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The Bible Breakdown
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The Bible Breakdown
Isaiah 17: Damascus, You've Got Nothing!
What if ancient prophecies held the key to understanding today's chaos? Join us on the Bible Breakdown podcast as we uncover the powerful messages in Isaiah 17, focusing on God's judgment against Damascus. We promise you'll gain insights into the turbulent times faced by Isaiah and how these age-old lessons apply to our modern-day lives. Through the lens of divine judgment and salvation, we explore the consequences of turning away from God and the transformative power of returning to Him, even amidst political and social upheaval.
Throughout our discussion, we use vivid metaphors like the harvested field to highlight the chaos of living without divine guidance. There's reassurance in knowing that no matter how messy life seems, God's invitation for guidance and blessings remains open. Our reflections remind us of God's unwavering desire for a relationship with us, offering hope and joy by trusting in His control. We wrap up the episode with a heartfelt prayer of gratitude, inspired by Isaiah 12:2, encouraging you to seek closeness with God in every season of life.
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The More You Dig. The More You Find.
Well, everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today, isaiah, chapter 17,. And today's title is Damascus you Got Nothing. Damascus, you got nothing. And I think it's so important that we see that, even as God is calling the nation of Israel back to himself, he's also reminding Israel, man, these enemies that they have. They're not more important, they're not more powerful. It's all going to be okay. God's got something for them too, and we're going to get into all that in just a moment. But, as always, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like share, subscribe to YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure you're leaving us a five-star review. Also, make sure you're going to the Bible Breakdown discussion on Facebook because, man, the more we dig, the more we find, and we're always trying to provide resources so that we can know more of God's Word together. All right, well, if you've got your Bibles, you want to open up with me today to Isaiah, chapter 17. I want to remind you about the idea that Isaiah lives in a time of political, social, everything you can imagine upheaval. The world is changing all around him, nations are rising against nation, and they play for keeps too, these people, they don't just try to subjugate each other, they try to kill each other. There's all these things that's going on, and in the middle of all of this and Israel's trying to figure out their way through all this chaos, god sends Isaiah to cry out to Israel and say the salvation you're looking for, the rescue you're looking for, comes from God. And so that's why I think that the theme of Isaiah would be God is our salvation. And we can see throughout this book so far, there is this kind of balancing act that God is giving us, where on one side, he's calling us back to himself and he's saying I've got this big idea for you, I've got this big thing I want to do, and there's a Messiah coming one day, but I also want to rescue you today. So it's like now and later, there's great things that are coming if you'll return to me. At the same time, he's also saying if you don't, there's judgment. But then I would say a third thing is he's also saying and don't worry, these enemies all around you, they're not getting away with this, like I'm in control of all of this. And what he's going to do today is, as he has been talking about Egypt and he's been talking about Moab, he's been talking about Babylon. Today he's going to talk about Damascus, and Damascus I don't know if you know this is one of the oldest cities in the world. But he's saying even you who've been around a while, you can't escape the judgment of God. I've been seeing what you've been doing and I'm coming after you. So let's read this together Isaiah, chapter 17, verse 1, says this this message came to me concerning Damascus.
Speaker 1:Look, the city of Damascus will disappear. It will become a heap of ruins. The towns of Eor will be deserted. Flocks will graze in the streets and lie down undisturbed, with no one to chase them away. The fortified towns in Israel will also be destroyed. The royal power of Damascus will end.
Speaker 1:All the remains of Syria will share the fate of Israel's departed glory, declares the Lord, of Its robust body will waste away. The whole land will look like a grain field after the harvesters have gathered the grain. It will be desolate, like the fields in the valley of Rephaim. After the harvest, only a few of its people will be left like stray olives left on a tree after the harvest, only two or three will remain in the highest branches, four or five scattered here and there on the limbs, declares the Lord, the God of Israel. Then, at last, the people will look to their creator and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel. They will no longer look to their idols for help or worship what their own hands have made. They will never again bow down to their Asherah poles or worship at the pagan shrines that they have built. Their largest cities will be like a deserted forest, like the land the Hivites and the Amorites abandoned when the Israelites came here so long ago. It will be utterly desolate.
Speaker 1:Why? Because they have turned from the God who can save you. You have forgotten the rock who can hide you. So you may plant the finest grapevines and import the most expensive seedlings. They may sprout on the day when you set them out. Yes, they may blossom on the very morning you plant them, but you will never pick any of the grapes from them. Your only harvest will be a Listen. So what's going on here? This is the just reward for those who plunder us, a fitting end for those who destroy us. So what's going on here? The Bible is telling us, god is telling us that Damascus, these enemies of Israel, are not getting away with anything, because they have long ago turned away from God and done all these things. Judgment is coming, judgment is coming. At the same time, god is also telling them that if you would just turn back to me, israel, you would be able to see my blessings. I love how it said in verse 7, it said At last, the people will look to their creator and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.
Speaker 1:What I love about this book is it's constantly letting us know where we are, but having a big idea for what could be, and this is one of those things that it hits people in different ways because of the different seasons you might be in Right now. You might be in a season of life where everything is going great. You've never been closer to God than you are right now, and this right here is just a reminder of where you used to be A time in your life when you turned away from God, and today what you can do is just celebrate that, man, you're in a good place right now. Maybe you're in a place of pain. You're in a place where you're struggling and you're dealing with, maybe, some deep depression or some heartache about something, and you're looking at this and if you're not careful, the enemy will tell you a lie and he will say look, look, how bad you are. Look, if you'd just been better, god would have done more.
Speaker 1:That's not what God's Word is saying. God's Word is talking about sinful behavior and he's saying if you will turn away from that sin, I've got a big idea for you. And so don't let the enemy try to distort God's word and to make you think that you're guilty of something you're not guilty of. God's word for you today is is that when you turn back to him, he becomes, as it says in here he is the rock where you can hide.
Speaker 1:Today, for you, god's word is not maybe a word of judgment, but is to remind you. He says because you have turned from the God who can save you and have forgotten the rock who can hide you, he's saying come back to me, don't forget, I'm that resting place. And so for you, god would say run to me, I'm your resting place. So maybe you're in a good place and you're celebrating, maybe you're in a difficult place and it's time to run back to God and let him be that hiding place, but maybe you're in that lukewarm place, you're in that place where you've turned away from God and you've decided God was moving too slowly or whatever, and you just took matters into your own hands and you're doing your own thing. Well, the challenge with that is that God's calling you back to him as well and he's saying see how that works out for you.
Speaker 1:And he described it as though a field that has been harvested. None of you have ever seen a field that's been harvested, but it looks like a mess Because after it's been harvested, the harvesters, they know what they're looking for, and if it's not ripe, they just leave it. And so it's just a mess, because they've got what they needed and all that's left is what was not useful anymore. And what God's saying is sometimes our life can look like that when we try to do it our own way. So maybe for you, god is saying let me lead, come back to me. I don't want judgment for you. I don't want these bad things to happen to you. I want you to have a blessing in your life and even in times of crisis, you can have joy because I'm in control. I don't know what God may be saying to you in this chapter, but either way, god's always calling us back to him.
Speaker 1:Let's pray together right now, god. Thank you so much for today. Thank you, god, that no matter where we find ourselves, you're always calling us closer. You're always saying come back to me, come closer to me. Even if we're close to you right now, you're saying even closer because you want a relationship with us. I pray, god, that when we read chapters like today, lord, it will be a warning but also an encouragement to never stop pursuing you. In Jesus' name, we pray Amen, amen. Well, god's word says in Isaiah 12, verse 2, god has come to save me. I will trust you tomorrow for Isaiah, chapter 18.
