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

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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 9: 8-12

God’s Anger with Israel’s Arrogance

⁸ The Lord sends a message against Jacob,
And it falls on Israel.
⁹ And all the people know it,
That is, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,
Asserting in pride and in arrogance of heart:
¹⁰ “The bricks have fallen down,
But we will rebuild with smooth stones;
The sycamores have been cut down,
But we will replace them with cedars.”
¹¹ Therefore the Lord raises against them adversaries from Rezin
And spurs their enemies on,
¹² The Arameans on the east and the Philistines on the west;
And they devour Israel with gaping jaws.

In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
And His hand is still stretched out.

There are many times when I appreciate the subheads contained within chapters of Scripture. As with other forms of documentation, subheads break up large amounts of text. They make it easier to read, to know what is contained within a section and to help remember where certain passages are. But, the original text of the Bible was not written with these subheads, and, sometimes, the editors'/translators' choices are curious.

My study Bible explains that Isaiah 9:8 begins a poem, which runs several stanzas through 10:4--which is after a new chapter subhead while 10:5 does not contain a new subhead. You might think a poem would stand on its own. But, I'm not a Biblical scholar/editor/translator. Just so you know what you're reading!

You will recognize the refrain of the poem, which is found in verse 12, and will be repeated throughout the poem. We first read it as part of Isaiah 5:25--

"On this account the anger of the Lord has burned against His people,
And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them down. 
And the mountains quaked, and their corpses lay like refuse in the middle of the streets.
For all this His anger is not spent,
But His hand is still stretched out."

^{--Isaiah 5:25 (italics mine)}

^{The Lord's discipline is still to be completed.}

^{Back to the top, verse 8, "the Lord sends a message against Jacob...." We know that Jacob was the father of sons representing the original 12 tribes of Israel. God changed Jacob's name to Israel ("...For you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed."--Genesis 32:28b) after Jacob wrestled with Him. The second part of verse 8 further clarifies: "It falls on Israel," meaning the Northern Kingdom, the 10 tribes (as opposed to Judah, the Southern Kingdom). To make that even more specific, in verse 9, Isaiah uses 'Ephraim' for the nation of Israel and those of its capital city, "Samaria."}

^{What was the word sent forth? Prophets and others had told the nation of its "pride and arrogance of heart." As we learned from studying Amos and Hosea--prophets to Israel--the nation had a massive struggle with its self-sufficient nature. It had worked itself up to a stage of not finding a need for God, all the while building up its city walls and fortresses, and giving itself every good pleasure for living. Besides 'haughtiness' and 'highhandedness,' it seems appropriate to find 'lordiness' listed as synonymns for 'arrogance.' [Dictionary.com] Israel was lord of itself, despite the words of Truth handed down through its messengers. Striving took on a whole new emphasis.}

"Boast no more so very proudly,

Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth;

For the Lord is a God of knowledge,

And with Him actions are weighed."

--I Samuel 2:3 (from Hannah's "Song of Thanksgiving")

^{The actions of people are weighed before God, and God's actions should be weighty matters when they fall upon His people! "All the people will know it," returning to verse 9. If they hadn't learned through the words of God's messengers, God would demonstrate His point through His actions.}

^{"Those are ripening apace for ruin whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences; for God will walk contrary to those who thus walk contrary to him and provoke him to jealousy, as if they were stronger than he."}

^{--Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible}

^{Verse 10 is a response by Israel to what God has been trying to tell them about their heart. "If there is trouble to come, Lord, no problem. We can handle it. If the nations tear down our homes, we'll rebuild, and rebuild even better than before! We'll use 'smooth' or 'hewn' (King James Version) stones and long-lasting, sturdy cedar instead of the fickle sycamore. It's OK, Lord. Thanks, anyway. We got this!"} Again, Israel's take-charge ways would get the best of them.

^{In verse 11, God tells how. He plans to send in forces which are Rezin's (king of Syria) adversaries. That would be the Assyrians. The Syrians or "Arameans" would also be involved, as would the Philistines who carried a long battle history. God was raising up forces all around. Where's your mighty fortress now?}

^{"Did we in our own strength confide,}

^{our striving would be losing,}

^{were not the right man on our side,}

^{the man of God's own choosing...."}

^{--from A Mighty Fortress is Our God (lyrics by Martin Luther)}

 

^{"Therefore, they will now go into exile at the head of the exiles,
And the sprawlers’ banqueting will pass away.}

The Lord God has sworn by Himself, the Lord God of hosts has declared: 

'I loathe the arrogance of Jacob,
And detest his citadels;
Therefore I will deliver up the city and all it contains.'"

--Amos 6: 7 and 8 

The poem continues.... 'Til next Wednesday. (And thanks for your patience in waiting a day, as I had seasonal service opportunities not to be missed yesterday!).... 

Photo: www.keyway.ca

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Next week: Isaiah 9: 13-17

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).