Chapter 17 Part 1 - The Burden Of Damascus

2Samuel 8:5-6 And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succour Hadadezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men. Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus: and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went.
In 1Kngs 15 Asa king of Judah formed an alliance with Benhadad king of Syria against the northern kingdom
Isaiah 7:8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people
2Ch 28:23 For he (Ahaz) sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel

Acts Chapters 9, 22, 26
2Co 11:32 In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me:
Ga 1:17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.

Isaiah 17:1-3 The prophesy of the fall of Damascus - 2Kings 16:8-9
Then Assyria defeats and captures Damascus (2Kings 16:8-9). The northern kingdom looses it’s unholy confederate and is weakened and will also fall to Assyria. We noted in a earlier lesson it does not matter how great or glorious someone is when they fall they become just like the one they ruled over. The nation Israel had lost the glory she had under David and Solomon and instead of nations depending upon Israel, both kingdoms had to rely on those who they once ruled over. The prophesy here is that when Damascus falls it will be just like Israel.
Isaiah 17:4-5 That Day
When Damascus falls to Assyria Israel’s glory will become less & less and will also be gathered up in the arms of it’s enemies.
During the Tribulation period Israel’s glory will be made thinner, fatness decrease (without the make of the beast they will not be able to buy or sell or eat, there is no glory in a picture of a starving person - what about “God’s Chosen People” starving spiritually for His presence.
Israel’s condition in the beginning of “That Day” Israel will be taken in by the false alliance and peace with the anti-Christ as the temple is rebuilt and a false sense of being right with God once again through sacrifice..

Isaiah 17:6-8 “Yet” - even when Israel is sucked into this false sense of worship - God will have His remnant - the gleaning grapes of His vine. (144.000 witnesses that will lead Israel to repentance) - God always has His Remnant!
The gleaning garpes will look to their Maker (Maker should now be recognized as another key word in Isaiah and see “The Holy One Of Israel” -
V9 the temple that will be built will be forgotten, everything Israel holds dear - wealth,
the temple furnishings, even the ark, alter, the temple itself all built by Jewish craftsmen - will be forgotten when the see their “Maker, The Holy One Of Israel” There is nothing eternal that the hand of man make - Ecc 1:3, 2:11 - What man sets his heart to do apart from God has no eternal value, it is vanity. The worship Israel attempted apart from God’s plan will be replaced in her heart with that that can only come through seeing Ths Holy One Of Israel. - That Day
Acts 17:22-25, 2Co 3:3
Israel - two temples, high places, false priests, attempted to capture Jerusalem set up a false king - , Judah high places, priests became corrupt, forsook Jerusalem.
Today the Jews look to their building a new temple and the furnishings for it,
What things in the tabernacle were not fashioned by man’s hands?
Water, fire, manna, stones with the ten commandments, staff of Aaron, animal skins that covered tabernacle. Solomon’s temple didn’t have the skin covering. That which God had to provide not made by man isn’t what we here about We hear only about what they must make with their hands.

Isaiah 17:9 - In “That Day”
When Assyria captures Syria all the great cities of Syria (Damascus included) will be made desolate
The tribulation period all the great cities of the world including the second Babylon (Rev 16, 17, 18) will be made desolate

Isaiah 17:10 gives the reason for That Day
Because thou(Israel) hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength
The cities of the world have been made desolate because Israel chose not to believe God and stay upon the Holy One Of Israel, their Maker.

Isaiah 17:10-11 And a time is coming when nothing Israel does will prosper as it did in their past when they were taken into captivity by Assyria and Babylon.
Their past is their future nothing will be able to grow during the Tribulation period.




Desolation because Israel forgot their God
Abraham goes to Egypt hides the fact that he and Sarah were married (feared they would kill him to take her)- God sent him there, wasn’t God able to keep him safe - The pharo takes Sarah- God send plagues upon Egypt because Abraham forgot God’s promise
Joseph taken to Egypt - Egypt is blessed through Joseph and owns the world through selling food
Israel and his sons come to live in Egypt - saved from starvation * The children of Israel stay in Egypt and flourish - don’t see a reason to leave * God uses slavery (Egypt used) to get them to remember Him and want to leave * Plagues force Pharaoh to send Israel out and they are given the wealth of Egypt - desolation begins - Egypt’s great army destroyed in the Red Sea - more desolation.
The divided kingdom -Northern kingdom forgets God - joins with Syria to capture Jerusalem - Assyria comes and plunders Syria Damascus and other great cities become desolate
Ahaz robs Jerusalem to pay Assyria - Jerusalem heads toward desolation -
Assyria is taken by Babylon - Assyrian cities become desolate
Babylon captures and plunders Jerusalem and Judah they become desolate
Medes & Persians take Babylon - Babylon becomes desolate
Temple and Jerusalem are rebuilt because Cyrus the Mede Israel returns to God
They forget God - Jews reject Christ, Roman Empire comes to power destroys the temple Jerusalem , the Jews become desolate
Roman empire persecutes the Jews (The Jews do not return to God)
Roman empire breaks up
The Jews are hated and persecuted by all of Europe - (they never remember their God)
World War 1- desolation comes to many European cities
World War 2 Germany raises to power - attempts to destroy the Jews - The world refuses to acknowledge Hitler’s plan to eliminate the Jews from off the Earth - All of the major cities of Europe and Asia become desolate.

Isaiah 17:9-10 ¶ In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation. Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips:
The only nation of the world that remained strong after WW2 was the USA The safe haven for the Jews. The Jews in America do not leave in mass to go to Israel

It does not seem fair that desolation came to those nations God used to chasten Israel. But they all willingly came against Israel. You do not see any ruler ask God not to use them ( Please do not use us to curse Israel because you will in turn have to curse us because of your promise to Abraham (Gen 12:3)

In “That Day” God will use the persecution of the nations to bring Israel back to remembering Him and desolation will come to the second Babylon and the world
All because Israel forgot their God - Isaiah 43 - Teaches Israel’s purpose was to show the Gentiles that HE is The Only True GOD! Instead they showed the world I AM That I AM didn’t deserve any more worship than the gods of the high places. - Could all the world’s problems come back to Israel’s disbelief.


For Next lesson - Chapters 17 & 18 - Burden Of Damascus & Land Beyond Ethiopia
Read Isaiah 43; Zephaniah 1

What was Israel’s Purpose - Isaiah 43:10
To be God’s witnesses
To be His servants

Isa 43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.

What name of God was Moses to declare to Israel? Exodus 3:14
Ex 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

What were they to be a witness of? Isaiah 43:12
That I AM is God

Isa 43:12 I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.

What did Israel Do? Ezekiel 36:20 , Ezekiel 20:27
Profaned His Name
Blasphemed Him

Eze 36:20 And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land.
Eze 20:27 ¶ Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me
Romans 2:23-24
They worshiped the gods of their enemies, their children walked through the fire, the men went into the gentile women,

When will Israel know that He Is God Isaiah 52:6
Isa 52:6 Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.
God wanted to use Israel to declare is name - I AM THAT I AM -
Ps 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.