ISAIAH 17-18: “The Judgment Of
By
1.
INTRO
1.1.
In our last study we
finished looking at the judgment and destruction which Isaiah prophesied
against Moab
1.1.1.
We looked at the origin of
the nation of Moab
1.1.2.
We looked at the effect the
nation of Moab had on Israel
1.1.3.
We saw that it was Shalmaneser, the Assyrian
king, who conquered Moab as he conquered and overran many nations and who is prophesied in chapter 15 and 16 as bringing judgment to Moab
1.1.4.
As we considered
1.2.
In our study today we are
going to look at the judgment and destruction which Isaiah prophesied against
Damascus and Ethiopia
1.2.1.
1.2.1.1.Being the capital of
1.2.1.2.Ephraim, symbolizing the northern kingdom of Israel, was in league with
Syria as we already saw in our study, and thus we see that Ephraim’s judgment
is intermixed with that of Damascus
1.2.2.
1.2.2.1.This was a judgment on the nations around that area most likely, not
just Ethiopia
1.2.3.
It was the case that at the
point in time in which Isaiah wrote these judgments against the nations of his
day that all of the nations in the world were trying to determine where
ultimate security would lay, and thus they were considering alliances, trying
to coheres other nations to alliances, and working out what they thought was
the best deal for their respective nation
1.2.3.1.Isaiah tries to persuade all nations and individuals who will listen
that the only security that will ever be found in their day, or any day, is the
security that is found in the Lord, for it is God who is setting up the world
stage and who is doing so in order to bring in His kingdom. In reality Isaiah probably could only have
the hope that the nation of
1.2.3.2.We can learn from the book of Isaiah and these judgments against the
nations that:
1.2.3.2.1.Hope rests only in the Lord
1.2.3.2.1.1.God is described here as being the ‘rock of your refuge’, as He is the
one who surrounds and protects His people from all that is evil in the world
1.2.3.2.2.If one tries to place their hope in anything but the Lord, He will see
it, and He will overthrow that which they hope in
1.2.3.2.3.When any people looks anywhere but to the Lord for their help and hope,
they too will be overthrown and will be removed from being His people
1.2.3.2.4.It has been said that to not know history will result in your repeating
it. God has shown us in His word what
happens to nations and peoples who look elsewhere than the Lord for the help
and strength. We must learn from their
judgment and look only to God to be our hope and strength in this world and
life in which we live
2.
VS 17:1 - “1 The oracle concerning
2.1.
Just as we have seen the ‘burden’ of
2.2.
We already saw in the first seven verses of chapter
8 of Isaiah that
2.2.1.
The fact that the overthrow of
2.3.
2.3.1.
The oldest city on the face of the
earth.
2.3.1.1.We
do not know whether this is true or not, however it is extremely old and its
history goes back as far as historians can trace.
2.3.2.
The city to be conquered and destroyed more
than any other city.
2.3.2.1.It
has been rebuilt and rebuilt all through recorded history.
2.4.
2.4.1.
God wants and even demands from His people
that they look to Him as their one and only hope. Any people who will look anywhere else for
help, hope, and stability is doomed to suffer the same fate as
2.5.
In Jeremiah 49:23-27, Jeremiah also
pronounced a coming judgment and destruction for
2.6.
In 2 Kings 16:9,
we read about how that Damascus was overthrown in battle by Assyria as Isaiah
and the other prophets said that it would be, “9 So the
king of Assyria listened to him; and the king of Assyria went up against
Damascus and captured it, and carried the people of it away into exile to Kir,
and put Rezin to death.”
3.
VS 17:2 - “2 “The cities of Aroer are forsaken; They will be for flocks to lie down in, And
there will be no one to frighten them.” - Isaiah tells us that the cities of Aroer will
be forsaken when
3.1.
We read in Numbers 32:34 about how that when
Joshua was portioning out the lands to the various tribes of Israel, that it
was the sons of Gad who built the city of Aroer and its adjacent cities, “34 And the sons of Gad built Dibon and Ataroth and Aroer.” See also Deut. 3:12.
3.1.1.
Thus the city of
3.2.
So, we see that the judgment of
4.
VS 17:3 - “3 “The fortified city will
disappear from Ephraim, And sovereignty from
4.1.
Notice initially that ‘
4.2.
Again we notice that since
4.3.
Isaiah tells us that after their defeat by
the Assyrians that the glory of the Syrians will be just like the glory of the
sons of
4.4.
In 2 Kings 17:6-8,
we read about how that the northern kingdom was conquered and deported by the
Assyrians, “6 In the ninth year of
Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried Israel away into exile
to Assyria, and settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of Gozan, and in
the cities of the Medes. 7 Now this came
about, because the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who
had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king
of Egypt, and they had feared other gods8 and walked in the customs of the
nations whom the Lord had driven out before the sons of Israel, and in the
customs of the kings of Israel which they had introduced.”
4.4.1.
Notice that we are even told why
4.4.2.
5.
VS 17:4-6 - “4 Now it will come about in that
day that the glory of Jacob will fade, And the fatness of his flesh will become
lean. 5 It will be even like the reaper
gathering the standing grain, As his arm harvests the ears, Or it will be like
one gleaning ears of grain In the valley of Rephaim. 6 Yet gleanings will be left in it like the
shaking of an olive tree, Two or three olives on the topmost bough, Four or five
on the branches of a fruitful tree, Declares the Lord, the God of Israel.” - Isaiah describes how the
glory of
5.1.
We see in these verses how that Isaiah had
prophesied of how that the northern kingdom of Israel would lose all of its
glory and since so many would be deported from her that it would become very
lean, and yet there would still be a small remnant that would remain in the
land, as we know was the case.
5.2.
The remnant that was prophesied to remain in
the land would be about as many proportionally as the number of olives that
remain on the ground after harvest when a tree’s olives have all been shaken
off.
6.
VS 17:7-9 - “7 In that day man will have
regard for his Maker, And his eyes will look to the Holy One of
6.1.
When God disciplines His people, they finally
end up paying attention to what He has been trying to say to them, however it
is a hard and painful way to learn things.
6.1.1.
Someone once said that we ought to pay
attention to the Lord when He taps on our shoulder, because if we ignore Him
then when He raps it will make a mighty sore shoulder.
6.1.2.
How the peace of God will fill our hearts
though if instead of not listening to God, we will just live each day in such a
way that we just start our day by saying, “Lord, I just open up my heart to
hear from You and to have you speak to me and lead me in all of the ways that
You have for me,” and then all throughout the day just see how God speaks to us
and directs our way.
6.1.2.1.What an awesome day
each one is that is just lived with and for the Lord.
6.1.2.2.In our family, my
wife Jill and I try to start every day with the Lord in our quiet times and in
prayer. Our kids see us then every
morning of the week starting the day by putting the Lord first, and they know
that we do this because we put God first in our lives and our lives are all
about serving the Lord. Hopefully, our
kids will see the importance of putting God first in our lives and follow this
pattern all throughout their lives.
6.2.
As I have mentioned before, idolatry was
removed from Judea after the deportation of that nation to
6.3.
Devastation in
7.
VS 17:10-11 - “10 For you have forgotten the
God of your salvation And have not remembered the rock of your refuge. Therefore you plant delightful plants And set
them with vine slips of a strange god.
11 In the day that you plant it you carefully fence it in, And in the
morning you bring your seed to blossom;
But the harvest will be a heap In a day of sickliness and incurable pain.” - Isaiah tells us that the
reason that the northern kingdom will be overthrown and destroyed is because
she had forgotten the God of her salvation, her rock
7.1.
As I have mentioned, since the day that the
northern kingdom split off from the southern kingdom during the reign of
Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, the nation had not had a good king and in all she
had ever done she had turned away from following the Lord and heeding His voice
and the covenant with the Lord she had agreed to.
7.1.1.
In this covenant, God had told Israel that He
would be her God and be with her and bless her in all that she did, and all she
had to do was to be obedient to Him and the laws which He passed down to
her. However, the northern kingdom never
even tried to do so, and thus she was judged.
7.2.
It is interesting that the Lord is described
to the Israelites as ‘the rock of your refuge.’
To be up upon a rock is a vantage point in any battle, for mountains and
hills are difficult to climb and difficult to conquer in battle.
7.2.1.
In the Old Testament we see in many places
how that the Lord is said to be the rock for His people, for instance:
7.2.1.1.Isaiah
7.2.1.1.1.In
Isaiah 26:4, we read that God’s
people have the Lord as an ‘everlasting rock’, “4 “Trust
in the Lord forever, For in God the
Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.”
7.2.1.2.Psalms
7.2.1.2.1.The
Psalmist wrote in Psalm 18:2-3
about how the Lord is our rock and fortress and deliverer, “2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my
rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield
and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from
my enemies.”
7.2.1.2.2.In
Psalm 31:2-3, the Psalmist wrote
further about how God is a rock of strength and a stronghold to save us, “2 Incline Thine ear to me, rescue me quickly; Be Thou to me a rock of strength, A
stronghold to save me. 3 For Thou art my
rock and my fortress; For Thy name’s sake
Thou wilt lead me and guide me.”
7.2.1.2.3.In
Psalm 125:2 the Lord says that He
surrounds His people with His protection, “2 As the
mountains surround
7.2.2.
We Christians need to realize how wise it is
for us to look to the Lord as our help, for He promises to surround and to
protect His people. When we are trying
to follow the Lord and do His will nothing can truly harm us, unless He allows
it into our life for some specific reason.
Even then, if God removes His hand of protection and even allows that we
are killed b persecutions we are victors for the Lord will take us to glory and
there remove all pain and sorrow from our lives.
7.2.3.
On the other hand, as
7.2.3.1.How awesome it is
though when you have just submitted your life to the Lord, and now you don’t
have to worry and fret about whether any evil shall befall you, for the Lord
has vowed to be a protection for His people.
In this way you can just be at peace and enjoy your life and serve God
in all the ways that He wants for you to serve Him.
7.3.
Isaiah tells us here that the reward of
harvest that the Israelites will reap as a result of planting vine slips of a
strange god, or in other words for worshipping a god other than the God of
Israel, will be ‘sickliness and incurable pain’.
7.3.1.
There is no misery worse than the misery of
those who are backslidden of God’s people.
7.3.2.
Those who are truly God’s people are the most
malcontent sinners on the face of the earth.
They may plunge into sin, but they won’t enjoy much of it.
8.
VS 17:12-14 - “12 Alas, the uproar of many peoples
Who roar like the roaring of the seas, And the rumbling of nations Who rush on
like the rumbling of mighty waters! 13
The nations rumble on like the rumbling of many waters, But He will rebuke them
and they will flee far away, And be chased like chaff in the mountains before
the wind, Or like whirling dust before a gale.
14 At evening time, behold, there is terror! Before morning they are no more. Such will be the portion of those who plunder
us, And the lot of those who pillage us.” - Isaiah tells us that the judgment that is
coming to
8.1.
Isaiah describes the political unrest that
was happening in his day as a big uproar and the ‘rumbling of mighty
waters’. Political intrigue was
occurring everywhere, every nation was sending its ambassadors to the nations
trying to ascertain the political climate and ultimately which alliance would
be the most full proof against the aggressor nations.
8.2.
Isaiah tells us that the Lord is going to
rebuke the nations however, and that they are going to flee and be chased away,
and that they will all be like ‘chaff’ blown over the mountains by the wind,
and like the whirling dust that comes before gale force winds.
8.3.
Isaiah tells them that the raids of terror by
the conquering nations will come ‘at evening time’, when they are least
expected.
8.4.
These verses just reflect
what I said at the outset, Isaiah is trying to tell the nations who refuse to
listen that the only hope and only protection that a nation or individual will
ever has is that which one may have in the Lord. Only by being His people and following Him
closely will they avoid the judgment that comes from His hand against all who
rebel and turn away from God.
9.
VS 18:1-2 - “1 Alas, oh land of whirring
wings Which lies beyond the rivers of Cush, 2 Which sends envoys by the sea,
Even in papyrus vessels on the surface of the waters. Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall and
smooth, To a people feared far and wide, A powerful and oppressive nation Whose
land the rivers divide.” - Isaiah tells us of the judgment and
destruction that is going to come upon the nations in and around
9.1.
The insects in the
9.1.1.
The swarms of their warriors.
9.1.2.
The swarming of their ambassadors who were
going all over the African continent trying to build a political alliance to
ward off being conquered by Assyria.
9.2.
The people from
9.3.
Actually the name ‘
9.3.1.
Interestingly, H.A. Ironside believed that
this chapter was actually written to the 10 nation confederacy that will arise
in the last days and become the political entity that will be the vehicle for
the Anti-Christ to become the ‘one-world-ruler’ over the earth.
9.3.1.1.I believe that if
this is the case, then the Tribulation fulfillment is really only a secondary
fulfillment of this prophesy.
9.4.
Barry G. Webb
writes about the following historical event regarding Ethiopia as having
precipitated this prophesy by Isaiah, “In the
time of Hezekiah, late in the eighth century B.C., it [Ethiopia] merged
with Egypt under the rulers of the twenty-fifth dynasty, who were Ethiopians,
and this is clearly the situation reflected in this part of Isaiah. So this rather enigmatic passage concerning
10.
VS 18:3-6 - “3 All you inhabitants of the
world and dwellers on earth, As soon as a standard is raised on the mountains,
you will see it, And as soon as the trumpet is blown, you will hear it. 4 For thus the Lord has told me, “I will look
from My dwelling place quietly Like dazzling heat in the sunshine, Like a cloud
of dew in the heat of harvest.” 5 For
before the harvest, as soon as the bud blossoms And the flower becomes a
ripening grape, Then He will cut off the sprigs with pruning knives And remove
and cut away the spreading branches. 6
They will be left together for mountain birds of prey, And for the beasts of
the earth; And the birds of prey will
spend the summer feeding on them, And all the beasts of the earth will spend
harvest time on them.” - Isaiah’s warning to Ethiopia and the
other nations in its region is the same
message that all nations and inhabitants on the earth should heed, the Lord is
going to judge them if they do not turn their lives over to Him
10.1.
When the Lord finally proceeds to judge all
of the nations, a standard or signal will be raised on the mountains and the
‘trumpet’ will be blown.
10.2.
These verses seem to reflect the final
judging of the nations that will occur during the 7 year Tribulation of the
book of Revelation at the Battle of Armageddon, just before Christ establishes
His Millennial Reign over all of the earth.
At that time the harvest will be cut off and all of the produce
destroyed all over the earth. However,
it appears that the sprigs that will be cut off and become prey to the birds of
prey and the beasts of the earth is actually the people themselves. That the people of the earth will become food
for the birds of prey after the battle of Armageddon is found in the following
verses:
10.2.1.
Rev. 19:17-18, “17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried out with a
loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for
the great supper of God;18 in order that you may eat the flesh of kings and the
flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of
those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small
and great.””
11.
VS 18:7 - “7 At that time a gift of homage
will be brought to the Lord of hosts From a people tall and smooth, Even from a
people feared far and wide, A powerful and oppressive nation, Whose land the
rivers divide—To the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, even Mount Zion.” - Isaiah tells us that when the
Lord has judged the nations, to Him a ‘gift of homage will be brought’ from
these fierce Ethiopians
11.1.
In 2 Chron.
32:20-22, we read that when the Lord slew the 185,000
Assyrian soldiers who had come against Jerusalem after King Hezekiah had prayed
for help from the Lord, that the nations brought gifts to the Lord and to
Hezekiah, “20 But King Hezekiah and Isaiah the
prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed about this and cried out to heaven.21 And the
Lord sent an angel who destroyed every mighty warrior, commander and officer in
the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned in shame to his own land. And
when he had entered the temple of his god, some of his own children killed him
there with the sword.22 So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand
of all others, and guided them on every side.23 And many were bringing gifts to
the Lord at Jerusalem and choice presents to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he
was exalted in the sight of all nations thereafter.”
11.2.
During the Millennial Reign of Christ upon
the earth, after the judgment coming upon all nations, we also find that the
nations who have survived will bring gifts to
11.2.1.
Isaiah 60:1-7, “1 “Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the Lord
has risen upon you. 2 “For behold,
darkness will cover the earth, And deep darkness the peoples; But the Lord will rise upon you, And His
glory will appear upon you. 3 “And
nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. 4
“Lift up your eyes round about, and see;
They all gather together, they come to you. Your sons will come from afar, And your
daughters will be carried in the arms. 5
“Then you will see and be radiant, And your heart will thrill and rejoice; Because the abundance of the sea will be
turned to you, The wealth of the nations will come to you. 6 “A multitude of camels will cover you, The
young camels of Midian and Ephah; All
those from