Isaiah 17: 10 and 11

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.
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.

Only two verses today? Yes, only two verses from Isaiah 17, but they have such deep roots--can't stay away from the pun--that they're worth exploring in depth. Plus, the Bible is full of gardening metaphors, and Isaiah has a strong one going. But, before we delve into that, he gets us to the crux of the matter and the whole chapter:

"For you have forgotten the God of your salvation
And have not remembered the rock of your refuge."

--vs. 10

Isaiah might have slipped an "O, Israel" in there after the 'you', or an "O, Jacob" or an "O, Jeshurun." It is no wonder Deuteronomy 32 appears in the cross-references. How about an "O, that My People would remember the song of My servant, Moses"?

"'But Jeshurun [Israel] grew fat and kicked—
You are grown fat, thick, and sleek—
Then he forsook God who made him,
And scorned the Rock of his salvation.
They made Him jealous with strange gods;
With abominations they provoked Him to anger.
They sacrificed to demons who were not God,
To gods whom they have not known,
New gods who came lately,
Whom your fathers did not dread.
You neglected the Rock who begot you,
And forgot the God who gave you birth....'"

--Deuteronomy 32: 15-18

The prophesy that Isaiah was laying down was one that Israel had already seen fulfilled in its history, and would now see again. "'The Rock! His work is perfect...," Moses' song sings in verse 4, yet the people had given themselves over to using rock for making altars and carving rock to making other gods. The God who was mighty to save them from their slavery in Egypt, who granted them the Law, and extended His grace time and again, was exhausted from their bodies, not exalted from their hearts.

 

"I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised
So shall I be saved from my enemies.

The Lord liveth and blessed be the Rock
And let the God of my salvation be exalted...."

--Lyrics from "I Will Call Upon the Lord" by Petra

No, they would not be protected from their enemies, save but a remnant. For though the Lord liveth, He demandeth obedience. He needed to show His people, again, that He and He alone was the Lord, the God of Israel:

"'How could one chase a thousand,
And two put ten thousand to flight,
Unless their Rock had sold them,
And the Lord had given them up?....'"

--Deuteronomy 32:30

Therefore, because of their state of perpetual, purposeful forgetfulness, the people go their own way and "plant delightful plants." (Isaiah 17: 10) On the surface, besides, seemingly, being a non sequitur, planting plants doesn't sound like sinful behavior. Make sure you read the full sentence--"...and set them with vine slips of a strange god."

'Vine slips' refers to taking a cutting from a plant in order to cause it to grow roots, thus making a new plant. (See picture above) Again, in and of itself, not a bad thing. (Some basil cuttings you buy from the farmstand or nursery will sprout easily in a kitchen window.) But the visual Isaiah creates is one that puts such slips with those from "a strange god." There is the God that Israel calls 'Lord, Lord' and the one (or more) that Israel serves as lord. The two will not grow together in the same pot.

In a side note, the Encyclopedia of the Bible suggests that the plants mentioned here may refer to Adonis gardens. Adonis was the "Syrian deity of vegetation which wilts under the hot summer sun." Apparently, people would plant herbs in special gardens in honor of Adonis, only to see them wilt and die in the summer. Adonis, being a fertility god, would go through a symbolic death. His wife, the goddess Ishtar, would restore him each spring, thus renewing the cycle of life.

Regardless of which plants or which gods, that Israel took such great pains to care for its "plants"--with its fencing them in and forcing of their roots and seeds to flourish (vs. 11)--demonstrated that its interests were not with the Creator who made the plants in the first place. Jesus makes this abundantly clear in His presentation of how vines grow successfully:

"'I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing....'"

--John 15: 1-5

In this regard, a "branch" in the presence of another "vine" would also bear nothing. Isaiah brings today's passage to a close with the same thought: "...the harvest will be a heap...." (vs. 11)

"You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped injustice,
You have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your way, in your numerous warriors,
Therefore a tumult will arise among your people,
And all your fortresses will be destroyed...."

--Hosea 10: 13 and 14a

There is nothing that feels quite as bad as continuing to make the same mistake over and over and over again. The pain is exquisite. Yet, even with Isaiah giving warning and the servant of His people having already given them a life song to sing and remember their history by, Israel will reap a heap.

  

"'For they are a nation lacking in counsel,
And there is no understanding in them.
Would that they were wise, that they understood this,
That they would discern their future!....'"

--Deuteronomy 32: 28 and 29

Finishing up Chapter 17. ...'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: www.whatabloom.com

* * *

Next week:  Isaiah 17: 12-14
 
Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).

Isaiah 17: 7-9

⁷ In that day man will have regard for his Maker
And his eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel.
⁸ 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.
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.

In the day when God's people will be carried off into captivity, then they will turn back to Him. Whether a captive or a member of the escaped remnant, Isaiah says that eyes "will look to the Holy One of Israel" and "have regard for his Maker." (vs. 7)

 

Isaiah has already described the time of judgment to come (and he has more to say on that in the next couple of weeks). There is "desolation" (vs. 9) coming to the land. Few--two or three olives on the top bough of an olive tree, if you remember last week's metaphor--will escape from the hand of the Assyrians; most will be taken away. Whatever blinders covered the eyes of the people will be removed, and they shall see clearly that their need for God is great.

 

"These few that are preserved are such as, in the prospect of the judgment approaching, had repented of their sins and reformed their lives, and therefore were snatched thus as brands out of the burning, or such as having escaped, and becoming refugees in strange countries, were awakened, partly by a sense of the distinguishing mercy of their deliverance, and partly by the distresses they were still in, to return to God."

--Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible

 

In returning to God, one sees not only His greatness, but his or her own weakness and falling away. It shall also be with Israel. Part of the process of returning was repentance, which meant addressing the sin which caused the distancing from the Holy One in the first place. For Israel, idolatry led to a multitude of sins.

"Their land has also been filled with idols;
They worship the work of their hands,
That which their fingers have made."

--Isaiah 2:8

 

But, no longer. Isaiah uses this same phrasing in verse 8--with a big 'not', now--to show the change that will come in His time. It is, perhaps, a good place to remind ourselves that God was truly unhappy with the behavior of His people, but His discipline came out of love and to effect a change for the better. A change back to the original ways of the Covenant, when God first called His people 'My people'.

 

"Come, let us return to the Lord.
For He has torn us, but He will heal us;
He has wounded us, but He will bandage us."

--Hosea 3:5, the response to God's rebuke (Hosea and Isaiah served a parallel time in ministry, the first to Israel and the second to Judah--the coinciding of their message themes is most definitely not an accident.)

 

 

Back to verse 8, Asherah was a Canaanite fertility goddess, symbolized by sacred groves and poles. (Reformation Study Bible) Even though the Canaanites were no longer in the Promised Land, their idols still maintained a presence. [The power and allure of sin in a nutshell!] But now Isaiah speaks of a time in which the Asherim poles, incense stands, or other items of idol worship would not draw the people's affections, focus, or time in craftsmanship. Indeed, when facing a similar idol-worship conflict, Judah experienced a fulfillment of this prophecy during the time of King Josiah:

"...he also tore down the altars and beat the Asherim and the carved images into powder, and chopped down all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem."

--II Chronicles 34:7

 

Verse 9, also "in that day," "...man's strong cities will be like the deserted places of the Amorites and the Hivites which they abandoned." This is from the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament. The cities of Syria and Israel would face total destruction by Assyria. The pictures Isaiah has painted for us show a vacant landscape. Why did the Septuagint mention the Amorites and the Hivites? The NASB text says, "...which they abandoned before the sons of Israel." The Amorites and the Hivites were before the sons of Israel arrived.

 

I alluded to this part of Scripture just a bit ago when talking about God's naming of His people. In Exodus 34, we read of God's grace in His preparation of second tablets of the Ten Commandments, after the first broke in Moses' response to the golden calf incident. Not only does God make new tablets, but He renews His Covenant with His people--they get another chance, the first of "seventy times seven." (Matthew 18:22) Look what God says to them:

 

"'Be sure to observe what I am commanding you this day: behold, I am going to drive out the Amorite before you, and the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Watch yourself that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst. But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim—for you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God...."

--Exodus 34: 11-14 (italics mine)

 

The Amorites and Hivites were among those who lived in the land of Canaan prior to its providential takeover by God's people, Israel. Take note, too, of the warnings of God about the influence of these nations. Don't worship other gods. "...Cut down their Asherim...." Make no covenants with other nations. Isaiah says to Syria and to Israel, you have not listened to the Lord and His Word. As those who had occupied the land before them had to flee from invasion, so shall they, at the hand of the "Jealous" One.

"They shall be as the cities (so it may be supplied) which the Canaanites left, the old inhabitants of the land, because of the children of Israel, when God brought them in with a high hand, to take possession of that good land, cities which they built not. As the Canaanites then fled before Israel, so Israel should now flee before the Assyrians. And herein the word of God was fulfilled, that, if they committed the same abominations, the land should spue them out, as it spued out the nations that were before them (Lev. 18:28)...."

--Matthew Henry 

 

  

 

 When one plants "delightful plants...." ...'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: www.ancientdigger.com

* * *

Next week:  Isaiah 17: 10 and 11
 
Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).

Isaiah 17: 4-6

⁴ Now in that day the glory of Jacob will fade,
And the fatness of his flesh will become lean.
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.
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.

Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves,
Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

--"Bringing in the Sheaves," lyrics by Knowles Shaw

Rarely do I read a text with 'harvest' in it that this hymn does not come to mind. (It's one of my dad's favorites, too.) We have been enjoying a wonderful bounty of summer vegetables this year, and the beginning of fall is the time to bring in the last of the harvest, "ere the winter storms begin" to quote another seasonal hymn. The harvest is to be a time for rejoicing. A time of thanksgiving. A time to celebrate God's provision and His goodness.

For Syria and Israel in this prophecy of Isaiah, Chapter 17, this harvest would be one to remember, yet not to be celebrated. Last week, we read about God's Glory waning from Israel. Today, Isaiah picks up with more of the same, as "the glory of Jacob will fade" (vs. 4)--Jacob being another name for Israel. What was once "fat," basically, the largeness of the 10 Northern tribes, will become "lean." Assyria will cause the fall of the nations, taking its people off--once again--into captivity.

Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows,
Fearing neither clouds nor winter’s chilling breeze;
By and by the harvest, and the labor ended,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Israel had The Glory over itself for years and years, not fearing its circumstances. But they sowed in places they shouldn't have planted seeds by worshiping false gods, and placing their reliance on and pledging their allegiance to foreign nations that did not worship God. Now, they would know the full impact of having their "hedge of protection" removed, and Assyria would come rejoicing, bringing in the slaves.

In verse 5, Isaiah provides rich detail of a harvest picture. The harvester or husbandman cuts down and carries the last of the grain, and gleans the last kernels from the ears of corn in the field. Not just any field, but the lush growing landscape that is the valley of Rephaim, west of Jerusalem. Of all the harvest joints, near all the towns, in all the world, Isaiah walks us into the valley of Rephaim (as if Casablanca's Rick Blaine were reminiscing.) When David was made king over Israel, his nation was at war with his/its life-long nemesis, the Philistines. Twice, at Rephaim, God led the nation's mightiest warrior/king to victory. It would seem not a coincidence to me that Isaiah would use this very place in reference to another mighty victory by a king--only with a drastically different outcome.

"Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, 'First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.'"

--Matthew 13:30

 

There would be both "tares" and "wheat" in the Assyrian conflict, though not "fat" wheat, if you will, and the "barn" is not one of security. "...Gleanings will be left in it," says verse 6, as we are told that there will be a remnant. It will be a "lean" remnant. Isaiah describes it as one who harvests an olive tree (see above). They are shaken, so the olives fall from the branches of the tree. What remains can be counted on the fingers of one's hand. As the Word of God would pronounce it, what remains on the olive tree after harvesting, "...shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow." (Deuteronomy 24:20) Indeed, this was the remainder.

 

"The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord drives you. There you will serve gods, the work of man’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell."

--Deuteronomy 4: 27 and 28 

As we also know, this is not the end of the story of Israel.

"But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the Lord your God and listen to His voice. For the Lord your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them."

--Deuteronomy 4: 29-31

 

Going forth with weeping, sowing for the Master,
Though the loss sustained our spirit often grieves;
When our weeping’s over, He will bid us welcome,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Picking up on God's prophecy for Israel in Deuteronomy 4:31. ...'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: emp.byui.edu

* * *

Next week:  Isaiah 17: 7-9
 
Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).

Isaiah 17: 1-3

Prophecy about Damascus

¹ The oracle concerning Damascus.

“Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city
And will become a fallen ruin.
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.
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.

From Moab, Isaiah steers his prophecy making northward to Damascus, which was (and is) the capital of Aram--or, today, Syria. "Its location NE of Mt. Hermon on the main land route between Mesopotamia and Egypt made it very influential," according to my study Bible. Of course, this week, Syria is the epicenter of world events.

In reviewing the cross-references for our verses this week, I was pleased to have a history refresher and a re-visit to earlier chapters in Isaiah. [In a very long book such as this, a periodic review is helpful in remembering what you have already (supposedly) covered!] This history helps to set up this chapter. 

Since Isaiah's calling to be a prophet, Judah's kings had had to deal with the brewing situation of a power alliance between Syria and northern neighbor Israel. Both nations had banded together with the hope of thwarting takeover threats by Assyria. The countries believed that having Judah on board with them would secure victory. Problem was that Judah's kings would not play ball. So, the two-nation alliance threatened to invade Judah to forcibly bring about their own triune. Recall King Ahaz--King Panic and not one to follow Godly counsel--who disregarded Isaiah's prophecy:

"...Thus says the Lord God: 'It shall not stand nor shall it come to pass. For the head of Aram is Damascus and the head of Damascus is Rezin (now within another 65 years Ephraim will be shattered, so that it is no longer a people)....'"

--Isaiah 7: 7 and 8 

Rather than listen to God, Ahaz did his own force play, aligning Judah with Assyria.

 

Isaiah steps in now, during King Hezekiah's reign, saying that "Damascus is about to be removed from being a city...." (vs. 1) Even before the prophet forthtold its demise, Amos, the sheep-herder prophet to Israel, had already prophesied its fall:

"Thus says the Lord, 

'For three transgressions of Damascus and for four
I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they threshed Gilead with implements of sharp iron.
'So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael
And it will consume the citadels of Ben-hadad.
'I will also break the gate bar of Damascus,
And cut off the inhabitant from the valley of Aven,
And him who holds the scepter, from Beth-eden;
So the people of Aram will go exiled to Kir,'
Says the Lord."

--Amos 1: 3-5

  

The word had been pronounced; it was just a matter of timing. Isaiah's bringing the same word, again, should have alerted people that the time was yet nearer. Damascus would not just face destruction, but would become "a fallen ruin." (The King James' Version uses "ruinous heap.")

In verse 2, not only Damascus will suffer, but also the cities of the areas of Aroer would be "forsaken." 

 

Aroer was the area on Syria's southernmost border, on the Arnon River--just north of Moab's northernmost border. (You can see Jazer and Elealah on the map.) So, we have an appreciation through the text that Isaiah is referring to the larger physical boundaries of Syria and not just the heart of these cities. At one time, Aroer was under possession of Gad, one of the tribes of Israel, who moved into the area seeking to establish a place to raise  families--especially  children--and livestock, of which they were rich in number. (Numbers 32)

 

Given why Gad sought to stay put in the region sheds light on the rest of verse 2: "They will be for flocks to lie down in, and there will be no one to frighten them." The pastoral land of Aroer will continue to host livestock, only there will be no people, or reason to flee--as all will be gone.

 

Damascus will lose its "sovereignty" among other nations (vs. 3), meaning that any power it once held would be taken. We've already read that Rezin's kingly term came with a terminal limit. Damascus held the reigns in instigating the alliance with Israel, for which it would face God's wrath and judgment. If there were any inkling of a thought that Ephraim's (Israel's) "friend of God" status would keep Damascus' toll to a minimum, Isaiah says no way: These cities will be "like the glory of the sons of Israel." (vs. 3)

 

On the surface, you would think that was a good thing. Of course, at one time, it was the best thing! Israel had had a reputation. Israel had a history. Israel had The Glory! But Israel's sin--worshiping idols and the lack of full reliance on God--tarnished the picture of His Glory resting upon His people. Long gone, and it would also seem long forgotten, were the days when the physical presence of the Glory of God (Shekinah) was with His people. As we said in last week's post about the mighty days of Moab, the glory was fading, and judgment was coming--for Israel and for Syria.

"'The remnant of Syria shall be as the glory of the children of Israel; those few that remain of the Syrians shall be in as mean and despicable a condition as the children of Israel are, and the glory of Israel shall be no relief or reputation to them.' Sinful confederacies will be no strength, no stay, to the confederates, when God’s judgments come upon them."

--Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible

 


As with Moab, a similarly sized remnant will be found in Syria, also. ...'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: twilark.wordpress.com, http://bibleatlas.org/regional/aroer_2.htm

* * *

Next week:  Isaiah 17: 4-6
 
Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).

Isaiah 14: 1-4

Israel’s Taunt

¹When the Lord will have compassion on Jacob and again choose Israel, 

and settle them in their own land, then strangers will join them 

and attach themselves to the house of Jacob.

² The peoples will take them along and bring them to their place, 

and the house of Israel will possess them as an inheritance 

in the land of the Lord as male servants and female servants; 

and they will take their captors captive and will rule over their oppressors.

³ And it will be in the day when the Lord gives you rest from your pain and turmoil 
and harsh service in which you have been enslaved,
⁴ that you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon, and say,

“How the oppressor has ceased,
And how fury has ceased!...."

With judgment pronounced upon Babylon, Isaiah moves, in Chapter 14, to a picture of Israel at the end times, post-Babylon's destruction. Mind you, there is a flavor of post-exilic, return-to-Jerusalem times here, too, as other commentaries suggest. Since Isaiah didn't report exact years, and prophecies can have more than one application and fulfillment, we have to leave open the possibility that some verses may apply to more than one time. As a whole, though, I agree with John MacArthur and crew that our verses today speak more of the end times. Just something to keep in mind. Please comment and discuss as you feel led....

My study Bible uses "Israel's Taunt" as the Chapter title, with 'taunt' also translated as 'proverb.' (vs. 4) A proverb of 16 verses is not what we might think of as a proverb, given the style of sayings in the Book of Proverbs. But, given the Hebrew definition of a proverb--"properly a pithy maxim, usually of a metaphorical nature; hence a simile (as an adage, poem, discourse)" [Strong's]--it would appear that Isaiah penned prophecy that would later become fulfilled and used as a taunt-song in the end times. At that time, no interpretation will be necessary.

Verse 1 does establish a time in that this occurs when God "has compassion" and "chooses" Israel (Jacob). Let's be clear that Israel has always been God's chosen people. However, over the course of the history of that covenant, God has shown favor but He has also withdrawn His favor in the form of tough love. Recall that the Apostle Paul ministered mostly to Gentiles, but his heart was for his own people, the Jews, to obtain salvation through Jesus Christ. They had not recognized God's compassion in sending the Messiah. In Chapters 9 through 11 of Romans, Paul answers the question of why Israel sees Christ as a stumbling block in their salvation:

"What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; just as it is written,

'God gave them a spirit of stupor,
Eyes to see not and ears to hear not,
Down to this very day.'"

--Romans 11:7-8

God had not abandoned Israel, but He often put His people in a position of not knowing His compassion and mercy; He gave them hardened hearts. As the verse in Romans says, "down to this very day." It's still true! But, God's covenant with His people is still intact, and these days will not always exist. Thus, verse 1, the time had come around again for God to show His compassion and providence over Israel. And it will come around once and for all for Israel at the end times.

Verse 1 also brings up "strangers" who will join Israel in Jerusalem. Who are they? If you look at this as a near-fulfillment prophecy, this would suggest displaced Babylonians who would return with the Israelites to Jerusalem after the Medo-Persian takeover. In a more far-reaching view, "strangers" could refer to those who come to faith in Christ during the time of the Tribulation. New Jewish believers, as Revelation 11:13 tells us, will arise amidst the "fury." (Isa. 14:4)

 

"...But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one...."

--Ephesians 2:13-14a (spoken to the Gentiles, but applies to lost Jews, too)

Let's look at verse 2 from the Holman Christian Standard Bible:

 

"The nations will escort Israel and bring it to its homeland. Then the house of Israel will possess them as male and female slaves in the Lord’s land. They will make captives of their captors and will rule over their oppressors."

Getting into verse 2 really illustrates to me that this is Israel in the last days. God will have paved the roads for His people. Recall Isaiah 11:16, "...A highway from Assyria for the remnant left of His people...." God's people are coming home! Those that had held them captive will now be their captors, and Christ and His people will rule. How's that for a turnaround of events?! The "them" in the passage refers back to the "strangers." If it seems odd that Israel would make their fellow newly converted Jews "slaves," then we need to look at that from a different perspective:

"These proselytes should not only be a credit to their cause, but very helpful and serviceable to them in their return home: The people among whom they live shall take them, take care of them, take pity on them, and shall bring them to their place—as friends, loth to part with such good company—as servants, willing to do them all the good offices they could.... Those whose lot is cast in the land of the Lord, a land of light, should take care that their servants and handmaids may share in the benefit of it, who will then find it better to be possessed in the Lord’s land than possessors in any other."

--Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible (emphasis mine)

Verse 3 gives us another time reference: "And it will be in the day when the Lord gives you rest...." Even in their release from Babylon, the Israelites did not escape physical slavery completely nor would they know complete spiritual freedom. But when they do, the taunt-song will be sung against Babylon (much like singing Justin Bieber annoys certain siblings in this house!). 

The last part of verse 4 actually begins the song: "How the oppressor has ceased,and how fury has ceased!" The King James Version uses "the golden city ceased" instead of 'fury,' which would certainly relate to Babylon. The note in my study Bible says, "Amended from the meaningless medhebah to marhebah." In Hebrew, 'marhebah' means boisterous, raging behavior (from which would come 'fury'. Remember, in Isaiah 13:13, we looked at 'fury' to mean unrelenting, passionate violence). In the NIV The New American Commentary by Gary V. Smith, he explains that 'medhebah' could come from an Aramaic form of 'gold' or might refer to a tribute, again, the "golden city." However you translate it, the result is the same: Peace, peace, peace and reconciliation for God's people!

 

More singing from Israel as the taunt-song continues.... 'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: www.eburke.org

* * *

Next week: Isaiah 14: 5-9
 
Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).