In that day the glory of Jacob will fade; the fat of his body will waste away. – Isaiah 17:4

Today’s Scripture Reading (February 14, 2020): Isaiah 17

To truly understand the Middle East, we have to understand the Syrian dream for a “Greater Syria.” At a minimum, Greater Syria is described as encompassing Syria, Lebanon, and the northern portion of modern-day Israel. At maximum, Greater Syria extends from the border of Iran and Iraq, through the fertile crescent and down to the traditional boundary between Israel and Egypt. And it is this Syrian dream that makes the controversial Golan Heights so important. The Golan Heights are a strategic high place looking down on Galilee in Israel. During the Six-Day War in 1967, Syria used the Golan heights to invade Israel to capture land thought to belong to the dream of Greater Syria. Miraculously, Israel beat back the invasion and occupied the Golan Heights. Today, Israel maintains that the Golan Heights are critical to Israeli security. And they are probably not wrong as long as the Syrian dream of a Greater Syria exists, and that dream is unlikely to die anytime soon.

In the days of Isaiah, the Northern Kingdom of Israel had allied itself with Syria against the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Isaiah was not amused. Syria was moving to take control of the land that now belongs in the current dream of Greater Syria. And so, as Isaiah prophecies against Damascus (Syria), he includes Ephraim (The Kingdom of Israel) in his condemnation. He predicts that what is unique about Israel is going to disappear as they ally themselves with foreign powers who want nothing more than to take from Israel without giving anything back. And so, Isaiah says that the glory of Jacob will fade and that the body of Jacob will waste away. All that ancient Syria wanted from Israel was to steal away what made Israel special in the first place.

The reality of the situation for Isaiah’s Ephraim was that by allying with Syria, the Kingdom of Israel became a threat to Judah, but more importantly, it became a threat to the burgeoning Assyrian Empire. The Assyrian Empire preferred to control nations without taking them over, at least in the beginning, but the alliance between Damascus and Ephraim demanded a response. The Assyrians decided that they had to move against the Damascus – Ephraim alliance before it grew any stronger.

During the Assyrian response, Ephraim disappeared. More literally, they became watered down as the Assyrians moved other people into Samaria. As a result of intermarriage, the Northern Tribes of Israel stepped off of the pages of history. And Isaiah’s prophecy came true. The glory of Jacob had faded, and the fat of his body had wasted away.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Isaiah 18