Isaiah 17:1-8

A Message concerning Damascus: “Watch this: Damascus undone as a city, a pile of dust and rubble! Her towns emptied of people. The sheep and goats will move in And take over the towns as if they owned them—which they will! Not a sign of a fort is left in Ephraim, not a trace of government left in Damascus. What’s left of Aram? The same as what’s left of Israel—not much.” Decree of GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies. “The Day is coming when Jacob’s robust splendor goes pale and his well-fed body turns skinny. The country will be left empty, picked clean as a field harvested by field hands. She’ll be like a few stalks of barley left standing in the lush Valley of Rephaim after harvest, Or like the couple of ripe olives overlooked in the top of the olive tree, Or the four or five apples that the pickers couldn’t reach in the orchard.” Decree of the GOD of Israel. Yes, the Day is coming when people will notice The One Who Made Them, take a long hard look at The Holy of Israel. They’ll lose interest in all the stuff they’ve made—altars and monuments and rituals, their homemade, handmade religion—however impressive it is.