seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Isaiah 17:1 A prophecy against Damascus:
“See, Damascus will no longer be a city
but will become a heap of ruins.
2 The cities of Aroer will be deserted
and left to flocks, which will lie down,
with no one to make them afraid.
3 The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim,
and royal power from Damascus;
the remnant of Aram will be
like the glory of the Israelites,”
declares the Lord Almighty.
but will become a heap of ruins.
2 The cities of Aroer will be deserted
and left to flocks, which will lie down,
with no one to make them afraid.
3 The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim,
and royal power from Damascus;
the remnant of Aram will be
like the glory of the Israelites,”
declares the Lord Almighty.
4 “In that day the glory of Jacob will fade;
the fat of his body will waste away.
5 It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain,
gathering the grain in their arms—
as when someone gleans heads of grain
in the Valley of Rephaim.
6 Yet some gleanings will remain,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches,
four or five on the fruitful boughs,”
declares the Lord, the God of Israel.
the fat of his body will waste away.
5 It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain,
gathering the grain in their arms—
as when someone gleans heads of grain
in the Valley of Rephaim.
6 Yet some gleanings will remain,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches,
four or five on the fruitful boughs,”
declares the Lord, the God of Israel.
7 In that day people will look to their Maker
and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.
8 They will not look to the altars,
the work of their hands,
and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles[a]
and the incense altars their fingers have made.
and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.
8 They will not look to the altars,
the work of their hands,
and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles[a]
and the incense altars their fingers have made.
9 In that day their strong cities, which they left because of the Israelites, will be like places abandoned to thickets and undergrowth. And all will be desolation.
10 You have forgotten God your Savior;
you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress.
Therefore, though you set out the finest plants
and plant imported vines,
11 though on the day you set them out, you make them grow,
and on the morning when you plant them, you bring them to bud,
yet the harvest will be as nothing
in the day of disease and incurable pain.
you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress.
Therefore, though you set out the finest plants
and plant imported vines,
11 though on the day you set them out, you make them grow,
and on the morning when you plant them, you bring them to bud,
yet the harvest will be as nothing
in the day of disease and incurable pain.
12 Woe to the many nations that rage—
they rage like the raging sea!
Woe to the peoples who roar—
they roar like the roaring of great waters!
13 Although the peoples roar like the roar of surging waters,
when he rebukes them they flee far away,
driven before the wind like chaff on the hills,
like tumbleweed before a gale.
14 In the evening, sudden terror!
Before the morning, they are gone!
This is the portion of those who loot us,
the lot of those who plunder us.
they rage like the raging sea!
Woe to the peoples who roar—
they roar like the roaring of great waters!
13 Although the peoples roar like the roar of surging waters,
when he rebukes them they flee far away,
driven before the wind like chaff on the hills,
like tumbleweed before a gale.
14 In the evening, sudden terror!
Before the morning, they are gone!
This is the portion of those who loot us,
the lot of those who plunder us.
a. Isaiah 17:8 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
This summary is from Bible-studys.org.
“The burden of Damascus” refers to the capital city of Syria. This chapter is contemporaneous with (chapter 7), and predicts the downfall of the coalition between Syria and Ephraim. Tiglath-pileser of Assyria destroyed Damascus (in 732 B.C.), a fulfillment of this prophecy. Jacob shall be made thin refers to the famine that followed the devastation and deportation of the northern tribes by Sargon of Assyria (in 722. B.C.).
This is from enduringword.com.In that day a man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will have respect for the Holy One of Israel: In the midst of such severe judgment, some will respond as they should, with humble respect for God.
He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands: One of God’s purposes in judgment is to turn our focus away from our idols and the things we have trusted in instead of Him. This speaks of this purpose being fulfilled.
His strong cities will be as a forsaken bough: In judgment, God would strip away from Israel every wrong thing they might have trusted in – pagan altars, wooden images, incense altars, and even their strong cities would give no protection. Their only hope was in the LORD.
“When the Israelites came into the land of Canaan many years before, the strong cities of the land were abandoned to them… However, the situation has changed, and the same cities will be abandoned by the Israelites themselves as they are under the judging hand of God.” (Grogan)
Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation: This was why the LORD brought this judgment on Israel. In one way, this does not seem like a “great” sin. After all, why does God need us to remember Him? Why can’t we just leave Him alone, and He leave us alone? It is a sin to forget the God of your salvation because He created you, and because He is the God of your salvation. If you forget Him, you can forget about your salvation.
I found this at biblestudytools.com."The first occupants of Syria appear to have been of Hamitic descent --Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, etc. After a while the first comers, who were still to a great extent nomads, received a Semitic infusion, while most Probably came to them from the southeast."
Syrians can trace their Biblical heritage back to a man named Aram. He was a descendant of Shem, Noah's son. Also known as Arameans, the plight of the Syrian people can be read about throughout both the Old and New Testament. Syria is one of the oldest Biblical lands that still exists in present day
The people of Syria settled between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, also known as Mesopotamia. (Genesis 24:10, 25:20) This included a land called Paddan Aram. (Genesis 28:5) Paddan Aram may sound familiar, as this is the homeland of Rebekah, the wife of Issac, Laban, her brother and his daughters Rachel, and Leah, the wives of Jacob.
Other key Biblical figures of Aramean descent include Boaz, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Josiah, and Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus.
Noah had three sons..... and after the flood....the descendants of those three sons populated the whole world.... that's what the Bible says..... Anyway.... the original people of Damascus, Syria were related to Shem. Yesterday.... In Isaiah 16 I saw Ruth who was originally from Moab.... and today here's Rebekah, Rachel and Leah.... and they are all from Syria. Now here's Boaz, the man Ruth married to bring the Moabites into the family..... David and Solomon.... great kings.... and Joseph.... the stepfather of Jesus..... all of them.... played such a big part in getting us to the New Testament.Some of the commentaries want to discuss if the demise of Damascus was in Isaiah's time or if that's an end-time prophecy. I can't tell myself.... Al Jazeera news has stories about war in Damascus almost daily. Jerusalem was obliterated and rebuilt.... Damascus might be the same... IMHO....
Man gets to thinking he's the big deal. Man gets to thinking his fighter jets, tanks, and bombs will stop his demise..... and through Isaiah... IMHO.... God is saying.... "since you like your toys so much..... count on them and see how they fair against Me!" Don't worry though.... when God brings on destruction.... He'll leave some food behind for the poor to glean..... they didn't have big heads so why should they starve..... IMHO....
Man thinks he's a big deal because he figured out how to clone humans.... but get this... man has to use the stuff God made first in order to make their clone.... and then man will take all the credit.... even though everything humans make is made from the raw materials God supplied....
