Daily Devotions
Isaiah
"The glory of Jacob will wane"
Text: Isaiah 17:4
THE GLORY THAT GOD GIVES
There is a glory that belongs to God alone. But there is a glory that God has given to man. That glory can fade away, for it is not permanent.
“‘In that day it shall come to pass
That the glory of Jacob will wane,
And the fatness of his flesh grow lean.
It shall be as when the harvester gathers the grain,
And reaps the heads with his arm;
It shall be as he who gathers heads of grain
In the Valley of Rephaim.
Yet gleaning grapes will be left in it,
Like the shaking of an olive tree,
Two or three olives at the top of the uppermost bough,
Four or five in its most fruitful branches,’
Says the LORD God of Israel.”
Isaiah 17:4-6
1. The glory of Jacob.
a) The glory of redemption.
b) The glory of becoming a nation.
c) The glory of becoming a significant nation.
2. The waning of the glory of Jacob.
a) When the nation neglected God.
b) When the nation rejected the Covenant of God.
c) When the nation turned to idolatry.
3. Practical ramifications:
a) When the people become lean in the flesh because of hunger.
b) The picture in Isaiah 17:5.
i) It is the picture of gleaning work during harvest time.
ii) The Valley of Rephaim was “disputed” by the Philistines and Israel.
iii) A number of battles took place here.
c) What the harvesters would obtain at harvest.
i) A few heads of grain.
ii) A few branches of grapes.
iii) A handful of olives.
iv) The Valley of Rephaim used to be prosperous.