May 4, 2026, Isaiah 17:1-14
May 4,
2026, Isaiah 17:1-14
17 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 17:1-14 is an oracle prophesying the destruction
of Damascus (Syria) and the Northern Kingdom of Israel (Ephraim) due to their
alliance against Judah and idolatry, with both to be conquered by Assyria. The
prophecy emphasizes that Israel’s "glory" will fade, leaving only a
small remnant, but promises that these survivors will ultimately turn back to
God.
Real security isn't found in the fortress you build, but
in the God you remember. Where is your security found?
Robin Adams
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