Isaiah 17:1-8 – Don’t take God for granted

In our discussion in Isaiah 7, we discovered that Assyria, the domineering world power then, was menacing the surrounding nations. So King Pekah of Israel and King Rezin of Aram went into an alliance to deal with Assyria. They wanted King Ahaz of Judah to join them in their effort against Assyria, but he refused. This incurred their displeasure and they threatened to punish King Ahaz and Judah for their refusal. The Prophet Isaiah told Ahaz to trust God to protect Judah, but the latter chose to turn to Assyria for help. After helping Judah, Assyria turned to terrorize them. This was the folly of Ahaz and Judah for pivoting to Assyria. In Isaiah 17, the message was a warning to Damascus as well as Ephraim.

Damascus, as we know, was the capital of Aram of Syria. And Ephraim here refers to Israel, the northern kingdom. Here God warned that Damascus would be a fallen city and left in ruin. They would similarly experience the fading glory like Israel. The Assyrians did attack Aram and took many of her people back home and left the state and the cities deserted and desolate. The message of the fall of Damascus was also a warning to Israel as well. God would also deal with them. Here we see a picture of the fallen glory of Israel. As a nation, Ephraim would waste away. However, verse 7 said that man would turn to God on that day of reckoning. Man would have regard for his Maker and would look to the Holy One of Israel. This “man” suggests that some pathetic survivors in those tragic circumstances would then turn to consider God, and not to the idols that they once venerated.   

While the message was to Damascus, God’s primary concern was Israel, His people. It was good to see that some would consider God in their crisis. We wonder why it has to take a tragedy to wake them up from their follies. Here is a warning for us not to take God for granted. While we are basking in the sunshine of God’s love and blessings, we must never take God for granted. We must always know that He is God and seek to fear and revere Him. In the abundance of His blessings, we must not forget that He is the source of all of them.