.” True religion alone can drive out superstition. Science has not and cannot do it. Men must either be superstitious or religious; for the imaginative faculty demands, and will have, nourishment. The great prophets of Israel, training men’s minds to look up to the great spiritual Source of man and of nature, have taught us lessons that can never become obsolete. But the heathen idolatry referred to should be more closely considered.J.
Isa 17:8
The prophet on heathen worship.
Having described in brief the true religion as a “looking up to God” as Maker and Redeemer of Israel, the prophet with equal expressiveness characterizes the heathen worship around.
I. IT IS REVERENCE FOR THE OBJECT OF HUMAN ART. Contemptuous is the reference to “the work of his hands,” and “that which his fingers have made”altars and images. When the spiritual nerve of religion is weakened, the affections fix upon the symbols, forms, and accessories of religion. The soul that has lost its God must have some visible substitute, as a pet, a plaything, an idol. When the meaning of sacrifice is deeply realized and felt, any bare table will suffice for altar. But as the idea and feeling become extinct, all the more will men seek to supply the void by some beauty in the object. The shrine becomes more splendid as devotion becomes more cold. Perhaps the prophet is thinking of the case of King Ahaz. He went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria, and there saw an altar’ which so pleased him, that he sent the pattern of it to Urijah the priest, who built one to correspond. And this was a king who “sacrificed and burned incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree” (2Ki 16:1-20.). And Manasseh, rejecting the good example of Hezekiah his father, set up altars to Baal, and made a grove, and plunged deeply into all manner of superstition (2Ki 21:1-26.). The Prophet Hosea pointedly speaks of the tendency in the people generally: “Because Ephraim has made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin” (Hos 8:2). The connection of this with luxury is pointed out by our prophet in Isa 2:7, Isa 2:8. But what strikes him especially with astonishment is the addiction to “art for art’s sake.” This has been a cant and, to some extent, a creed in our time. When carried out, it must mean the valuation of human genius and talent regardlessly of the subjects on which, and the ends for which, it is employed. No matter how seusualizing or otherwise debasing to feeling the painter’s or the sculptor’s theme, the cleverness with which he treats form and color, light and shade, is only worth attending to. These doctrines may be carried into the church, which may become a place for mere imaginative and sensuous enjoyment; and people may find they cannot “look up to God” in a building whose lines are incorrectly drawn, or where the latest fashion of ecclesiastical foppery is not kept up. By-and-by it will be discovered that the house of God has been turned into a theatre, containing, it is true, an altar, but, like the altar in the great theatre at Athens, serving for little more than a station of performers. Spiritual worship is extinct with us if we cannot lift up eye, and heart, and hand, and voice to the Eternal with equal joy, if need demand, in the barn as in the cathedral. But how wide-reaching the principle of idolatry! The delight in genius, the admiration for it, may enter into religious feeling as one of its richest elements; it may, on the other hand, be separated from religious feeling altogether, and be the principle of an idolatry.
II. IT IS IMPURE AND CRUEL. There is an allusion to the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth, and what we know of these deities indicates beings conceived by those worshippers as dark, wrathful, malignant, and lustful. Baal, often named in the plural Baalim, is closely related to, if not identical with, Moloch (see Jer 7:31; Jer 19:5; Jer 32:35), whose terrible wrath was supposed to be manifested in the torrid heat of summer, and who exacted human sacrifices. In great dangers kings sacrificed to this Bel-Moloch their only sons (2Ki 3:27); and this is sternly denounced in Le Isa 20:3. It would seem that Israelites in their declension confounded the nature of this heathen god with that of Jehovah (Jdg 11:34; Num 25:4). Read the eloquent protest of Mic 6:7, and see how clearly in that animated passage the contrast is made between the merciful and holy religion of Jehovah and the cursed ritual of Baal or of Moloch. “To do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with God,”these are the requirements of true religion. By the side of Baal was Ashtoreth in Canaan (Jdg 10:6) and in Syria. The Greeks called her Astarte. At Babylon she was known as Mylitta or Beltis, consort of Bel; and Herodotus describes the darkly superstitious and impure character of her worship, which involved the profanation of women. The religion of Israel knows no goddess; the people itself, when true to their faith, felt themselves to be as a people, the bride of Jehovah, and unfaithfulness to him is a crime analogous to unfaithfulness to the nuptial tie. “Israel my people, I their God,” is the symbolic word of the covenant between spirit and Spirit, which religion ever is, in its truth and purity. There are lessons for us in all this. There are ever tendencies at work to degrade and defile the holy ideas of our religion. Sometimes it is wealth, sometimes it is ignorance, sometimes greed and other passions. Men would subdue the spirit of Christianity to their own liking, and bow down, if not to the work of their fingers, to the impure idols of an unchastened fancy. The preacher, the true prophet, must, on the other hand, be ever upholding the purity of doctrine, and exhibit those grand requirements to which the conscience must, however reluctantly, respond. And he must lay it to heart that the purer religion can never be the most fashionable. If the people turn aside to groves and altars more suited to their taste, at least let him make it his one concern to “save himself and them that hear him.”J.
Isa 17:9-11
Forgetfulness of God and its consequences.
I. GOD AS AN OBJECT OF THE SOUL‘S ATTENTION. He is the “God of men’s salvation.” His Name calls up all those ideas of power, of grace, of goodness, necessary to the Deliverer, the Savior. To acknowledge that such a Being exists is not enough; the eye of the spirit must be turned to him, its gaze fixed upon him, its ear bent towards the place of his holy oracle. Micah says in evil times, “I will look unto Jehovah; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.” To think of God in his moral relations to us brings confidence and security to the heart. And hence the expressive image of the Rock on which the fortress stands, as symbolic of him, so frequently employed in Scripture (Deu 32:4, Deu 32:15, Deu 32:18, Deu 32:30, Deu 32:31, Deu 32:37; 1Sa 2:2; 2Sa 22:2, 2Sa 22:3, 2Sa 22:32; Psa 18:31, Psa 18:46; Psa 19:14; Psa 28:1; Psa 30:1, Psa 30:2). How much depends in our intellectual life on attractionthe grasp of objects, the remembrance of what they are, the firm hold of principles and truths I Impressions are made upon us as in wax or in running water, without this tension of the will. And how in various ways does Scripture press upon us the need of attention in religious things! “Earnestly give heed,” “Remember,” “Be mindful,” “Look unto the Lord,” etc; are all exhortations implying the need of prayer and habitual direction of the spirit to higher things. There can be no clear memory and no confident expectation where the mind has been lax and listless.
II. CONSEQUENCES OF FORGETTING GOD. Ephraim, turning away from its true rocky stronghold in Jehovah, will see its own castles lie in ruin and desolation. The estrangement from God is marked by indulgence in pleasure and idolatry. The people planted pleasant gardens, and sowed them with strange grapes; i.e. formed an alliance with a stranger, the King of Damascus. And these new institutions were carefully fenced, i.e. apparently they were established as a state religion. “And the very next morning he had brought into blossom what he had sown. The foreign layer had shot up like a hot-house plant, i.e. the alliance had speedily grown into a hearty agreement, and had already produced one blossom at any rate, viz. the plan of a joint attack upon Judah. But this plantation, so flattering and promising for Israel, and which had succeeded so rapidly, and to all appearance so happily, was a harvest heap for the day of judgment.” The closing words of this strophe are impressive: “The day of grief and desperate sorrow;” or, “The day of deep wounds and deadly sorrow of heat.” Let us fix on these words. Let us forget Ephraim for the moment, and think of the individual, think of ourselves. The words hint at remorse, which has been called “the echo of a lost virtue.” It will come upon all of us in so far as, remembering many things not to be neglected, self-interest, duty to family, Church, country, we have yet forgotten the one thing needfulhave not brought all our life’s concerns into that unity which reference to the Supreme Will imparts. Life should be direct and simple; a simple piety can only render it so. There may be mindfulness about many things, distracting us from the central interest. How can it avail us to have remembered to be prudent, to have regarded public opinion, to have taken care to be with the majority, to swim with the stream, and in the end we find that this has been a turning of the back on God, and so an illusion, a misconception of life? For if God be remembered, nothing important will be forgotten; if he be forgotten, nothing is truly seenattention is beguiled by fantasy, and life becomes the pursuit of a dream.J.
Isa 17:12-14
Sounds from afar.
In the distance the prophet hears a vague tumult, like that of the sea with its roaring, incoming tide. It is the noise of the invading host. Readers will recollect the powerful passage describing the eve of the battle of Waterloothe dull distant sound repeated until the conviction flashes, “It isit isthe cannon’s opening roar!” So does the prophet listen to the uproar of the advancing Assyrians.
I. THE POETIC REPRESENTATION. It is one of sublimity and terror, appealing through the sense of hearing to the imagination, and calling up indefinable alarm and sorrow. He hears in the distance the gathering of a multitude of nations, represented by the imperial name of Asshur. These hosts spread out in long line like the rolling wave, one excited surging mass, threatening to carry everything before it into destruction. Such an image may represent any great movement which seems at any time to threaten the spiritual life of a Church, of a nation. Never was there a time when anxious listeners did not hear such rising sounds in the distance; the statesman trembling for the welfare of institutions, the believer for the stability of faith. Is there just cause for alarm? Let the prophet answer.
II. THE PROPHECY OF JUDGMENT. Remarkable is the picture of the sudden change. The power of the Divine Word is instantaneously felt. “It costs God simply a threatening word, and the mass all flies apart, and falls into dust, and whirls about in all directions; like the chaff of threshing-floors in high situations, or like dust whirled up by the storm.” In the evening the destruction of the Assyrians begins, and in the morning they are completely destroyed. And the oracle ends with an expression of triumph over this portion and lot of the spoiler and the plunderer.
LESSONS.
1. The Church, Christianity, religion, civilization, seem in every age to be threatened; yet they are ever safe. Force, numbers, armies, have but the show of strength when confronted with the spiritual world.
2. God is ever in his heavencannot and will not desert his place.
3. His judgments and rebukes are the expression of the eternal truth of things, and must prevail.J.
HOMILIES BY W.M. STATHAM
Isa 17:14
The gloomy evening.
“Behold at evening-tide trouble.” We all love beautiful evenings, whether on land or sea. Then, when the clouds of purple and amber across the horizon constitute a royal chariot for the setting sun, we gaze with admiration and delight on the glorious close of day.
I. TROUBLE IS NEVER SO SAD AS IN THE EVENING. At morning or midday we have more of strength to bear it; we can brace our energies to fight the battle or to endure the burden. But in the evening, when heart and strength fail, we look for quiet comfort and considerate friends, and the gentle words of love. Trouble in the evening is a pensive sight. But if it be connected with sin, with personal wrong-doing, how bitter a cup it is! Then, when there should be memory of holy deeds and earnest words; then, when we may fairly think of an honorable reputation well earned, and an influence which we may hope, indeed, will be an “after-glow” after we are dead. Yet so it is. Sin has its judgments, which “follow after” even here below.
II. TROUBLE IN THE EVENING IS WELL EXPLAINED. The prophet says (Isa 17:13), “God shall-rebuke them.” It is all contained in that. Rebuke! That involves in its utterance conscience and memory, else how could we feel rebuke? We feel all that is meant by rebuke more from some than others. It does not always need words. A little spectacle that recalls some past scene, an old letter, the Visiting of half-forgotten places, the swift rush at times of old memories,these often have rebukes in them. We have neglected so many never-recurring opportunities, we have scattered so many seeds of evil. But when God, the living God, rebukes us, how can we stand? For he knows our most secret thoughts, and in his book all the life is written.
III. TROUBLE IN THE EVENING MAY STILL BE THE LAST ANGEL OF GOD‘S MERCY HERE. Even then it is evening, and the light lingers. The Savior’s power to save is still the same. The city of refuge has its gates open. God’s renewing and redeeming grace may yet be ours. Not even then need we despair; for as there is a strain of hope coming for the nation Israel which will occupy us further on in these prophecies, so there is hope in personal life, even in the latter days, if we turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart. The lingering light of evening skill falls on the cross of him who said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”W.M.S.
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON
Isa 17:1-6
Reduction.
In the spoliation and consequent decrepitude of Damascus and Samaria we have a picture of
I. A NATION DENUDED OF ITS POWER. Under the judgments of Jehovah the proud city of Damascus becomes a “ruinous heap” (Isa 17:1), the populous towns are pasturage of herds and flocks (Isa 17:2), the strong places are reduced to utter weakness like the departed glory of Israel (Isa 17:3); under his judgment Ephraim also shall waste away, shall be as barren as the reaped corn-field, shall be reduced miserably like the tree on whose uppermost branches only a few thin berries can be discovered (Isa 17:4-6). Under the action of God’s righteous laws, the strong nation is thus reduced by sin, from power to weakness, from pride to humiliation, from wealth to poverty, from populousness to depopulation. And it is always sin which is the true account of the reduction. Violence may be the immediate cause of overthrow, but violence only succeeds when corruption has brought enfeeblement and decline. Greece fell, not by the Roman sword, but by its own inherent weakness. The fall of Rome was due, not to the might of the barbarians, but to the corruption which sapped it of its strength, and thinned the ranks of its citizens. If England falls at some future day, it will not be because some European power has become irresistible, but because luxury will have bred corruption, and corruption have laid it open to the weapon of its foes. Its fatness will become thin, its strength will be seen only on its uppermost boughs; it will fall a prey to the first strong adversary that assails it.
II. A CHURCH BEREFT OF ITS BEAUTY AND ITS INFLUENCE. Churches do not, usually, suffer loss by the hand of violence. But, by sins of their own, they are often painfully reduced, so that they are as a man whose “fatness has waxed thin,” as the field of corn that has been cut, as a tree stripped of its goodly fruit, with nothing left but “two or three berries in the top of the uttermost bough.” The enemies which work this waste, which bring this pitiful reduction, are these.
1. Discord within the ranks.
2. The spirit of worldliness, robbing of devotion and therefore of strength.
3. Unbelief, acting as a cancer that cuts off all spiritual nourishment.
4. Inactivity, begetting selfishness of aim, and causing the Church to miss that noble exercise which is the source and spring of all moral vigor. The Church that would not be thus wretchedly reduced must sedulously shun these sources of reduction; that one which has to lament its wasted condition must “repent, and do the first works,” and the field shall yet be covered with the precious grain, the tree with its clusters of fruit.
III. THE INDIVIDUAL MAN DEPRIVED OF HIS POSITION OR HIS STRENGTH. individual instances, the words of the text find illustration.
1. When the proud, godless man is brought down from his high position; when of all in which he gloried nothing but a few berries on the topmost boughs are left. Let youth shrink from entering on a course which will certainly have this pitiful end; let those who are pursuing it abandon it at the very earliest hour.
2. When death (the penalty of sin) intimates its approach, when the leanness and fruitlessness of death are apparent, then let a man ask whether there is life in its fullness and fruitfulness awaiting him on the other shore.C.
Isa 17:7, Isa 17:8
The function of adversity.
I. THE PREVALENCE OF TROUBLE IN THIS WORLD OF SIN. “That day” was the day of national disaster, and, therefore, of individual distress. In the more settled and durable condition of modern times and Western lands, we are much less liable to suffer from this particular cause. But civilization brings its own perils and its own troubles, and while sin lasts “the day” of sorrow will be continually recurring. How many are the sources whence it may spring! Pecuniary embarrassment; disappointment; the loss of kindred or friends, or (what is worse) the loss of their love and their friendship; humiliation; ill health, and the fear of sudden removal from those who are clinging, and perhaps dependent; a sense of guilt before God; a sense of defeat as a Christian aspirant or Christian workman, etc.
II. GOD‘S PURPOSE IN SENDING IT.
1. God does send it. (See Amo 3:6.) He directly inflicts it, or he furthers it in his Divine providence, or, at the least, he permits it (see, also, Mat 10:29).
2. He sends it to draw us to himself.
(1) To withdraw us from the inferior and the untrustworthy objects; that a man may “not look to the altars, the work of his hands;” that we may discover, what we are so slow to learn, that all human help and all earthly securities are insufficient and unavailing; that these things of our own devising and constructing, which our fingers have made, break down in the time of our distress, and leave us “naked to our enemies.”
(2) To draw us to the mighty and the holy One. Our Maker will not want the power to redeem us. The Holy One of Israel will not fail to sanctify to us the evil he has sent us. He draws us to himself that, at his throne of grace, in sacred fellowship with him, we may be drown to penitence, to trustfulness, to prayerfulness, to the consecration or the rededication of our lives to his service.C.
Isa 17:10, Isa 17:11
The sin and doom of ungodliness.
We learn
I. THAT GOD IS WRONGED AND GRIEVED BY OUR NEGLECT OF HIMSELF AS WELL AS BY OUR DISOBEDIENCE TO HIS LAWS. Men sometimes mistakenly suppose that their sin is limited by the number of their transgressions of God’s positive enactments. They make a very serious mistake in so judging. Great guilt, indeed, is contracted by the breach of Divine commandment, by setting at defiance the “Thou shalt not” of sacred Scripture. But our obligation strikes deeper far, and, when we flail, our sin includes immeasurably more than this. God deserves, and he desires, and he even demands, that we, his human children, should render to him, himself, all that filial love and fellowship which is due from such beloved and enriched ones to such a gracious and bountiful Father. His charge against us is not merely that we have done numbers of things which he has prohibited; it is that we have lived on through days, weeks, months, years, through whole periods and stages of our life, and have forgotten him, the God of our salvation, have not been mindful of him, the Rock of our strength; it is that we have taken blessings and deliverances from his strong, redeeming hand, and have been content to spend our days in ungodliness, withholding the gratitude, the affection, the submission, the willing and joyous service which a relationship so near as is ours to him, and which benefits so great as are his to us, do emphatically demand. The simple and true answer to the question, “What have we failed to render to our redeeming and our beneficent God?” should cover us with shame and send us to our knees in penitence.
II. THAT AN UNGODLY LIFE IS NOT ONLY A PROLONGED INIQUITY, BUT IS ALSO A SUPREME MISTAKE. “Because thou hast forgotten therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants but the harvest shall be a heap,” etc. The mistake of ungodliness is seen in that:
1. It leaves out and loses all the real nobility from human lifeall that which raises man’s nature above the brutes, and connects it with the angelic and Divine.
2. It includes only that which is absolutely insufficient and unsatisfactory. It supplies treasures which the thief can steal, joys which pall and perish, friendships which linger only for a few passing years. It has nothing which fills and satisfies the human soul, made, as that is made, for heavenly wisdom, for holy service, for the worship and the love of God. Its harvest is only a heap of husks, and not the granary of life-sustaining corn.
3. It makes no provision for the time of trialfor “the day of grief and of desperate sorrow,” for the day of death, for the day of judgment.C.
Isa 17:12-14
The overthrow of the enemies of God.
I. THAT THE ENEMIES OF GOD‘S PEOPLE ARE THE ENEMIES OF GOD HIMSELF. “God will rebuke” those who come up against his people to spoil and to rob them. Those who assail Israel come beneath his ban, and are subject to his “woe.” Jesus Christ taught nothing more plainly or emphatically than that they who befriended his disciples were, in his estimation, befriending him (Mat 10:40-42; Mat 25:40). It is equally true that those who oppose his friends and disciples are accounted his own enemies. Woe unto him that puts a stumbling-block in the way of any of his “little ones!” To wrong them is to aggrieve him.
II. THAT THEIR WORST SUCCESS IS IN DESPOILING THE HOLY OF THEIR HERITAGE. There is nothing worse that can be said of them than that they are “those that spoil, that rob us.” But the worst despoiling is that which robs the wise and good of their highest heritage, of the excellency which they have in Christof peace, of joy, of spiritual integrity, of moral beauty, of helpfulness, of hope.
III. THAT THEY MAKE THEIR ASSAULT WITH EVERY CONFIDENCE OF SUCCESS. The enemies of Israel came on with a “noise like the noise of the seas,” like the “rushing of mighty waters,” i.e. with the dash and daring of those that are bent on carrying everything before them. Sin is often arrogantly confident; it has no belief in the inviolable purity, in the impregnable uprightness, of the people of God. It says with a sneer that every man has his price. It believes that its weapon will pierce any shield, however firm; will slay any soul, however strong. It goes, Goliath-like, confidently to the encounter; the noise of its impudent assurance is in the air.
IV. THAT THEY ARE LIABLE TO BE UTTERLY AND IMMEDIATELY OVERTHROWN. When God rebukes them they “flee far off, and are chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind,” etc. “At evening-tide is trouble, and before the morning he is not.” So absolutely, so speedily, is the enemy destroyed. Does it accord with our observation that evil is thus suddenly and irremediably cast down? The truth is:
1. That when the fatal blow fails it strikes that which is ripe for destruction. The last blow of the hammer seems to do the work; but, in fact, it succeeds only because all the preceding ones have loosened the particles and made the final stroke effective. So when the decisive judgment comes down from Heaven, it brings irrecoverable ruin because long years of folly and of sin have been preparing for the disaster which ensues.
2. That when God’s judgment once overtakes the sinner, it is often found to be that from which there is no escape or recovery. The empire is hopelessly dissolved; the “house” is utterly ruined; the family is scattered, never to be reunited; the fortune is dissipated, never to be repaired; the reputation is blasted, and no labors or severities can restore it; poverty, shame, death, appear and will take no denial; at evening-tide is trouble, and before the morning the worst has happened.
(1) Take care to be on God’s side; be able to say, “The Lord is on my side,” or there will be irretrievable disaster at the end.
(2) Remember that Christ identifies himself with his friends. True as it is that those who assail his people will be rebuked of him, it is equally true that they who espouse the cause of his disciples will win his approving smile and his large reward.C.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK
Isa 17:1
The mission of Syria.
Discernment of this mission, so far as it bears upon Israel, and carries religious lessons for all the generations, depends on our understanding the history of the times. Two nations, distant from each other, contended for the country which lay between them. Egypt and Assyria both wanted to be universal world-powers. Had the kingdom of David been kept together, it might have effectively resisted both; but when separated under Jeroboam, and encouraged to cherish rival interests, the southern portion naturally inclined to ally with Egypt, and the northern as naturally allied with Syria to resist the encroachments of Assyria. To the view of a prophet of the southern kingdom, Syria was the ringleader of a confederacy against Judah, and so against Jehovah and the Jehovah-worship. And to such a Jehovah-prophet, Syria was the agent in tempting the northern kingdom of Israel to forsake even its show of allegiance to Jehovah, and throw in its interest altogether with idolatrous nations. That is the point on which we now dwell. God carries on his work of grace by means of temptations as well as by means of trials; our testings of faith, virtue, and obedience are just as truly within the overrulings of God as are our afflictions and our cares. This is taught us in the prologue to the Book of Job, where Satan, the tempter, is represented as appearing among the “sons of God,” and receiving Divine commissions. Syria may stand for the associations and circumstances which tested the allegiance of Israel to Jehovah; and so for the relationships and conditions of our life, which bring out and prove what really is in our hearts towards the God of our fathers. It is true that God tempts no man in the sense of maliciously enticing him to do evil. It is also true that God tempts every man in the sense of placing him in circumstances under which, while he may fail and fall, he may be confirmed and established in goodness. This view is strikingly supported by a passage in Deu 13:2, Deu 13:3. The prophet who uses his gift to persuade men to forsake the Lord God is to be rejected, for by such a prophet “the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” All such tempters, whether they be individuals, classes, or nations, come at last under Divine judgments, as Syria did. Syria tempted Israel-
I. BY THE ATTRACTIONS OF ITS WEALTH. Damascus was one of the wealthiest of ancient cities, and situated so as to be an important center of trade. The attraction it proved to Israel may be illustrated by its influence on the luxurious and aesthetical king, Ahaz. Associations of wealthy companions are often serious enticements to youths. The entree of wealthy society makes many a family live beyond its means. The swiftly growing wealth of some business men excites others to grasp at wealth by questionable means.
II. BY THE ATTRACTIONS OF ITS IDOLATRY. Wealth enabled the expressions and forms of Syrian idolatry to take refined and artistic shapes. These tended to hide the abominations which attend on all idolatrous systems. So, it may be shown in relation to modern times, infidelity offers itself in the garb of advanced knowledge, and immorality appears in the guise of exciting pleasure. Syrian idolatry would have presented but feeble temptation if it had looked as repulsive as it really was. And still we are so often “drawn away and enticed,” because Satan can appear to us as an angel of light. Illustrate by the well-known picture “The Pursuit of Pleasure.” If Pleasure were not such a lovely siren form, surely the foolish host would not thus vainly pursue her. The practical skill of life is shown in the detection of what a thing is, no matter in what form it may appear.
III. BY THE ATTRACTIONS OF ITS ALLIANCE. Which seemed to offer security for Israel from the foe which was becoming so dangerously strong. But it was soon proved that Syria was unable to protect itself. Its position exposed it. Its wealth attracted the invader. It was but an arm of flesh, and was powerless when the evil day came. It took Israel away from allegiance to Jehovah and trust in him, and brought on that kingdom, the curse of him who trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm. As a general application, observe that untried character and untested piety are of little worth. No man can hope to receive the crown of life, save as he is tempted, tried, and proved. That crown belongs only to those who “stand in the evil day.”R.T.
Isa 17:6
The Lord’s remnant.
Figuratively here is called to mind the fact that God’s dealings are never wholly destructive; they never utterly desolate; there is always a mitigation, always a spared remnant. The figure used, of the few olive berries left for the gleaner, is a very striking one, if the customs of the olive-growing countries is understood. In Thomson’s ‘Land and the Book’ there is a full description. “Early in autumn the berries begin to drop off of themselves, or are shaken off by the wind. They are allowed to remain under the trees for some time, guarded by the watchman of the town’s very familiar Bible character. Presently public proclamations are made that the owners may gather the fruit. And in November comes the general and final summons. No olives are now safe unless the owner looks after them, for the watchmen are removed, and the orchards are alive with men, women, and children. It is a merry time, and the laugh and the song echo far and wide. Everywhere the people are in the trees,’ shaking’ them with all their might, to bring down the fruit. The effort is to make a clear sweep of all the crop; but in spite of shaking and beating, there is always a gleaning left’two or three berries in the top of the uttermost boughs, four or five in the outermost fruitful branches.’ These are afterwards gleaned up by the very poor, who have no trees of their own.” Matthew. Henry well expresses the thought to which this figure directs us: “Mercy is here reserved, in a parenthesis, in the midst of judgment, for a remnant that should escape the common ruin of the kingdom of the ten tribes. Though the Assyrians took all the care they could that none should slip out of their net, yet the meek of the earth were hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger, and had their lives given them for a prey, and made comfortable to them by their retirement to the land of Judah, where they had the liberty of God’s courts.” God’s remnants are illustrated in the Flood; fate of Sodom; Captivity; Elijah’s time; and siege by the Romans of Jerusalem. Always there has been “a remnant according to the election of grace.” This remnant has shown in every age that God’s judgments are never
I. VINDICTIVE. They are always, and for every one
II. DISCIPLINARY. And they are so mitigated as
III. NEVER TO CRUSH OUT HOPE FOR THE FUTURE.R.T.
Isa 17:7
Eyes turned to God only.
Cheyne’s translation is, “In that day shall the earth-born look towards his Maker, and his eyes shall have regard to the Holy One of Israel.” The reference seems to be to those who, after the Assyrian conquest of Israel accepted Hezekiah’s invitation, returned to Jerusalem, giving up their confidence in idols, and looking with single eye to Jehovah, and serving him with sincere hearts. The figure suggests for consideration the possible attitudes of human vision towards God.
I. THERE IS THE BLINDED VISION. Two things blind:
1. Ignorance, as illustrated in the case of the heathen.
2. Willfulness, as illustrated in all who are living in sin. The one blindness is a calamity, calling forth our pity; the other is a crime, calling for ore’ indignation. There is also a judicial blindnessthe stroke of God upon those who have misused their eyesight, keeping it fixed on vanity, not lifted up to the heavens, “from whence cometh man’s help.’ They who will not see shall not be able to see.
II. THERE IS THE DIMMED VISION. Influenced by surrounding atmospheres of
(1) thought;
(2) social custom;
(3) familiar errors.
Nowadays men are sadly suffering from dimmed vision. Fogs of prevailing unbelief are for a time half hiding God, and even Christians are troubled lest the dimness should prove to be in their eyes. The evil is only in the medium through which the eye looks.
III. THERE IS THE DIVIDED VISION. Which can see both God and self, and trios hard to keep both, side by side, in the field. Of some in the olden times it was said, “They feared the Lord, and served other gods;” and this must be the description of very many in the modern. “Their heart is divided.” They cannot see “Jesus only.”
IV. THERE IS THE CLEARED VISION. Oftentimes cleansed and purified by the medicine of affliction, as in the association of the text. God’s chastisements are his teaching us to see.
V. THERE IS THE CONCENTRATED VISION. Eyes turned to God only. The sign of entire devotement; full consecration. An eye single, and fixed on one object. This one thing I will do, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills.” Plead the call and persuasion of the risen and living Christ, “Anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see.”R.T.
Isa 17:10
God our Rock.
Here called the “Rock of thy fortress; ‘and contrasting with the fortress-cities, which proved no defense, and the fortress-rocks, in which the refugees had found safe shelter. The city represented man’s power to defend; the rock represents God’s power. According to the circumstances of the age, and in view of the machinery of war then in use, the steep rock was a better safety than the walled city. The figure of God as a Rock is found very early in Scripture, and was perhaps associated with the fact of God’s revealing himself from the mount, or rock, of Sinai. Moses pleads in striking similarity with Isaiah, saying, “Then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation;” “Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee” (Deu 32:15, Deu 32:18).
I. MAN‘S PERILS AS A MORAL BEING. These can be illustrated from the evils and the perils of social and national life. They can be opened out fully under three headings:
(1) intellectual;
(2) moral;
(3) religious.
II. FOR SUCH PERILS MAN CAN NEVER PROVIDE EFFICIENT DEFENCES. Intellectual safeguards fail before the subtleties of aggressive unbelief. Moral safeguards fail before the uprising swell of passions. Formal religious safeguards fail to satisfy when heart begins to cry. In the dangerous ways of an earth full of temptation and evil, “it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.”
III. MAN‘S SAFETY FROM ALL PERILS IS IN GOD HIS ROCK. On God a man may stand secure, though the wild storm-waves beat around him. In God a man may hide quite safely until all the calamities be overpast. His house may feel the blowing of the mighty winds; but it falls not, for it is founded on a rock.
“God is my strong Salvation;
What foe have I to fear?
In darkness and temptation,
My Light, my Help, is near.
Though hosts encamp around me,
Firm to the fight I stand;
What terror can confound me,
With God at my right hand?”
R.T.
Isa 17:11
The mission of disappointment; or, disappointment used as a Divine judgment.
In this passage is presented the case of unrewarded toil. Seed is sown, blades spring up, there is every prospect of harvest; but all hopes are disappointed, the harvest proved a failureit was “a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.” One special feature of the discipline of life is the disappointment of our most cherished hopes and expectations. We build our castles on some new enterprise, and at first all seems to go well; but at last our castle lies in ruins about us. We set our hopes on one of our children, and fashion for him a future of honor and success, and our disappointment in him almost breaks our heart. We make important changes, which promise much, and result in the humiliation of failure and distress. God works by disappointments; they are keener rods for smiting than afflictions are. They bear more quickly on the humbling of man’s pride and on the conviction of his self-helplessness. They try temper more. They too often result in hardening and increased willfulness. There is no harder lesson for us to learn than this one, that God works his work of grace by shutting doors against us, and not permitting us to achieve the success which is the desire of our heart. We plan, we work, but all proves in vain; and so we learn that it is the blessing of the Lord alone that maketh rich, and giveth good success. We observe
I. DISAPPOINTMENT DIFFERS FROM AFFLICTION. Take two scenes from David’s life. The rebellion of Absalom was an affliction. The refusal to permit him to build the temple was a disappointment. The one was no more under God’s overruling than was the other. They are perfectly distinct in character and in influence. One difference may be effectively illustrated. With “afflictions” there is usually an enfeebled and depressed state of body, involving weakened will and limitation of resistance. With “disappointments” there is usually the full health and energy; and the conflict, that ends in true submission, is therefore more severe.
II. DISAPPOINTMENTS MAY INFLUENCE WHEN AFFLICTIONS WOULD NOT. That depends on dispositions. Many a man can bear sufferings who would be thrown into the most violent struggles by having his will crossed. Then that “crossing of his will” may be the only way to accomplish his sanctifying. We should rejoice that he who knows the best methods of chastisement also knows us on whom the correction comes. For us the way to heaven may be round by a series of lifelong disappointments. Most persons, perhaps, looking back over their lives, would say that their bitterest hours were those in which they realized that they “could not do the things that they would.” St. Paul knew such times. The story of one such is very simply told, but those who read between the lines may find indication of much feeling. “We assayed to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit Suffered us not.” And it is not easy to estimate the educational influence on our Lord’s disciples of that overwhelming disappointment, which came when he who they thought should have redeemed Israel was “hung up and crucified.” That may be just the kind of weapon which our heavenly Father may need for our correction; and, in our various disappointments, we may hear his gracious voice saying, “Should it be according to thy mind?”R.T.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Isa 17:1. The burden of Damascus The fourth discourse of the second book of these prophesies is contained in this and the following chapter. The Syrians of Damascus, who bordered upon the Ephraimites, had long lived in a state of hostility with them; but their king Rezin, on receiving some injuries from Uzziah, king of Judah, had united them with himself in an expedition against Jerusalem, which was wholly frustrated. See chap. 7: This disappointment hastened the destruction of these nations; for the Assyrians called in by Ahaz to his help, and who had a long time threatened Syria, by the will of God took this occasion to seize upon and destroy Damascus, and transport the Damascene Syrians to Assyria and Media, as the Ephraimites afterwards were under Tiglath-pileser and Salmanezer; for a common cause involved these nations in a common calamity: which calamity makes the argument of this prediction. The prophet shews, that in a short time Damascus should be besieged, destroyed, and the kingdom abolished which had flourished for many ages, and also that the state of the Ephraimites should at the same time meet with a notable overthrow, and should soon after be wholly subverted: after which he turns his discourse to the Assyrian, who, after having destroyed these kingdoms, the enemies of the people of God, should attempt the subversion of the kingdom of Judah also. But in vain: for he foretels his destruction by the hand of God, without any human aid. This discourse may be divided into four parts. The first sets forth the sentence of the divine judgment upon Damascus and the Damascene kingdom: Isa 17:1-3. The second upon the Ephraimites, with some alleviations: Isa 17:4-11. The third upon the Assyrians, Isa 17:14. The fourth contains an addition to the preceding period, wherein the Assyrian slaughter is declared and illustrated, and commanded to be told to the Egyptians and Ethiopians, and to be made known to all nations of the earth; chap. Isa 16:1-7. It is most likely that this prophesy was delivered at the same time with the fifth discourse; chap. vii-xii. Concerning Damascus, see Univ. Hist. vol. 2: p. 260 and Maundrell’s Journey from Aleppo, p. 121.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Isa 17:1-3. Behold, Damascus is taken away We have here the sentence of the divine judgment upon Damascus; wherein are four penal judgments to be inflicted upon that state. The first is the overthrow of Damascus: Behold, Damascus is taken, &c. See chap. Isa 25:2. The second is the destruction of the cities of the Damascene valley; Isa 17:2. By the cities of Aroer, we understand that celebrated valley which lay between the mountains of Libanus and Anti-Libanus, and possibly among these was Palmyra of the desart. The third judgment is expressed Isa 17:3. The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria. The meaning most probably is, that, Damascus being destroyed, that fortress or protection in which the Ephraimites had placed their confidence should be taken; or it may be, that at what time Damascus shall be overthrown, and deprived of all government and power, the Ephraimites also should be weakened and deprived of their chief fortresses by the Assyrians; which latter seems to be the best sense. See Hos 10:14 and Mic 1:6. The fourth judgment is the carrying away of the Damascenes into banishment. They shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, means, “The lot of the Damascenes and other Syrians shall be the same as that of the Ephraimites; whose glory, i.e. whose most excellent citizens, spoiled of their dignity, should be carried with their riches and property into Assyria and Media; their state overthrown, and their fortified towns destroyed.” The prophet seems to allude to Hos 9:11. See chap. Isa 10:3 and Isa 8:4. It is certain from History, that Tiglath-pileser, in the third or fourth year of Ahaz, executed this sentence against Damascus. He went up against Damascus and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Resin. See 2Ki 16:9.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
3. AGAINST SYRIA-EPHRAIM AND ETHIOPIA-EGYPT
Isaiah 17-20
The prophecies contained in Isaiah 17-20. have this much in common, that they are directed against two double nations. For as here Syria and Ephraim belong together, so there Ethiopia and Egypt. Thus in the north and south the gaze of the Prophet falls on a double nation, and in each case the remoter nation is the more heterogeneous. Then all these prophecies point to the future of Assyria. But they do so in a very different sense. In Isaiah 17, Assyria appears as instrument for accomplishing the judgment on the neighboring enemy of Judah, Syria and Israel. But immediately thereafter (Isa 17:12-14) destruction is announced against Assyria itself, so that 17 can conclude with the words: This is the portion of them that spoil us and the lot of them that rob us. But Assyria threatened not merely Judah and its next neighbors. The terror of it went further: it extended into distant lands. To these belonged also Ethiopia. Therefore on this account the Prophet announces to Ethiopia, too, the impending danger proceeding from Assyria. And this announcement could so much the more find a place here as the Prophet at the same time had to announce the putting aside of this danger by the same overthrow of the Assyrians that (Isa 17:12-14) he holds up to view as the delivering event for Judah. Thus the Prophet in so far points away to a future of Assyria which is to it fatal, and on that account for Judah full of comfort. Hence these chapters involve the warning to fear neither Syria-Ephraim nor Assyria. We can say therefore, that the contents of Isaiah 17. correspond to the contents of the first and third part of the prophetic-cycle 712. For we find here everything that is set forth in extenso Isa 7:1 to Isa 9:6, and then again Isa 10:5 to Isa 11:16, given compactly in the brief space of one chapter. Regarding the period of their composition, we must ascribe 17 and 18 to the same time. For in both Assyria is spoken of in the same sense, i.e., the overthrow of Assyria is held up to view in both, and not the victory as in 19 and 20. But then in both passages this overthrow is spoken of in such a way that one sees the lines of perspective of both pictures of the future meet in the historical event that is described Isa 37:36 sqq. To this is added what Drechsler calls attention to, that chapter 18. has no superscription, but appears with its , woe, to join on to the woe of Isa 17:12. Drechsler, indeed, urges the unity too strongly (in his Commentary, and Stud. u. Krit., 1847, p. 857 sqq.). Yet one dont see why the Prophet should have set just Ethiopia parallel with Judah. This is only conceivable if chapter 18 was not conceived ad hoc, but was put here only as a parallel actually existing and, according to the reference of Isa 17:5-6, a fitting parallel. But, as already said, the two passages, as regards their origin, belong to one period. And inasmuch as, according to Isa 17:1-3, Damascus and Ephraim still stood intact, we must ascribe both chapters 17, 18, to the beginning of the reign of Ahaz, the time to which chapters Isa 7:1 to Isa 9:6 owe their origin. We would then have in our chapters a proof that Isaiah, at that time not only foresaw the significance of Assyria as an instrument of punishment, but also its destruction.
Chapters 19 and 20, also treat of the future of Assyria, but in the opposite sense: for chapter 19, holds up to the view of Egypt its destruction. Who will be the instrument of this destruction is not said. It is known only from Isa 17:16, 17 that it is the God of Israel that causes the ruin to fall on Egypt. But when, now, Isa 17:23 sqq., the view is displayed in the still more remote future of the most intimate friendship between Egypt and Assyria, and great salvation for both, so it results, by force of the contrast implied, that Assyria must previously have been the enemy and destroyer of Egypt. And this, then, is said in express words in chapter 20, which is related to chapter 19, as an explanatory sequel. Evidently, therefore, chapters 19, 20, involve for Judah the warning that confederacy with Egypt is of no avail against Assyria. The Lord has given Egypt inevitably into the hand of Assyria in the immediate future. From this we recognize that these chapters must have been written at a time when Judah needed such a warning against false reliance on the protection of Egypt against the danger that threatened on the side of Assyria. Such was the case in the time of Hezekiah. We learn from 2832, that an Egyptian policy was the great theocratic error of the reign of Hezekiah. Moreover the date given Isa 20:1 (see comment in loc.), according to the Assyrian monuments, refers us to the year 711, the 17th year of Hezekiah, for the beginning, and Isa 20:3 to the year 708, as the period of the conclusion, and of the prophetic indication of that typical transaction. According to that, chapter 20 cannot have been written before the year 708 b. c., and the words, and fought against Ashdod and took it, Isa 17:1 b are, relatively, indeed, but not absolutely considered, an historical anticipation.
But our chapters have still a further peculiarity in common. That is to say, with exception of chapter 20, they are all of them comprehensive surveys, while chapter 20, as already said, only more nearly determines a chief point left indistinct in chapter 19. For the Prophet comprehends here, as in one look, the entire future of all the nations mentioned in these chapters, down into the remotest Messianic time, where all shall belong to the kingdom of peace that the Messiah shall found. Israel (and by implication Syria, comp. on as the glory, etc. Isa 17:3, and a man, Isa 17:7), Judah, Ethiopia, Egypt, Assyria, all of them shall with one accord serve the Lord, and in equal measure enjoy His blessing. Connected therewith is the fact that these chapters (20 excepted, for the reason given) form a total by themselves, in that they sketch, prophetic fashion, in grand brevity, a panorama of the future history of the nations in question. But as regards the relation of this second element, the Messianic to the first, the Assyrian, it must be observed that the former in chapters 18, 19, forms quite normally the conclusion. But in 17, the Assyrian element forms the conclusion, and indeed it is joined on in a loose and unconnected way. In Isa 17:9-11, the cause of the fall described Isa 17:4-6 is assigned in only an incidental way, so that the Messianic element (Isa 17:7-8) has, so to speak, a subsequent endorser in this reason assigned. Yet this style of adding the reason after describing the event has many examples. But the words Isa 17:12-14 certainly give the impression of being a later addition, yet one that in any case proceeds from the Prophet himself. Without this addition there would be wanting to 17, one of the two elements that characterize chapters 1720. With it, chapter 17 not only becomes homogeneous with the following chapters, but also it becomes complete in itself (comp. Isa 17:14 b), and receives a bridge that unites it with chap. 18.
We may group the four chapters in the following fashion:
a)Prophecies that give warning not to be afraid either of Syria-Ephraim, or Assyria (17, 18).
. Damascus and Ephraim mow and in time to come (18).
. Ethiopia now and in time to come (18).
b)Prophecies that give warning not to trust to false help against Assyria (19, 20).
. Egypt now and in time to come (19).
. The Assyrian captivity of Egypt (20).
__________________
a) Prophecies that give warning not to be afraid either of Syria-Ephraim or Assyria
Isa 17, 18
) DAMASCUS AND EPHRAIM NOW AND IN TIME TO COME
17
) The destruction of Damascus and Ephraim
Isa 17:1-3
1The Burden of Damascus.
Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city,
And it shall be a ruinous heap.
2The cities of Aroer are forsaken:
They shall be for flocks,
1Which shall lie down and none shall make them afraid.
3The 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.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
Isa 17:1. In this verse the m sound predominates in a way not to be mistaken.The participle occurs again 1Sa 21:7.The construction with as e.g. 1Sa 15:23. is chosen for the sake of the paronomasia with . It stands only here for the elsewhere usual . [Imitated in Naegelsbachs translation by: verworfen als Stadt und wird eine Trummers tatat.Tr.].Also (of the same meaning as Isa 23:13; Isa 25:2; and partly Eze 26:15; Eze 26:18, and often) occurs only here.
Isa 17:2, In this verse there occurs no m sound excepting in the last word. On the other hand the r, hissing and dental sounds predominate.It is debatable whether is equivalent to (compare Jos 13:17) or is to be construed as appositional genitive. I would not against the former of these explanations oppose what Gesenius (Thes. pag, 1074, comp. 1005) cites against himself, that Aroer was no metropolis. For even if it were not the capital of a land, it might still be the central point of a number of smaller cities or villages. is = derelictae, desertae (Isa 17:9; Isa 6:12; Jer 4:29). is a form of speech borrowed from Job (Job 11:19) and reproduced later by Zephaniah (Isa 3:13).
Isa 17:3. Notice the alliteration of the first half of the verse. As is not ceteri, but reliqui, I regard it as more accurate to connect with what follows than with what precedes.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. The Prophet makes the Syrian capital his starting point, announcing to it first that it will be reduced to a place of ruin (Isa 17:1). From there he turns to the territory of Israel, and traverses first east Jordan Israel to its extremest point (Isa 17:2), then passes over to west Jordan, and thence returns back to Damascus (Isa 17:3). Thus he describes a circuit, carries the destruction over Gilead to Ephraim and thence back to Damascus so that thus Ephraim becomes as Damascus and Damascus as Ephraim; thus both, as they are politically closely united, appear joined in a common ruin.
2. The burden of Damascusheap.
Isa 17:1. , Burden of Damascus, is in so far an inexact expression as chap. 17 does not merely treat of a judgment against Damascus, but of a judgment upon Ephraim and Assyria. But the expression seems to be chosen for the sake of conformity with the other sections of the collection, chapters 1323. But it must not here be construed in the sense of giving the contents; it is a simple nota, a mere designation to distinguish and mark a beginning. As regards the fulfilment, we see from Isa 8:4 that Isaiah sees the time near at hand when the plunder of Damascus shall be carried before the king of Assyria, and according to Isa 10:9 this capture has already resulted. Schrader (Die Keilinschriften und das A. T., p. 150 sq. u. 152 sq.) imparts from Layards inscriptions (London, 1851, Fol.), an inscription that is unfortunately somewhat obliterated, but is still plain enough to make known that Tiglath-Pileser, by means of an expedition lasting two years (according to Schrader, they were the years 733 and 732 B. C.; according to the list of regents, the thirteenth and fourteenth year of this king), destroyed the kingdom of Damascus. The inscription reads: . whose number cannot be numbered. I caused to be beheaded;. of (Bin) hadar, the palace of the father of Rezin (Ra-sun-ni, Ra-sun-nu) of Damascus, (situated on) inaccessible mountains. I besieged, captured; 8000 inhabitants together with their property; Mitinti of Ascalon. I led forth into captivity; five hundred (and eighteen, according to Smith) cities from sixteen districts of the Damascus land I desolated like a heap of rubbish. But it is of course to be noticed that this catastrophe was only a temporary one. For Jer 49:23-27 and Eze 27:18 knew Damascus again as a city existing in their time. On the whole Damascus is almost the only one of all the cities of biblical antiquity that flourishes still down to the present day.
3. The cities of Aroerafraid.
Isa 17:2. Three cities of Old Testament mention are called by the name Aroer: 1) a city in Judah (1Sa 30:28) which cannot by any means be meant here; 2) a city in the tribe of Gad, which according to Jos 13:25 (comp. Jdg 11:33) lay before Rabbah; 3) a city in the tribe of Reuben, situated on the north bank of the Arnon (Deu 2:36; Jos 12:2; Jos 13:9; Jos 13:16; Jdg 11:26; 2Ki 10:33, and often). But if the Prophet meant only one of the two Aroers, then we miss an element that is of importance in the connection of thought of our passage. Are both Aroers meant, then the Southern one, on the bank of Arnon, must be one of them. But in that case the words cities of Arnon involve the sense: the entire east Jordan territory. But also the etymological primary sense ( = nudus, bare, inops, poor) recommended the mention of the name of these cities. So that it thus seems to have been chosen for a threefold reason (see Text. and Gram.). From Damascus the judgment of God moves southward like a tempest or a hail cloud through Gilead to rebound from the mountain chain of Abarim and be deflected thereby westward across the Jordan into the territory of Ephraim. Thus all Gilead becomes unfitted for human habitation. Only herds of animals stop there, that can repose without fear of disturbance.The occupation of a region by herds is also in other places named as the sign of a desert condition: Isa 17:10; Zep 2:14, and often.
[In regard to cities of Aroer, J. A. A. says: It is now commonly agreed that the place meant is the northern Aroer, east of Jordan, and that its cities are the towns around it, and perhaps dependent on it.]
4. The fortressof hosts.
Isa 17:3. The Prophet now takes Ephraim and Syria together. Of the former shall be done away all (collective, all defense). Thereby the cities of Ephraim also cease to be cities (Isa 17:1). For in that no longer patriarchal but warlike time and region, whatever was without wall was a village. Comp. fenced cities, opposed to or hamlet, village, 1Sa 6:18, and often. As, therefore, The fortress ceases from Ephraim, ( , recalls rejected as city, Isa 17:1), the end returns to the beginning, and with the following words the kingdom of Damascus, the Prophet actually arrives back in Damascus, whence he started out, so that he has thus described a circuit. With what art the Prophet intimates that not only Ephraim becomes as Damascus (by the ), but also Damascus as Ephraim! Are the cities of Ephraim and Damascus become villages, then Damascus can neither maintain its ancient rank as a royal city, nor the cities of Ephraim their ancient glory Both must fall and go to ruin. As the glory of the children of Israel must, of course, be intended in the first place ironically. Ephraim had joined itself closely with Syria to the great terror of Judah (Isa 7:2; Isa 8:12). Isaiah shows here how this close political coalition will turn to their destruction, engulfing them in one common ruin. But when Isa 17:4 sqq. it is seen what will be the fate of the glory of Jacob, viz.: that it will return from the fallen estate of remoteness from God to the glory of nearness to God, then it will not appear an error if in the remnant of Syria is seen an allusion to the remnant of Israel, and in the likeness of name an intimation of a likeness of destiny that is to be hoped for: Comp. on a man, Isa 17:7.
[In regard to the ironical and sarcastic meaning attached to the expression the glory of Israel, a notion as old as Jerome, J. A. A. says it seems to mean simply what is left of their former glory.]
Footnotes:
[1]And they shall lie down and there shall be no one making them afraid.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
CONTENTS
This Chapter opens with the burden of Damascus; but there is much concerning Israel in it also. Damascus is threatened with destruction. The Lord’s promises concerning Israel, some sweet views if gospel times are here and there introduced.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Damascus was the chief city of Syria; and in how many instances the Assyrians distressed the Church of God, the Old Testament history hath largely recorded. It is most instructive to observe, as we prosecute the annals of the Church, how the Lord raiseth up one nation, and putteth down another, as those nations are made instrumental to humble or to raise Israel’s glory. In the mean time, the Lord preserveth the Church, as his handful of people, in the midst of all, through the earth. Rise or fall who may among the nations, yet Jacob, the Lord’s portion, continueth the same. Mic 5:5-9 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Through the Material to the Spiritual
Isa 17:2
It will not appear to be so. Appearance, indeed, will be on the other side. But we are to judge by the harvest, by the end, and not by the appearances. Sometimes it would seem as if the devil reigned. He has everything his own way; he imagines evil, and brings his device to pass; and we say, ‘Why should we trouble about God, and of what good is it to pray? He does not trouble us, He does not answer, He does not care for us.’ But the Lord has never concealed from us the great fact that He judges everything by the end; He ripens evil, as well as good. God can only get at some people through the material; they have wasted the spiritual. He can make no impression upon them along the spiritual line; they have lost all their sensitiveness, they are past feeling, their conscience is seared as with a hot iron, and the withdrawal of His spiritual mercies would have no effect upon them.
I. God must come to us. He will come to us through the way of pain or loss or sorrow; He will take a long time to come, but He will come. It takes years to make some men think; it takes years to bring down the high looks of the haughty and to bring to nothing the devices that are multiplied against the Lord; but they will all come down. Do not judge by a moment of sunshine; the law has been made clear, it cannot alter: ‘It shall be well with the righteous, and it shall be ill with the wicked’. The Lord causes the harvest to bud and to bring forth all manner of sweet miracles, and then at the last He looks at it in rebuke and withers it from the face of the earth, withers it whilst we are gathering it; we thrust in our sickle, and hew down sheaves of darkness and of poison.
II. Observe the reasonableness of this. Who is it that is offended? Who is it that is forgotten? The Giver, the Father, the Servant of all. What can happen but death? We cannot be living within a scheme of things which we did not set up, and we cannot adapt that scheme to our ways and our wishes without coming upon the Maker, the Contriver of it all. We are born into a scheme of things; we are not sent into the world to reconstruct it; great laws were here before we were; we found them out, discovered them, burnt our fingers in going too near them, and therefore we cannot ignore these laws without coming upon penalty, suffering, rebuke. Being sent into a scheme of things, our wisdom is in finding out how it begins, proceeds, how it develops, how it grows, and our great business in life is to lie alongside of these forces, and not to oppose them, but to obey them, and thus discover and glorify the will of God.
III. On the ground of mere reason, I hold that the Christian argument is a sound argument. It answers more questions than any other scheme of life; it lulls more anxieties, it brings more consolations, it goes further than any scheme of things can go into the great unseen and grand immeasurable. I ask you, therefore, to ground yourselves upon God’s will, and take of life as it comes, with all simplicity of love and completeness of obedience and all-believing faith. If you would have peace, you can have it in that way; you can have it in no other way. The law is equal, it is equal on both sides, it cannot be trifled with; if it is severe on the one side, it is gentle on the other. The same holds good with regard to the law of mercy and peace, that everywhere that great law is operating in favour of those who are in sympathy with it, and who long to carry out all its meaning and enjoy all its rewards.
Joseph Parker, City Temple Pulpit, vol. vi. p. 157.
References. XVI. 1. J. M. Neale, Sermons on the Prophets, vol. i. pp. 35, 46. XVII. 10, 11. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture, p. 76.
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
The Burden of Damascus
Isa 17:1-6
“Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city” ( Isa 17:1 ).
Damascus never dreamed this desolation. Men seldom do dream the wisest things. They have debased dreaming into nightmare. Damascus was the fair metropolis of Syria; she said, I shall always be clothed in purple and fine linen; the course of Damascus is a course of ascent and ever-increasing illumination. When cities do not pray they go down. The city as a whole may not pray, but there are praying souls in it, and because of those praying souls the pride of the city is not stained by the Almighty. Still the ten save the city; still one wise man saves the city; still the little child is the lightning-conductor of the house: so God’s lightning is harmless because the little child is there. The cradle saves the city. Think of possible degradation. Damascus shall be taken away from the roll of cities; when the angels call the roll of the earth, they will never more say “Damascus.” The alphabetic order will be inverted, the alphabetic status will be obliterated; the proudest, fairest, queenliest city shall become a handful of ashes. Take care what you are about. London great London is nothing before him who sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and whose throne is upon the circle of heaven.
But we need not apply the doctrine to cities; we must not escape by such generalities. It is possible for a man to moralise about the fate of a city, and forget that the principle of the text is aimed at all life. Life poorly handled means loss of life; faculty fallen into desuetude means faculty fallen into death. You are now a great man: to-morrow you shall be taken away from the list of the living; now men come to you as to a counsellor; they propound their difficulties, they submit their plans and policies, and they invoke the aid of your solid and well-tested judgment. If you are proud of this you may before another sunset be a babbling idiot. God can do without you; you are not indispensable to the universe. Be humble, meek of heart, lowly of spirit; say that if you have a lamp that shines afar, and men call it genius it was kindled by the divine hand for beneficent ends. We have nothing that we have not received. If we are bailiffs of large estates, the estates are not ours; we must keep correct books, we must write up the story of every day, we must abide the coming of the auditor; it is expected of stewards that a man be found faithful. We have nothing to boast of; our greatness is but a vapour, a poor blurred cloud, unless we hold it as God’s trustees, and are prepared to give an account at last of how we have used and expended every talent he gave us. Think nothing of earth’s greatness. Damascus was taken away from being a city. God can disfranchise London, and Paris, and New York, and Constantinople. They are of no consequence to him, except as instruments carrying out his will, representing his kingdom, and doing his service in the world. What is true of cities is true of men. The moment you begin to hold your talents for yourself you begin to lose them. Understand this is not the fall of some little village; it was the fall of the Syrian capital that had lifted itself against Judah, that had joined rebellious Israel to stop the purposes of God. How bitter is the declaration! Damascus shall be disfranchised. Damascus shall have no vote. Damascus shall be turned into a cipher. Fair Damascus shall be a ruinous heap; men who knew her long ago shall come and seek her, and there shall be a mocking spirit in the air that shall say, She is there! Thrust your hand into these white ashes and find her if you can! She offended God, and God has decreed the punishment of obliteration upon her. We have all seen great men reduced to this littleness; we have seen great and pompous causes come to nothing: what is the reason of this? Because they have entered into false alliances, or have cultivated a spirit of rebellion, or have forgotten to pray. The disease is moral or spiritual; it is the heart that has gone down, and when the heart of a city or a man goes down in moral quality, in devout aspiration, then the sunshine is sucked out of the life, and the rest is night!
Read on; the threnody deepens in mournfulness: “The cities of Aroer are forsaken” ( Isa 17:2 ). That would seem to be one of God’s negative punishments. There is no violence inflicted upon the cities of Aroer; God simply turns away from them. God is God. Can the city thrive? It is thus that many a man is left. He is not cleft in twain, he is not smitten by some thunderbolt, and shattered into ten thousand atoms; he is simply left alone by his Maker. Saul was left alone; Saul said, Bring me up Samuel, I am forsaken of God. When a man is divinely forsaken he dips his pen to write in the old style of energy and luminousness, and behold there is no ink, or the pen is lost, or the hand, poor old hand, has lost its cunning. What has happened? God has gone from the man; the man proved himself to be a liar, a thief, a hypocrite, a foul person, and the Lord, after much remonstrance and expostulation, has left him, and gone away away. Let us take care what we are about. We do not hold even our character except under certain conditions which we may easily violate. You have built up your reputation these many years; it can be shattered in a moment. You cannot make a character in an hour; you may require fifty years to build one: but a single wrong act, and it is gone, and men would hesitate to tell where it once stood. You will ask them where, and they will become deaf; you will inquire for particulars, and they will look vacant: they are ashamed of the shattered memory. Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall!
Yet God will make some use of the ground on which the cities of Aroer stood: “They shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.” Think of London a sheepfold! Think of what are termed the royal thoroughfares turned into sheepwalks! The Lord can better use his ground than allow the city to stand upon it any more; so he will call in the unoffending sheep, and let them pasture where princes ought to have been born, and kings ought to have walked in moral sovereignty. The earth is the Lord’s. He will reclaim the places we have befouled. We shall give up to the lower creation the cities which we might have glorified.
Read on! “The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim” ( Isa 17:3 ). He shall be an exposed personality. He shall not have a hiding-place; he who could once surround himself by what he thought to be invincible walls shall find himself quite exposed to all the assaults of the enemy; not a covering left, not a roof to his head, not a fire at which to warm his coldness. Ephraim would make alliance with Syria, and they would both go against Judah. Ephraim never made a great reputation; he was a cake unturned, a caked baked only on one side; and it is said of him, that Ephraim being armed and carrying bows turned back in the day of battle. When he was wanted he was not found; when he could have been of use he was taken sick. This is not ancient history. This is the living story of the present day. When some men are wanted they cannot be found; they afterwards come, and say that they ought to have been sought for. We have not time now to seek for men; this is not a time to go after men, begging and beseeching them to do the Lord’s work: men should come and ask for appointments, and submit themselves to service, and should gratefully and eagerly demand that they be put under the Lord’s discipline. If any of you are making yourselves nuisances in your respective churches, sitting back and waiting to be called upon, holding yourselves in great esteem, as if you must be gone after, and deputationised, and be asked to confer upon the Christ the honour of your weakness, take heed! These are not times to play such devils’ games: these are the times when men should spring to their feet and say, Make all the use of us you can; and as for thee, thou crucified Saviour, the morning is thine and the night; use us all the day long. Surely the time will come when we shall see virgin enthusiasm once more; when we shall be startled by eager passion to do the Lord’s work in the world. If not, our fortress will be taken from us, whatever our fortress is; the child will be taken; the money will be spent by a stranger’s hand; health will give way; and the word which was once a security will become a jest. The Lord reigneth.
“And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin” ( Isa 17:4 ). The literal rendering is, The glory of Jacob shall come to emaciation all strength gone. You have seen the consumptive youth: is there any sadder spectacle on the face of this sad earth than that of a man who yesterday young and strong is now thin-fingered, gaunt, ghastly, coughing in his weakness; his eyes too bright; the blood all shrunk away? He can hardly walk; he hopes, he fears, he consults every one, for despair is not particular as to consultation: watch him! That is what the glory of Jacob shall be like. The glory of Jacob shall be turned into emaciation: his face shall be blanched, his knees shall smite together, all his pride shall be withered up, and he who once lifted himself on high shall be smitten low, and none shall be able to tell his burial-place. The Lord reigneth.
And the judgment of God shall come down upon him “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” ( Isa 17:5 ). That valley was fruitful; it was called in the old time “The Valley of Giants.” The Philistines kept their eyes constantly upon it, and when the chosen people held the valley, and when it was filled with corn, then the Philistines fell upon it and took it away. So shall it be with men who try contests with God, who invite the Lord to battle. You shall sow the corn, another hand shall reap it; you shall go to all the labour and the expense, but not one ear of grain shall you gather into your garner. This is the Lord’s government; this providence: providence is judgment, judgment is providence: God is love: God is a consuming fire.
“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” ( Isa 17:6 ). And it is against Israel that he is denouncing these judgments. He cannot get away from his own mercy. “Yet” that is a gospel word; that is the nature of an anthem. There is the token of hope, the signal of possible deliverance and return and enfranchisement. Something shall be left. Just one or two little ears multiply them by God’s intention, and they shall become a harvest: “two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough” take them down, multiply them by the purpose of the divine love, and they shall become as a field of fruitfulness. Is it not so with us? We have something left yet: the little child is left; the business is not wholly ruined; we have good health or good spirits; we have a friend or two here and there, kindly voices are not wholly dead: what is the meaning of these remnants of things? These remnants mean that God wants us home again; wants to see us in tears of penitence; wants to meet us at the cross of Christ; wants to reclaim us from the power and the captivity of the devil; wants to make us in very deed his own children; wants to recover us from our wandering, and set us like a fallen star in the brotherhood of the suns, to go out no more for ever. Return, O wanderer, to thy home!
Prayer
Almighty God, as thou hast given to us full hands, so do thou grant unto us by thy Holy Spirit grateful hearts. Goodness and mercy have followed us all the days of our life, now like spring, and now like harvest, and now like restful wintertime. Thou hast given unto us all things richly to enjoy: how can we enjoy the things made if we do not enjoy first the Maker thereof? We would look unto our Maker, and unto the Holy One of Israel, and we would connect all we have of earthly health and blessing with the Name Eternal, and with the Cross that signifies the love of God. We would not any more be thankless or heedless creatures; we would that our hearts might be touched with the pathos of the Saviour’s life and death; we would see him in all gifts, in all opportunities for service, in all spheres of suffering. God forbid that we should be as the beasts of the earth, eating what thou hast sent, and forgetting the Sender. Thou dost give us our daily bread; for us thou dost find pools and fountains in the desert: behold, all things are for our sakes, for we are made in the image and likeness of God. How can we praise thee; what shall we render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward us? We bless thee for fields laden with good things, for gardens and orchards that have brought forth abundantly. These are thy sanctuary, Lord; thou hast a great dwelling-place; thou hast not excluded thyself from the humblest corner of thy creation; the meanest flower bears thy signature; the tiniest, weakest life is a spark of thine own eternity. Make us solemn in the presence of all things, seeing that yet we do not know all their meaning or realise all their comfort We bless thee for spring and summer, for harvest and winter; these are parts of thy pledge and covenant to man: thou hast ever been faithful, we have often broken the vow. The Lord have mercy upon us when we humbly and contritely pour out our confessions at the Cross. Save us from saying, I have played the fool exceedingly! for then should we be haughty and vain in our humiliation: help us rather to say, God be merciful to me a sinner! then our hearts shall be emptied of self and of vanity and of foolish pride, and lying before the Cross, broken and shattered, we shall be. healed and built up again. Help us to see thee in our personal lives, in the special providences which make up our individual history; help us to see thee at home, the loved house, the little sanctuary, the miniature heaven; help us to see thee in all the roughness and discipline of life, lest we think this is altogether the devil’s world forsaken of God: thou canst not forsake any world that has carried the Cross. The Lord hear us, and increase us in wisdom and in under-Standing, in grace and in charity, in spirituality and hopefulness. The Lord hear us for our loved ones, for the sick and the weary, for the children of night, for the bearers of cruel pain; for all who are on the sea, for our loved ones far away and on the rolling billows, still one with us and thinking of us, as we are one with them and thinking of them: annihilate all space and time this holy Sabbath hour, and make us feel that all friends are near because Jesus is close at hand. Amen.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
XXVII
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST IN ISAIAH
The relation between the New Testament Christ and prophecy is that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. To him give all the prophets witness. All the scriptures, the law, the prophets, and the psalms, testify of him. And we are fools, and slow of heart to credit adequate testimony when we distrust any part of the inspired evidence.
Of the ancient prophets Isaiah was perhaps the most notable witness of the coming Messiah. An orderly combination of his many messianic utterances amounts to more than a mere sketch, indeed, rather to a series of almost life-sized portraits. As a striking background for these successive portraits the prophet discloses the world’s need of a Saviour, and across this horrible background of gloom the prophet sketches in startling strokes of light the image of a coming Redeemer.
In Isa 2:2-4 we have the first picture of him in Isaiah, that of the effect of his work, rather than of the Messiah himself. This is the establishment of the mountain of the Lord’s house on the top of the mountains, the coming of the nations to it and the resultant millennial glory.
In Isa 4:2-6 is another gleam from the messianic age in which the person of the Messiah comes more into view in the figure of a branch of Jehovah, beautiful and glorious. In sketching the effects of his work here the prophet adds a few strokes of millennial glory as a consummation of his ministry.
In Isa 7:14 he delineates him as a little child born of a virgin, whose coming is the light of the world. He is outlined on the canvas in lowest humanity and highest divinity, “God with us.” In this incarnation he is the seed of the woman and not of the man.
The prophet sees him as a child upon whom the government shall rest and whose name is “Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa 9:6 ). This passage shows the divinity of Christ and the universal peace he is to bring to the world. In these names we have the divine wisdom, the divine power, the divine fatherhood, and the divine peace.
In Isa 11:1-9 the prophet sees the Messiah as a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, i.e., of lowly origin, but possessing the Holy Spirit without measure who equips him for his work, and his administration wrought with skill and justice, the result of which is the introduction of universal and perfect peace. Here the child is presented as a teacher. And such a teacher! On him rests the seven spirits of God. The spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. He judges not according to appearances and reproves not according to rumors. With righteousness he judges the poor and reproves with equality in behalf of the meek. His words smite a guilty world like thunderbolts and his very breath slays iniquity. Righteousness and faithfulness are his girdle. He uplifts an infallible standard of morals.
In Isa 40:3-8 appears John the Baptist, whom Isaiah saw as a voice crying in the wilderness, preparing the way for the coming King.
In Isa 11:2 ; Isa 42:1 ; Isa 61:1-3 the prophet saw the Messiah as a worker in the power of the Spirit, in whom he was anointed at his baptism. This was the beginning of his ministry which was wrought through the power of the Holy Spirit. At no time in his ministry did our Lord claim that he wrought except in the power of the Holy Spirit who was given to him without measure.
In Isa 35:1-10 the Messiah is described as a miracle worker. In his presence the desert blossoms as a rose and springs burst out of dry ground. The banks of the Jordan rejoice. The lame man leaps like a hart, the dumb sing and the blind behold visions. The New Testament abounds in illustrations of fulfilment. These signs Christ presented to John the Baptist as his messianic credentials (Mat 11:1-4 ).
The passage (Isa 42:1-4 ) gives us a flashlight on the character of the Messiah. In the New Testament it is expressly applied to Christ whom the prophet sees as the meek and lowly Saviour, dealing gently with the blacksliding child of his grace. In Isa 22:22 we have him presented as bearing the key of the house of David, with full power to open and shut. This refers to his authority over all things in heaven and upon earth. By this authority he gave the keys of the kingdom to Peter one for the Jews and the other for the Gentiles who used one on the day of Pentecost and the other at the house of Cornelius, declaring in each case the terms of entrance into the kingdom of God. This authority of the Messiah is referred to again in Revelation:
And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying. Fear not: I am the first and the last, and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore and I have the keys of death and of Hades. Rev 7:17
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphis write: These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and none shall shut, and shutteth and none openeth. Rev 3:7
In Isa 32:1-8 we have a great messianic passage portraying the work of Christ as a king ruling in righteousness, in whom men find a hiding place from the wind and the tempest. He is a stream in a dry place and the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
In Isa 28:14-18 the Messiah is presented to w as a foundation stone in a threefold idea:
1. A tried foundation stone. This is the work of the master mason and indicates the preparation of the atone for its particular function.
2. An elect or precious foundation stone. This indicates that the stone was selected and appointed. It was not self-appointed but divinely appointed and is therefore safe.
3. A cornerstone, or sure foundation stone. Here it is a foundation of salvation, as presented in Mat 16:18 . It is Christ the Rock, and not Peter. See Paul’s foundation in 1 Corinthians:
According to the grace of God which was given unto me; as a wise masterbuilder I laid a foundation; and another buildeth thereon. But let each man take heed how he buildeth thereon. For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1Co 3:10-11 .
In Isa 49:1-6 he is presented as a polished shaft, kept close in the quiver. The idea is that he is a mighty sword. In Revelation, Christ is presented to John as having a sharp, twoedged sword proceeding out of his mouth.
In Isa 50:2 ; Isa 52:9 f.; Isa 59:16-21 ; Isa 62:11 we have the idea of the salvation of Jehovah. The idea is that salvation originated with God and that man in his impotency could neither devise the plan of salvation nor aid in securing it. These passages are expressions of the pity with which God looks down on a lost world. The redemption, or salvation, here means both temporal and spiritual salvation salvation from enemies and salvation from sin.
In Isa 9:1 f. we have him presented as a great light to the people of Zebulun and Naphtali. In Isa 49:6 we have him presented as a light to the Gentiles and salvation to the end of the earth: “Yea, he saith, It is too light a thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.”
In Isa 8:14-15 Isaiah presents him as a stone of stumbling: “And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many shall stumble thereon, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.”
The prophet’s vision of his maltreatment and rejection are found in Isa 50:4-9 ; Isa 52:13-53:12 . In this we have the vision of him giving his “back to the smiters, and his cheeks to them that plucked off the hair.” We see a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. His visage is so marred it startled all nations. He is a vicarious sacrifice. The chastisement of the peace of others is on him. The iniquity of others is put on him. It pleases the Father to bruise him until he has poured out his soul unto death as an offering for sin.
The teaching of Isaiah on the election of the Jews is his teaching concerning the “holy remnant,” a favorite expression of the prophet. See Isa 1:9 ; Isa 10:20-22 ; Isa 11:11 ; Isa 11:16 ; Isa 37:4 ; Isa 37:31-32 ; Isa 46:3 . This coincides with Paul’s teaching in Romans 9-11.
In Isa 32:15 we find Isaiah’s teaching on the pouring out of the Holy Spirit: “Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest,” and in Isa 44:3 : “For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and streams upon the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring.”
In Isa 11:10 he is said to be the ensign of the nations: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, that standeth for an ensign of the peoples unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting place shall be glorious.”
Isa 19:18-25 ; Isa 54:1-3 ; Isa 60:1-22 teach the enlargement of the church. The great invitation and promise are found in Isa 55 .
The Messiah in judgments is found in Isa 63:1-6 . Here we behold an avenger. He comes up out of Edom with dyed garments from Bozra. All his raiment is stained with the blood of his enemies whom he has trampled in his vengeance as grapes are crushed in the winevat and the restoration of the Jews is set forth in Isa 11:11-12 ; Isa 60:9-15 ; Isa 66:20 . Under the prophet’s graphic pencil or glowing brush we behold the establishment and growth of his kingdom unlike all other kingdoms, a kingdom within men, a kingdom whose principles are justice, righteousness, and equity and whose graces are faith, hope, love, and joy, an undying and ever-growing kingdom. Its prevalence is like the rising waters of Noah’s flood; “And the waters prevailed and increased mightily upon the earth. And the water prevailed mightily, mightily upon the earth; and all the high mountains, that are under the whole heavens, were covered.”
So this kingdom grows under the brush of the prophetic limner until its shores are illimitable. War ceases. Gannenta rolled in the blood of battle become fuel for fire. Conflagration is quenched. Famine outlawed. Pestilence banished. None are left to molest or make afraid. Peace flows like a river. The wolf dwells with the lamb. The leopard lies down with the kid. The calf and the young lion walk forth together and a little child is leading them. The cow and the bear feed in one pasture and their young ones are bedfellows. The sucking child safely plays over the hole of the asp, and weaned children put their hands in the adder’s den. In all the holy realms none hurt nor destroy, because the earth is as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the fathomless ocean is full of water. Rapturous vision! Sublime and ineffable consummation! Was it only a dream?
In many passages the prophet turns in the gleams from the millennial age, but one of the clearest and best on the millennium, which is in line with the preceding paragraph, Isa 11:6-9 : “And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together: and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.”
The prophet’s vision of the destruction of death is given in Isa 25:8 : “He hath swallowed up death for ever; and the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of his people will he take away from all the earth: for Jehovah hath spoken it,” and in Isa 26:19 : “Thy dead shall live; my dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast forth the dead.”
The clearest outlines of the prophet’s vision of “Paradise Regained” are to be found in Isa 25:8 , and in two passages in chapter Isa 66 : Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn over her; that ye may suck and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. For thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream: and ye shall suck thereof; ye shall be borne upon the side, and shall be dandled upon the knees, as one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. And ye shall see it, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like the tender grass: and the hands of Jehovah shall be known toward his servants ; and he will have indignation against his enemies. Isa 66:10-14
For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make shall remain before me, saith Jehovah, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith Jehovah. Isa 66:22-23
QUESTIONS
1. What is the relation between the New Testament Christ and prophecy?
2. What can you say of Isaiah as a witness of the Messiah?
3. What can you say of Isaiah’s pictures of the Messiah and their background?
4. Following in the order of Christ’s manifestation, what is the first picture of him in Isaiah?
5. What is the second messianic glimpse in Isaiah?
6. What is Isaiah’s picture of the incarnation?
7. What is Isaiah’s picture of the divine child?
8. What is Isaiah’s vision of his descent, his relation to the Holy Spirit, his administration of justice, and the results of his reign?
9. What is Isaiah’s vision of the Messiah’s herald?
10. What is the prophet’s vision of his anointing?
11. What is the prophet’s vision of him as a miracle worker?
12. What is the prophet’s vision of the character of the Messiah?
13. What is the prophet’s vision of him as the key bearer?
14. What is the prophet’s vision of him as a king and a hiding place?
15. What is the prophet’s vision of the Messiah as a foundation stone?
16. What is the prophet’s vision of him as a polished shaft?
17. In what passages do we find the idea of the salvation of Jehovah, and what the significance of the idea?
18. What is Isaiah’s vision of the Messiah as a light?
19. Where does Isaiah present him as a stone of stumbling?
20. What is the prophet’s vision of his maltreatment and rejection?
21. What is the teaching of Isaiah on the election of the Jews?
22. Where do we find Isaiah’s teaching on the pouring out of the Holy Spirit?
23. Where is he said to be the ensign of the nations?
24. What passages teach the enlargement of the church?
25. Where is the great invitation and promise?
26. Where is the Messiah in judgment?
27. What passages show the restoration of the Jews?
28. What is the prophet’s vision of the Messiah’s kingdom?
29. What is the prophet’s vision of the millennium?
30. What is the prophet’s vision of the destruction of death?
31. What is the prophet’s vision of “Paradise Regained?”
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
XIV
THE BOOK OF ISAIAH PART 6
Isaiah 13-23
This section is called “The Book of Foreign Prophecies,'” because it treats of the foreign nations in their relation to Judah and Israel.
There are ten foreign nations here mentioned, as follows: Babylon, Assyria, Philistia, Moab, Damascus, Ethiopia, Egypt, Dumah, Arabia, and Tyre, with second prophecies against Egypt, Ethiopia, and Babylon, and one thrown in against Israel, Judah) Jerusalem, and Shebna, each. This Shebna was probably a foreigner. He was to be degraded from his high office and Eliakim was to take his place.
The radical critics assign to this section a much later date because of the distinctly predictive prophecies contained in it. There is no question that it reflects the condition of Babylon long after the time of Isaiah, and unless one believes heartily in supernatural revelations, the conclusion that it was written much later than the time of Isaiah, is unavoidable. The author accepts it as a prophecy of Isaiah and holds tenaciously to the theory of the unity of the book.
In Isaiah 13-23 the prophet gives us a series of judicial acts on various surrounding peoples, each of whom embodied some special form of worldly pride or ungodly self-will. But Asshur-Babel was conspicuous above all the rest. After fourteen centuries of comparative quiet, she was now reviving the idea of universal empire, notwithstanding the fact that Nimrod’s ruined tower stood as a perpetual warning against any such attempt. This was the divine purpose, that God might use it for his own instrument to chastise, both the various Gentile races, and especially his own people, Israel. This was the “hand that is stretched out upon all the nations” (Isa 14:26 ), to break up the fallow ground of the world’s surface, and prepare it for the good seed of the kingdom of God. Not only are these chapters (Isaiah 13-23) thus bound together inwardly, but they are also bound together outwardly by a similarity of title. We cannot detach Isaiah 13-14 from what has gone before without injury to the whole series, because
1. It is only in these chapters that we have the full antithesis to the mighty overflowing of the Assyrian deluge in Isaiah 7-8, and Isa 10 .
2.Isa 12 is a fit introduction to Isaiah 13-14, in that the deliverance of Zion, so briefly alluded to in Isa 12 , requires a further view of the enemies’ prostration, which these chapters supply. In Isa 14:2-27 we find the song of triumph analogous to Exo 15 , rather than in Isa 12 .
3.Isa 14:27 seems to be a fit termination of the section which began with Isa 7:1 .
4. There are many verbal links that connect these chapters with the preceding chapters. For example, take Isa 10:25 and Isa 13:3 ; Isa 10:27 and Isa 13:5 ; Isa 9:18 and Isa 13:13 , et multa al.
5. The complete cutting off of Ephraim foretold in Isa 7 requires a fuller revelation of the divine purpose concerning Asshur-Babylon, as its counterpoise and this is found in Isaiah 13-14.
From Isa 14:28 we infer that this prophecy was written toward the end of Ahaz’s reign. At that time spiritual darkness had won the conquest of the whole world. The “lamp of God” was now dark in his tabernacle. Hoshea, king of Israel, was the vassal of Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, and Ahaz had long ago surrendered himself to Tiglath-pileser. So the light of prophecy, with such a background, was very luminous now. Assyria was at this time at the height of her power, but Isaiah tells with distinctness that Assyria shall be broken in pieces in the Holy Land, and it is certain that Assyria received just such a blow in the defeat of Sennacherib’s army.
The prophet also saw the doom of Babylon, the city which was at this time the real center of the empire. He even mentions the instruments of the destruction, commencing with the Medes, who were not at this time an independent nation. Nothing can be more definite than Isaiah’s statements as to the absolute ruin of the “Golden City,” which prediction at the time must have seemed to violate all probability. Yet we have abundant evidence that it was all fulfilled, both regarding the nearer event of its capture by the Medes and also the ultimate desolation of its site.
The significant word with which each of these prophecies opens is the word “burden” which has here its original and ordinary meaning. This original meaning of the word seems to be supplied from 2Ki 9:25 , where it is used to mean the divine sentence on Ahab: “Jehovah laid this burden upon him.” The appropriateness of its use here is in the fact that the prophecy to which it is prefixed is usually denunciatory in character, and always so in Isaiah. It is easy to see that it here means a grievous threatening oracle. It is claimed by some that this word is used elsewhere in a good sense, as in Zec 12:1 and Mal 1:1 , but upon close examination of these passages in their connection it will be seen that they are denunciatory and that the word has its primary meaning in these instances also.
The reason that Babylon was given first consideration among the enemies of God’s people seems to be the fact that a divine revelation came to Isaiah at this early date (725 B.C.) showing that Babylon was to be the great enemy to be feared, as the ultimate destroyer of Judah and Jerusalem, the power that would carry the Jewish people into captivity. The main points of the denunciation against her are as follows:
1. The instruments of God’s destruction of Babylon are the far-away nations, which God himself will assemble for this work of destruction (Isa 13:2-5 ).
2. The vivid description of the sweeping devastation, which is all inclusive in the objects of its vengeance (Isa 13:6-16 ).
3. The Medes are named as the instruments to begin this work, and the permanent effects of the desolation to follow (Isa 13:17-22 ).
4. The reason for all this is God’s favor to Jacob who had been oppressed by these foreigners (Isa 14:1-2 ).
5. Israel’s parable of exaltation over Babylon reciting their oppressive work and God’s intervention which humbled Babylon and exalted Israel (Isa 14:3-20 ).
6. The final announcement of Babylon’s doom and the permanency of its desolation (Isa 14:21-23 ).
The prophecy against Assyria under this first burden consists of God’s oath of assurance to his people that his purpose already foretold concerning Assyria should stand. Babylon in the first part of the prophecy is presented as the most formidable enemy of God’s people, but it had not yet become so fearful then. But Assyria was their dread at this time. So Isaiah comes nearer home to meet their present need and assures them that they need not fear the Assyrian for God’s purpose concerning him should stand.
There are several things in this burden that call for special consideration:
1. In Isa 13:2-5 the prophet speaks of the mustering of the host to battle as if it were then in the process of assembling, indicating the vividness of it all to the prophet’s mind as present, though it was only a vision of the future.
2. In Isa 13:3 Jehovah speaks of his “consecrated ones,” clearly referring to the Medes and Persians. Now in what sense were they “consecrated ones”? It means that they were the instruments of his purpose, set apart for the specific work of executing his judgment. They were consecrated, or set apart, by the Lord for this work though they themselves were ungongcious of the function they performed. There are many illustrations of such use of men by the Lord recorded in the Scriptures, two notable examples of which are Cyrua and Caesar Augustus.
3. In Isa 13:10 there is a reference to the darkening of the heavenly luminaries. This is an expression of Nature’s sympathy with the Lord. When he is angry, the lights of the heavens grow dark, as at the crucifixion of our Lord, and as it will be at the end of the world. So it is often the case in the time of great judgments. There seems also to be a special fitness in the expression here in view of the importance attached to the signs of the heavenly bodies by the Chaldeans at this time.
4. The desolation described in Isa 13:20-22 is witnessed by every traveler of today who passes the site of this once glorious and proud Babylon.
5. In Isa 14:9-11 we have the glad welcome given to these Babylonians in their entrance into the lower spirit world. The inhabitants of this region are represented as rising up to greet and welcome these unfortunate Babylonians. The idea of personal identity and continued consciousness after death is here assumed by the prophet.
6. In Isa 14:12 there is a back reference to the fall of Satan who, before his fall, was called Lucifer. Here Babylon in her fall is represented as Lucifer) the bright star of the morning from heaven. Our Saviour refers to the incident of Satan’s falling also in Luk 10:18 , and we have a like picture of him in Rev 12:7-9 , all of which must be considered in the light of the analogue of Satan’s fall when he sinned and was cast out of heaven.
7. In Isa 14:25 Jehovah says he will “break the Assyrian in his land,” which refers to the destruction of Sennacherib’s host from which Assyria never recovered. In Isa 14:26 the Lord explains that Assyria was the hand that he had stretched out for chastisements upon the nations of the world as they were related to Judah and Israel.
The series of burdens from Isa 14:28-23:18 may be viewed as an unrolling of the “purpose concerning the whole earth,” just mentioned in Isa 14:26 . Though the prophet stands on his watchtower and turns his eye around to the different points of the horizon and surveys the relation in which each nation stands to the advancing judgment, his addresses to the nations must be thought of as chiefly meant for the warning and comfort of Israel, which had too often adopted the sins of those whom she was meant to sanctify.
The burden of prophecy against Philistia is a warning to Philistia, following closely upon the death of Tiglath-pileser which brought great rejoicing to Philistia, because they thought the rod that smote them was broken. The prophet here reminds them that out of the serpent’s root there would come forth the adder. In other words, there would arise from Assyria an enemy far more deadly than the one who had been cut off, and instead of being a mere serpent he would be a fiery flying serpent. The reference is, probably, to Sargon who took Ashdod, made the king of Gaza prisoner and reduced Philistia generally to subjection. At this time the poor of Israel would feed safely, but Philistia was to be reduced by famine and the remnant slain by the Assyrians who are here referred to as “a smoke out of the north.” Then God’s people will answer Philistia’s messengers that Jehovah had founded Zion and in her the afflicted would take refuge.
Some critics say that the bulk of the prophecy against Moab (Isa 15:1-16:12 ) is quoted by Isaiah from an earlier writer, and that he merely modified the wording and added a few touches here and there. To this we answer that speculations of this kind are in the highest degree uncertain and lead to no results of any importance whatever. What matters it whether Isaiah quoted or not? There is no proof that he did and it makes no difference if be did. The author will contend that Isaiah was the original author of these two chapters until the critics produce at least some proof that he quoted from an earlier author.
A brief outline of these two chapters is as follows:
1. A vivid picture of Moab’s overthrow (Isa 15 ).
2. Moab exhorted to flee to the house of David for shelter, but refuses to make the right use of his affliction (Isa 16:1-12 ).
3. A confirmation of the prophecy and its speedy fulfilment (Isa 16:13-14 ).
For the picture of Moab’s overthrow the reader may read Isa 15 . It is a vivid account of this overthrow and cannot be well improved upon.
In Isa 16:1-5 we have an exhortation to Moab to take refuge with the house of David. Perhaps there is here an implication that Moab is not safe in his relation to Israel but that there would be safety for him if he would take shelter under the wings of Judah. Anyhow, there is a promise to Moab that he might find shelter and security, if only he would comply with the conditions herein set forth. But the pride of Moab was the cause of his downfall, which was utterly complete and accompanied by great wailing (Isa 16:6-8 ).
The prophet was moved to pity and tears for Moab upon witnessing such desolation and sadness as should come to this people. No gladness, no joy, no singing, and no joyful noise was to be found in his borders (Isa 16:9-12 ). Such a prophetic sight of Jerusalem made Jeremiah the weeping prophet and moved the blessed Son of God to tears. “Your house is left unto you desolate” is the weeping wail of our Lord as he saw the sad fate of the Holy City.
The time set here by the prophet for the humiliation of Moab is exactly three years, strictly measured, as a hireling would measure the time for which he would receive his pay, the fulfilment of which cannot be determined with certainty because we do not have the exact date of the prophecy, nor do we know which one of the different invasions that would fulfil the conditions is really meant. Considering the date given in Isa 14:28 we may reasonably conclude that the date of this prophecy was in the first or second year of Hezekiah’s reign, and may have had its fulfilment by Shalmaneser, who besieged Samaria in the fourth year of the reign of Hezekiah, sending a detachment to these eastern parts of the country.
It is said that Damascus has been destroyed and rebuilt oftener than any other Eastern city. This may account for the fact that Damascus, treated so severely by Tiglath-pileser, was again in a position to attract the attention of Shalmaneser when he advanced against Samaria. In the time of Jeremiah the city had been rebuilt, but we do not hear of any more kings of Damascus.
The burden of prophecy against Damascus includes two prophecies concerning Israel and Judah and one concerning Ethiopia, and the main points of this prophecy are the ruin of Damascus (Isa 17:1-3 ) ; only a remnant left to Jacob who would look to Jehovah, because he had forgotten the God of his salvation (Isa 17:4-11 ) ; the multitude of the heathen invaders suddenly destroyed (Isa 17:12-14 ) ; Ethiopia’s interest in these movements, and her homage to Jehovah according to which she sends a present to him (Isa 18:1-7 ).
There are several things in this burden that need special attention:
1. The language referring to the overthrow of Damascus is not to be pressed too far. Damascus was besieged and temporarily destroyed, but it revived. See Jer 49:23-27 ; Eze 27:18 ; and the New Testament references. Damascus is still a city of importance.
2. In Isa 17:12-14 we have an account of the sudden destruction of the Assyrian army which was literally fulfilled in the destruction of Sennacherib’s host (2Ki 19:35-37 ).
3. There is some controversy as to what nation is referred to in Isa 18:2 ; Isa 18:7 , but it is surprising that there should be such controversy, since the evidence is overwhelming that the nation here mentioned was Ethiopia. This is a region south of Egypt and far up the Nile. The inhabitants, though black, were not ignorant and weak, but a nation of vigor and influence in the days of Isaiah. Cf. the Abyssinians.
4. The act of homage to Jehovah by Ethiopia as mentioned in Isa 18:7 is not given and therefore not easily determined and can be ascertained only with some probability. There is evidence that Ethiopia was intensely interested in the downfall of Sennacherib which is prophesied in this connection, therefore, it is probable that the present was sent to Jehovah in connection with Ethiopia’s alliance with Israel which existed at this time. It is true that the conditions in Egypt at the time Isaiah gave his prophecy against it were not favorable. The government and idolatry were most securely established and the things predicted seemed most improbable, from the human point of view.
Then what the reason for a prophecy against Egypt at such a time as this? The men of Ephraim and some in Judah were at this time bent on throwing themselves upon Egypt for protection against Assyria. This was both wrong in itself and impolitic. So Isaiah was hedging against such alliance by showing the coming humiliation of the power to which they were looking for aid.
There was an element of hope in this prophecy for the Israelites. The tender sympathy expressed for penitent Egypt in Isa 19:20-23 must have assured the Israelites that if they would return to their God, he would be entreated of them and heal them.
The prophecy against Egypt in Isa 19:1-4 is a prophecy relating to the political condition of Egypt, in which Jehovah will cause civil strife and confusion, destroying the power of their idols and the wisdom of their wise, and will place over them one who is a “cruel Lord” and a “fierce king.”
The fulfilment of this prophecy is found in the internal strife in Egypt during the days of Tirhakah and Psammetichus iii the early part of the seventh century B.C. and the conquering of Egypt by Esar-haddon, who was decidedly a “cruel prince” and treated Egypt with severity, splitting it up into a number of governments, yet this prophecy has been referred to Sargon, to Cambyses, and to Darius Ochus, and some think it is applicable to the successive rulers of Egypt, generally, viz: Chaldean, Persian, Greek, Roman, Saracen, and Turkish. But this is not probable.
The picture in Isa 19:5-10 is a picture of the distressful condition of Egypt while passing through the trying ordeal just prophesied. Then follows (Isa 19:11-15 ) a picture of the confusion of the wise men of Egypt as their wisdom is turned into folly.
There are five happy effects of this judgment on Egypt, in stages which reach a happy climax:
1. The Egyptians are stricken with fear because of Jehovah and because of the land of Judah, similar to the fear that came upon them when they were visited with the ten plagues (Isa 19:16-17 ).
2. Egypt shall learn the language of Canaan and swear unto Jehovah. The language here referred to is the Hebrew which was spoken largely in the country after the introduction of so many Jews there. The “five cities” represents, perhaps, the low and weakened condition of Egypt after the judgment is visited upon it (Isa 19:18 ).
3. The worship of Jehovah is established in Egypt (Isa 19:19-22 ). This was literally fulfilled in the building of the temple at Leontopolis by Onias IV, with special license from Ptolemy Philometor, to whom he is said to have quoted this passage from Isaiah. Here was offered sacrifice to Jehovah and the oblation, according to this prophecy. Through the Jewish law and influence the idolatry of Egypt was overthrown and they were prepared for the coming Saviour, whom they received through the evangelization of the missionaries in the early centuries of the Christian era.
4. The consequent union of Egypt and Assyria in worship (Isa 19:23 ).
5. The unity and equality of the nations in blessing. This and the preceding stage of this happy effect finds a primary fulfilment in the wide-spread influence of the Jews over Syria and the adjacent countries under the Syro-Macedonian kings, as well as over Egypt under the Ptolemies. But a larger fulfilment is to be found in the events at Pentecost, which sent devout men back from Jerusalem into Egypt and Libya on one side, and into Parthis, Media, Elam, and Mesopotamia, on the other, to tell how God, having raised up his Son Jesus (the Prince and Saviour), had sent him to bless the Jews first, and in them all nations.
The prophecy of Isa 20 is a prophecy against Egypt and Ethiopia, who were the hope of Israel in alliance, to be delivered from Assyria, which the prophet labored to prevent. It consists, (1) of the historical circumstance. This is related in Isa 20:1 which gives the date at the year in which Tartan came to Ashdod, etc. (2) Isaiah’s symbolical action and its meaning (Isa 20:2-4 ). This was a common occurrence with the prophets. Here the action symbolized the humiliating captivity of Egypt and Ethiopia which was fulfilled either by Sennacherib or by Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal. (3) The reason for this visitation upon Egypt and Ethiopia, viz: Israel looked to these powers instead of Jehovah and they could not be blessed while they were in alliance with backslidden Israel. So the Lord was taking care of Israel in his dealings with Egypt and Ethiopia.
“The burden of the wilderness of the sea” (Isa 21:1-10 ), is a prophecy against Babylon and contains a vivid description of the marshalling of forces against Babylon for her destruction, the overwhelming sympathy of the prophets, the expelling of sensual security, instructions to the Lord’s watchman, the fulfilment, and the final declaration. The forces marshalled for her destruction are the Medes and Elamites under Cyrus and the prophet leaves us not in doubt that the reference here is to Babylon. There can be no mistake that this prophecy has its fulfilment in the capture of Babylon by Cyrus. All this is because of her relation to Israel and therefore the encouragement of God’s people and the glory of the one eternal Jehovah.
“The burden of Dumah” is generally conceded to be a prophecy against Edom, because the word “Seir” occurs in it as the place from which the one is represented as calling to the prophet. The word “Dumah” means silence and is used allegorically, “of the Silent Land” of the dead (Psa 94:17 ), and refers here, perhaps, to the silent or low state of Edom at this time. In this burden someone is represented as calling to the prophet out of Seir, “Watchman, what of the night?” To which the watchman replied, “There is a brighter day ahead, but it is to be followed by a period of darkness for you; if you will repent, you may do so.”
The prophecy against Arabia is a prophecy of the desolation to come upon Arabia and her borders, deranging their commerce and causing flight and privation, which would be accomplished in one year. The date of the prophecy is not very well determined but the fulfilment is found in Sargon’s expedition into Arabia during which the caravans had to leave their regular routes and “take to the woods.”
“The burden of the valley of vision” (Isa 22:1-25 ) is a prophecy against Jerusalem in which we have set forth a vivid picture of the revellings of the city (Isa 22:1-4 ) ; then a description of an outside foreign army threatening the city, causing surprise, and a hasty preparation for the siege (Isa 22:5-11 ); instead of humbling themselves, putting on sackcloth and weeping, and appealing to God’s mercy, they try to drown care in drink and sensual enjoyment (Isa 22:12-14 ) ; then follows the degrading of Shebna from his high office and the placing of Eliakim in his position (Isa 22:15-25 ). The events herein described were fulfilled either in Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem or in that of Nebuchadnezzar. There are some difficulties in fitting this prophecy to either siege and in matters where we have such limited knowledge it does not become us to be dogmatic. Some parts fit one better, and other parts fit the other better, but all things considered, the author is inclined to believe that this prophecy refers to the Assyrian invasion.
There are three distinct paragraphs given to the burden of Tyre (Isa 22:13 ): (1) The greatness of Tyre as a city of commerce and the wail of distress for the fate of the city; (2) Jehovah’s purpose to cause this destruction and stain the pride of all her glory; (3) Babylon, an example of what will come to Tyre and the promise of Tyre’s returned prosperity after seventy years. After this period Tyre will revive and be of service to Jehovah’s people. The first part of the prophecy fits into the history which shows the many reverses of this city and may refer to the Babylonian siege specifically. The last part of the prophecy may have its fulfilment in the orders of Cyrus to the Tyrians to rebuild the Temple, and the Tyrian ships were of incalculable aid in disseminating Judaism before Christ and Christianity since Christ.
QUESTIONS
1. What is the section (Isaiah 13-23) called and what the appropriateness of the title?
2. What the foreign nations mentioned in this book of prophecies and what additional prophecies thrown in?
3. What the position of the radical critics relative to this section?
4. What the connection between the parts of this section?
5. What the special connection between Isaiah 13-14 and the preceding section?
6. What the date of the prophecy in Isaiah 13-14, what the conditions both in Israel and Judah, and also in the other nations, at this time, and what the sure light of prophecy in this dark hour?
7. What the significant word with which each of these prophecies opens, what its meaning, and what its appropriateness in this connection?
8. Why was Babylon given by the prophet first consideration among the enemies of God’s peoples and what the main points in this denunciation against her?
9. What the prophecy against Assyria under this first burden and why put in here?
10. What the special things to be noted in this burden?
11. How may the series of burdens from Isa 14:28 and Isa 23:18 be viewed and what the object of the warnings?
12. What the burden of prophecy against Philistia and how is the destructive work upon the country here described?
13. What say the critics of this prophecy against Moab (Isa 15:1-16:12 ) and what the reply?
14. Give a brief outline of these two chapters.
15. Give the picture of Moab’s overthrow?
16. What the exhortation and promise to Moab in. Isa 16:1-5 ?
17. What the cause of the downfall that was to follow?
18. How did this sight of the future destruction of Moab affect the prophet and what examples of other such sympathy in the Bible?
19. What the time fixed for the humiliation of Moab and when its fulfilment?
20. What is a remarkable characteristic of Damascus, and for what does it account?
21. What does this burden against Damascus include and what the main points in it?
22. What are the things in this burden that need special attention?
23. What the conditions in Egypt at the time Isaiah gave his prophecy against it?
24. What is the reason for a prophecy against Egypt at such a time as this?
25. What element of hope in this prophecy for the Israelites?
26. What the prophecy against Egypt in Isa 19:1-4 and when was it fulfilled?
27. What the picture in Isa 19:5-10 ?
28. What is set forth in Isa 19:11-15 ?
29. What the important and happy effects of this judgment on Egypt?
30. What the prophecy of Isa 20 and what its contents?
31. What “The burden of the wilderness of the sea” (Isa 21:1-10 ), and what its striking points?
32. What is “The burden of Dumah” and what its interpretation?
33. What the prophecy against Arabia and when the fulfilment?
34. What “The burden of the valley of vision” (Isa 22:1-25 ), and what the salient points in the prophecy?
35. What the outline of the burden of Tyre and what the salient points of the interpretation?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Isa 17:1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from [being] a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
Ver. 1. The burden of Damascus. ] See Isa 13:1 .
Of Damascus.
And it shall be a ruinous heap.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isaiah Chapter 17
Assuming that these prophecies, whatever past accomplishment they may have received, have for their centre the day of Jehovah how are we to meet the difficulty about these various peoples and cities which once troubled Israel? How are we to account for these prophecies looking onward to a future day, seeing that they no longer, or very feebly, exist? The answer is that the very same difficulty applies to Israel. No one knows clearly or certainly where the ten tribes are; neither does it seem any one’s business to search beforehand. We may leave them in the obscurity that God has put them in. We know, if we believe His word, that as surely as He has preserved the dispersed remnant of the two tribes, so will He bring out of their hiding-place the descendants of the ten. We know that not only the Jews proper are to be restored, but also the full nationality of Israel. To this the hope to come; the full twelve tribes making one nation in the land, and one King shall be king over them all. “And they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all” (Eze 37:22 ). Every letter of the promises will be accomplished. Scripture cannot be broken.
Even if we saw no signs, why doubt? Do we need such tokens? It is a proof of feebleness of faith, if we ask a sign. God’s word is the best assurance; on this let us take our stand. If God has said that so it shall be, we have a right to expect that He will bring from their recesses the ten tribes, and will save them out of all their dwelling-places wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them. We are far from being fully acquainted even with the little world on which we live. Long ago there were parts of the world better known than they have been till of late. Thus the early accounts of Africa and central Asia, for instance, have been largely confirmed by recent researches. God may have the ten tribes in some of earth’s little explored regions; or they may emerge unexpectedly out of a nation with which they have long been confounded. But we are not bound to show where they are. God has declared that He will bring them into their own land, and this in a peculiar manner; for the house of Israel are to pass through the wilderness again, and there be purged of the transgressors in their midst, who thus never reach the land, instead of being destroyed in it like the apostate Jews (Eze 20:36-38 ). Thus there is a totally different destiny for the ten tribes as compared with the two. If God will accomplish both, nothing will be easier than for the same God to define the descendants of their old Gentile enemies, whether near or farther off. The truth is that the very same principle of faith accepts and accounts for both, as it is mere incredulity which finds a difficulty in either. These remarks apply to almost all these chapters.
Again, some strangely misunderstand the bold figures of the prophets, as if employed to cast their subjects into an enigmatic, if not ambiguous, mould. This is a great error. For they are meant, not so much to throw a cloud over things, as to give emphasis and energy. Many, whose object is to deter Christians from reading the prophecies, talk much of these tropes, as if their presence was evidence enough to show that the meaning is doubtful. Nothing can be more contrary to the fact; for in the inspired writings, as in others, figures are used, by a kind of understood license, to illustrate, adorn, and enforce the sense, and in no case to mystify. Figures and even symbols are quite as definite as plain or literal terms, and are meant to be only more forcible. The very speech of ordinary life abounds in metaphor and simile; but, of course, the poetical language of the prophecies gives occasion to their more frequent usage therein.
Further, the difficulty of scripture does not lie so much in its figurative style as in the depth of its thoughts. In the word of God there is perhaps nothing more profound than the first chapter of the Fourth Gospel. Yet what first strikes one there is the exceeding simplicity of this scripture as a matter of language. It used to be and perhaps is the common habit, of those teaching the Greek language in some parts of the country, to make this Gospel a sort of initiatory exercise. Notwithstanding, in all the Bible you can find no revelation or handling of truth more full of depths, none that will cause the really spiritual to stand more amazed, however attractive the grace it displays in Christ. This will show how entirely unfounded is the notion of such as fancy it is a simple question of words.
The divine depth of scripture is in sober fact the difficulty, not its obscure language. It is difficult because of our darkness morally, because of our want of acquaintance with the mind of God, judging appearances by the natural senses or by the mind, instead of receiving things from God, and reading His words in the light of Christ. So far from the prophetic scriptures being the most difficult part, they are much easier than is commonly imagined. It is a great thing to begin with believing them; intelligence follows and grows apace. If we may compare the various parts of scripture, the New Testament is without doubt the deepest of God’s communications; and of the New Testament none exceeds the apostle John’s writings for penetration into the knowledge of what God is; and of his writings who would treat the Epistles and the Gospel as less profound than the Apocalypse? None, I am persuaded, but such as are too superficially acquainted with any of them to warrant their pronouncing a Judgement.
This may encourage some to take up the prophecies with a more child-like spirit, always bearing in mind that God looks onward to the future crisis that ushers in “the day of Jehovah.” He thinks of His beloved Son, and of His glory here below. This gives importance to the prophecies; they unfold the scene, objects, and ways of His interests. The Jews are the people of whom the Lord Jesus deigned to be born as to the flesh. They have proved what they were to Him; He has now to prove what He will be to them. He means to have an earthly people (Israel), as well as a heavenly (the church), for His glory. The word of God stops not short of this. If it is not fulfilled, yet it is in the sure keeping of God, Who has already given a partial accomplishment. Hence we learn the principle for interpreting prophecy; it is as a whole for the glory of the Lord Jesus in connection with Israel and the nations upon the earth. We speak now of Old Testament prophecy. The New Testament takes another character – the Lord Jesus in connection with Christendom also, besides confirming the oracles about Israel. The church then, too, is outside, and above all in union with its glorified Head in heaven, His body even now on earth.
This may show too why Jehovah attaches importance to a little place or people on the prophetic field. Israel was much in His eyes, because of the Messiah; and His own counsels are not dead if they sleep. Hence too, when God removes the veil from His ancient people Israel, their old antagonists will begin to appear. This is assuredly full of interest. There is a resurrection for every individual. The body will be raised for the manifestation of everything that was done in the body, for it is by the body that the soul acts. Even so will it be with these nations. There is a destiny analogous. As scripture tells us, they are to reappear when Israel does, for the Lord Jesus to take the kingdom; and God will distinguish them according to their original names, not by those they may bear in the process of human history. Jehovah will go up, as He alone can, to the sources. Hence we have their judgement connected with the last days, and not merely that which fell upon them long ago. His words go down to the close. Some may have been more completely accomplished in the past than others, but with this difference, they all look onward to the future.
The last generation will do as their fathers, only with added manifestation of evil by-and-by; then judgement will fall. Thus it is that God will deal with the nations. They will manifest the same hostility to Israel, the same pride against God, as formerly. This may seem a hard principle to some, but it is most righteous. If a child has grown up, knowing his father’s dishonour, hearing of his disgrace and punishment, would not that sin be most peculiarly odious in his eyes, if any right feeling existed? The public example of his father’s evil ways would be ever before him. But if the son trifled with it, and used it as an encouragement to walk in the same path, is it not just that there should be a still more severe punishment exacted of that son? Besides having the universal conscience of men, he had special witness in his own family, which the heart of a child ought to have felt and pondered deeply to avoid all repetition of its evil.
This is just the principle of God’s way in government. Man ought to take the more earnest heed from the past; and God, Who deals righteously, will judge according to that which man ought to have remembered. For he ought to have used the witness of the past as a warning for the future. These nations will then reappear, and, instead of recalling their fathers’ ways for their own warning and profit, they take exactly the same road of iniquity; and once more they will also endeavour to root out and destroy the people of God.
So it is in Isa 17 Damascus, which was to the north of the Holy Land, was the very ancient and most celebrated city of Syria of old. (See Gen 15:2 ) It was to be made a heap of ruins – the cities of Aroer a place for flocks. “The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from [being] a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aroer [are] forsaken; they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down and none shall make [them] afraid” (vv. 1, 2). And as of old Syria and Ephraim conspired against the realm of David’s son to their own discomfiture, so once more the remarkable feature of this judgement is that God will deal with His people as well as with their old ally. “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 Jehovah of hosts. 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 become lean. And it shall be as when the reaper gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; yea, it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim” (vv. 3-5). He will gather out all scandals from them and punish the transgressors; He will employ their enmity to purge that threshing-floor of the land of Israel; He will deal in a judicial manner with His people. The nations may lure themselves and each other on with the hope that it is going hard with Israel; but their conspiracy will be offensive to God, however He may use it for Israel’s good. This is here described. “And a gleaning shall be left in it, as at the shaking of an olive tree: two, three berries in the tree-top; four, five in its fruitful boughs, saith Jehovah God of Israel. In that day shall man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel. And he will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, nor have regard to [that] which his fingers have made, neither the Asherahs nor the sun-images” (vv. 6-8).
It is well to bear in mind that not Sennacherib but Tiglath-Pileser destroyed Damascus, a ruin that followed the alliance of Pekah and Rezin to depose David’s house in Judah, unworthy and false as Ahaz was. This had been predicted by Isaiah in Isa 7 , and our chapter speaks of its being a ruin heap. But the prophecy clearly goes on to its reappearance and overthrow in the latter day.
There is also plainly anticipated at that time a discriminating judgement proceeding in the land of Israel. Compare Isa 28:14-22 , where the course of the overflowing scourge is described. “In that day shall his strong cities be as the forsaken tract in the wood, and the mountain-top which they forsook before the children of Israel; and there shall be desolation. For thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the Rock of thy strength; therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plantations, and shalt set them with foreign slips: in the day of thy planting wilt thou hedge [them] round, and in the morning wilt thou make thy seed to flourish: [but] the harvest [will be] a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow” (vv. 9-11).
In due time comes the retribution that regards the end of the age set forth with great vigour. “Woe to [or probably Ho!] a tumult of many peoples, [which] roar like the roaring of the seas; and the rushing of nations, [that] make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters but he will rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like whirling [dust] before the storm. Behold, at eventide trouble; before the morning they are not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us” (vv. 12-14). Let the nations gather their multitudes; let them rush on like mighty waters. But the rebuke comes; and they flee and are chased, yea, like thistle-down before the whirlwind. “Behold at eventide trouble; before the morning they are not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.” When was all this accomplished in the past, from the day that Isaiah wrote? Where was seen the gathering of all these nations and their complete dispersion? On the contrary, Israel was broken and scattered, as were the Jews afterwards. Here it is not one nation triumphing over God’s people, but a gathering of all nations, who seem but waiting for the morning to swallow up Israel, but before the light dawns they and their leader are not. Surely it shall be; for the mouth of Jehovah has spoken it.
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Isa 17:1-3
1The oracle concerning Damascus.
Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city
And will become a fallen ruin.
2The cities of Aroer are forsaken;
They will be for flocks to lie down in,
And there will be no one to frighten them.
3The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim,
And sovereignty from Damascus
And the remnant of Aram;
They will be like the glory of the sons of Israel,
Declares the LORD of hosts.
Isa 17:1 Damascus This was the capital of Aram/Syria. The invasion and destruction of Syria have been alluded to earlier in Isa 7:16; Isa 8:4; Isa 10:9. It was an ancient city (cf. Gen 14:15; Gen 15:2) and an important city located on the northern and northeastern trade routes.
Notice the synonymous parallelism of lines 2 and 3. Tiglath-pileser III partially destroyed Damascus in 732 B.C. It was rebuilt as a regional Assyrian capital. Remember all prophecy is hyperbolic (see D. Brent Sandy, Plowshares and Pruning Hooks: Rethinking the Language of Biblical Prophecy and Apocalyptic).
Isa 17:2 The cities of Aroer This phrase is confusing.
1. This is the name of a city, not a region.
2. There are several cities that go by this name (BDB 792, which may refer to a tree or a mountain crest, AB, vol. 1, p. 399). Three of the four possible sites are south of Syrian territory.
3. The LXX leaves out the place name (as does REB).
4. The Peshitta spells it Adoer.
It seems that Syria and Israel are linked together in this chapter. They had formed a political/military alliance against Assyria and tried to make Judah join. This co-alliance caused the Syro-Ephraimite war where these two northern nations invaded Judah (cf. Isa 7:16; Isa 8:4; Isa 10:9).
Most of the references are to the Northern Ten Tribes called Israel/Jacob (Isa 17:4); Samaria or Ephraim (Isa 17:3). Syria was under Israelite control during the United Monarchy period.
Aroer is probably a reference to the fortress located on the Arnon River.
Lines 2 and 3 describe the total destruction and depopulation of the site.
Isa 17:3 The walled fortified cities of Syria and Ephraim will disappear (BDB 991, KB 1407, Niphal PERFECT). The JPSOA has a footnote that supports a textual emendation from Ephraim (BDB 68) to Aram (BDB 78), which would be a true parallelism. But if the first strophe is about the Syro-Ephraimite War, then the parallelism is already there. I think Isa 17:3 has an AB, BA poetic pattern (chiasim), as it is in the MT.
the remnant of Aram This phrase could refer to
1. the capital as the only place of Syrian power that remains (and it will fall, Isa 17:6)
2. when the capital falls even the refugees will not survive
Although the last two lines of Isa 17:3 appear to be positive, they are not. Ephraim is destroyed in 3a, now Syria shares her fate (sarcastically, glory, cf. Isa 17:4). Glory could refer to the capital of Israel, Samaria, which fell after an extended siege to Assyria under Sargon II in 722 B.C.
Declares the Lord of hosts YHWH is in control of history, especially those events that affect His covenant people.
For the title LORD of hosts see Special Topic: NAMES FOR DEITY .
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
burden. The second of the seventh burdens.
Damascus. The capital of Syria.
is taken away = is swept away. This was by Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, and the slaughter of Rezin (632. B.C.) See 2Ki 16:9, and 2Ki 7:9, 2Ki 7:16, above.
city. heap. Note the Figure of speech Paronomasia (App-6) Hebrew. me’ir. mei.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Chapter 17
Now he turns his prophecy against Damascus, which, of course, was the capital of Syria. Now Syria and the Northern Kingdom of Israel had confederated together to stand against Assyria. As Assyria became a very definite threat, Syria knew that she could not stand against Assyria alone so she sought to confederate with Ephraim and Manasseh, the major tribes of the Northern Kingdom. And they were hoping by a confederation to stop the Assyrian invasion. And so he prophesies first against Damascus, but then he begins to weave in also Ephraim and Manasseh, declaring that even through their confederation they will not be able to withstand the Assyrian invasion that they were going to all of them fall at the hands of the Assyrians.
The burden of Damascus. Behold, it is taken away from being a city, and it is going be a ruinous heap ( Isa 17:1 ).
The Assyrians are going to just smash down Damascus.
The cities of Aroer are forsaken ( Isa 17:2 ):
And in these places where the cities once existed, they will now be herding their flocks of sheep and it will be so desolate from people that the sheep won’t even be bothered by people. The sheep will be grazing in what was once the cities of Syria.
The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim ( Isa 17:3 ),
Coming down now to the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
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. 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 [thin,] lean. 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. Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, and the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top ( Isa 17:3-6 )
In other words, God is declaring that the inhabitants are going to be destroyed. They will be like the gleaning of an olive tree. There will just be a few berries on the top. There will be just a few grapes left on the vine, but it’s like the Assyrians have come through and harvested and wiped out the majority of people and just a few people remain.
The Assyrians were extremely cruel people. According to the record of history, there were many cities, which, when were surrounded by the Assyrian army and it was obvious that there was no chance of escape, much like Masada the entire populace of the city would commit suicide. Rather than to be captured by the Assyrians, because they treated their captives so cruelly. They would pull out their tongues. They would gouge out their eyes. They would commit all kinds of atrocities against the captives. And so people were extremely fearful of Assyria and would oftentimes, entire cities you’d have a mass suicide rather than being taken captive by these Assyrians.
That is why Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh to declare the judgment of God, because he was afraid that the Ninevites might repent and God wouldn’t wipe them out. And so he had no intention of going. When God said, “Go to Nineveh and warn them My judgment is coming,” Jonah took off the other way because he wanted God to wipe Nineveh out. And he was afraid if he went and preached, they might repent and God would… He knew God was gracious and merciful and God might relent and not wipe them out. So that’s why Jonah took off the other way. He was a true patriot. He wanted Assyria, the Ninevites to be wiped out.
In fact, you remember that Jonah was sitting out there pouting after the whole thing. God says, “What’s the matter? You have any right to be upset?” “You bet your life I have a right to be upset. This is exactly what I thought was going to happen. I knew You were merciful and gracious. I knew that they might repent and that You would forgive them. Now You haven’t wiped them out.” Boy, he was mad! And it’s interesting what God said. “The reason why I didn’t wipe them out is because there are a hundred and twenty thousand little children in that city that are so small that they don’t even know their right hand from their left hand.” God’s mercy upon the children and for the children’s sake spared the city. But we’ll get to the story of Jonah later, but it gives you…
Here the whole thing is fitting together. Assyria is getting ready to move against Moab, getting ready to move against Syria and against the Northern Kingdom of Israel and they are all going to fall. The Northern Kingdom of Israel is going to be left just a few people. Just like a few berries in the top of the olive tree. Just a few grapes in a vineyard that has already been harvested. Just the gleaning.
At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel ( Isa 17:7 ).
Those that remain will be turning to God.
He will not look to the altars ( Isa 17:8 ),
That they have created. The worship of Baal and the groves and so forth that they have made. The false worship for which God’s judgment came against them.
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. Because you hast forgotten the God of your salvation, you have not been mindful of the Rock of your strength, therefore you shall plant pleasant plants, and shall set it with strange slips: In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning that thou shall make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow ( Isa 17:9-11 ).
So because they had forgotten God, they had turned away from Him and were worshipping these other gods, the reason why God has allowed this judgment using Assyria as His tool of judgment to destroy Syria and the Northern Kingdom of Israel with its capital Samaria. But yet, though Assyria is used as a tool of God’s judgment, God turns His word against Assyria.
Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas ( Isa 17:12 );
In other words, the noise of their armies coming is just like the roar of the sea.
and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! 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. And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not ( Isa 17:12-14 ).
God will wipe them out. In the evening they’ll be there, but in the morning they’ll not be there. Now here is a hint at the destruction of the Assyrians. The Assyrians did come. They did conquer the Northern Kingdom of Israel. They did conquer Moab. They did even go down and conquer Ashdod and on down into Egypt and Ethiopia. But they did not conquer Judah. Now here in Judah, as the Assyrians were coming and all, Hezekiah was the king, and Isaiah was his counselor; he was saying, “Hey, don’t worry about it. They’re not going to conquer us. Don’t be afraid. God is going to stand for us. Now don’t worry about it. You’re not going to have to fight this battle. This is the Lord’s battle. He is going to stand up and fight for us.” And Isaiah was telling him, “Hey, you don’t have to worry about this. God’s going to take care of things.”
But, of course, Hezekiah was busy building the tunnel from the spring of Gihon over the pool of Siloam to bring the water into the city so that they would have water in the city when the Assyrians invaded and cut the city off and all. But yet, all the while Isaiah was encouraging the king to trust in the Lord that God would deliver. And the Assyrians brought their invading army against Jerusalem. And they were making all of their threats; the Rabshakeh said to the men, “Where is the God of the Samarians? Where is the God of the Syrians? Where is the God of the Egyptians? We wiped them all out. Don’t let Hezekiah lead you into a false trust of your God saying our God will deliver. What God is able to deliver from the hand of the Assyrians?” And blaspheming God.
Isaiah said, “Watch this now. God’s going to take care of him. Don’t worry about it, Hezekiah.” Hezekiah took the letter, he spread it out before the Lord; he wept. He said, “God, look what they’re saying. Look what they’re doing.” And an angel of the Lord went through the camp of the Assyrians and in one night he wiped out 185,000 of their frontline troops. When the Israelis awoke in the morning and looked over the wall to see their enemy, they were nothing but corpses on the ground. In a night, in the morning they’ll not be there. And of course, the Lord… We’ll get out into a little bit further where… Actually there were so many corpse that the birds and the beasts feed on them for a long time. You can imagine what a feast that would be for vultures. Hundred and eighty-five thousand carcasses to feed on. “In the evening time, trouble; and before the morning it’s gone, they are not.”
This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us ( Isa 17:14 ).
This is God’s judgment against Assyria. “
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
Isa 17:1-6
Isa 17:1-6
Note the following lines from Coleridge;
The Owlet
Sailing with obscene wings athwart the noon,
(He) drops his blue-fringed lids and holds them close,
And hooting at the glorious sun in heaven
Cries out, Where is it?
The comments of critical scholars inevitably bring to mind these words of Coleridge! We refer to such as this: “Chapter 17 is made up of fragmentary oracles having little apparent relationship to one another! On the other hand there is an obvious vital connection in the four parts of this chapter. In the first part (Isa 17:1-6), Damascus is addressed as the principal theme; but Damascus has a partner, Ephraim, a rebellious portion of God’s people; and, as is always the case when God’s people unite with pagans and unbelievers, Ephraim is no longer God’s in the full sense of the word, but holds the secondary status as an ally of Syria (Damascus). Thus his doom is announced in the same verses with that of Damascus with the added indignity of being in second place all the way through the prophecy.
The second part of the chapter (Isa 17:7-8) points out the consequence of Ephraim’s forsaking God and their subsequent devastation and debilitation, that they will, at least in some small degree, restore the true worship and turn away from their false worship of pagan gods.
The third division (Isa 17:9-11) has instruction regarding the futility of idolatry, and also further information regarding the worship of false gods by Judah. Note how logically this follows in sequence with what has already been stated through Isaiah in the first two paragraphs.
The fourth and final division of the chapter, as is so frequently noted in Scripture, holds out the assurance that those who are inflicting all of the damage upon God’s people will themselves perish “between evening and morning,” that is, in a single night. Isa 17:12-14 are universally admitted, even by critical scholars, to be a perfect description of what happened to Sennacherib in his siege of Jerusalem (about 701-702 B.C.). Does this connect with what goes before? Certainly. Who was prophesied as being the tormentors who would inflict all of that damage on Ephraim and her pagan ally Damascus? The Assyrians, of course! And who was Sennacherib? Assyrian, of course, and did not Isaiah pinpoint these facts in the last line of the chapter? “This is the portion of them that despoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.”
We believe it would be difficult to find a chapter anywhere in the Bible that is any more logically constructed and put together than is this one. It is high time for Christian commentators to stop parroting the old allegations that began in the eighteenth century.
One improvement in the writings of critics, however, must be admitted. Practically of them as far as we have been able to follow their writings now freely admit that this chapter is genuinely from Isaiah.
Isa 17:1-6
“The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid. And the fortress 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 Jehovah of hosts. And it shall come to pass in that day that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean. And it shall be as when the harvester gathereth the standing grain, and his arm reapeth the ears; yea, it shall be as when one gathers ears in the valley of Rephaim. Yet there shall be left therein gleanings, as the shaking of an olive-tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the utmost branches of a fruitful tree, saith Jehovah the God of Israel.”
The first three verses here announce “the imminent ruin of Damascus, in which Israel also will be involved.” Ephraim, the leading tribe of the Ten Northern Tribes loved to refer to his part of the nation as “Israel”; but it was never so. Those tribes were called “Ephraim” some three dozen times in the prophecy of Hosea.
“The cities of Aroer are forsaken …” This could be synonymous with “Transjordan,” “there being two cities of that name east of the Jordan, one on the north bank of the Arnon overlooking its deep gorge, and (2) the one before `Rabbah’ (Jos 13:25, KJV).” A third city of the same name was “in the Negeb (Negeb: southland) 12 miles south-east of Beersheba.” Of course, what is meant by a reference like this is that all of the cities and villages that would be traversed by the invaders from Assyria would be treated to the “scorched earth” policy of warring nations in antiquity. All of the cities of Jerusalem, for example, were totally destroyed by Sennacherib’s invasion that ended in his terrible disaster before the walls of Jerusalem in 701 B.C.
The connective word that looms in the background of every line of this chapter is “Assyrian.” The Assyrian destruction of the entire Palestinian area is the subject here.
The mention of the terrible immediate prospect confronting Israel, all of it, applied also to Damascus and all of the other cities overrun by the cruel Assyrians.
“Those prospects are described under these three figures: (1) that of an emaciated body (Isa 17:4); that of a harvest field already harvested (Isa 17:5); and (3) that of an olive-tree already threshed (or beaten) (Isa 17:6).”
The mention here of a few olives that were left and the gleanings from a harvest field indicate the oft-repeated promise of the Lord that “a remnant shall return” or a remnant shall survive, as symbolized and memorialized in the name of Isaiah’s first son Shear-jashub.
Isa 17:1-3 ALLIANCE ANNULED: Damascus was founded some 2,200 years before Christ by Uz, a grandson of Shem (Jos 1:6; Jos 4:1 ff). It is the capital of Syria. Its 2,000 ft. elevation gives it a delightful climate. Caravan routes from the east, west and south crossed in the city, carrying treasures of silks, perfumes, carpets, and foods. It has always been strategic both militarily and economically. In Isaiahs day, Damascus (Syria) and Israel (the northern kingdom of the Jews) had formed an alliance to go to war against Judah. Ahaz, king of Judah, made an alliance with Assyria (see our comments on Isaiah 7). Isaiah had earlier (ch. 7) predicted the downfall of the Syria-Israel coalition. Now the prophet repeats Gods judgment upon it. After the Assyrian conquest of Syria and Israel, Damascus was of little importance until 635 A.D. when it became the seat of the Mohammedan world. It really has never regained the prominence or power it had in the days of Isaiah. The cities of Aroer were cities in the far northern reaches of the territory of Israel. They formed a sort of buffer zone between Israel and Syria. This is Isaiahs announcement that Israel would be invaded by the same forces about to occupy Damascus. The entire territory of these two nations allied against Gods remnant (Judah) was to be made so desolate that sheep would pasture in the ruins of their cities and fortresses. There would be no people in these lands to scare the sheep away.
Isa 17:4-6 AFTERMATH OF THE ATTACK: After the destructive forces of Gods judgment have done their work, the glory of these two nations, especially Israel, will be only a shadow and skeleton of its former self. It will vanish as the fatness of a man leaves him when he is wasting away with an incurable disease. All that will be left of the two will be one or two scattered, left-over, insignificant survivors. These two nations will be picked clean and left barren like a field gleaned, etc.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
In this section (17-18), we have a prophecy dealing with Damascus and an interlude containing a soliloquy of the prophet. The burden of Damascus (Isa 17:1-11) announces its doom. It is evident, however, that the prophet had in mind an alliance which had been entered into between Israel, or Ephraim, and Damascus. The doom of Damascus means the destruction of the fortress of Ephraim.
The prophet then proceeds to describe the judgment of Ephraim, which will issue from the destruction of Damascus; and to declare that the effect will be to compel men to look to Jehovah rather than to idols. The reason for this visitation is that Ephraim had forgotten God.
The soliloquy of the prophet commences here (verses Isa 17:12-14), and reveals his consciousness of the opposing peoples all about the chosen nation, and of Jehovah as perfect Defense.
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
EXPOSITORY NOTES ON
THE PROPHET ISAIAH
By
Harry A. Ironside, Litt.D.
Copyright @ 1952
edited for 3BSB by Baptist Bible Believer in the spirit of the Colportage ministry of a century ago
ISAIAH CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
DAMASCUS AND EPHRAIM
NOW WE COME TO CONSIDER the burden of Damascus. Closely linked with Damascus we have the nation of Israel, generally known as Ephraim after the break with Judah. Because of the fact that they had formed an alliance with Syria, the kingdom of which Damascus was the capital, they must share in the judgment that was about to fall on that proud city and the Syrian dominion.
Damascus is sometimes said to be the oldest city in the world. This may or may not be so, but it certainly has existed through several millennia and has passed through many wars and other distressing experiences, yet it stands today as a great commercial center in the midst of a beautiful district – so strikingly beautiful that we are told that when Mohammed and his army drew near the city and looked down upon it from a hilltop, the Arabian false prophet turned to his followers and said, “It is given to men to enter but one Paradise. We will not go into Damascus,” and so he and his cohorts turned away.
At the time when Isaiah prophesied, Sennacherib’s hosts were rapidly moving toward Israel and Syria and it is of this onslaught that the first verses speak.
“The burden of Damascus, Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid. 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. 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, 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” (verses 1-5).
There were two cities or districts known as Aroer. One, east of the Dead Sea in the land of Moab, the other near to Damascus. It is evidently this latter that is here In view. As a result of the Assyrian attack, Damascus and all the surrounding towns and villages were to fall a prey to this great eastern power. Israel, too, was to suffer at the hand of the Assyrian. All of this has had its
fulfillment, and yet we may look upon the entire passage as prophetic of that which will take place again in the last days when GOD will deal once more both with Israel and the nations. In that time, as of old, a remnant of Jacob will be preserved who will seek the face of the Lord.
“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. At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel. 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” (verses 6-8).
This remnant is distinguished in many of the books of the prophets and comes before us clearly again in the New Testament. It is this godly company who will turn to the Lord in the last days and in whom “all Israel shall be saved” (Rom 11:26). Many have thought that this implied that the entire nation would be delivered in the time of Jacob’s trouble, but we need to remember that “they are not all Israel, which are of Israel,” and that it is the remnant in whom GOD recognizes the true seed of Jacob. These will be preserved in the last time of trouble as they were in the past, and through them the land will again be inhabited. Abhorring idolatry, they will find their resource in the GOD of their fathers and as they look to Him for protection He will undertake for them.
“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. 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: 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” (verses 9-11).
Are we to take these words literally or figuratively?
Possibly both, for they surely picture the folly of Israel in days gone by when although they had turned away from the Lord GOD of hosts, they still encouraged themselves to believe that they should prosper in their sinful condition, and so they planted lovely gardens and built great cities only to be visited at last by divine judgment.
But may we not see in these verses something that perhaps has had its literal fulfillment on more than one occasion in the past, and at the present time is being fulfilled again? It is a well-known fact that during the long years of Turkish misrule, the land of Palestine was almost denuded of trees. The forests of Lebanon had long since been cut down and the wood used for many different purposes. The trees that once grew upon the Mount of Olives and Mt. Scopus were, we are told by Josephus, all cut down by Titus and used during the siege of Jerusalem.
During the last century of Turkish dominion the Ottoman Government put a tax on all trees, which was so exorbitant that the inhabitants of Palestine rebelled against it, and rather than pay it cut down nearly every tree on their estates. But when, after the First World War, the mandate of Palestine was entrusted to Great Britain, one of the first things the British Government set in
motion was the reforestation of the mountains of Lebanon, thousands upon thousands of young trees being planted upon those heights, while thousands of eucalyptus, or blue gum trees, were imported from Australia and planted in the swampier parts of the country in order to assist in draining the land.
Following this, the returning Jews immediately began planting oliveyards and orchards of orange and other citrus fruits so that, literally, the entire country was planted with strange slips, and it certainly began to look as though Palestine had a wonderfully prosperous era before it.
But all has not been according to the hope of the Jews. Troubles and disasters have fallen upon the land. Forest fires have again destroyed many of the trees on Lebanon, and what the future has in store we dare not attempt to say except that Scripture depicts great and terrible trials such as Jacob has never known in the past. Surely the harvest will be a day of grief and desperate sorrow. How this should move our hearts to cry to GOD for the salvation of Israel and to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
“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! 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. And behold at eveningtide 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” (verses 12-14).
While these words also have had a primary fulfillment in the destruction of Israel’s foes in the past, notably the Assyrian of Isaiah’s day and the Chaldeans later on, yet they also coincide with what our Lord Himself has prophesied concerning the great tribulation, preceded by the time when nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom; when the sea and the waves shall roar and there shall be earthquakes in divers places and men’s hearts shall fail them for fear of looking after the things that are coming upon the earth.
As the closing hour of tribulation strikes, the nations shall be gathered together against Jerusalem. The hosts of the Gentiles will come from the east, the north, and the west to engage in bloody conflict, seeking to obtain possession of Immanuel’s land, but the appearance of the Lord JESUS CHRIST in glory will bring the last great war to an end, when the Beast and the False Prophet and their adherents will perish by the breath of the Lord, and the hosts of Gog and Magog and the kings of the sun-rising will be destroyed by the omnipotent power of GOD acting for the deliverance of His people, Israel.
~ end of chapter 17 ~
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Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
CHAPTER 17
The Burden of Damascus and Judgment upon Ephraim
1. Damascus to be a ruinous heap (Isa 17:1-3) 2. Judgment upon Ephraim (Isa 17:4-11) 3. Woe to the enemies of Israel (Isa 17:12-14) Damascus was the ancient city of Syria, mentioned for the first time in Gen 15:1-21. Syria and Ephraim had made common cause against the house of David. Tiglath-pileser, King of Assyria, executed the judgment upon Damascus and made of it a ruinous heap. But the judgment is also future. And the enemies of Israel, which trouble His people, will be troubled in that day. It is a solemn word with which this chapter closes, This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
burden of Damascus
As in the burden of Moab, there was doubtless a near fulfilment in Sennacherib’s approaching invasion, but Is 17:12-14 as evidently look forward to the final invasion and battle. (“Armageddon,” Rev 16:14 (See Scofield “Rev 19:17”) Cf. Isa 10:26-34.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
am cir, 3263, bc cir, 741
burden: Isa 15:1, Isa 19:1
Damascus: Isa 7:8, Gen 14:15, Gen 15:2, 1Ki 11:24, 1Ch 18:5, 2Ch 28:5, 2Ch 28:23, Jer 49:23-27, Amo 1:3-5, Zec 9:1, Act 9:2
Damascus is: Isa 8:4, Isa 10:9, 2Ki 16:9
a ruinous: Isa 25:2, Isa 37:26, Jer 49:2, Mic 1:6, Mic 3:12
Reciprocal: Deu 13:16 – an heap Jos 8:28 – an heap Isa 7:16 – the land Isa 9:11 – set up Isa 13:1 – burden Isa 21:1 – The burden Amo 3:12 – so shall
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 17:1. The burden of Damascus Both of that city and kingdom. But though this prophecy, by its title, should relate only to Damascus, is full of much concerns, and more largely treats of, the kingdom of Samaria and the Israelites, confederated with Damascus and the Syrians against the kingdom of Judah. It is the fourth discourse of the second book of Isaiahs prophecies, and was delivered probably soon after the prophecies of the seventh and eighth chapters, in the beginning of the reign of Ahaz. And it was fulfilled by Tiglath-pilesers taking Damascus, and carrying the people captives to Kir, (2Ki 16:9,) and overrunning great part of the kingdom of Israel, and carrying a great number of the Israelites also captives to Assyria: and still more fully in regard to Israel, by the conquest of the kingdom, and the captivity of the people, effected a few years after by Shalmaneser: see 2Ki 17:3, and Bishop Lowth. Behold Damascus is taken away from being a city It was, however, afterward rebuilt, and prophesied against by Jeremiah, (Jer 49:23,) and by Zec 9:1.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 17:1. A ruinous heap. Tiglath-pileser destroyed it in the support of Ahaz, and carried away the inhabitants. 2Ki 16:8. Yet it was afterwards rebuilt.
Isa 17:2. The cities of Aroer are forsaken. Aroer was a city on the banks of Arnon, near the dead sea, which belonged to the tribe of Gad. When Tiglath came up with his Chaldaic armies, he apparently divided them into two. The one burned Damascus, and then invaded Ephraim, or the ten tribes; and the southern army extended to Aroer in the land of Moab. This city, says Burckhardt, still subsists under the name of Araayr.
Isa 17:4. The glory of Jacob shall be made thin, indicating the reduction of the Hebrew population by civil and foreign wars. The Lord now began to cut Israel short.
Isa 17:9. In that day, the cities shall be forsaken as when the Hivites and Amorites forsook them, because of the children of Israel. Lowth.
REFLECTIONS.
King Ahaz sought help in an arm of flesh, which only helped for the present, and at an expense ruinous to his people, and eventually ruinous to all under the yoke of Babylon. Oh how much more blessed was Samuel, who in trouble called upon the Lord, and joyfully raised his Ebenezer in Mizpeh.
We see that God will punish the wicked, who help their neighbours through motives of wickedness. Woe to the multitude of many people, who make a noise like the roaring of the seas; that is, the Chaldeans, who boasted and blasphemed. We have seen the fall of their empire, as in chapters 13. and 14.
We learn also the low and distressed state of the Jews before their final overthrow: they were as a tree stripped of all its fruit, except some upper branches out of the reach of purloiners. The prophet Micah has a similar idea: woe is me, for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruit; yea, like the inferior fruit left for the poor to pick. If God be not with a man, or a nation, his glory shall fade like the verdure of the year.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 17:1-11. Oracle on Damascus and Israel.In spite of the title this prophecy deals much more with Ephraim than Damascus, which is not mentioned after Isa 17:3. The close connexion of the two suggests that they have formed an alliance, and this is confirmed by the probable reference to Syrian forms of worship in Isa 17:10. The prophecy is therefore later than Isa 9:8 to Isa 10:4, when the alliance between Syria and Ephraim had not been formed. It must be earlier than 732, since at that date Damascus fell. We may perhaps fix the date a little more precisely. No reference is made to the invasion of Judah by the allied forces, so this had probably not yet taken place. We may accordingly date it about 7365. Damascus is to become a ruin, the Syrian cities desolate, so that flocks will pasture undisturbed on their site. Ephraim will thus lose her bulwark against Assyria, and Syria shall fail as Israels glory will pass away. For Israel also shall be like a man smitten with a wasting disease, or like the standing corn ready to be reaped, of which the gleanings only will be left on the field, as when a fruitful olive tree is beaten and only a very few berries are left. The description of the judgment is broken off in Isa 17:7 f., which may be an insertion, asserting as the effect of the judgment that man will look to his Maker rather than to the idols. The description is resumed with a prediction that Israels fortresses shall be like the ruined strongholds out of which the Israelites at the conquest drove the Amorites and the Hivites (mg.). For Israel has forgotten her God, she has planted plantings of Adonis (mg.) and vineslips of a strange god (mg.). The harvest ripens speedily but withers quickly, leaving only a desperate sorrow. Adonis was a vegetation deity whose worship was widely spread. The name Tammuz in Eze 8:14* is Babylonian. The myth of his death represented the death of vegetation in autumn. The plantings of Adonis were pots or baskets of earth sown with flowers, which were stimulated to rapid growth, and quickly withered. So quickly, the next verse intimates, will the plans and hopes of Israel, which, in its alliance with Syria, had adopted this Syrian cult, be rudely crushed.
Isa 17:2. Aroer: three Aroers are mentioned in the OTone in the extreme south of Judah, one in Ammon, the other on the Arnon in Moab. These are all much too far south, since the context requires a district in the neighbourhood of Damascus. Read, perhaps, cities of Aram.
Isa 17:3. The meaning may be that the fortresses of Ephraim will be overthrown; but as the subject is Damascus, it is better to render the bulwark of Ephraim and explain as above.
Isa 17:5. The reapers used to cut the stalk close to the ear, not close to the ground. The valley of Rephaim (p. 31) lay S.W. of Jerusalem.
Isa 17:6. A rod was used to knock the olive berries from the tree, but a few might be left on the more inaccessible boughs.
Isa 17:8. the work of his hands refers to idols more naturally than to altars. For Asherim cf. p. 100, 1Ki 15:13*. The sun-images are probably sun-pillars (2Ch 14:5*); both are probably glosses.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
17:1 The {a} burden of {b} Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from [being] a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
(a) Read Geneva “Isa 13:1”
(b) The chief city of Syria.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
God announced that Damascus and the cities of Syria, plus Samaria ("the fortified city," Isa 17:3), would soon fall. Assyria destroyed Damascus in 732 B.C. and Samaria in 722 B.C. These cities would lose their sovereignty and glory and would become grazing lands instead of population centers. Nevertheless the almighty God promised that there would be a few people left in Syria, as there would be in Ephraim (cf. Isa 18:7).
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
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CHAPTER XVII
ISAIAH TO THE FOREIGN NATIONS
736-702 B.C.
Isa 14:24-32; Isa 15:1-9; Isa 16:1-14; Isa 17:1-14; Isa 18:1-7; Isa 19:1-25; Isa 20:1-6; Isa 21:1-17; Isa 23:1-18
THE centre of the Book of Isaiah (chapters 13 to 23) is occupied by a number of long and short prophecies which are a fertile source of perplexity to the conscientious reader of the Bible. With the exhilaration of one who traverses plain roads and beholds vast prospects, he has passed through the opening chapters of the book as far as the end of the twelfth; and he may look forward to enjoying a similar experience when he reaches those other clear stretches of vision from the twenty-fourth to the twenty-seventh and from the thirtieth to the thirty-second. But here he loses himself among a series of prophecies obscure in themselves and without obvious relation to one another. The subjects of them are the nations, tribes, and cities with which in Isaiahs day, by war or treaty or common fear in face of the Assyrian conquest, Judah was being brought into contact. There are none of the familiar names of the land and tribes of Israel which meet the reader in other obscure prophecies and lighten their darkness with the face of a friend. The names and allusions are foreign, some of them the names of tribes long since extinct, and of places which it is no more possible to identify. It is a very jungle of prophecy, in which, without much Gospel or geographical light, we have to grope our way, thankful for an occasional gleam of the picturesque-a sandstorm in the desert, the forsaken ruins of Babylon haunted by wild beasts, a view of Egypts canals or Phoenicias harbours, a glimpse of an Arab raid or of a grave Ethiopian embassy.
But in order to understand the Book of Isaiah, in order to understand Isaiah himself in some of the largest of his activities and hopes; we must traverse this thicket. It would be tedious and unprofitable to search every corner of it. We propose, therefore, to give a list of the various oracles, with their dates and titles, for the guidance of Bible-readers, then to take three representative texts and gather the meaning of all the oracles round them.
First, however, two of the prophecies must be put aside. The twenty-second chapter does not refer to a foreign State, but to Jerusalem itself; and the large prophecy which opens the series (chapters 13-14:23) deals with the overthrow of Babylon in circumstances that did not arise till long after Isaiahs time, and so falls to be considered by us along with similar prophecies at the close of this volume. (See Book V)
All the rest of these chapters-14-21 and 23-refer to Isaiahs own day. They were delivered by the prophet at various times throughout his career; but the most of them evidently date from immediately after the year 705, when, on the death of Sargon, there was a general rebellion of the Assyrian vassals.
1. Isa 14:24-27 -OATH OF JEHOVAH that the Assyrian shall be broken. Probable date, towards 701.
2. Isa 14:28-32 -ORACLE FOR PHILISTIA. Warning to Philistia not to rejoice because one Assyrian king is dead, for a worse one shall arise: “Out of the serpents root shall come forth a basilisk. Philistia shall be melted away, but Zion shall stand.” The inscription to this oracle (Isa 14:28) is not genuine. The oracle plainly speaks of the death and accession of Assyrian, not Judaean, kings. It may be ascribed to 705, the date of the death of Sargon and accession of Sennacherib. But some hold that it refers to the previous change on the Assyrian throne-the death of Salmanassar and the accession of Sargon.
3 Isa 15:1-9 – Isa 16:12 -ORACLE FOR MOAB. A long prophecy against Moab. This oracle, whether originally by himself at an earlier period of his life, or more probably by an older prophet, Isaiah adopts and ratifies, and intimates its immediate fulfilment, in Isa 16:13-14 : “This is the word which Jehovah spake concerning Moab long ago. But now Jehovah hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of a hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be brought into contempt with all the great multitude, and the remnant shall be very small and of no account.” The dates both of the original publication of this prophecy and of its reissue with the appendix are quite uncertain. The latter may fall about 711, when Moab was threatened by Sargon for complicity in the Ashdod conspiracy or in 704, when, with other states, Moab came under the cloud of Sennacheribs invasion. The main prophecy is remarkable for its vivid picture of the disaster that has overtaken Moab and for the sympathy with her which the Jewish prophet expresses; for the mention of a “remnant” of Moab; for the exhortation to her to send tribute in her adversity “to the mount of the daughter of Zion”; {Isa 16:1} for an appeal to Zion to shelter the outcasts of Moab and to take up her cause: “Bring counsel, make a decision, make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts, bewray not the wanderer;” for a statement of the Messiah similar to those in chapters 9 and 11; and for the offer to the oppressed Moabites of the security of Judah in Messianic times (Isa 16:4-5). But there is one great obstacle to this prospect of Moab lying down in the shadow of Judah-Moabs arrogance. “We have heard of the pride of Moab, that he is very proud,” {Isa 16:6, cf. Jer 48:29; Jer 48:42; Zep 2:10} which pride shall not only keep this country in ruin, but prevent the Moabites prevailing in prayer at their own sanctuary (Isa 16:12)-a very remarkable admission about the worship of another god than Jehovah.
4. Isa 17:1-11 -ORACLE FOR DAMASCUS. One of the earliest and most crisp of Isaiahs prophecies. Of the time of Syrias and Ephraims league against Judah, somewhere between 736 and 732.
5. Isa 17:12-14 -UNTITLED. The crash of the peoples upon Jerusalem and their dispersion. This magnificent piece of sound, which we analyse below, is usually understood of Sennacheribs rush upon Jerusalem. Isa 17:14 is an accurate summary of the sudden break-up and “retreat from Moscow” of his army. The Assyrian hosts are described as “nations,” as they are elsewhere more than once by Isaiah. {Isa 22:6; Isa 29:7} But in all this there is no final reason for referring the oracle to Sennacheribs invasion, and it may just as well be interpreted of Isaiahs confidence of the defeat of Syria and Ephraim (734-723). Its proximity to the oracle against Damascus would then be very natural, and it would stand as a parallel prophecy to Isa 8:9 : “Make an uproar, O ye peoples, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of the distances of the earth: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces”-a prophecy which we know belongs to the period of the Syro-Ephraimitic league.
6. Isa 18:1-7 -UNTITLED. An address to Ethiopia, “land of a rustling of wings, land of many sails, whose messengers dart to and fro upon the rivers in their skiffs of reed.” The prophet tells Ethiopia, cast into excitement by the news of the Assyrian advance, how Jehovah is resting quietly till the Assyrian be ripe for destruction. When the Ethiopians shall see His sudden miracle they shall send their tribute to Jehovah, “to the place of the name of Jehovah of hosts, Mount Zion.” It is difficult to know to which southward march of Assyria to ascribe this prophecy-Sargons or Sennacheribs? For at the time of both of these an Ethiopian ruled Egypt.
7. Isa 19:1-25 -ORACLE FOR EGYPT. The first fifteen verses (Isa 19:1-15) describe judgment as ready to fall on the land of the Pharaohs. The last ten speak of the religious results to Egypt of that judgment, and they form the most universal and “missionary” of all Isaiahs prophecies. Although doubts have been expressed of the Isaiah authorship of the second half of this chapter on the score of its universalism, as well as of its literary style, which is judged to be “a pale reflection” of Isaiahs own, there is no final reason for declining the credit of it to Isaiah, while there are insuperable difficulties against relegating it to the late date which is sometimes demanded for it. On the date and authenticity of this prophecy, which are of great importance for the question of Isaiahs “missionary” opinions, see Cheynes introduction to the chapter and Robertson Smiths notes in “The Prophets of Israel” (p. 433). The latter puts it in 703, during Sennacheribs advance upon the south. The former suggests that the second half may have been written by the prophet much later than the first, and justly says, “We can hardly imagine a more swan-like end for the dying prophet.”
8. Isa 20:1-6 -UNTITLED. Also upon Egypt, but in narrative and of an earlier date than at least the latter half of chapter 19. Tells how Isaiah walked naked and barefoot in the streets of Jerusalem for a sign against Egypt and against the help Judah hoped to get from her in the years 711-709, when the Tartan, or Assyrian commander-in-chief, came south to subdue Ashdod.
9. Isa 21:1-10 -ORACLE FOR THE WILDERNESS OF THESEA, announcing but lamenting the fall of Babylon. Probably 709.
10. Isa 21:11-12 -ORACLE FOR DUMAH. Dumah, or Silence – Psa 94:17; Psa 115:17, “the land of the silence of death,” the grave – is probably used as an anagram for Edom and an enigmatic sign to the wise Edomites, in their own fashion, of the kind of silence their land is lying under-the silence of rapid decay. The prophet hears this silence at last broken by a cry. Edom cannot bear the darkness any more. “Unto me one is calling from Seir, Watchman, how much off the night? how much off the night? Said the watchman, Cometh the morning, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire, come back again.” What other answer is possible for a land on which the silence of decay seems to have settled down? He may, however, give them an answer later on, if they will come back. Date uncertain, perhaps between 704 and 701.
11. 21:13-17 -ORACLE FOR ARABIA. From Edom the prophet passes to their neighbours the Dedanites, travelling merchants. And as he saw night upon Edom, so, by a play upon words, he speaks of evening upon Arabia: “in the forest, in Arabia,” or with the same consonants, “in the evening.” In the time of the insecurity of the Assyrian invasion the travelling merchants have to go aside from their great trading roads “in the evening to lodge in the thickets.” There they entertain fugitives, or (for the sense is not quite clear) are themselves as fugitives entertained. It is a picture of the “grievousness of war,” which was now upon the world, flowing down even those distant, desert roads. But things have not yet reached the worst. The fugitives are but the heralds of armies, that “within a year” shall waste the “children of Kedar,” for Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath spoken it. So did the prophet of little Jerusalem take possession of even the far deserts in the name of his nations God.
12. Isa 23:1-18 -ORACLE FOR TYRE. Elegy over its fall, probably as Sennacherib came south upon it in 703 or 702. To be further considered by us.
These, then, are Isaiahs oracles for the Nations, who tremble, intrigue, and go down before the might of Assyria.
We have promised to gather the circumstances and meaning of these prophecies round three representative texts. These are-
1. “Ah! the booming of the peoples, the multitudes, like the booming of the seas they boom; and the rushing of the nations, like the rushing of mighty waters they rush; nations, like the rushing of many waters they rush. But He rebuketh it, and it fleeth afar off, and is chased like the chaff on the mountains before the wind and like whirling dust before the whirlwind.” {Isa 17:12-13}
2. “What then shall one answer the messengers of a nation? That Jehovah hath founded Zion, and in her shall find refuge the afflicted of His people.” {Isa 14:32}
3. “In that day shall Israel be a third to Egypt and to Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, for that Jehovah of hosts hath blessed them, saying, Blessed be My people Egypt, and the work of My hands Assyria, and Mine inheritance Israel”. {Isa 19:24-25}
I.
The first of these texts shows all the prophets prospect filled with storm, the second of them the solitary rock and lighthouse in the midst of the storm: Zion, His own watchtower and His peoples refuge; while the third of them, looking far into the future, tells us, as it were, of the firm continent which shall rise out of the waters-Israel no longer a solitary lighthouse, “but in that day shall Israel be a third to Egypt and to Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth.” These three texts give us a summary of the meaning of all Isaiahs obscure prophecies to the foreign nations-a stormy ocean, a solitary rock in the midst of it, and the new continent that shall rise out of the waters about the rock.
The restlessness of Western Asia beneath the Assyrian rule (from 719, when Sargons victory at Rafia extended that rule to the borders of Egypt) found vent, as we saw, in two great Explosions, for both of which the mine was laid by Egyptian intrigue. The first Explosion happened in 711, and was confined to Ashdod. The second took place on Sargons death in 705, and was universal. Till Sennacherib marched south on Palestine in 701, there were all over Western Asia hurryings to and fro, consultations and intrigues, embassies and engineerings from Babylon to Meroe in far Ethiopia, and from the tents of Kedar to the cities of the Philistines. For these Jerusalem, the one inviolate capital from the Euphrates to the river of Egypt, was the natural centre. And the one far-seeing, steady-hearted man in Jerusalem was Isaiah. We have already seen that there was enough within the city to occupy Isaiahs attention, especially from 705 onward; but for Isaiah the walls of Jerusalem, dear as they were and thronged with duty, neither limited his sympathies nor marked the scope of the gospel he had to preach. Jerusalem is simply his watchtower. His field-and this is the peculiar glory of the prophets later life-his field is the world.
How well fitted Jerusalem then was to be the worlds watchtower, the traveller may see to this day. The city lies upon the great central ridge of Palestine, at an elevation of two thousand five hundred feet above the level of the sea. If you ascend the hill behind the city, you stand upon one of the great view-points of the earth. It is a forepost of Asia. To the east rise the red hills of Moab and the uplands of Gilead and Bashan, on to which wandering tribes of the Arabian deserts beyond still push their foremost camps. Just beyond the horizon lie the immemorial paths from Northern Syria into Arabia. Within a few hours walk along the same central ridge, and still within the territory of Judah, you may see to the north, over a wilderness of blue hills, Hermons snowy crest; you know that Damascus is lying just beyond, and that through it and round the base of Hermon swings one of the longest of the old worlds highways-the main caravan road from the Euphrates to the Nile. Stand at gaze for a little, while down that road there sweep into your mind thoughts of the great empire whose troops and commerce it used to carry. Then, bearing these thoughts with you, follow the line of the road across the hills to the western coastland, and so out upon the great Egyptian desert, where you may wait till it has brought you imagination of the southern empire to which it travels. Then, lifting your eyes a little further, let them sweep back again from south to north, and you have the whole of the west, the new world, open to you, across the fringe of yellow haze that marks the sands of the Mediterranean. It is even now one of the most comprehensive prospects in the world. But in Isaiahs day, when the world was smaller, the high places of Judah either revealed or suggested the whole of it.
But Isaiah was more than a spectator of this vast theatre. He was an actor upon it. The court of Judah, of which during Hezekiahs reign he was the most prominent member, stood in more or less close connection with the courts of all the kingdoms of Western Asia; and in those days, when the nations were busy with intrigue against their common enemy, this little highland town and fortress became a gathering place of peoples. From Babylon, from far-off Ethiopia, from Edom, from Philistia, and no doubt from many other places also, embassies came to King Hezekiah, or to inquire of his prophet. The appearance of some of them lives for us still in Isaiahs descriptions: “tall and shiny” figures of Ethiopians {Isa 18:2}, with whom we are able to identify the lithe, silky-skinned, shining-black bodies of the present tribes of the Upper Nile. Now the prophet must have talked much with these strangers, for he displays a knowledge of their several countries and ways of life that is full and accurate. The agricultural conditions of Egypt; her social ranks and her industries (chapter 19); the harbours and markets of Tyre (chapter 23); the caravans of the Arab nomads, as in times of war they shun the open desert and seek the thickets {Isa 21:14} -Isaiah paints these for us with a vivid realism. We see how this statesman of the least of States, this prophet of a religion which was confessed over only a few square miles, was aware of the wide world, and how he loved the life that filled it. They are no mere geographical terms with which Isaiah thickly studs these prophecies. He looks out upon and paints for us, lands and cities surging with men-their trades, their castes, their religions, their besetting tempers and sins, their social structures and national policies, all quick and bending to the breeze and the shadow of the coming storm from the north.
We have said that in nothing is the legal power of our prophets style so manifest as in the vast horizons, which, by the use of a few words, he calls up before us. Some of the finest of these revelations are made in this part of his book, so obscure and unknown to most. Who can ever forget those descriptions-of Ethiopia in the eighteenth chapter?-“Ah! the land of the rustling of wings, which borders on the rivers of Cush, which sendeth heralds on the sea, and in vessels of reed on the face of the waters! Travel, fleet messengers, to a people lithe and shining, to a nation feared from ever it began to be, a people strong, strong and trampling, whose land the rivers divide”; or of Tyre in chapter 23?-“And on great waters the seed of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the mart of nations.” What expanses of sea! what fleets of ships! what floating loads of grain! what concourse of merchants moving on stately wharves beneath high warehouses!
Yet these are only segments of horizons, and perhaps the prophet reaches the height of his power of expression in the first of the three texts, which we have given as representative of his prophecies on foreign nations. Here three or four lines of marvellous sound repeat the effect of the rage of the restless world as it rises, storms, and breaks upon the steadfast will of God. The phonetics of the passage are wonderful. The general impression is that of a stormy ocean booming in to the shore and then crashing itself out into one long hiss of spray and foam upon its barriers. The details are noteworthy. In Isa 17:12 we have thirteen heavy M-sounds, besides two heavy Bs, to five Ns, five Hs, and four sibilants. But in Isa 17:13 the sibilants predominate; and before the sharp rebuke of the Lord the great, booming sound of Isa 17:12 scatters out into a long yish-sha oon. The occasional use of a prolonged vowel amid so many hurrying consonants produces exactly the effect now of the lift of a storm swell out at sea and now of the pause of a great wave before it crashes on the shore. “Ah, the booming of the peoples, the multitudes, like the booming of the seas they boom; and the rushing of the nations, like the rushing of the mighty waters they rush: nations, like the rushing of many waters they rush. But He checketh it”-a short, sharp word with a choke and a snort in it-“and it fleeth far away, and is chased like chaff on mountains before wind, and like swirling dust before a whirlwind.”
So did the rage of the world sound to Isaiah as it crashed into pieces upon the steadfast providence of God. To those who can feel the force of such language nothing need be added upon the prophets view of the politics of the outside world these twenty years, whether portions of it threatened Judah in their own strength, or the whole power of storm that was in it rose with the Assyrian, as in all his flood he rushed upon Zion in the year 701.
II.
But amid this storm Zion stands immovable. It is upon Zion that the storm crashes itself into impotence. This becomes explicit in the second of our representative texts: “What then shall one answer the messengers of a nation? That Jehovah hath founded Zion, and in her shall find a refuge the afflicted of His people”. {Isa 14:32} This oracle was drawn from Isaiah by an embassy of the Philistines. Stricken with panic at the Assyrian advance, they had sent messengers to Jerusalem, as other tribes did, with questions and proposals of defences, escapes, and alliances. They got their answer, Alliances are useless. Everything human is going down. Here, here alone, is safety, because the Lord hath decreed it.
With what light and peace do Isaiahs words break out across that unquiet, hungry sea! How they tell the world for the first time, and have been telling it ever since, that, apart from all the struggle and strife of history, there is a refuge and security of men, which God Himself has assured. The troubled surface of life, nations heaving uneasily, kings of Assyria and their armies carrying the world before them-these are not all. The world and her powers are not all. Religion, in the very teeth of life, builds her a refuge for the afflicted.
The world seems wholly divided between force and fear. Isaiah says, It is not true. Faith has her abiding citadel in the midst, a house of God, which neither force can harm nor fear enter.
This then was Isaiahs Interim-Answer to the Nations-Zion at least is secure for the people of Jehovah.
III.
Isaiah could not remain content, however, with so narrow an interim-answer: Zion at least is secure, whatever happens to the rest of you. The world was there, and had to be dealt with and accounted for-had even to be saved. As we have already seen, this was the problem of Isaiahs generation; and to have shirked it would have meant the failure of his faith to rank as universal.
Isaiah did not shirk it. He said boldly to his people, and to the nations: “The faith we have covers this vaster life. Jehovah is not only God of Israel. He rules the world.” These prophecies to the foreign nations are full of revelations of the sovereignty and providence of God. The Assyrian may seem to be growing in glory; but Jehovah is watching from the heavens, till he be ripe for cutting down. {Isa 18:4} Egypts statesmen may be perverse and wilful; but Jehovah of hosts swingeth His hand against the land: “they shall tremble and shudder”. {Isa 19:16} Egypt shall obey His purposes (chapter 17). Confusion may reign for a time, but a signal and a centre shall be lifted up, and the world gather itself in order round the revealed will of God. The audacity of such a claim for his God becomes more striking when we remember that Isaiahs faith was not the faith of a majestic or a conquering people. When he made his claim, Judah was still tributary to Assyria, a petty highland principality, that could not hope to stand by material means against the forces which had thrown down her more powerful neighbours. It was. no experience of success, no mere instinct of being on the side of fate, which led Isaiah so resolutely to pronounce that not only should his people be secure, but that his God would vindicate His purposes upon empires like Egypt and Assyria. It was simply his sense that Jehovah was exalted in righteousness. Therefore, while inside Judah only the remnant that took the side of righteousness would be saved, outside Judah wherever there was unrighteousness, it would be rebuked, and wherever righteousness, it would be vindicated. This is the supremacy which Isaiah proclaimed for Jehovah over the whole world.
How spiritual this faith of Isaiah was, is seen from the next step the prophet took. Looking out on the troubled world, he did not merely assert that his God ruled it, but he emphatically said, what was a far more difficult thing to say, that it would all be consciously and willingly Gods. God rules this, not to restrain it only, but to make it His own. The knowledge of Him, which is today our privilege, shall be tomorrow the blessing of the whole world.
When we point to the Jewish desire, so often expressed in the Old Testament, of making the whole world subject to Jehovah, we are told that it is simply a proof of religious ambition and jealousy. We are told that this wish to convert the world no more stamps the Jewish religion as being a universal, and therefore presumably a Divine, religion than the Mohammedans zeal to force their tenets on men at the point of the sword is a proof of the truth of Islam.
Now we need not be concerned to defend the Jewish religion in its every particular, even as propounded by an Isaiah. It is an article of the Christian creed that Judaism was a minor and imperfect dispensation, where truth was only half revealed and virtue half developed. But at least let us do the Jewish religion justice; and we shall never do it justice till we pay attention to what its greatest prophets thought of the outside world, how they sympathised with this, and in what way they proposed to make it subject to their own faith.
Firstly then, there is something in the very manner of Isaiahs treatment of foreign nations, which causes the old charges of religious exclusiveness to sink in our throats. Isaiah treats these foreigners at least as men. Take his prophecies on Egypt or on Tyre or on Babylon-nations which were the hereditary enemies of his nation-and you find him speaking of their natural misfortunes, their social decays, their national follies and disasters, with the same pity and with the same purely moral considerations with which he has treated his own land. When news of those far-away sorrows comes to Jerusalem, it moves this large-hearted prophet to mourning and tears. He breathes out to distant lands elegies as beautiful as he has poured upon Jerusalem. He shows as intelligent an interest in their social evolutions as he does in those of the Jewish State. He gives a picture of the industry and politics of Egypt as careful as his pictures of the fashions and statecraft of Judah. In short, as you read his prophecies upon foreign nations, you perceive that before the eyes of this man humanity, broken and scattered in his days as it was, rose up one great whole, every part of which was subject to the same laws of righteousness, and deserved from the prophet of God the same love and pity. To some few tribes he says decisively that they shall certainly be wiped out, but even them he does not address in contempt or in hatred. The large empire of Egypt, the great commercial power of Tyre, he speaks of in language of respect and admiration; but that does not prevent him from putting the plain issue to them which he put to his own countrymen: If you are unrighteous, intemperate, impure-lying diplomats and dishonest rulers-you shall certainly perish before Assyria. If you are righteous, temperate, pure, if you do trust in truth and God, nothing can move you.
But, secondly, he, who thus treated all nations with the same strict measures of justice and the same fulness of pity with which he treated his own, was surely not far from extending to the world the religious privileges which he has so frequently identified with Jerusalem. In his old age, at least, Isaiah looked forward to the time when the particular religious opportunities of the Jew should be the inheritance of humanity. For their old oppressor Egypt, for their new enemy Assyria, he anticipates the same experience and education which have made Israel the firstborn of God. Speaking to Egypt, Isaiah concludes a missionary sermon, fit to take its place beside that which Paul uttered on the Areopagus to the younger Greek civilisation, with the words, “In that day shall Israel be a third to Egypt and to Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, for that Jehovah of hosts hath blessed them, saying, Blessed be Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands and Israel Mine inheritance.”