When blessed people Forget

Read Isaiah 17.

The northern kingdom of Israel had turned to the Arameans, their neighbor, in an alliance to war against the invading Assyrians.  Damascus was the capital city of Aram, a region in central Syria.  But just as the prophecy against Israel predicted their destruction and scattering, so it was to be with Arameans.

Three times the phrase "in that day" appears in this chapter.  This is most often a trigger wording pointing to the future time of God's wrath and His ushering in unprecedented time of blessing and peace.  But the descriptions here are events that would have taken place in Isaiah's day.

God's dealings with people, as His character is, have not changed.  These are good warnings and reminders to all of us.

1. Humility in that day. (vv.4-6)
Israel will be brought low.  The first description is one of weight loss.  The war will bring a food shortage and starvation.  The second pictures Israel as crops after the harvest with little left.   No longer will they enjoy abundance.  What they had was from the hand of God, but they gave Him no honor or credit.  When one does not humble themselves before the LORD, God will eventually intervene.

2. Repentance in that day. (vv.7-8)
Someone said that when things go well, people play.  And, when things go bad, people pray.  When Israel would experience the terror of the Assyrians, they would turn to God.  In the crisis they would realize their man-made religion offered no help.  They would indeed return to their "Maker".  When a person gets a fresh glimpse of the Holy One, feelings of personal sin jump to the surface.  He alone could forgive them, deliver them, and give them hope for the future.

3. Judgment in that day. (vv.9-11)
Once the ruthless Assyrians were through, the entire region would be devastated, destroyed, and deserted.  Why?  Israel had become a godless nation.  They forgot the God of their fathers who promised the land to them and delivered them from slavery in Egypt.  They chose not to remember the miracles of God's protection of them and His countless provisions to them.

For us, let today be a day of remembering the goodness of the LORD and humbling living for Him.