Isaiah 17:12-14 - Before Morning They Are No More

Introduction

[READING - Isaiah 17:12-14]

Isaiah 17:12–14 NASB95

12 Alas, the uproar of many peoples Who roar like the roaring of the seas, And the rumbling of nations Who rush on like the rumbling of mighty waters! 13 The nations rumble on like the rumbling of many waters, But He will rebuke them and they will flee far away, And be chased like chaff in the mountains before the wind, Or like whirling dust before a gale. 14 At evening time, behold, there is terror! Before morning they are no more. Such will be the portion of those who plunder us And the lot of those who pillage us.

[PRAYER]

[INTER] What about the other nations?

That’s the question that this section of Isaiah is answering.

[CONTEXT] His word of judgment had come to Israel and Judah. His people would pay the price for their wickedness, but a righteous remnant would emerge.

The pagan nations who rebelled against him and refused to come to him for salvation would perish in their wickedness.

As we have seen so far, that has been God’s word against Babylon, Assyria, Philistia, Moab, and Damascus.

And it will continue to be His Word against Ethiopia, Egypt, Babylon again, Edom, and Arabia, Tyre, and indeed the whole earth.

[CIT] But in Isaiah 17:12-14, we have God’s word for all those nations that rebel against Him and persecute His people.

[PROP] This is God’s Word to us tonight—the nations roar but they had better do homage to the Son lest they perish in the way.

[TS] We want to look carefully at each of these three VERSES in Isaiah 17:12-14…

Major Ideas

VERSE 12: The Roar, Rumble, and Rush of Many Nations (Isaiah 17:12)

Isaiah 17:12 NASB95

12 Alas, the uproar of many peoples Who roar like the roaring of the seas, And the rumbling of nations Who rush on like the rumbling of mighty waters!

[EXP] In Psalm 18, David fears that the “torrents of ungodliness” will overtake him; he even fears that the overwhelming rush of ungodliness might put him in the grave. That’s the idea here in Isaiah 17:12.

Whether Babylon or Damascus or Moab, many nations were rushing like a mighty river toward wickedness, and that wickedness seemed overwhelming.

It seemed as if it might drown the people of God.

[ILLUS] A couple weeks ago, Cheryl and I took the kids to the beach at Gulf Shores. It was hot. It was sandy. It was ‘jellyfishy,’ but the waves were of a pretty good size!

At one point, Madelyn, Lydia, and I were out in the water—Madelyn on a little wake board and Lydia on a little float.

A wave came in and I tried to let Lydia ride it, but I pushed her too late. She didn’t go far until another wave came and took her for ride to shore, and then another wave came in that dumped her over backward.

I was watching as the waves crested and her feet shot up in the air as she disappeared beneath he surf.

[APP] In Isaiah’s day, it surely felt like ungodliness was taking God’s people for a ride. And it surely felt like if this wave of wickedness didn’t get them, another one soon would.

It feels like that in our day as well, doesn’t it?

It seems like every day we are waking up to a new wave of wickedness, a new wave of rebellion against God that is roaring, rumbling, and rushing toward shore.

We perhaps even feel like it will overtake us.

We perhaps feel like it’s inevitable or even unstoppable.

But though wickedness rages and rushes on in its rebellion against God, He who sits in the heavens laughs; He scoffs at them; and He will speak to them in His anger.

[TS] That bring us to Isaiah 17:13…

VERSE 13: The Rebuke of the Lord (Isaiah 17:13)

Isaiah 17:13 NASB95

13 The nations rumble on like the rumbling of many waters, But He will rebuke them and they will flee far away, And be chased like chaff in the mountains before the wind, Or like whirling dust before a gale.

[EXP] Psalm 1 speaks of the godly. They do not walk in the counsel of the wicked. They do not stand in the path of sinner. They do not sit in the seat of scoffers. Their delight is in the law of the Lord; they meditate on it day and night; they will be like trees firmly planted by streams of water fruitful, strong, and prospering. But Psalm 1:4 says of the wicked…

Psalm 1:4 NASB95

4 The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.

Chaff is the husks of grain separated from the seed of grain by winnowing or threshing.

The chaff was so light that it was often carried away like dust in the wind.

Here in Isaiah 17:13, the nations rumble against God and His people, but God’s rebuke will cause them to flee like chaff chased by mountain wind, like dust in a hurricane.

God’s rebuke is not just a tongue lashing.

His rebuke destroys the wicked.

It blots them out.

Psalm 9:5 NASB95

5 You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their name forever and ever.

This is what’s in store for all those people who refuse to repent of their wickedness and pay homage to the Son.

[ILLUS] Jesus and His disciples were once on the Sea of Galilee when “there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up,” (Mk. 4:37).

Jesus was asleep, but His disciples were in a panic. Some of them were experienced fisherman, but they all woke Him with a question, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (Mk. 38).

They were feeling overwhelmed by the storm.

They were feeling like the storm by take them to their graves.

But Jesus (we might imagine Him wiping the sleep from His eyes), “got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Hush, be still.’ And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm,” (Mk. 4:39).

The Jesus had a question for His disciples, “Why are you afraid? How is it that you have no faith?” (Mk. 4:40).

[APP] The rebuke of the Lord is powerful; not just powerful to calm a raging storm, but also powerful enough to calm raging nations.

And one day Jesus will rebuke all the nations that rage against Him, and they will go silent, go calm, and Jesus will perhaps turn to us who are so worried about all the wickedness in our day and ask, “Why are you afraid? How is it that you have no faith?”

[TS]…

VERSE 14: The Removal By Morning (Isaiah 17:14)

Isaiah 17:14 NASB95

14 At evening time, behold, there is terror! Before morning they are no more. Such will be the portion of those who plunder us And the lot of those who pillage us.

[ILLUS] I believe its in the pilot episode of Little House on the Prairie that Pa Ingalls has to sit outside all night protecting the family with a lantern and a shot gun as wolves snarl, howl, and run circles around the family cabin.

It must’ve been a terrifying night to be sure, but by the time the sun came up, the wolves had dispersed and the threat was over.

[EXP] In Isaiah’s day, the ravenous evil of the pagan nations seemed unstoppable. God’s people were trembling with terror, but God promised the terrorists would soon be no more.

At evening time, behold, there is terror! Before morning they are no more.

God will make short work of those pagan nations that rage against Him.

Those who quarrel with God’s people will soon not be found; they will be nothing and nonexistent (Isa. 41:12).

This is the portion of those who plunder and pillage God’s people.

This is what has happened and this is what will happen to the wicked who rebel against God and attack His people.

[ILLUS] In Isaiah’s day, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, led his great army to Jerusalem. The plan was to seize, infiltrate, and ultimately overthrow the city.

But God sent word through the prophet Isaiah, which we have recorded in 2 Kings 19:32—34…

2 Kings 19:32–34 NASB95

32 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, “He will not come to this city or shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield or throw up a siege ramp against it. 33 “By the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he shall not come to this city,” ’ declares the Lord. 34 ‘For I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’ ”

But as night feel, the Assyrian terror still loomed outside Jerusalem’s gates.

Would God keep His word to His people?

Before morning, would the Assyrian terror really be no more?

We read in 2 Kings 19:35-36…

2 Kings 19:35–36 NASB95

35 Then it happened that night that the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead. 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home, and lived at Nineveh.

Sennacherib was later murdered in Nineveh as he worshipped his false god.

There was terror the night before, but before morning it was no more.

[APP] Jesus is the bright morning star that arises in our hearts (2 Pet. 1:19; Rev. 22:16) to reassure us that the terror will not last; wickedness will not overtake us; it will not go on forever.

In His death and resurrection, sin has lost its sting and power (1 Cor. 15:56); In His death and resurrection, the rulers and authorities have been put to open shame (Col. 2:15).

It may seem as if evil is unstoppable in our world today.

It may seem as if it will overtake us, swallow us up, and send us to the grave.

But Jesus has already won…

…wickedness is already defeated…

…and soon the terror of the night will give way to joy of the morning when Jesus comes again!

This we know because He lived for us, died for us, rose for us, and promised to come for us!

[TS]…

Conclusion

[PRAYER]