Bible Commentaries
Isaiah 17

Bell's Commentary on the BibleBell's Commentary

Verses 1-14

  1. Intro:
    1. Albert Camus(Twentieth-century writer and philosopher), “I shall tell you a great secret, my friend. Do not wait for the last judgment. It takes place every day.” (Albert Camus, Leadership, Vol. 7, no. 2.)
    2. C.S.Lewis, “The ancient man approached God (or even the gods) as the accused person approaches his judge.For the modern man the roles are reversed. He is the judge: God is inthe dock(the accused place in court). He is quite a kindly judge: if God should have a reasonable defense for being the god who permits war, poverty and disease, he is ready to listen to it. The trial may even end inGod's acquittal. But the important thing is that Man is on the Bench andGod in the dock.”
  2. SYRIA & ISRAEL! (17)
    1. Double Trouble! (1-3)
    2. The Northern kingdom of Israel had allied w/Syria.
      1. Both would fall to the Assyrians.
      2. The will of God is your greatest security!
      3. “If the people you trust do not trust the Lord, their judgment may become your judgment.” (Warren Wiersbe)
    3. Damascus(capitol of Syria)
      1. Naaman lived here(cured of leprosy)
      2. Paul was re-born on the road there.
    4. Glory departed – Like when Phinehas’s wife called her child Ichabod(glory has departed) when her father-in-law(Eli), husband, & bro-in-law(Hophni) died, & especially…the ark of the Cov was taken.
      1. Ichabod!
    5. 3 Pictures of judgment! (4-6)
    6. [1] Like a Setting Sun!
      1. Q: Is the glory fading, or getting brighter in your life?
    7. [2] Like a Person in Poverty!
      1. Fatness to Leanness – Met this morn with Rabbi-Yosef Hillbrant, of the “Jewish Christian Unity Congregation” (a Local Messianic fellowship) Larry Phlaum is the cantor there(chief singer in the synagogue). He said, “come over, after the service some of the Jewish mothers would love to fatten you up a little bit!”
    8. [3] Like a Fruitless Field!
    9. It takes an Invasion! (7,8)
      1. When they are invaded by the Assyrians they would “look”, “have respect”; “not look”, “not respect”.
    10. If only they had turned to God before the Sun Set, before their disease wasted them away, before the blight destroyed the harvest!
      1. But, they trusted their idols & not the true God.
      2. “How easy it is to put confidence in the work of your own hands & not in the God who made those hands!!!” (www)
      3. Trusting in idols, & trusting in God, is the difference between a babies pacifier, & a bottle of milk.
        1. A baby is good with a pacifier for a while!…But it doesn’t: Taste, nourish, or really help anything,...it only pacifies temporarily!
        2. If left in too long it can: push in teeth, it only produces saliva, it makes an amusing ring around the lips, & just plain looks funny!
        3. There must be a call mature Christians to “Abandon all Binkey’s!”
    11. Look to your Maker – They must have been looking at someone or something else!
      1. Ps.123:2 “Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He has mercy on us.”
      2. Is.45:22 “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.”
    12. Beyond Hope! (10,11)
    13. (10) He is the God who can save you! & The Rock that can hide you!
      1. Which of these 2 ways would you like Him to reveal Himself to you this evening?
    14. (11) If we depend upon temporal things to bring us security, we will reap 2 fruits: grief & pain!
      1. Turn from these false allurements & trust in God!
    15. 3 more Pictures of judgment! (12,13)
    16. [1] Like Houses before a Flood!
      1. Israel could have had the quiet waters of Shiloh(8:6).
      2. Instead they chose the turbulent waters of Assyria.
      3. Q: Have you made any similar swaps?
    17. [2] Like Chaff before the Wind!
    18. [3] Like a Tumbleweed before the Whirlwind!
Bibliographical Information
Bell, Brian. "Commentary on Isaiah 17". "Bell's Commentary". https://studylight.org/commentaries/eng/cbb/isaiah-17.html. 2017.