ISAIAH LESSON 20


     We will begin this lesson in Isaiah 17:1 "The burden of Damascus.
Behold, Damascus is taken away from [being] a city, and it shall be a
ruinous heap."

     This is just a prophecy from Isaiah that Damascus will be
destroyed. Damascus was one of the earliest cities in the area. It was
thought to be the earliest by many historians. The destruction will
not be partial, but will be so terrible that nothing will be left of
the city.

     Isaiah 17:2 "The cities of Aroer [are] forsaken: they shall be
for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make [them] afraid."

     The cities of Aroer are pretty hard to discover anything about.
They were, possibly, known by another name. We do know that they will
be totally destroyed some time after Isaiah gave this prophecy. In
fact, there will be such destruction, no one will be living to protest
the cows grazing there.

     Isaiah 17:3 "The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the
kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the
glory of the children of Israel, saith the LORD of hosts."

     It appears that Ephraim, Damascus, and Aroer were somehow thought
of as a unit, perhaps, because they were all enemies of Jerusalem.
Damascus must have had a remnant who rebuilt her. Ephraim had been
fortified, but it appears the fortress had been destroyed. We will
find in later lessons, that God forgives Ephraim. Just as there was a
remnant of Israel, there will be a remnant of Ephraim.

     Isaiah 17:4 "And in that day it shall come to pass, [that] the
glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall
wax lean."

     "The glory of Jacob being made thin" just means there will be
only a remnant left of Jacob's ancestors. Israel, as a whole, will not
recover. The remnant will survive, but they will not have the
greatness they were once known by.

     Isaiah 17:5 "And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the
corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that
gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim."

     In the valley of Rephaim, David won a great victory over the
Philistines. The "valley of Rephaim" is also called the valley of the
giants. It seems the "harvestman" has to do with the reaping of the
people, or death. The "corn" spoken of is the Israelites.

     Isaiah 17:6  "Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the
shaking of an olive tree, two [or] three berries in the top of the
uppermost bough, four [or] five in the outmost fruitful branches
thereof, saith the LORD God of Israel."

     This is just stating how small a percentage of the Israelites
will be left. When a tree was shaken and beaten to get the fruit, the
few that were left were not to be taken. We learned in Leviticus that
they were left for the widows, orphans, and strangers. This, however,
is just explaining that most of them are killed. The order to leave
the remnant was from the LORD God of Israel.

     Isaiah 17:7 "At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his
eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel."

     Those that are left, are the ones who looked to God their Creator
for safety. Their gratitude will be to the Holy One of Israel for
saving them. They will be very aware that His grace is what saved
them.

     Isaiah 17:8 "And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his
hands, neither shall respect [that] which his fingers have made,
either the groves, or the images."

     The awakening is to the fact that these false gods and idols made
with human hands could not save them. The few that remain have
realized their only hope is in God.

     Isaiah 17:9  "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."

     The cities will be totally destroyed. The tree is stripped clean
except for the branches the remnant were on. Even the remnant will
feel the desolation of the land from this great judgement of God.

     Isaiah 17:10 "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:"

     God is the "Rock" of their salvation. Jesus Christ is our Rock of
salvation. The "slips", spoken of here, are the false doctrines the
Israelites had planted. This is almost like what we are seeing today
in our churches. Many of the new ideas on worship are for the pleasing
of the fleshly sight of mankind. "Strange slips", then, is speaking of
bringing new doctrines into the church that the LORD is not pleased
with. There is only one true doctrine, it is found in our Bible.
Almost everything pleasant to the flesh of man is opposed to the
Spirit. We must choose between flesh and spirit.

     Isaiah 17:11 "In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and
in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: [but] the harvest
[shall be] a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow."

     It seems false doctrine grows faster than the truth. You can
plant the seed of false doctrine, and it may even grow rapidly.
It sometimes even spreads to other churches, but when harvest time
comes, the plant the false doctrine has produced will be gathered up
and destroyed. This is the same as the wheat and the tares in Matthew
chapter 13 beginning with verse 25.

     Isaiah 17:12  "Woe to the multitude of many people, [which] make
a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations,
[that] make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!"

     There are two distinct meanings in this verse. In one instance,
this is speaking of armies of many nations in a great battle. Thr 2nd
I believe is the true message we are to see in this. It is a
civilization of many nations rushing to their own destruction. There
is a direct connection between the word "seas" and large numbers of
people. Just as God saved a remnant of the physical house of Israel,
He will save a remnant of the spiritual house of Israel. Church, we
must realize what we are doing, and get back into right fellowship
with God. The Word of God should be our guide. Do not accept other
teachings. I pray this woe is not to the present day church.

     Isaiah 17:13 "The nations shall rush like the rushing of many
waters: but [God] shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and
shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and
like a rolling thing before the whirlwind."

     This, again, is probably speaking then to the people who would be
destroyed in battle. To me, this is speaking of our time when people
are rushing to and fro. Many are following false gods. Worse than all
of that, is the slack attitude of the church. God is Holy. We must
walk holy before Him. These next Scriptures, in Jesus' Words say it so
well. Matthew 7:21 "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord,
shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of
my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 7:22 "Many will say to me in
that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?  and in thy
name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?"
Matthew 7:23 "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you:
depart from me, ye that work iniquity."  Do you go to church to be
entertained? If you said yes, you might as well stay at home. God
wants a family who will reverence Him and desire fellowship with Him.
True worship is repenting of our sins, accepting Jesus as our Saviour
and Lord, believing that the price for our sin was paid in full at
Calvary by the shed blood of Jesus, and believing that He rose again.
If you believe that, go tell someone, and you will be saved.

     Isaiah 17:14 "And behold at eveningtide trouble; [and] before the
morning he [is] not. This [is] the portion of them that spoil us, and
the lot of them that rob us."

     God had always promised to bless those who bless Israel, and to
curse those who curse Israel. This is no exception. To come against
physical, or spiritual Israel and their God, brings certain disaster.



                          Isaiah 20 Questions


1.  What city does verse 1 say will be destroyed?
2.  What happens to Aroer?
3.  What does the cows grazing tell us?
4.  What will happen to Ephraim?
5.  Why were Ephraim, Damascus, and Aroer thought of as a unit?
6.  What is meant by "the glory of Jacob being thin"?
7.  Who had David won a victory over in the valley of Rephaim?
8.  What is another name for the "valley of Rephaim"?
9.  What does the "harvestman" have to do with?
10. Who are the "corn" in verse 5?
11. We learned in the study of __________ not to reap the last fruit.
12. Who was the gleaning left for?
13. Who was the remnant?
14. Why were they saved?
15. What will the remnant be aware of?
16. What had they awakened to about their idols?
17. Who had they forgotten?
18. Who is the 'Rock" of our salvation?
19. The "slips" in verse 10 are what?
20. Things pleasant to the flesh of man are opposed to the _______.
21. Where do we find the parable of the wheat and tares?
22. What can be connected to "seas" in the spiritual sense?
23. The nations shall rush like the rushing of many ___________.
24. Read Matthew chapter 7 verses 21 through 23.
25. Describe true worship.
26. God has always promised to bless whom?