Isaiah

Isaiah Chapter 17

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

Damascus is a city of Syria. It was once great but has come to an end. Ephraim which was in confederacy with Damascus also ceases from being great. Yet we see a remnant to be part of the latter day fulfillment of prophecy. Actually in modern times this prophecy has come to pass 2016 -2017.  Pictures of it on the Internet shows a ruinous heap now.

• Isaiah 17:2 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.

The glody of Syria will be as the glory of Jacob. Very thin and almost non existent. 

• Isaiah 17: 5 And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim.
• 6 Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the LORD God of Israel.

It is compared to two or three berries in the top of a tree with most of it gone.

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

The result of this judgment and destruction shall be people returning to their maker and seeking Him. If only we would do that now there would be no need of judgment. Why do we wait until we are desperate? Why not serve God when times are good. Idolatry will be despised when these nations turn to the Lord and respect their maker called here the "Holy one of Israel."

• Isaiah 17:8 And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.
• 9 In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation.
• 10 Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips:

Verse ten gives the reason that judgment comes to these nations. Lest we think the Lord is unfair, we are reminded why the bad comes and why such utter destruction prevails. It is dangerous to turn from God to serve other gods. It is suicide to even neglect the Lord in our daily lives. We need Him. Without His hedge of protection, there is nothing to save us from anything disaster, war or disease.

• Isaiah 17:11 In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
• 12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
• 13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.

Woe is pronounced to those that exalt themselves and think that they are great and powerful. Woe to those that do destroy. God will rebuke them and turn them back.

• Isaiah 17:14 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.

Four reasons are given for judgment:

1.  They forgot God

2.  The neglected His way of salvation

3.  They did not understand where their true help came from.

4.  They persecute and belittle those who do try to turn them back to the truth.

To forget God brings judgment even if God doesn't personally send it. Without His hand of protection, we are all history. We need Him to over come the evil that surrounds us all. All nations need to recognize whom they need. The United States is not God. Nations need to turn their trust back to God and not on the United States. I am not demeaning the United States but that nation is not God. Israel needs to trust in God and turn to Him and Him alone. They need to receive the Christ that their ancestors rejected. I truly believe that God alone will be their help during the tribulation period and that the United States may not be able or willing to help them. They even might join Israel's enemies and rise up against them. We do not know. Let's hope not though because judgment will come to any nation that rises up against Israel.

To neglect the way of salvation is to neglect our own eternal soul as an individual and as a nation. God made a way to be cleansed of sin through Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made when He gave Himself for our sins. The death of a man that did not sin and didn't deserve any penalty of death can only be the one to reserve the curse that came upon Adam when he sinned. God's Son Jesus came in the flesh and died for the sins of man.

Israel was not always obedient and forgot many times where their help came from. The God who delivered them from Egypt and then from Babylon was their only source of help. He may use other nations at times but I believe the day is coming when the only help Israel has will be from the Lord.

Remember how God helped Israel in the days of Moses when all odds were against them. He parted the Red Sea and gave them victory over the pursuing Egyptian army. This probably will be what it will be like in the tribulation period just before the return of Jesus Christ. The antichrist's army will pursue them and they will flee to surrounding nations. God will protect them there. Jesus Christ Himself will rescue them. This is what I see in bible prophecy. God will receive all the praise and glory as persecuted nations will recognize who their only help is and from God. I sincerely do not believe it will be from the United States. That is a personal opinion and not necessarily gospel fact.

What makes God the angriest is when any nation, group of people or individual begin to harm, persecute, or kill one of His people, especially if the ones being harmed is sent from God to bring the gospel to the unbelieving world in order to save them. Don't shoot the messenger just because we don't like the message. We will suffer the worst judgment if we do that.

Isaiah 18

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