Isaiah 17:8

And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images. AND HE SHALL NOT ... RESPECT (THAT) WHICH HIS FINGERS HAVE MADE, EITHER THE GROVES - (Hebrew, 'Asheeriym (H842)). A symbolical tree is often found in Assyrian inscriptions, representing the hosts of heaven ( tsaabaa' (H6635)), answering to Asteroth, or Astarte, the queen of heaven, as Baal or Bel, or the sun, is the king. Hence, the expression, "a graven image of the grove," is explained 2 Kings 21:7. A man's "fingers" do not make an ordinary grove, as here a man's fingers are said to do. OR THE IMAGES (Hebrew, chammanim, fro...

8._And he shall not look to the altars. _This contrast shews more clearly that the _looking _which he spoke of in the former verse relates strictly to hope and confidence, for he says that every kind of sinful confidence will vanish away when men have learned to hope in God; and indeed in no other manner can any one obtain clear views of God than by driving far from him all superstitions. We are thus taught that obstacles of this kind ought to be removed if we wish to approach to God. It is vain to think of making a union between God and idols, as the Papists do, and as the Jews formerly did; for that vice is not peculiar to our age, but has prevailed in all ages. Every obstruction ought therefore to be removed, that we may look to God with such earnestness as to have just and clear views of him, and to put our trust in him. _The work of his hands. _It is for the purpose of exciting abho...

1-11 Sin desolates cities. It is strange that great conquerors should take pride in being enemies to mankind; but it is better that flocks should lie down there, than that they should harbour any in open rebellion against God and holiness. The strong holds of Israel, the kingdom of the ten tribes, will be brought to ruin. Those who are partakers in sin, are justly made partakers in ruin. The people had, by sins, made themselves ripe for ruin; and their glory was as quickly cut down and taken away by the enemy, as the corn is out of the field by the husbandman. Mercy is reserved in the midst of judgment, for a remnant. But very few shall be marked to be saved. Only here and there one was left behind. But they shall be a remnant made holy. The few that are saved were awakened to return to God. They shall acknowledge his hand in all events; they shall give him the glory due to his name. To...

Verse Isaiah 17:8. _THE ALTARS, THE WORK OF HIS HANDS _- "The altars dedicated to the work of his hands"] The construction of the words, and the meaning of the sentence, in this place are not obvious; all the ancient Versions, and most of the modern, have mistaken it. The word מעשה _maaseh_, "the work," stands _in regimine_ with מזבחות _mizbechoth_, "altars," not in opposition to it; it means the, altars _of_ the work of their hand; that is _of_ the idols, which are the work of their hands. Thus _Kimchi_ has explained it, and _Le_ _Clerc_ has followed him....

AND HE SHALL NOT LOOK TO THE ALTARS - That is, the altars of the gods which the Syrians worshipped, and the altars of the false gods which had been erected in the land of Israel or Samaria by its wicked kings, and particularly by Ahaz. Ahaz fancied an altar which he saw at Damascus when on a visit to Tiglath-pileser, and ordered Urijah the priest to construct one like it in Samaria, on which he subsequently offered sacrifice 2 Kings 16:10. It is well known, also, that the kings of Israel and Judah often reared altars to false gods in the high places and the groves of the land (see 2 Kings 21:3). The Ephraimites were particularly guilty in this respect Hosea 8:11 : ‘Because Ephraim hath made m

EXPOSITION ISAIAH 17:1 THE BURDEN OF DAMASCUS. The eye of the prophet travels northwards from Moab, and, passing over Ammon as an enemy of small account, rests once more upon Damascus, already threatened in Isaiah 7:1, and probably already partially punished. Damascus is seen once more in alliance with Ephraim (Isaiah 7:3), and the two are joined with a new power, Aroer (Isaiah 7:2), which possesses several "cities." Woe is denounced on all the three powers: desolation on Damascus and Aroer; on Damascus and Ephraim, the complete loss of the last sh

AND HE SHALL NOT TOOK TO THE ALTARS, THE WORK OF HIS HANDS,.... That is, to altars erected to the worship of idols, which are both the works of men's hands, so as to serve at them, and sacrifice upon them. Kimchi observes, that the latter clause is not to be understood as belonging to the former, but as distinct from it, and signifies idols which men have made; otherwise all altars, even the altars of God, were the works of men, which yet it was right to look unto, and offer sacrifice upon; but idol altars, and idols themselves, are here meant: and a good man will not look unto his good works as altars to atone for sin; he knows that nothing that a creature can do can expiate sin; that his best works are such as are due to God, and therefore can never atone for past crimes; that Jesus Christ is only the altar, sacrifice, and priest, to whom he looks for, and from whom he receives the ato...

CHAPTER 17 The Burden of Damascus and Judgment upon Ephraim 1. _Damascus to be a ruinous heap (Isaiah 17:1)_ 2. _Judgment upon Ephraim (Isaiah 17:4)_ 3. _Woe to the enemies of Israel (Isaiah 17:12) _ Damascus was the ancient city of Syria, mentioned for the first time in Genesis 15:1. Syria and Ephraim had made common cause against the house of David. Tiglath-pileser, King of Assyria, executed the judgment upon Damascus and made of it a ruinous heap. But the judgment is also future. And the enemies of Israel, which trouble His people, will be troubled “in that day.” It is a solemn word with which this chapter

ORACLE ON DAMASCUS AND ISRAEL. In spite of the title this prophecy deals much more with Ephraim than Damascus, which is not mentioned after Isaiah 17:3. The close connexion of the two suggests that they have formed an alliance, and this is confirmed by the probable reference to Syrian forms of worship in Isaiah 17:10. The prophecy is therefore later than Isaiah 9:8 to Isaiah 10:4, when the alliance between Syria and Ephraim had not been formed. It must be earlier than 732, since at that date Damascus fell. We may perhaps fix the date a little more precisely. No reference is made to the invasion of Judah by the allied forces, so this had probably not

THE GROVES. the _Asherahs._ See App-42. Reference to Pentateuch (Exodus 34:13.Deuteronomy 7:5; Deuteronomy 12:3; Deuteronomy 16:21). App-79. IMAGES. sun images. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 26:30); both mentioned again (Isaiah 27:9)....