Isaiah 17:14

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Isaiah 17:14ues

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14 And behold at eveningtide [`eth] [`ereb] trouble [ballahah]; and before the morning [boqer] he is not. This is the portion [cheleq] of them that spoil [shacah] us, and the lot [gowral] of them that rob [bazaz] us.  KJV-Interlinear

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.  NASB

Symbolically the night time is the typical time for doing evil.  Here, eveningtide, ‘eth ereb,’ refers to the season or to the period of time that applies to the activities conducted.  And in this case, it is the activity of the enemies of God.  So, they will have their time, and then it will be over.

In the morning he is not, means dead, or destroyed.

The morning shows a new dawn when the old is no more and that makes way for the new.

Once the enemies of God have had their time, then their time will expire and they will be destroyed.  They had time to repent, but they did not, and instead used their time to work evil.

Anyone and everyone has the opportunity to do good, to grow up in their spiritual life, to complete themselves through doctrine, and thus be in line for reward and more.

Unfortunately those who use their time to reject God, to reject doctrine, to reject Christ, and instead invest in everything that is not good, will have only destruction and loss to expect.

God created this entire universe to give His people the opportunity to prepare for eternity.

All that exists belongs to God and thus to those who would inherit, namely His people who are believers in Christ.

All unbelievers inherit nothing.  All unbelievers deserve nothing.  And by their very rejection of Christ, they live under the assumption that they can have or take anything.  That belief is wrong.

All believers who do not function in their spiritual life as designed by God, qualify for no reward.  And they likewise imitate unbelievers in assuming that they can have and take anything while ignoring Gods plan.  That belief is likewise a huge error on their part.

Their attempt to acquire anything in life is in fact a theft or an attempt to take spoils from the rightful heirs and owners, namely mature or maturing believers.

Do not think for even an instant that you can ignore Gods plan, and invent your own way through life and then expect to be treated equally with those who abide by Gods plan.

The treatment will not be the same for unbelievers vs. believers.  The Lake of Fire and Heaven are infinitely different.  The treatment will not be the same for immature believers vs. mature believers.  The rewards for disobedience and obedience are infinitely different.

If you reject Gods plan, then you reject your own future.

Isaiah 17:13

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Isaiah 17:13ues

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13 The nations [laom] shall rush [sha'ah] like the rushing [sha'own] of many [rab] waters [mayim]: but God shall rebuke [ga`ar] them, and they shall flee [nuwc] far off [merchaq], and shall be chased [radaph] as the chaff [mots] of the mountains [har] before [paniym] the wind [ruwach], and like a rolling thing [galgal] before [paniym] the whirlwind [cuwphah].  KJV-Interlinear

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.  NASB

Sins of ignorance because you refuse to learn, are just as bad as sins of choice.  Isaiah wrote these words over 2700 years ago. Other prophets as well as the apostles, wrote other scriptural prophecies over 2000 years ago, plus.  All of which were completed in written form for the entirety of our current dispensation. 

Ours is the last dispensation before these prophecies will be fulfilled.  And we have had them in writing, for our entire dispensation.  The canon of scripture was completed in 96 A.D. when John wrote the final book, the book of Revelation.

Thus God has given fair and adequate and prior notice of all that will take place.  No one has any excuse for not knowing any of these things, except for their own active decision to not learn them, or even read of them.  But even then, simple hearsay makes these things known to everyone in one form or another, regardless of their interest, or lack of it, in the bible, and regardless of the many misinterpretations that come out of prophesy hearsay and gossip.

You would probably be hard pressed to find anyone who has not heard of the last days prophecies.  And even though they do not know the details of the last days, they are still aware of those future events.

Our dispensation, which we call the Church Age, is one of historical trends, whereby the world will be populated and the gospel will reach the four corners of the world, and in our final stages of our dispensation, we know that there will be many and dramatic increases of things that will be very public and open for all to see.

The increases in world population, in science, in travel, in earthquake frequency, and many more things, and finally the huge increase in apostasy, call the great apostasy, whereby people will simply not care or have any regard for biblical things.  And then our age will come to a very dramatic and sudden close, called the Rapture, that will catch everyone off guard.

And with that, the Tribulation, which is the final seven years of human history, will begin, and things will get worse and worse with each passing day.  And still people will not figure it out.

At the end of the Tribulation, there will exist many peoples and nations that will rally to the cry of ‘destroy the Jews,’ and in their great rage of excuses, and arrogance, they will rush into the region with all of the military might of the nations, and pursue what they believe is their right.

And here, Isaiah tells us that all of their arrogance and military boasting will be nothing more than dust and chaff that is exposed to the high wind speeds of hurricanes, typhoons, tornadoes and such where wind speeds get up to 100, 200 or 300 and more, and have their way with things that have virtually no substance.

And as dust has no power against the high winds of a severe storm, so too, those armies, the mightiest in all of human history, will be powerless and impotent, and lack any and all self-control, totally helpless before the power of God. 

And yet even though this is revealed beforehand, people will still pursue their own self-destruction.

But then, so too does this principle apply to all people throughout history, when doctrine is presented and likewise ignored.

Isaiah 17:12

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Isaiah 17:12ues

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12 Woe [howy] to the multitude [hamown] of many [rab] people [`am], which make a noise [hamah] like the noise [hamah] of the seas [yam]; and to the rushing [sha'own] of nations [laom], that make a rushing like the rushing [sha'ah] of mighty [kabbiyr] waters [mayim]!  KJV-Interlinear

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!   NASB

Woe, ‘howy,’ means ah ha, alas, anguish, affliction, grief, distress, despair.  And so now Isaiah, numbers the armies that number in numbers beyond counting, and proud beyond pride, for they will ignore the warning, woe, and charge into the jaws of a destruction of their own making.

Certain of victory, but blind of truth.

The armies of Armageddon, will be made up of huge numbers.  But Armageddon will not occur until the very end of the Tribulation, and well after the entire world has been brought to the brink of destruction.

And yet, the manufacturing and preparation of the implements of war will remain the priority of world leaders, as they are driven by Satan for the sole purpose of the destruction of all of humanity.

It won’t matter that people the world over will be in need of rescue, repair, and support in every kind imaginable.  The hate and drive fueled by Satan, will override all reason and logic, and compassion.

And here, Isaiah describes the vast numbers of the many armies that will assemble in the Middle East, in terms of the noise of restless stormy seas.  So loud, that you would not be able to hear yourself think.  But so loud as to describe the vastness of their numbers, of their intentions, and of their purpose.

It will not be a mere remnant that will be fighting in that last war, but there will still be a huge world population remaining, to prepare for the fight, to supply the fight, and to carry out the fight. Numbers that could easily be used for the recovery of humanity, but will be driven for its extinction.

Isaiah 17:11

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Isaiah 17:11ues

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11 In the day [yowm] shalt thou make thy plant [neta`] to grow [suwg], and in the morning [boqer] shalt thou make thy seed [zera`] to flourish [parach]: but the harvest [qatsiyr] shall be a heap [ned] in the day [yowm] of grief [chalah] and of desperate ['anash] sorrow [ka'eb].  KJV-Interlinear

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.   NASB

The mindset of a people living in delusion, is described here.  This verse shows the hopes and expectations of a people who have applied their efforts with great care and diligence, expecting a great harvest or return on their efforts or investments.  But to what end? 

If you have read the Revelation study, then you know the frame of mind that will exist during those terrible and final days of history.

John refers to the end times as our current dispensation.  This is the last dispensation prior to the final days of history.  We are currently 2,014 years into the ‘end times’ period of history.

The end days or final days of history, is the Tribulation, and that will last only seven years.

Our dispensation ends with the Rapture, and then the Tribulation begins immediately.  At its end, will be the Second Advent of Christ, wherein the whole world of evil will be destroyed, Christ will rescue and deliver the remnant of believers that will survive the Tribulation, and then He will bring in His millennial reign, or the Kingdom of God on the earth.  Christ will then rule for 1000 years, and when that reign ends, all of history will come to an end, the final judgments will occur, the universe will be destroyed, and a new universe will be created, and then eternity will begin and continue forever.

The Tribulation, will last seven years, and will be the absolute worst period of time in all of human history.

The Tribulation begins with all unbelievers, since all believers in Christ will have been removed at the Rapture.

During the first half of that period, or three-and-a-half years, literally half of the worlds population will die.

For most normal people, this would seem to be very unusual!!!

During the last half of the Tribulation, or the last three-and-a-half years, things will get even worse.  The final assault or genocide of the Jews will occur, many and greater storms and disasters will occur, and the final battle of Armageddon will be the culmination of the Tribulation, ending with the Second Advent.

But you see here in this verse, people will still be busy hustling and bustling, as it were, in their day to day efforts to have and to accumulate things or wealth or whatever.  This in the midst of history’s greatest series of disaster events ever.

Rather than turning to Christ, most will be living in the delusion of their day to day routines.  And for what?

Their harvest, or the results of all their hard work and effort, will end up in a heap.  Heap here means a pile of desperate sorrow or inexpressible sorrow.  Their efforts will be for nothing.

People should be looking desperately toward Christ, but instead they will look desperately to their daily routines.

Isaiah 17:10

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Isaiah 17:10ues

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10 Because thou hast forgotten [shakach] the God ['elohiym] of thy salvation [yesha`], and hast not been mindful [zakar] of the rock [tsuwr] of thy strength [ma`owz], therefore shalt thou plant [nata`] pleasant [na`aman] plants [neta`], and shalt set [zara`] it with strange [zuwr] slips [zamowrah]:  KJV-Interlinear

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.  NASB

Sooner or later, trouble or problems or judgment come into everyone's life, because they have forgotten Christ, pretend to know Christ, or have substituted something else for Christ.  The ultimate judgment will come with the ultimate disregard, and that will occur in the final days of history.

But this principle applies to everyone's life, regardless of when they live in history.

The God of your salvation is Jesus Christ.  There is none other.

The rock of your strength is bible doctrine.

Jesus Christ is the rock or the foundation of stability of all that exists.  Bible doctrine is the written Christ, or the rock consisting of the written word, which when you learn it, puts that rock or foundation inside of your soul.

Doctrine in your soul is your strength.

This is why learning doctrine is so very important, for without it, you have no real inner resources, only delusion.

Pleasant plants and strange slips is a reference to alternative philosophies, or religions, or belief systems.

When the Israelites took over the promised land, they eventually intermarried with the locals and adopted their cultures and religions, blending their rituals and beliefs with their own.  This intermingling is the adding of pleasant plants, or a garden of worldly pleasantries, wherein the worlds enticements and philosophies and rituals were mixed in with the Israelite belief system.

Slips is a reference to branches that are added or grafted into the main plant, and thus here is a reference to the compromise of true doctrine with grafted in false doctrines.

So, when you disregard God and doctrine, then you by default, graft in false ideas into your life and viewpoint.  The disregard sooner or later takes control of your life and subjects you to horrendous judgment in order to bring you back to truth.

In the final days of history, all of this disregard, will reach a peak and thus the ultimate judgment that will end in a horrible outcome for a very spiritually negative people.

And, this principle applies to each individual throughout history.  Each person will face their maker when removed from this world.  And when you face Christ, then you will know for certain if your current views are right, or if you have wasted your life on delusional views.

But why wait until it is too late, when you can know now and do something about it?  But then, do you really care to know?  Or, are you stubborn and prefer your delusion?

Isaiah 17:9

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Isaiah 17:9ues

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9 In that day [yowm] shall his strong [ma`owz] cities [`iyr] be as a forsaken [`azab] bough [choresh], and an uppermost branch ['amiyr], which they left [`azab] because [paniym] of the children [ben] of Israel [Yisra'el]: and there shall be desolation [shamamah].  KJV-Interlinear

9 In that day their strong cities will be like forsaken places in the forest, Or like branches which they abandoned before the sons of Israel; And the land will be a desolation.  NASB

In that day, is a reference to the time or period of Gods judgment.  It is a technical phrase reserved for a specific time in the future, where God alone will be recognized as the one and only sovereign and judge over man and history.  It is used for the closing events of history, after which man and Satan will cease to rule this world.

The strong cities, refer to the secular attitudes of people who look with pride at what they have achieved in building cities, architecture, roads, industry and so forth.  And where this pride of accomplishment will rule the boastings and awe of people, then all they see is the greatness of their own construction and ordered society, never once thinking of the larger masses of the poor, upon which their cities were most likely built.

Because in case you haven’t noticed, the world cannot function without the very wealthy and the very poor.  This is by Satan’s design, not Gods.  Therefore, the pride of the haves is at the expense of the have-nots.

And then it will all be gone.

The forsaken bough and the uppermost branches, refer to that which is left behind when foresters go through a forest, cutting down trees for logs and lumber.  They first cut the tree down, then they remove the limbs and the top most portion of the tree, then they cut or buck the tree into varying lengths of logs and these logs are taken away to be used for whatever construction purpose that they were cut down for.

The branches and the tree tops are left behind to rot back into the forest ground.  The branches have no names, no identity, and no use, and they are forgotten for their uselessness, because they are worthless.

And so the proud cities of man and of history, will fade into the annals of the useless and the worthless, to be forgotten and never thought of as though they never had any importance ever.

And of course this might be something that you should consider in the event that you believe that all of this bible stuff is a waste of time, because you would be really referring to your own value, or rather the lack of it.

Just because we do not live in that end of days, time, does not make our indifference toward God and doctrine, any less a violation of Gods mandates, and any less of a failure than those future people will have.

Do what they do and you will most certainly end up with nothing.

Or, you could do something else, like dedicate yourself to a daily bible study.

Isaiah 17:8

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Isaiah 17:8ues

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8 And he shall not look [sha`ah] to the altars [mizbeach], the work [ma`aseh] of his hands [yad], neither shall respect [ra'ah] that which his fingers ['etsba`] have made [`asah], either the groves ['asherah], or the images [chamman].  KJV-Interlinear

8 And he will not have regard for the altars, the work of his hands, Nor will he look to that which his fingers have made, Even the Asherim and incense stands.  NASB

When you are surrounded with disaster, real disaster, the kind that gives you no options and no way out, then and only then, for many, the subject of Christ enters into their heads.  Their false gods, false religions, vain attitudes, arrogant pretense, their accomplishments, property, social status, and even their priorities will fade into unimportance.

All respect and opinions regarding the things of this world will be changed into guilt and sorrow.

Those who should have been important to us, but who we rejected and even tried to destroy, the things that we made important in our lives, our priorities and goals and plans that occupied all of our thoughts, will change and flood into our minds with sorrow and guilt and the reality of a wasted life.

These things will always occur sooner or later in everyone's life, because in everyone's life there will always be a final disaster from which we will never recover.  That finality may be your death, or some other less permanent event, but it does not have to be that way.

God has given us all doctrine.  Which when we learn it, will pave the way to a far better orientation to life.

Doctrine will never end all problems.  This is the devils world and problems are an integral part of this world.  The world will throw all sorts of problems at you, in an attempt to derail your entire life, if you let it.

But doctrine can establish a foundation within your soul that replaces an empty soul, with a powerful soul containing a fortress, temple, mansion, faith and spiritual muscle beyond imagination.  The world cannot touch that which is resident within your soul.

All you have to do is learn doctrine.  And you learn it by pursuing a daily study while in fellowship.  And this will replace the anxieties of life, with confidence.

Remember, our life in this world is temporary and nothing more.  We are here in order to prepare for the next and eternal life. One without end.  It is far more important to focus on the prerequisites of eternity, than on the things of this world today.

While in this life we have a responsibility to ourselves, to prepare and complete ourselves for eternity, but we also have a responsibility to others to help them in the right direction and not to hinder anyone through greedy or petty or arrogant activity.

God alone can promote.  No one can promote themselves at the expense of someone else.  That effort only leads to certain self-disaster.

But everyone can position themselves for Gods promotion, by advancing in the proper way, to spiritual maturity.  A far, far better achievement for ones entire life.

Isaiah 17:7

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Isaiah 17:7ues

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7 At that day [yowm] shall a man ['adam] look [sha`ah] to his Maker [`asah], and his eyes [`ayin] shall have respect [ra'ah] to the Holy [qadowsh] One of Israel [Yisra'el].   KJV-Interlinear

7 In that day man will have regard for his Maker, And his eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel.  NASB

Unfortunately it often times takes disasters of epic biblical proportions before people will wake up to the spiritual side of their lives, and get their thinking straightened out.  Floating along in a fog of delusion or indifference, oblivious to their responsibilities, people usually feel no need for God, or any deity, or anything that they have decided is already good enough for them.

The spiritual life becomes nothing more than a convenience, or an inconvenience, such that people have to incorporate it into their lives.  And even then, people take the attitude that it is a courtesy for pubic show and nothing more.

Even when times do get tough, and the prayers come one after another, and the answers are few and far between, if at all, then people conclude that God and prayer does not work, so why bother.  Never thinking that their inconsistency in their spiritual life, if they even recognize one, might be their problem, and not God.

And so long as life and the world seem to move along with some semblance of order, then God is just not an issue much less a priority.

And it then takes a disaster of monumental proportions to wake them up as to their weakness’s and shortcomings in life.

But will even disasters be enough to make a permanent change in their life?  Usually not.  People just recover and then go back to their same old indifferent habits, until the next disaster comes along.  All the while convinced that God and prayer do not work.  Their own inconsistency and the need for change within themselves, never occurs to them.

But in the final days of history, and especially during those final three-and-a-half years of the Tribulation, people will have seen the disasters of the first three-and-a-half years of the Tribulation, but still did not change.  And the first half of the Tribulation will have some pretty dramatic and biblical proportion type of events.  But still no change.

Then, the changes will happen more and more to them directly as people will be literally dropping out of life on this planet, and then and only then, they will turn to the God of Israel, who is Jesus Christ, the one true God in all of existence.

Christ is now and will still be in the future, rejected and ignored.

Certainly now even most Christians give lip service to Christ, while the rest of the world rejects Him.  Christians say what they believe are the right things, but they stubbornly refuse to do the right things, and so their spiritual lives are empty shells with no spiritual substance.

Anyone can easily turn to Christ and begin to abide by His mandates, including consistent confession and daily studies and so forth, but the general practice of the world is, that nothing is done until it is too late, and a major disaster is needed in order to generate sufficient humility to bring about change in ones life.

Isaiah 17:6

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Isaiah 17:6ues

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6 Yet gleaning grapes [`olelah] shall be left [sha'ar] in it, as the shaking [noqeph] of an olive tree [zayith], two [shanayim] or three [shalowsh] berries [gargar] in the top [ro'sh] of the uppermost bough ['amiyr], four ['arba`] or five [chamesh] in the outmost fruitful [parah] branches [ca`iyph] thereof, saith [na'um] the LORD [Yahovah] God ['elohiym] of Israel [Yisra'el].  KJV-Interlinear

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.  NASB

When people do not read the entire passage they get things totally messed up, and miss the entire point of what is being taught.  That is why people fail without ever realizing their failure.  When a crop is harvested, there are always gleanings that are left behind because they cannot be harvested, are too difficult to harvest or are deemed not worth the time to harvest.  But the crop referred to here is not produce, but people. 

We have been studying several chapters of future prophecies.  And this verse continues the prophecy for the final days of history, which will occur in the Tribulation, describing the unbelievable atrocities that will occur in Israel, sharply escalating at the mid-point of the Tribulation and continuing until its end.

There, the anti-christ will double cross Israel and begin a reign of terror such as the world has never seen before.  Isaiah has given fair warning of these things which are to come, and John, by way of Revelation, has given fair warning as to when they will begin and when will be the last opportunity to get away.

Unfortunately most Jews will not take the advice and that will be their undoing.

However, regardless of the anti-christs attempts to eliminate all Jews from the planet, God will preserve a small remnant.  And here they are described.

Just as gleanings are left behind, so too, some Jews will be left behind for a variety of reasons. They will not be deemed worth the time to pursue them, or they will not be easily accessible, or they simply will be overlooked.

But for whatever reason, and in spite of nearly everyone's decision to disregard Gods warnings, at their own risk, God will still preserve a few who will survive the Tribulation and live in the Millennial reign of Christ after the Second Advent.

And just as in the typical harvest where there are millions and millions of grains or grapes or olives and such and the gleanings number in very small numbers which are more or less easy to count, then so too, the remnant of Jews will be a very small number of people. 

Note too, that all of these will be believers in Christ.  No unbelievers will survive the Tribulation, and none will enter into the Kingdom of God, that will be established on the earth.

Isaiah 17:5

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Isaiah 17:5ues

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5 And it shall be as when the harvestman [qatsiyr] gathereth ['acaph] the corn [qamah], and reapeth [qatsar] the ears [shibbol] with his arm [zarowa`]; and it shall be as he that gathereth [laqat] ears [shibbol] in the valley [`emeq] of Rephaim [rapha'].  KJV-Interlinear

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.  NASB

This verse describes a great harvest of people, not grain.  Using the symbolism of harvesting crops, combined with the word for giants, ‘Rephaim,’ Isaiah describes the worst of the worst periods of time in all of Jewish history.

The next verse describes those who will remain and why they will remain.

At harvest time, the people walk through the fields and gather in the bulk of the grain from that field and take it away from the field.

The reference to the valley of the Rephaim, or valley of giants, has references in 2 Sam 5:18,22; 23:13; 1 Chron 11:15; 14:9.

These describe great victories for David when he fought the Philistines and won a great battle. Two battles in fact.  Both identifying valleys to the north, west and south of Jerusalem.

And so will be the battle against the Jewish peoples, but this will not be a collection of captives, but a great slaughter.  One greater than ever before recorded in history.

We have already studied in Revelation, the warning given by John, when the temple is dedicated in the middle of the Tribulation, and the abomination of abominations occurs, which is to say that the anti-christ will declare himself as God, and John warns that, that is the last sign to get out and get out right now.

Any who do not leave the city or the country, or any who hesitate in leaving, will lose their lives.  And so it will be in those final days of history, that there will be a great slaughter of the Jews.

With his arm, is a phrase that describes a typical harvester who carries the corn in one arm as he swings the harvesting scythe with the other, thus continuing the harvest.

The harvest of the Jews will be easy and leisurely and systematic.  Shooting fish in a barrel as the saying goes.  Which in fact, will be the most horrendous and brutal applications of genocide ever in history.

Isaiah 17:4

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Isaiah 17:4ues

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4 And in that day [yowm] it shall come to pass, that the glory [kabowd] of Jacob [Ya`aqob] shall be made thin [dalal], and the fatness [mashman] of his flesh [basar] shall wax lean [razah].  KJV-Interlinear

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.  NASB

When the bible makes reference to Jacob, it is typically referring to the entire Israelite nation that originated out of Jacobs twelve sons. Thus the glory of Jacob.  In contrast, when the bible makes reference to David, it typically is referring to Christ and thus to all believers, both Jew and gentile.

The context being laid out in this passage is referencing Ephraim, or the northern kingdom made up of the ten tribes that split away from Judah after Solomons death.  This split came as a result of their rejection of David as the chosen line, and their attempt to establish their own dynasty line, or mans choice as an obvious rejection of Gods choice.

For this, Ephraim was destroyed.

The southern kingdom will also fade away from following God, but they will not be destroyed for yet another century after the fall of Ephraim.

Those past events took many decades and even centuries to come together.

In that day, is a phrase that is non-specific but refers to the time period in which God brings judgment.  In this case the time period is in the final days of history.

The terms, fade, and made thin, and wax lean, are references to depressions, wasting away of health, and general misery.

These next several verses to verse eleven, convey the description of a once prosperous nation of Israel, that will lose its glory, lose its prosperity, lose its health and lose its population, with but a small remnant remaining.  That small remnant will remain only because they turn to God, namely Christ.

But during their fall, life will not be pleasant, but one of terrible misery, suffering, and depression, such as is caused by failing health, disease, and the general wasting away of the physical body.  And as the body wastes away, so goes the description of the nation wasting away due to its spiritual failure and resulting hardships placed on the nation from its enemies.

Isaiah 17:3

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Isaiah 17:3ues

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3 The fortress [mibtsar] also shall cease [shabath] from Ephraim ['Ephrayim], and the kingdom [mamlakah] from Damascus [Dammeseq], and the remnant [sha'ar] of Syria ['Aram]: they shall be as the glory [kabowd] of the children [ben] of Israel [Yisra'el], saith [na'um] the LORD [Yahovah] of hosts [tsaba'].  KJV-Interlinear

3 "The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, And sovereignty from Damascus And the remnant of Aram; They will be like the glory of the sons of Israel," Declares the Lord of hosts.  NASB

When the nation of Israel split, the northern portion called itself Israel, but was sometimes referred to as Samaria or Ephraim or the northern kingdom. Splitting away from Judah and in opposition of Gods chosen line of David, the northern kingdom was cursed and eventually destroyed.

Judah, being the line of the chosen will of God, was the southern portion of the split nation.

Here we have Ephraim being numbered along with Damascus and Syria, in that they are all condemned and destroyed.

Damascus representing the capital of opposition, and Syria representing the organized opposition against Gods people, and Ephraim representing Gods people that have rebelled against Gods plan, then all three will follow the path and destiny of Babylon which we have already studied.  They will all be destroyed.

Wherever there is opposition to God, who is truth, then there is opposition to truth.  And all opposition to truth means the embracing of lies for ones foundation for life.  Lies get you nowhere and thus opposition to God will find you at the short end of the short stick and doomed for certain.

Even the children of Israel, which is a reference to the people of the northern kingdom, are condemned because they oppose God and Gods plan.  Calling yourself something spiritual is certainly not enough to make you spiritual.  Phony is as phony does, and those people represent all believers who claim God, claim to know God, but in fact reject Gods plan in favor of doing things their own way.

The bible makes it very clear that right things done in the wrong way, are wrong.

Wrong things done in the right way, are wrong.

Wrong things done in the wrong way are certainly wrong.

Only when right things are done in the right way, are they right.

Gods plan, Gods mandates, Gods defined process, Gods defined procedures are all the right things, ant they must be done as Gods specifies in order to be of spiritual benefit.

Doing things your own way, are a huge waste of time.  Presuming your way is also Gods way, is a fools assumption.

In order to know what is right, and how to do it right, must be learned, lest you follow in the path of Ephraim, Damascus and Syria, and end up in failure and a wasted life.

Isaiah 17:2

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Isaiah 17:2ues

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

2 The cities [`iyr] of Aroer [`Arow`er] are forsaken [`azab]: they shall be for flocks [`eder], which shall lie down [rabats], and none shall make them afraid [charad].  KJV-Interlinear

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.  NASB

The cities of Aroer are not specifically identified, but the word, Aroer, means ‘forever’ and that is significant here, in that the region will be deserted of evil people, forever.  Where once they presumably were thriving cities as was Damascus, and since they are associated with Damascus in this prophecy of doom, then we can reasonably conclude that they were an anti-God and anti-truth society.

Where there are some who look to God, there is always a remnant remaining.  But here there is no one.

Cities have homes and businesses and streets and people and traffic and such.  But here the cities have no activity.  They are empty of people and empty of human activity.

Only the animals who are not burdened by the issues of humanity, are grazing and laying in rest with not so much as a care in the world.

And that is the contrast.

Flocks, ‘eder,’ does not refer to domestic animals per se, but it refers to groups of animals, or arrangements of animals of a similar type.

The community of people has been replaced with the community of animals with many types arranged by their respective species.  Kind of like if you were on a safari and saw many kinds of animals, each group arranged together with their own kind.

And that is the destiny of evil.  To be wiped out, to leave behind no evidence of its existence, and to be replaced with animals, who are not as smart as people, and yet the animals remain and the people are gone.

Our principle to learn from this is of course to not pursue the things of this world, to not ignore our obligations to God, and to get with a daily study program so that we can grow up spiritually and not be a part of the failure that the rest of the world is pursuing with greater and greater tenacity, only to fail miserably.

Isaiah 17:1

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Isaiah 17:1ues

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

1 The burden [massa'] of Damascus [Dammeseq]. Behold, Damascus [Dammeseq] is taken away [cuwr] from being a city [`iyr], and it shall be a ruinous [mappalah] heap [ma`iy].  KJV-Interlinear

1 The oracle concerning Damascus. "Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city, And it will become a fallen ruin.  NASB

In Damascus were 365 streets dedicated to idols, such that a different idol was worshipped every day and thus throughout the entire year.  Throughout its history, Damascus has been destroyed more often than any other city, and yet it continues to rise again and again, but continues in its evil habits, always and continually rejecting God in favor of its false gods.

Its commitment to evil has been continually confirmed, and thus its destruction is continually justified.

And just as evil is destroyed over and over again throughout history and continues to raise its head again and again, so too, this city as well as evil on the whole, will have its final day of judgment and finality, from which it will never rise up again.

The phrase, it will be removed from being a city, simply means that it will lose its identity.  It will lose its reputation.  It will lose its glory.  It will cease to exist completely.

It will become a heap for ruin.  This means that it will become a trash pile, good only for the dumping of garbage, for it has become and will become and is throughout history, nothing more than garbage.

Once a city that sought an identify of prosperity and wealth, it will end up with an identity of garbage, which is worse than poverty.