Isaiah 17: 12-14

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!
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.
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.

As much as Isaiah Chapter 17 has addressed the alliance of Syria and Israel, and their impending punishment and destruction at the hands of Assyria, we must not forget that Isaiah is always delivering his words to Judah. As the chapter concludes today, we can see a shift in the prophet's emphasis as he provides some words of assurance to the nation amidst the growing power threats around it.

Again, let's review some history. Referencing II Kings 18 and 19, we recall Judah's King Hezekiah needing to confront the danger that was King Sennacherib of Assyria and his mighty army. Several cities in Judah had already fallen--not to mention, in the years preceding, Syria and Israel--to the superpower, and Jerusalem was threatened next. This is the "roar" and the "rumbling" of Assyria that Isaiah speaks of in this prophecy, years before its taking place.

 

"Alas," or "Woe," in the King James Version, "the uproar...." The Reformation Study Bible says that, "In ancient Near Eastern myths the sea represents chaos and death." The Assyrian army was seen as a huge tidal wave of terror, roaring, as the "mighty waters" do, and covering the land in an attempt to reestablish a new and deeper shoreline. The Assyrian army stands at the wall of Jerusalem, waiting to speak to Hezekiah, with the deafening sounds of its victories reverberating.

"The cords of death encompassed me,
And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me."

--Psalm 18:14

What Assyria would have seen as a strength--the incredible numbers in its army; the amassing of territory for its empire; the sheer power of its forces; its reputation--is marked as merely a loud racket to be silenced by God. Look how many times either 'roar' or 'rumbling' is used in verses 12 and 13! Assyria talks big. Talks loud. Bully! Then, we hit the middle of verse 13: "BUT...." (caps mine)

"...But woe to them (Isa. 17:12), for he shall rebuke them, that is, God shall, one whom they little think of, have no regard to, stand in no awe of; he shall give them a check with an invisible hand, and then they shall flee afar off. Sennacherib, and Rabshakeh [cupbearer to Sennacherib], and the remains of their forces, shall run away in a fright...."

--Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (brackets mine)

There is so much history covered through prophecy in Chapter 17. I am sure, if I were from Jerusalem, listening to Isaiah, that I would have left his speech with more questioning of events than understanding the encouragement that would be there for me down the road. Syria and Israel and big chunks of Judah would be gone in the near future. The threat would literally stand at the wall of my city. But, God's rebuke would send the enemy afloat in the wind. Over the course of this chapter, we have seen multiple references to the harvest, what remains after the whirlwind of destruction that Assyria brings. How fitting for Isaiah to then call the harvester 'chaff', which is "the refuse of winnowed corn." (Easton's Bible Dictionary)

In verse 14 lies the prophecy that we see fulfilled in II Kings 19, with Hezekiah hearing further word from God through Isaiah and praying for His intervention on behalf of Jerusalem: "At evening time, behold, there is terror! Before morning they are no more." That's the way it went down!

"Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, 'He will not come to this city or shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield or throw up a siege ramp against it. By the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he shall not come to this city,' declares the Lord. 'For I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.'"

Then it happened that night that the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead."

--II Kings 19: 32-35

"Such will be the portion of those who plunder us
And the lot of those who pillage us."

--Verse 14b

Capturing the spoil was a huge part of what plundering the enemy was all about. For the Assyrians, adding Jerusalem to its empire would have meant adding a very fine jewel to an already massive portion. But Assyria's lot was not under their own control, contrary to their own belief. God was not their portion, and He had a different destiny in mind. For Judah, knowing that the Lord was their portion should have spoken abundantly to them, especially given the pillaging around them. For the time being, under God's provision and King Hezekiah's obedience to the Lord, Jerusalem would be saved.

The wind blows at His command--to sweep away the enemies of His people in a mighty gale or to bend His people's boughs to know His presence, love, mercy and grace. Can't help but bring forth these lyrics in closing our text, here. When we know we are His portion, we see jealousy in a whole new way.

 

"He is jealous for me, loves like a hurricane. 
I am the tree, bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy....

And we are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking."

--lyrics from "How He Loves," by John Mark McMillan

"Message to Ethiopia," We begin Chapter 18. ...'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: www.uvm.edu

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Next week:  Isaiah 18:1-3
 
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 11: 14-16

¹⁴ But [with united forces Ephraim and Judah] will swoop down 

upon the shoulders of the Philistines’ [land sloping] toward the west; 

together they will strip the people on the east [the Arabs]. 

They will lay their hands upon Edom and Moab, 

and the Ammonites will obey them.

¹⁵ And the Lord will utterly destroy (doom and dry up) 

the tongue of the Egyptian sea [the west fork of the Red Sea]; 

and with His [mighty] scorching wind He will wave His hand 

over the river [Nile] and will smite it into seven channels 

and will cause men to cross over dry-shod.

¹⁶ And there shall be a highway from Assyria 

for the remnant left of His people, 

as there was for Israel when they came up out of the land of Egypt.

I pulled our text from this last passage of Isaiah 11 from the Amplified Bible because I appreciated the clarity, at least initially. In the NASB, verse 14 begins, "They will swoop down...." We need a flashback to last week's post regardless, but at least the Amplified tells you who the "They" is.

Recall that Isaiah is writing of the time of perfect peace, when Christ returns for His people and restores once and for all the broken relationship between Ephraim, the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and Judah, the Southern Kingdom. Now, the combined nation is fortified and standing tall, ready to deal with its enemies. 

"...and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations and no longer be divided into two kingdoms."

--Ezekiel 37: 22

 

A mere two chapters ago (Isaiah 9:12), Isaiah spoke of Israel's fall with "...the Arameans on the east and the Philistines on the west; and they devour Israel with gaping jaws." There's a 180 in progress with this new prophecy, as God's people "swoop down" and "strip" their old foes, as well as the nations of Edom, Moab and Ammon. The more literal translation of the second part of verse 14 is that "Edom and Moab will be the outstretching of their hand." (from my study Bible)

Edom--Edom was the nation named for and lived in by Esau. After Jacob secured his brother's birthright in the red ('edom' means red) stew incident as well as his father Isaac's blessing, Jacob "wrestled with God" and received the new name, Israel. Esau gained a happy reunion with his brother and some possessions, but not the blessing of God. He left his brother and retreated to this land which then took the name Edom and whose people became the Edomites. It was not a land or a people blessed by God either, as the book of the prophet Obadiah speaks.

"'Then the house of Jacob will be a fire
And the house of Joseph a flame;
But the house of Esau will be as stubble.
And they will set them on fire and consume them,
So that there will be no survivor of the house of Esau,'
For the Lord has spoken."

--Obadiah 1: 18

Moab--Commonly remembered as the country of origin for Orpah and Ruth, from the Book of Ruth. Ruth would leave Moab with her mother-in-law, Naomi, to start a new life in Judah (where she would meet and marry Boaz, father of Obed, father of Jesse--yes, that Jesse, as in "the stem of Jesse"--father of David). Moab bordered Edom.

Ammon--The Ammonites were the descendants of Lot (husband to a pillar of salt) who settled in territory north of Moab and directly east of Gad (Northern Kingdom). There are quite a few battle stories involving the Ammonites in the Old Testament, and they were particularly hostile to both Israel and Judah, often attacking through alliances with the kingdoms' enemies. (Biblos.com) For Isaiah to prophesy that the Ammonites would obey the kingdoms is truly a change of events.

God's actions in verse 15 are clear--"utterly destroy" and "smite" two areas with the intent to change them over completely. What's confusing is to what areas are being referred. There is no Egyptian Sea. But, Egypt has seas on two sides, the Mediterranean to the North and the Red to the East. The Hebrew for 'sea' can translate into either of these places or the Sea of Galilee or the Dead Sea, or even the Nile or Euphrates rivers! As you can see above, the Amplified Bible chose the "west fork of the Red Sea" for its descriptor. It's not completely clear to me, but both the Mediterranean and the Red are in the same general vicinity, which is good enough for now. Even more curious is the river in question. It's "the Nile" in the Amplified while the NASB suggests it is the Euphrates. The cross-referenced verse is in Revelation:  

"The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east....."

--Revelation 16:12

Although knowing the specifics would fill in some gaps, the overall concept of the message remains key--God is turning these mighty waters into a "highway" of land on which people will travel by foot ("dry-shod," meaning in sandals). A turnpike will be created, from Egypt to Assyria, for the purpose of allowing the safe return of the remnant of God's people. (vs. 16) Isaiah evokes images of the past as he compares the road home with the one created from the parting of--perhaps--the same Red Sea, by Moses, as a means of escape from Pharaoh and Egyptian slavery. (Exodus 14: 26-29) That should have been a timeless image of provision, peace, hope and grace for both Judah and Israel.

"Note, When God’s time has come for the bringing of nations, or particular persons, home to himself, divine grace will be victorious over all opposition. At the presence of the Lord the sea shall flee and Jordan be driven back; and those who set their faces heavenward will find there are not such difficulties in the way as they thought there were, for there is a highway thither...."

--Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible

And with that welcome comes a cry of Thanksgiving. Chapter 12 begins.... 'Til next Wednesday!



Photo: parmionova.blogspot.com

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Next week: Isaiah 12: 1-3

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).