God’s Destruction of Damascus (Isaiah 17)

We would expect a judgment about Damascus to deal exclusively with Damascus. But shockingly, Isaiah 17 is not merely a prophecy of the future doom of Damascus, the capital of the nation of Aram; it’s about the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel as well. 

In about 735-734 BC, the northern kingdom of Israel and their eastward neighbor Aram made an alliance and planned to overthrow the southern kingdom of Judah. But Yahweh had His own plan. In the next 35 years, He would destroy these nations, but save Judah.

As we read verses 1-2, we find a familiar warning from God: Damascus and its surrounding areas will be destroyed and become a waste area for animals. God did this through three Assyrian kings: Tiglath-Pilesar III in 732 BC and the successive kings Shalmaneser V and Sargon II in 722 BC. 

Both Assyrian and biblical histories record the conquest of Damascus. 2 Kings 16:9 states it succinctly, “So the king of Assyria listened to him; and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and seized it and took the people of it away into exile to Kir, and put Rezin to death.” 

Yet in verse 3-11, God promises that Aram and Israel will fall. In fact, they only fell ten years apart, in 732 and 722 BC, respectively. God was displeased with their self-serving alliance against Judah and their rejection of Him. He promises to end the glory of their nations swiftly (3-5). 

But He does not plan to exterminate all the people of Israel. He will leave “gleanings” (6) among the people, those who will “have regard for [their] Maker” (7) and abandon “the work of his hands…even the Asherim and incense stands” (8). This pattern of preserving a faithful remnant of Israelites is a major theme of Isaiah. God will punish sin and condemn the unrepentant, but He will also keep His promises to redeem and bless Israel.

God concludes His foretelling of Israel’s destruction in verses 9-11, explaining that Israel caused its own desolation because “you have forgotten the God of your salvation…your strong defense” (10). Instead, they dedicate themselves to “a strange god” (10), giving them only “a day of sickliness and incurable pain” (11). The point is that it’s impossible for Israel or Aram to subvert the true God. All who try only bring destruction on themselves.

But like the last prophecy to Moab (Isaiah 15-16), this chapter contains a hopeful portion. In verses 12-14, Isaiah describes God’s deliverance of Judah. In roughly 701 BC, God delivered Jerusalem from the Assyrians, who had already destroyed Aram and Israel. While God’s angelic attack on 185,000 Assyria soldiers is described literally in Isaiah 36-39, it’s also described poetically as this chapter closes, reminding us of God’s willingness to hear the desperate prayers and bring deliverance, even in the face of imminent doom.

Alas, the uproar of many peoples

Who roar like the roaring of the seas,

And the rumbling of nations

Who rumble on like the rumbling of mighty waters!

The nations rumble on like the rumbling of many waters,

But He will rebuke them, and they will flee far away,

And be pursued like chaff in the mountains before the wind,

Or like whirling dust before a whirlwind.

At evening time, behold, there is terror!

Before morning they are no more.

Such will be the portion of those who pillage us

And the lot of those who plunder us.

One of the common points of the Old Testament prophets is clear at this point: repent when you have time! We should never think it’s too late to turn back to God. He forgives and restores us if we turn from sin and trust Him.

Pastor David