In Isaiah 17, the prophet continues to pronounce judgment, and now his words are directed at the nation of Syria, Israel’s neighbor to the north. All these chapters that focus on judgment can make for difficult reading, but they remind us how abhorrent sin is to our holy and just God. He detests it and will not overlook it, pretending it is not there. As Derek Thomas says, “The fact that we may find this out of balance only shows how far we have strayed. Sin does not offend us as much as it should and if we find the sustained emphasis on judgment in these chapters irritating that says more about us than it does about Scripture. Perhaps it is just in this area that we need to re-evaluate ourselves as God sees us.” Damascus was Syria’s capital city, and Isaiah predicts it “will become a heap of ruins.” It is a vivid portrait of what life is like for those who do not know God. The picture is of flocks grazing in the streets of a deserted city with no one to look after them or chase them away (v 1-2). Ephraim was the name given to Israel, and because of her unwise political alliances with Syria (7:1-2), she would suffer the same fate. Centuries earlier, when the Philistines stole the ark of the covenant from Israel, the priest’s daughter-in-law named her newborn child Ichabod, meaning “The glory has departed.” In a similar way, the glory will be long gone from both nations by the time the Assyrians have completed their raid (v 3). “In that day” Israel’s false glory will be stripped away, and she will be reduced to a few gleanings left in the field after the harvest, or like the few olives which remain on an olive tree once it has been shaken (v 4-6). Yet “in that day” this small remnant of Israel will turn back to the Lord. Forsaking the gods of their own making, they will fix their devoted attention on the God who made them and redeemed them. So there is hope for Israel, and there is hope for anyone doing gospel labor in a difficult environment, seeing no fruit. Even in the most unlikely of places, God always has His people. They may be few, but they are His! Brighter days are ahead (v 7-8). But in the meantime, Israel’s heart will be broken as their false strengths let them down. “In that day,” her strong cities will be like those deserted towns in old Western films with the tumbleweed blowing along the streets (v 9-11). Every nation should take note. Despite their apparent strength, by His simple rebuke God can easily blow them away like chaff in the wind (v 12-14). For further meditation: