An oracle concerning Damascus.
Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city
and will become a heap of ruins.
2 The cities of Aroer are deserted;
they will be for flocks,
which will lie down, and none will make them afraid.
3 The fortress will disappear from Ephraim,
and the kingdom from Damascus;
and the remnant of Syria will be
like the glory of the children of Israel,
declares the Lord of hosts.
4 And in that day the glory of Jacob will be brought low,
and the fat of his flesh will grow lean.
5 And it shall be as when the reaper gathers standing grain
and his arm harvests the ears,
and as when one gleans the ears of grain
in the Valley of Rephaim.
6 Gleanings will be left in it,
as when an olive tree is beaten—
two or three berries
in the top of the highest bough,
four or five
on the branches of a fruit tree,
declares the Lord God of Israel.
7 In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. 8 He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the Asherim or the altars of incense.
9 In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation.
10 For you have forgotten the God of your salvation
and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge;
therefore, though you plant pleasant plants
and sow the vine-branch of a stranger,
11 though you make them grow on the day that you plant them,
and make them blossom in the morning that you sow,
yet the harvest will flee away
in a day of grief and incurable pain.
12 Ah, the thunder of many peoples;
they thunder like the thundering of the sea!
Ah, the roar of nations;
they roar like the roaring of mighty waters!
13 The nations roar like the roaring of many waters,
but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away,
chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind
and whirling dust before the storm.
14 At evening time, behold, terror!
Before morning, they are no more!
This is the portion of those who loot us,
and the lot of those who plunder us. Isaiah 17 ESV
Isaiah 17 Damascus of Syria
1-3. Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city - Damascus was the capital of Syria and one of the great cities of trade, just northeast of Israel. Many years before this, Solomon had gone against the law to kings, handed down from God by way of Moses, and traded with both Syria and Egypt. The chariots and horses of Egypt were sold to Syria. Northern Israel made an alliance with Syria to protect them against the Assyrians, but also to trouble Judah.
They will be for flocks - The human population will diminish, and the animals left to be feral grazers.
Sin desolates cities. It is strange that great conquerors should take pride in being enemies to mankind; but it is better that flocks should lie down there, than that they should harbour any in open rebellion against God and holiness. - Matthew Henry
And the remnant of Syria will be like the glory of the children of Israel - They are not utterly destroyed, vanquished forever, no, God will there choose a remnant for the Lord as well.
4-6. The glory of Jacob will be brought low - Jacob's favorite son was Joseph, and he is represented by two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh. Ephraim was the largest of the tribes and is representative of the northern kingdom, the 10 tribes.
Gleanings will be left in it - I think this speaks to a remnant in the northern kingdom as with Syria, but also the loss of orchards, the desolated and ruined agricultural richness that is devastated by way of famine and war. Cities that were once thriving with human trade, and trees once full of fruit, will be mere shadows of their former selves.
7-11. In that day, a man will look to his Maker - Israel looked to alliances that put hope and trust in the strength of man rather than the God Who brought them out of bondage in Egypt. They adopted the idols and materialism of their neighbors as well. Some will recognize the hand of God's correction and turn away from their sin.
“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)
Yet the harvest will flee away - So many times we hear people speak about utopian societies elsewhere. I remember when Venezuela was touted as a model by the godless in our country, yet look how quickly their practices brought them to ruin. They deny human depravity and think that tyranny is the answer, that it is the system and not the heart that troubles them. They planted a stranger's vine, and it looked promising, but the harvest was weak. I believe it was General Mao of China, who, under the new communist regime, had the people decrease the spacing of plants in row crops. He thought, in his arrogance, that he could stop the problem of starvation by putting 3 plants where you would put one. There is a reason for the spacing, the plants will come up, but without enough nutrients, sunlight and air flow, you will have less fruit and more mold. He killed a lot of Chinese, but people followed him.
…5Now this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Consider carefully your ways. 6You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough. You drink but never have your fill. You put on clothes but never get warm. You earn wages to put into a bag pierced through.”7This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Consider carefully your ways.… Haggai 1: 5-7
12-14. Ah, the thunder of many peoples - Assyria coming to judge Israel and Syria.
God will rebuke them - Their hearts are not towards God either, and though He use them to judge, they will be rebuked as well.
At evening time, behold, terror! Before morning, they are no more - Assyria went from destroying the northern kingdom and Syria to setting their eyes on Judah. They threatened Jerusalem with siege, and mocked the only true God. God sent them away as He said He would. It was scary at night, but in the light of morning, providence showed God's reprieve. One angel kills 185,000 Assyrians.
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