17:1–2 The setting here is the Syro-Ephraimite war of chapter 7, with its accompanying dangers of trusting worldly power instead of the promises of Yahweh (cf. 2 Kings 16:1–9; Isa. 7:9). Ephraim, the northern kingdom, is viewed not so much as a separate entity as a people allied with Damascus and sharing its doom.

Damascus occupied a strategic location on the main route between Mesopotamia and Egypt. It was conquered by Shalmaneser in 732 BC and reduced to rubble. The city was subsequently rebuilt many times, but here it represents earthly power that passes away and affords no real security to those who trust in it. The “cities of Aroer” are of uncertain location. This may be a reference to Aroer in Gad (Num. 32:34), but in any case the reference is to deserted communities and land given over to livestock.

17:3 Here Damascus and Ephraim are directly linked, but neither can help the other. Yet hope is not absent from this oracle, as the Lord promises that there will ultimately be a remnant saved from Syria, and also Israel, as part of God’s promise of future blessing to the nations.

17:4 Yet judgment will come first. This is the first mention of “that day,” which will reveal Jacob’s false glory for what it is, described in the metaphor of a body wasting away from illness—reminiscent of the picture of the people in Isaiah 1:5–6.

17:5 The metaphor of internal decay is replaced by one of external destruction in the picture of a reaper in the fertile Valley of Rephaim, south of Jerusalem, in which a rich harvest is gathered and only a few stray ears are left.

17:6 There is room for hope here through an image of an olive tree on which a few fruits are left. This reflects the theme of the remnant, which appears in different metaphors throughout the book and is a promise pledged by the Lord himself.

17:7 The second of the “in that day” sections (cf. v. 4) does not interrupt the flow of thought—as many have argued—but rather, given the inevitability of judgment, shows who can be trusted and what really lies behind the people’s false confidence. The focus here on haʾadam (Hb. “mankind”) is wider than Israel or Syria and looks to the final gathering of God’s people. “Look on” means more than a passing glance; it is a fixing of the eyes on God as the only source of strength. “Maker” is a contrast to the human inventions of verse 8. But the Creator is also the “Holy One of Israel,” who, unlike lifeless idols, fills the earth with his glory.

17:8 Negatives reinforce the positives of verse 7, because we so easily slip into false conceptions of God and must be reminded of what he is not, as well as what he is. The whole paraphernalia of idolatry is cogently exposed here. Idols are essentially human inventions and, as such, are not merely less than Yahweh but less than humanity. As such they require a visible support system of altars that glorify the maker rather than the supposed god. The Asherah poles (cf. 2 Kings 23:6) were dedicated to the goddess Asherah, queen of heaven and consort of El, the Canaanite high god. Her worship centered on wooden poles, which may have been stylized representations of trees, symbolizing fertility.43 The “altars of incense” were also linked with Baal worship. Calling them the “work of his hands” and “what his own fingers have made” show that this is essentially humanity worshiping its own creation.

17:9 The “wooded heights” are probably the overgrown and deserted hilltop ruins of preconquest Canaan. If there is a reference here to the notorious high places that many kings failed to remove, then the link with verse 8 is very close.44 The irony is that God’s people have turned back to these discredited pagan practices instead of trusting in Yahweh.

17:10 “Forgetting” in Scripture is not a simple lapse of memory but a deliberate turning away from God, here described as the “God of your salvation.” This language is associated particularly with the great exodus events, but it has a far wider reference: what God did then was not simply an isolated action but a revelation of his character.45 The people could have had the security of Yahweh as their “Rock” of refuge but instead have dabbled in fertility religion, the probable referent of the images of planting and sowing represented by the phrase “vine-branch of a stranger.”

17:11 Their efforts are futile; the harvest will be a bitter disappointment. No frequency of fertility practices will impress Yahweh, who, unlike Baal, is not a nature god but the God of nature. Since the days of Cain, who offered God the work of his hands, false religion has always sought to impress, placate, and provoke a divine response. How different is the gospel! Man says, “I do good; therefore, God accepts me.” The gospel says, “God accepts me; therefore, I do good.”

17:12 The metaphor of the raging sea occurs in Psalm 2, as the nations rage against Yahweh and his anointed king. It is the main theme of Psalm 93, in which Yahweh sits enthroned above the raging waters, which are also the haunt of demonic powers (cf. Dan. 7:1–7).

17:13 The world powers may rage, but there is a more powerful voice: “He will rebuke them.” The verb gaʾar used here also occurs in Job 26:11 of God’s rebuking the pillars of heaven, linked with the stilling of the sea and the smiting of the sea monster Rahab. As in Isaiah 14, more than human power is involved. It is significant that in chapters 36–37 much of the narrative is driven by the contrast between the boasting words of the Assyrians and the powerful words of Yahweh (cf. comments on Isaiah 36–37). The enemies will become like chaff (cf. Ps. 1:4); instead of being a powerful incoming tide, they will be driven helplessly before a superior power.

17:14 Just as the Assyrian army will cause terror to Jerusalem at night, they will vanish in the morning, an event probably also reflected in Psalm 46:5. Again the reference is far wider: God cares for his people, and woe betide those who ill-treat them.

18:1–2 The “land of whirring wings” is a reference to the prolific insect life of the Nile Valley, but there is also a probable connection to the “fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt” (Isa. 7:18). Cush was the father of Nimrod (Gen. 10:6–8) and thus linked from an early time with world power politics. The region of Cush is essentially the Upper Nile region, including parts of Ethiopia (thus relating to the new pharaoh, an Ethiopian); here it is representing the ends of the earth, as well as preparing the way for the oracle on Egypt.

The sense of covering vast distances is well conveyed by the image of papyrus boats traveling swiftly. The reference to the “tall” people is probably because the Ethiopians were proverbial for their height in the ancient world. The end of the verse, addressing the mighty conquering nation, widens out to include the Egyptians.

18:3 This may well be a summary of the message given to the ambassadors by Pharaoh. But it is far more a message from the King himself, who calls the nations to witness what he is doing in history. Just as at the beginning of the oracles a banner is raised (Isa. 13:2) and at the end a trumpet is blown (27:13), so here the world is summoned to hear a message that affects everyone and is the subject of 18:4–7.

18:4 Unlike the showy and blustering activities of the princes of this world, Yahweh works silently, like the warmth of the sun or the cool of the dew cloud. These are not just facts of nature; they are signs of the Creator in heaven, who is active also on earth. His looking on the earth is not simply observing events but the continuing providential care of all he has made.

18:5–6 The harvest is under God’s control; he cuts off the rich pickings the world rulers thought were their own. This is illustrated in the case of Sennacherib, but the ultimate fulfillment is in Revelation 19:11–21, where the armies of the beast and the false prophet are destroyed and their corpses form part of a gruesome feast for predatory creatures (cf. Ezek. 39:4). Summer and winter suggest a settled state, not simply a temporary respite.

18:7 “At that time” suggests the final gathering of the nations to Zion, here represented by the Ethiopians, who will come to Jerusalem not for diplomacy but for worship. One striking example of this is the Ethiopian finance minister who comes to Jerusalem to worship and, while returning, meets not only Philip the Evangelist but the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Acts 8:26–39). Isaiah has already spoken of this gathering in 2:2–5 and in other passages throughout the book.