by Larry Ferrell | March 23, 2018
Assyria was the destroyer of both Syria and Israel (Ephraim). Damascus fell after a ruinous siege in 732 BC, and Samaria (the capital of Israel) a decade later in 722 BC. In verses 4-6 three images depict Israel’s condition after her collapse. She will be like an emaciated man whose fat has disappeared, leaving him lean and skeletal (v. 4), like a reaped field in which only a few stalks remain for the poor to glean (v. 5), and like a grove of olive trees that have been so thoroughly beaten that only a few pieces of fruit remain on the highest branches (v. 6). The same condition is described in verse 9.

In one sense, of course, Israel’s fall was simply the result of her foolish collusion with Syria. But it had deeper roots. Isaiah probes these directly in verses 10-11, and indirectly in the pivotal passage in verses 7-8. At heart her undoing was her long history of idolatry, which had eroded her single-minded commitment to the Lord, and opened her to a politics of convenience and worldly wisdom instead of trust.

The worship of the Canaanites consisted largely of the performance of rites which were thought to induce fertility in flock and field by a kind of sympathetic magic. One such rite appears to underlie verses 10-11 with their mention of finest plants and imported vines. Seedlings were induced to grow and blossom at an artificially rapid rate, probably at a shrine. But of course the evidence which they appeared to give of the potency of the god was false, and participation in such rites by Israelites showed that they had turned their backs on the Lord, and only One who could have given them security (v. 10a). As the plants soon withered, so would the hopes of the worshippers (v. 11b).

In verses 7-8, at the center of the passage, idolatry is described in more familiar terms. A contrast is drawn between gods that are made by human beings, Asherah poles, and incense altars (v. 8), and the one true God who is the Maker of all things (v. 7). And a day is spoken of when people will finally recognize the folly of idolatry and acknowledge the supremacy of Israel’s God. Isaiah foresees a day when people everywhere will finally forsake their man-made gods. The Lord’s immediate purpose is to induce Israel to do so, and judgment is the means He will use to bring it about. The repentance of Israel is central to His wider purposes, as the pivotal position of verses 7-8 suggests. He has declared war on idolatry.

Isaiah 17:1-14 Reflection Questions:
What do the verses 4-6 remind you of about our spiritual condition?
What in your life is eroding your commitment to the Lord?
Has God won the war of idolatry in your life?

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by Larry Ferrell | November 6, 2017
Introduction
Slowly he rose, and the crowd fell silent. Those at the back leaned forward, straining to hear. The atmosphere was electric. He spoke and his carefully chosen words flew like swift arrows and found their mark. The great man a spokesman for God was warning – and condemning. The crowd became restless – shifting positions, clenching fists, and murmuring. Some agreed with his message, nodding their heads and weeping softly. But most were angry, and they began to shout back insults and threats. Such was the life of a prophet.
The book of Isaiah is the first of the writings of the prophets in the Bible, and Isaiah, the author, is generally considered to be the greatest prophet. He was probably reared in an aristocratic home and was married to a prophet. In the beginning of his ministry he was well liked. But, like most prophets, he soon became unpopular because his messages were so difficult to hear. He called the people to turn from their lives of sin and warned them of God’s judgment and punishment. Isaiah had an active ministry for 60 years before he was executed during Manasseh’s reign (according to tradition).

The vision of Isaiah (Is.1:1-2)
These opening lines are like the first stirring chords of the overture to a great oratorio. They summon us to listen and give us the first indication of the character of the work we are about to hear. We Are told a once of both the human agency and the divine origin of the vision. It’s the vision of ‘Isaiah son of Amoz’; he saw it, lived it and died for it. In this sense his vision comes to us clothed in a human person, alive with human passion and cast in human language. It’s the human aspect of the vision that makes it accessible to us. But at the same time it has a quality that transcends this. The very term ‘vision’, especially in this and similar contexts, stands for divine revelation. It’s received by a human person, but originates outside him. At the most fundamental level, it’s God’s vision, and exists only because ‘the Lord has spoken’.
The vision which is introduced here spans the whole sixty-six chapters of the book. It is big in terms of its sheer bulk; but more significantly, it is conceptually big. The vision begins with heaven and earth being summoned to listen (1:2), and it ends with their being so affected by what they hear that they are transformed into new heavens and a new earth (66:22). It’s about renewal on a massive scale; the re-creation of the universe. At the heart of Isaiah’s vision is the startling revelation that the Messiah must suffer. Its sharpest focus is on the one who came to the window for us all. That is, if you like, the depth of it, the truth that lies in the center. But like a well-cut diamond, the vision has surface as well as depth, and we will be able to appreciate its many facets only as we attend carefully to the way it has been shaped and presented to us as Holy Scripture.
As we read and study Isaiah, imagine this strong and courageous man of God, fearlessly proclaiming God’s Word, and listen to his message in relation to your own life – return, repent, and be renewed. Then trust in God’s redemption through Christ and rejoice. Your Savior has come, and he’s coming again!

Reflection Questions:
Have you ever had a dream or vision that you knew was from God? If so, what was your response?
Open your heart and mind to God’s word as we work through this study and act on what He is telling you.

* The material for these studies is from Barry G. Webb’s “The Message of Isaiah” by InterVarsity Press; and from J. Alec Motyer’s “The Prophecy of Isaiah” Commentary by InterVarsity Press.

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