Isaiah continues a roundup of the various neighbors of Judah, how they will fare when Assyria sweeps across that region. It is critical we remind ourselves of the context in which the prophecy comes. At this point, Syria leads a coalition which includes Israel, all or part of Ammon, Moab, and a handful of other petty kingdoms in the region. This is the same alliance which demanded Judah join in facing Assyria. While there are some variations in this chapter among various biblical texts, the critical message is hardly affected.
Damascus was the arrogant capital of the region roughly equivalent to modern Syria. It is reputed to have held to a massive pantheon of pagan deities. We can be certain her grand army included a large number of mercenary forces, fielding a substantial force. However, even with the allies around her, she was no match for Tiglath-pileser's Assyrian expedition. The capital city of Damascus was virtually flattened. When she fell, all her allies were crushed, as well. Moab was already discussed, and Ammon would suffer the same eventual fate of Northern Kingdom, Israel. The region would become suitable for sheep and goat herders, since they would not have to get permission from fussy city rulers claiming the pasture lands.
Particular attention is paid to Syria's junior partner, Samaria (as Jacob or Ephraim). The land would not be completely depopulated, though it would come close to that. Isaiah offers the image of the Rephaim Valley. Famous for it's grain fields, it was for that reason also a favored vector of approach to Jerusalem for the Philistines, a nation of grain thieves. Assyria would reap the harvest of battle in the Northern Kingdom, leaving only a little for gleaning. In the ancient times of harvesting by hand, it was customary to leave some, if only for the sake of diminished returns in going after every single piece of produce. Thus, the poor peasants coming later could expect to find a few stalks of grain at the edges, a few clusters of grapes maturing too late, or a few olives left in upper branches and near the trunk of the tree. Just so, a few people would not be slain or deported under Assyrian imperial policy.
Isaiah depicts the remaining peasants of the Northern Kingdom as relieved to be out from under the idolatry mandated by Samaria, inaugurated by Jeroboam when the Ten Tribes first went their own way. These scattered remnants would turn back to the Temple in Jerusalem, no longer pursuing the Baals, Ashtartes, and various shrines scattered around Palestine. At long last, the land would have rest from spiritual bondage. Even the greatest cities will be populated as mere villages, repeating the theme of the olive tree symbol of Israel the nation, with a thin scattering of olives for gleaning. The cause of all this is persistent refusal to repent from the Sin of Jeroboam -- making faith a matter of politics. All their prosperity and growth would come to little.
Yet, even Assyria does not escape God's wrath. While it is she who will execute His judgment on Syria, Israel, and their allies, she was not so mighty as to resist God's power. He can raise them up; He can knock them back down. This tsunami of troops is but a small wave made by the motion of God's hand. All of them are just shards of grain husks in the wind of His breath. In one evening, such disaster fell on Assyria's troops as to have no words for it. By dawn there would be no mighty army, but a broken remnant, much as Assyria left her victims. This is what God does to those who dare to go too far, refusing to acknowledge His authority to call a halt. Assyria had been warned it was Jehovah who had called them, and it was Jehovah who called a halt outside Jerusalem. When she would not listen, her imperial power was broken.
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By Ed Hurst
10 September 2008
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