Isaiah chapter seventeen begins with “The burden (or something that must be carried) of Damascus.” This burden is that it will become “a ruinous heap.” Bible scholars believe that this may have been fulfilled by the Assyrians in the 8th Century B.C. but, as with so many Biblical prophecies, it may also be fulfilled a second time in the future.
A study of Isaiah chapter seventeen shows that the subject of Damascus ends with verse three. Verse four begins with the phrase “in that day” which in the Bible is usually associated with the Day of the Lord. The phrase is found three times in the following verses, and the subject is Jacob, or Israel, not Damascus.
The following verses of chapter seventeen describe hard times (Isaiah 17:4) and men will begin to look toward their Maker rather than the works of their hands. (Isaiah 17:7-8) The cities of Israel will become desolate because they will have forgotten the God of their salvation. (Isaiah 17:9-10)
The next verses of chapter seventeen present an interesting picture. Isaiah says “woe to a great multitude of people who make a thunderous noise like the ocean;” (perhaps 185,000 soldiers?). The Lord will rebuke them and they shall flee like chaff before the wind. (Isaiah 17:12-13)
As noted above, only the first three verses of that chapter refer to Damascus. Whenever there is war or the threat of war in Syria, prophecy pundits refer to Isaiah 17:14 in expectation that Damascus, reputed to be the oldest city in the world continuously inhabited, will be leveled.
While studying the great 17th Century nonconformist minister and Bible commentator, Matthew Henry, I found a different opinion on Isaiah 17:14. A review of chapter seventeen causes me to agree with Matthew Henry rather than modern students of prophecy. We need to look more closely at Scripture.
The following verse (verse fourteen) is not about Damascus, but I believe, about Sennacherib the Assyrian who blasphemed the Lord and threatened His holy Mount Zion.
“And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.” – Isaiah 17:14At evening Sennacherib was ready to capture Jerusalem the next day, but in the morning he discovered his entire army dead (II Chronicles 32:21); 185,000 men. The king fled back to Assyria. This is what happens to those who think that they are more powerful than the Most High God. This occurred during the reign of King Hezekiah, which was also the time of Isaiah. For the whole story, please read Second Kings chapters eighteen and nineteen.
All the answers are in God’s Holy Bible. May He forgive us for assuming and not “rightly dividing” His Word. May His name be praised forever!