This post will build on the previous post and will provide more thoughts from Isaiah 17 that seem to affirm the attack of Gog coming after Damascus is destroyed.
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Is. 17:12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of
nations, that make a rushing like the
rushing of mighty waters!
Is. 17:13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall
flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the
wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
Is. 17:14 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.
“noise” = to make a loud sound…by implication, to be in
great commotion or tumult, to rage
“rushing” = uproar…by implication, destruction
“rebuke” = To check, silence, or put down, with reproof;
to restrain by expression of disapprobation.
All of a sudden Isaiah turns his address to an unnamed
multitude of people and nations.
Evidently, Israel’s action has provoked quite an outrage in the nations
of the world. As we see in the words
defined above, noise and rushing refer to great commotion, rage,
and uproar. Evidently, God intervenes to
rebuke them. I had to go to Webster
since the Hebrew gave no further insight on the word rebuke. It’s interesting
that rebuke involves action resulting
from the spoken word. We know that God’s
word always accomplishes His purpose.
I’m not sure what method He uses, but God speaks the word and the
nations flee in the face of a mighty force of wind. (Wind is invisible but its effect is visible
and powerful.)
Isaiah affirms as a representative of God’s people that
this will always be God’s reaction against those who try to
spoil/rob/destroy/take for prey the nation or people of Israel. This is another affirmation of God’s promise
to Abraham.
Genesis 12:3
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in
thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
The wording
in the last verse jumped out to me this time through in connection with Gog’s
attack.
Ezekiel 38:10–12 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the
same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil
thought: And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I
will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling
without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey….
If my
conclusion in the previous section is correct, it could reference the ultimate
attack of Gog and his allies (primarily Moslem) after Israel has achieved
victory over her surrounding neighbors—the coalition referenced in Psalm
83. Ezekiel tells us that Gog is forced
to take action he didn’t really want to take.
Ezekiel 38:3–4 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O
Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will
bring thee forth….
If I am
correct in determining that Gog represents the demonic force behind the leader
of Russia, this makes logical sense.
Russia has made great investment for port access to the Mediterranean as
well as many other significant economic investments to ally themselves with the
Arab world surrounding Israel. Of
primary importance is its Mediterranean naval base for the Black Sea located in
Syria.
Ezekiel goes
on to tell us that it is God that effects the defeat of Gog and his armies; it
is His rebuke that causes them to turn on one another and disposes of them like
chaff in the wind (v13). In fact, The
Creator will exercise His power and authority over nature to accomplish His
purposes.
Ezekiel 38:18–23 “And it shall come to
pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the
Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in
that day there shall be a great shaking
in the land of Israel; So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the
heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon
the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at
my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall
fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. And I will call for a sword
against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his
brother. And I will plead against him with
pestilence and with blood; and I
will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with
him, an overflowing rain, and great
hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify
myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know
that I am the LORD.”
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