Isaiah 17:7,8

b. CRISIS

TEXT: Isaiah 17:7-8

7

In that day shall men look unto their Maker, and their eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.

8

And they shall not look to the altars, the work of their hands; neither shall they have respect to that which their fingers have made, either the Asherim, or the sun-images.

QUERIES

a.

What prompted this contrition by men?

b.

What were the sun-images?

PARAPHRASE

When God's judgment begins to fall, men will turn and look for their Maker, and they will suddenly learn to fear the Holy One of Israel. They will no longer seek help from their idols and pagan altars which they made with their own hands. They will renounce their Asherim and sun-images.

COMMENTS

Isaiah 17:7-8 REFORMATION: Man is prone to disregard God and turn to the gods of his own making when he is prosperous and relatively secure from his enemies. But when calamity or crisis comes man cries out for Supernatural aid. Someone has said, There are no atheists in foxholes. When men have to face something about to overwhelm them and beyond their own powers to resolve they usually seek their Maker. This is not always repentance in the true sense of the word. Sometimes it is only reformation. This is what occurred in the case of most of the Jews. They simply reformed some of their behavioral patterns. They reformed by ceasing to do obeisance to statues. But they did not experience real repentance. There is a difference between reformation and repentance. Repentance involves a change of mind, a change of values, as well as changed conduct. Most of the Jews did not really repentthey simply reformed. When they returned from their captivities they made idols of their super-holiness. Their new idols were those of Jewish ancestry and Pharisaic self-righteousness. It is true, however, that the Jews were absolutely and thoroughly cured of image-worship. They had fallen into the depths of image-worship at this point in their history (Cf. 2 Kings 16:10 ff). Asherim were sacred pillars (much like totem poles) of the pagan groves (garden places where pagans gathered to worship idols and engage in lewd, sexual rites of worship). Sun-images were statues of the Phonecian goddess. Her worship was as lewd as that of Baal, with whom she was associated by the pagans.

QUIZ

1.

Why were men moved to look unto their Maker?

2.

What is the difference between reformation and repentance?

3.

How do we know the Jews did not (for the most part) repent?

4.

What were the Asherim and sun-images they were worshiping?