A few years ago we watched in horror as literal millions of Syrian refugees scattered to the earth. They went by flimsy boats and on land and on anything that could move. Damascus became empty.
Is this the prophecy of Is 17? Actually I think this scripture that “Damascus is no longer a city” happened in ancient times when it went through turmoil and an exodus as well. Prophecy like this is descriptive of what was happening.
And then there was judgment against Israel that it’s splendor too would fall. It would be like an olive tree that had already been harvested and only a few olives were left at the very top. Or like a grain field that had been harvested and only gleanings were left over. Israel would be like leftovers.
BUT
And this was the point—they would stop putting their hope in idols made of wood and instead call upon the Lord.
“On that day people will look to their Maker and will turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel. They will not look to the altars they made with their hands or to the Asherahs and Incense altars they made with their fingers” (v. 7-8).
It was God’s intervention to strip them of their glory but that intervention worked. The people remembered God and cried out to him again.
But it would still be a day in which God’s judgment would be evident. There would be disease and failed harvest not just in Israel, but in the nations. God would punish that nations that also brought judgment on Israel.
So this brings up a question. If God uses the nations to defeat Israel and bring judgment against them, then why does he also judge them? Because didn’t he send them?
It was a time when all the nations had become quite evil and judgment was against many of the nations. He wasn’t just judging them for coming against Israel, but as we see, he was holding them accountable for their sins as well. It was a matter of timing and how he brought that judgment to each one.
He used Babylon and Assyria to bring judgment against Israel. But later on he would bring judgment against these two super powers for their own sins of pride and arrogance. Their sin wasn’t that they attacked Israel, their sin was their moral depravity that also would necessitate the judgment of God.
So why does God judge nations? Because he loves them. He gives free will but if that free will becomes so abusive that harm to one another is justified, he must step in. He wouldn’t be loving if he were not also righteous and just.
Again remember, the same people who get angry with God for not do something are also the same people who get angry with God when he does. It comes down to we don’t want to face judgment for our actions, but we want judgment against the actions of other that we don’t like.
