“You have forgotten God the Savior: you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress. There, though you set out the finest plants and plant imported vines”
~ Isaiah 17:10
Hi James and Ellen,
What do you know about your extended family? Do you know how many grandkids that there are on your dad’s side of your family? Do you know how many grandkids that there are on your ma’s side of your family? Do you know how many first cousins that your dad has? Do you know how many first cousins that your ma has? Is it important to you to know how many first cousins that you have? Your grandpaa has sixty-five first cousins on his ma’s side of his family. Your grandpaa cannot begin to tell you the names of all of his first cousins who are on his ma’s side of his family. Your grandpaa’s ma was the seventh oldest kid in a family of thirteen kids. Your grandpaa’s ma had seven bros and five sisters. Your grandpaa’s ma’s dad was the first mail carrier to deliver mail to the farmers who farmed acreages near Volga, South Dakota. When your grandpaa’s ma’s dad first began to deliver mail to the Volga area farmers, your grandpaa’s ma’s dad used a horse and buggy to deliver the mail. After your grandpaa’s ma’s dad bought a jitney – a Model T Ford, your grandpaa’s ma’s dad used the jitney to deliver mail to the Volga area farmers. A memoirs booklet was put together for the 50th wedding anniversary of your grandpaa’s ma’s dad and ma to commemorate through photos and anecdotes their lives and the lives of the thirteen kids who they raised. This booklet specifically shares the lives of your grandpaa’s ma’s dad and ma. Besides recounting the life stories of your grandpaa’s ma’s dad and ma through their own words and through short humorous anecdotes from at least one of their kids, this booklet of memories – to your grandpaa, testifies of what faithful Christ-follower lives are to always be like. Your grandpaa’s ma’s dad was for thirty-five years an elder in the Volga Christian Reformed Church that is located in Volga, South Dakota. While he was an elder, your grandpaa’s ma’s dad did the janitorial work that had to be done in the Volga Christian Reformed Church. One very insightful memory that was shared by your grandpaa’s ma’s dad in this book of memoirs is: ‘We have always kept our vow to tithe unto the Lord. And, no matter how hard the times and with a very larger family, the Lord has always blessed us.’
What do you know about Abraham’s extended family? Do you know how many bros that Abraham had? Do you know how Abraham’s extended family grew through Jacob – or Israel, – who was Abraham’s grandkid, who had twelve sons? Do you really care what Abraham’s family became – that Abraham’s extended family became the Israelite people group of guys, gals and kids? Do you really care that Nahor – one of Abraham’s two bros, settled in the land area that is located north of the Sea of Galilee – that Nahor would also have twelve sons and that one of his kids – whose name was Kemuel, would become the founder of Aram – which is the country of Syria today? Just as the history of the Israelite people group of guys and gals is filled with turbulence and turmoil, the Syrian nation of guys and gals has had to overcome a history that was filled with insurrections and instability. About 2710 years ago, the city of Damascus – which was the capital of the country of Syria, was a corrupt city. Isaiah was given a vision by God – as God the Father – through God – as God the Spirit, an oracle that had the city of Damascus one day being razed for its arrogant and destructive actions towards God’s specially chosen guys and gals. The city of Damascus at this time was located on strategic trade routes that ran between the land areas of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Arabia. From almost the get-go and especially from the time of King David, the Aramean guys and gals who were living in the city of Damascus and in the land area of Aram were enemies of God’s specially chosen guys and gals – the Israelite people group guys and gals. Even though the city of Damascus was destroyed by the Assyrian people group army in 732 B.C., the city of Damascus reemerged as a global power player. The city of Damascus in 635 A.D. was captured by guys who were Muslims. The city of Damascus was at that time made the Muslims’ world seat – where it remained until 1918 the center for the Muslims’ belief paradigm. The country of Syria and the city of Damascus would regain sovereignty as a free country and city in 1946 – which is two years before Israel would regain its land.
Isaiah – in the oracle that he received from God and which is Isaiah 17, would go on to blast God’s specially chosen guys and gals who were living in the land area of Ephraim. The words that God – as God the Spirit, breathed on Isaiah to write in verse 10 says, “You have forgotten God the Savior: you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress. There, though you set out the finest plants and plant imported vines” The remainder of this chapter goes on to say that there would be no harvest, that there would be a day of disease and incurable pain, that there would be an uproar of rage among their neighboring nations and people groups of guys and gals and that there would be when plunders arrive to loot and destroy a time of sheer terror among the Israelite people group guys and gals who were living in the land area of Ephraim and the guys and gals who were living in the city of Damascus. God promised His specially chosen guys and gals that He would leave a remnant of Israelite guys and gals in the land that He gave to them to always to have to live in as their very own land if . . . just as there will always be ripe olives remaining on an olive tree that has been beaten as a way to harvest the ripe olives – which poor servants could glean later to use for themselves. The guys and gals who were living in the land area of Ephraim and in the city of Damascus would face God’s ire because of their worshipping inert manmade wood, rock, clay and metal idol gods instead of only Him.
Isaiah 17 (853)