The Book Of Isaiah. Day 71, A Prophecy Against Damascus and Israel, Part One

In the book of Isaiah the Lord has predicted disasters for the kingdoms of Israel and Judah but He does not intend to allow them to be utterly destroyed, in contrast to many of the predictions against Israel's and Judah's neighbors. We have already studied prophecies against the enemies of the Lord's people, such as Assyria, Babylon, Philistia, and Moab. Now we move on to a prophecy against ancient Aram, which is modern-day Syria. This prophecy also includes words of judgment against the descendants of Jacob but their judgment includes words of hope.

"A prophecy against Damascus: 'See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins. The cities of Aroer will be deserted and left to flocks, which will lie down, with no one to make them afraid. 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." (Isaiah 17:1-3)

Damascus was the capital city of Aram and was one of the most beautiful and prosperous cities on earth in Isaiah's time but it would be largely destroyed by the Assyrian army. There is a city of Damascus in our day but the ancient city of Damascus fell to Assyria and underwent a great deal of destruction, as did the northern kingdom of Israel, which is why "Ephraim" (often used interchangeably with the name "Israel") is used in the verses above. The same enemy would cause the fall of both Aram and Israel. The reference to "Aroer" is less clear since there was more than one area of the Transjordan called by that name, but what we do know is that the Assyrian Empire conquered a number of nations and tribes when it was at the zenith of its power. Whichever Aroer is meant here, we can safely conclude that its population was idolatrous as were the people of Aram and as were the majority of the people of Israel at that time. 

The Lord continues with the theme of the coming calamity upon Israel. Here He uses the name "Jacob" interchangeably with "Israel", which is something we often see in the Bible. "In that day the glory of Jacob will fade; the fat of his body will waste away. 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." (Isaiah 17:4-5) This sounds like utter and irredeemable destruction but it's not, as we will see below.

"Yet some gleanings will remain, as when an olive tree is beaten, leaving two or three olives in the topmost branches, four or five in the fruitful boughs,' declares the Lord, the God of Israel." (Isaiah 17:6) Earlier in the Old Testament we found the Lord instructing the people of Jacob not to harvest every single thing from every tree and bush. We found Him telling them not to glean every stalk of grain that fell in the field during harvest. Those remnants were to be left for the poor. In this same manner, the Lord is not going to allow Assyria to eradicate the descendants of Jacob. A remnant will be preserved and that remnant will no longer turn to idols.

"In that day people will look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel. They will not look to the altars, the work of their hands, and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles and the incense altars their fingers have made." (Isaiah 17:7-8) The discipline is harsh because the sin has been so grievous: the people forgot their Maker. They turned from Him to idols. It will take great calamity to turn them back to Him but turn they will.