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

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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 12: 1-3

Thanksgiving Expressed

¹ Then you will say on that day,
“I will give thanks to You, O Lord;
For although You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away,
And You comfort me.
² “Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
For the Lord God is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.”
³ Therefore you will joyously draw water
From the springs of salvation.

For all of the changes I have made in the blog schedule since we started Isaiah, I have to say that I'm thrilled to have two blogs of Thanksgiving wrapped around Easter Week! Not something I could have planned, I'm tellin' ya....

Isaiah Chapter 12 is a response of thanksgiving to God's restoring the remnant of Israel into His people, gathering them from the "four corners of the Earth" (11:12), across the "highway" (11:16) He created from the land and water to Zion. "Then you will say on that day, 'I will give thanks to You, O Lord....'" (12:1) For thousands of years, God's chosen people have been, once again, wandering in a wilderness. Separated and scattered across the nations. Ruled over by opposing factions. Unable to return home. Not that He had ever left them completely, nor would His promises to them ever be reneged. But, He was angry.

"For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning."

--Psalm 30: 5

Now, in that time of perfect peace, God's anger is "turned away" and He comforts His own. In his commentary, Matthew Henry notes, "even the turning away of his anger is a comfort to them." Think about that. We are quick to see the restoration of blessings as a sign of God's comfort. When we turn away from our sins--those things that make God angry with us--are we comforted by the simple, amazing truth that God's anger toward us is turned away? His favor is for a lifetime, and He waits patiently for us to turn toward Him in all things.

Such is the case with His people, Israel. Who has delivered them as He promised? God! More specifically, in verse 2, the "Lord God," or in the King James Version, "Lord Jehovah," meaning Israel's God. 

"God, furthermore, said to Moses, 'Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, "The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you." This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.'"

--Exodus 3:15

The God who delivered them out of Egypt is the one and the same who delivers them into eternity. There is no more fear as to who is in control of their lives. He has again become their "strength and song." If that phrase sounds familiar, it directly echoes the song of thanksgiving from Moses and the Israelites following the redemption of their lives from the slavery of Pharaoh and the destruction of his armies in the Red Sea.

"'The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
This is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father’s God, and I will extol Him.'"

--Exodus 15:2

Though the Lord was their strength in that victorious moment and the song of their lives, it wouldn't be long before those same Israelites would lose that melody and wallow in their own ways and desires. This would be--and is--the circuitous pattern taken by sinful man. Even when we acknowledge the Source of salvation, we do not turn to Him. So, it's no wonder that God is confused, frustrated and angered. 

What a perspective God gave the Apostle Paul! Jewish to his Pharisaical core, Paul received the mission to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the Gentiles. Yet, he passionately tried to reach his brethren throughout his ministry. No doubt, he probably continues to pray from the heavenly realms for true salvation to come to the Israelites. "...My heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.... For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness of everyone who believes." (Romans 10: 1 and 4)

This is what the world needs to understand about salvation. It's not just deliverance out of bondage, or deliverance from enemies or persecution, or deliverance from the Law or deliverance from ________. The salvation of God is a saving TO! A saving to God Himself, forever. Salvation, as Paul said, is available today for everyone who believes in Jesus Christ! This is the Easter message: Christ died that we might be delivered to eternal life, united with our God, forever. What all of Israel and the rest of the world will not understand until the Day, God continues to make known through his disciples today:

"'Who is like You among the gods, O Lord?
Who is like You, majestic in holiness,
Awesome in praises, working wonders?....
In Your lovingkindness You have led the people whom You have redeemed;
In Your strength You have guided them to Your holy habitation....'"

--Exodus 15: 11 and 13 

 

As God's people recognize their Savior, they will "joyously draw water from the springs of salvation." (vs 3) Knowing with full trust and reverent fear that Israel's God has saved them would certainly elicit joyful praise. It is the ultimate homecoming, after all. How much more sweet to know those springs of salvation now, that we might draw from the living water of our Savior in those times we we fear losing our strength and our song?

"Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 'If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, "From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water."'"

--John 7: 37 and 38

"Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia! 
 Following our exalted Head, Alleluia! 
 Made like him, like him we rise, Alleluia! 
 Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

 King of glory, soul of bliss, Alleluia! 
 Everlasting life is this, Alleluia! 
 Thee to know, thy power to prove, Alleluia! 
 Thus to sing, and thus to love, Alleluia!"

--Christ the Lord is Risen Today, lyrics by Charles Wesley  

The inhabitants of Zion shout for joy.... 'Til next Wednesday!



Photo: www.fanpop.com

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Next week: Isaiah 12: 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).