06/22/2024 – Day 020 – Isaiah – Chapters 12 – 17
Our last post on this reading is from our first cycle , dated 03/19/2021, covering chapters 13 & 14, Isaiah’s prophecy of the fall of Babylon.
I am following here with commentary, starting with my “Apologetics Study Bible”:
“15: 1 – 5 – Isaiah’s laments in chapter 13 – 23 were most likely uttered before a Judean audience, not in the lands to which they referred. it may seem that Isaiah laments the demise of Judah’s enemies, and some interpreters have suggested that parts or all of chapters 15 – 16 were ironic laments intended to taunt or mock Moab, Judah’s long time enemy. That view is probably incorrect in light of Isaiah’s personal declaration of deep sorrow in verse 5 an 16:9. Isaiah lamented that the Moabites had rejected the possibility of finding refuge from their enemies in Judah’s hope, the enduring throne of David (16: 4-5). It is worth noting that the Davidic royal family had, in Ruth the wife of Boaz, a Moabite ancestry (Ruth 4: 13-220. Perhaps the prophet reflected God’s sorrow over Moab so the Judea’s would recognize the hopelessness of following Moab’s path.”
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Another prophecy of Jesus:
“Then in the tent of David a throne will be established by faithful love. A judge who seeks what is right and is quick to execute justice will sit on the throne forever.” (Isaiah 16: 5) Many Jews in Jesus’ time were looking for the Messiah, the King that would overthrow the Romans. But they overlooked the suffering servant Messiah prophecies. (see Psalm 22; Isaiah 53)
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“An oracle against Damascus: Look Damascus is not longer a city. It has become a ruined heap.” (Isaiah 17:1)
And here is the commentary footnote for that verse:
“17:1. Damascus continued to be a city in the OT sera (Ezekiel 27:18), thee NT (Acts 9:19-27), and today. This does not negate Isaiah’s prophecy, which referred to the destruction of Damascus as the powerful capital of Syria during the Syro-Eppraimite Was. His words were consistent with his prophecy about he fall of Damascus in 7: 7-8 and 8:4, and the announcement that Assyria defeated Damascus and exiled its inhabitants to Kir (2 Kings 16:9). After many years in ruins, ti later became a small city in the Assyrian province of Namath. Isaiah was not claiming that it would remain a ruin for all time.”
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“In that day a man will look to his Maker, And his eyes will have respect for the Holy One of Israel. He will not look to the altars, The work of his hands; He will not respect what his fingers have made, Nor the wooden images nor the incense altars.” Isaiah 17: 7-8
And my commentary footnote from “The Evidence Bible – NKJV”:
“17: 7-8. We tend to relegate idolatry to the ancients and to primitives, and yet it is the pervasive sin today. Mankind creates gods in his own image because idols have no moral dictates. They satisfy his need for a creator. But when men truly look to their Maker and see Him in his holiness, it always produces fear of the Lord, and that is the spark of genuine repentance.”
Thoughts?
Soli Deo Gloria!