Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, And have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold, Therefore you will plant pleasant plants And set out foreign seedlings; Isaiah 17:10
The Oracle concerning Damascus
17:1-18:7 The oracle against Damascus falls into seven parts:
- An editorial superscription
- The desolate ruin of Damascus
- The ruin of Israel, which is left only of remnant
- The anticipation that in the future, people will trust Israel’s God
- The accusation that Damascus replaced God with pagan deities
- A proclamation of doom upon the nations “who plunder us”
- A prediction that a powerful nation will bring tribute to Israel (18:1-7)
17:3 Fortress may refer to Samaria, the capital city. Ephraim designates northern Israel. Since Damascus, the capital of Syria, was allied with Ephraim, the oracle of God’s judgment was against both nations.
The fortress also will cease from Ephraim, The kingdom from Damascus, And the remnant of Syria; They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,” Says the Lord of hosts.
17:5 harvests: The nation of Syria would be “harvested” of its people. The word Raphaim is the Hebrew word for “shades” or “ghosts.” Thus the Valley of Rephaim is the Valley of Death.
It shall be as when the harvester gathers the grain, And reaps the heads with his arm; It shall be as he who gathers heads of grain In the Valley of Rephaim.
17:10 You refers to the northern kingdom. Forgotten: For background, see Deut. 8:11-20. The people had forgotten the God who had saved them from slavery. The language recalls the first Exodus; the Lord called the God of your salvation and the Rock.
Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, And have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold, Therefore you will plant pleasant plants And set out foreign seedlings;
17:11 Make your plant to grow may allude to the ancient practice of force-blooming potted plants and allowing them to die. Pagans believed that this reenactment of the life cycle would secure fertile fields. But even after performing this rite, the harvest would be in ruin. Just as the choice vines of the Lord’s vineyard disappointed Him (5:1-7), so His errant people would find their harvest hopes shattered.
In the day you will make your plant to grow, And in the morning you will make your seed to flourish; But the harvest will be a heap of ruins In the day of grief and desperate sorrow.
17:12 Many people refers to the nations that plunder Israel. Seas and mighty waters speak of chaos and death.
Woe to the multitude of many people Who make a noise like the roar of the seas, And to the rushing of nations That make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
17:13 Chaff, which lacks life, value, and stability, was threshed and winnowed on windy mountains or hilltops. When God judges the unrelenting, roaring seas – the nations that plundered God’s people – they will become mere tumbleweed rolling before the whirlwind of God’s judgment.
The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters; But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, And be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, Like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
17:4 Sennacherib’s army would be destroyed between eventide and morning. Us: Isaiah identifies himself with his plundered people.
Then behold, at eventide, trouble! And before the morning, he is no more. This is the portion of those who plunder us, And the lot of those who rob us.
The Oracle concerning Damascus
17 1 The burden against Damascus. “Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, And it will be a ruinous heap. 2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken; They will be for flocks Which lie down, and no one will make them afraid. 3 The fortress also will cease from Ephraim, The kingdom from Damascus, And the remnant of Syria; They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,” Says the Lord of hosts.
The Judgment on Israel
4 “In that day it shall come to pass That the glory of Jacob will wane, And the fatness of his flesh grow lean. 5 It shall be as when the harvester gathers the grain, And reaps the heads with his arm; It shall be as he who gathers heads of grain In the Valley of Rephaim.
6 Yet gleaning grapes will be left in it, Like the shaking of an olive tree, Two or three olives at the top of the uppermost bough, Four or five in its most fruitful branches,” Says the Lord God of Israel. 7 In that day a man will look to his Maker, And his eyes will have respect for the Holy One of Israel. 8 He will not look to the altars, The work of his hands; He will not respect what his fingers have made, Nor the wooden images nor the incense altars.
9 In that day his strong cities will be as a forsaken bough And an uppermost branch, Which they left because of the children of Israel; And there will be desolation. 10 Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, And have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold, Therefore you will plant pleasant plants And set out foreign seedlings; 11 In the day you will make your plant to grow, And in the morning you will make your seed to flourish; But the harvest will be a heap of ruins In the day of grief and desperate sorrow.
12 Woe to the multitude of many people Who make a noise like the roar of the seas, And to the rushing of nations That make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! 13 The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters; But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, And be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, Like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. 14 Then behold, at eventide, trouble! And before the morning, he is no more. This is the portion of those who plunder us, And the lot of those who rob us.
