The
burden against Damascus. “Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, And it
will be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aroer are forsaken; They will be for
flocks Which lie down, and no one will make them afraid. Isaiah 17:1-2 NKJV
I
am sure by now most everyone is aware of the events in Syria this past week,
and the attack on Friday night by US, British, and French forces in response to
Syria’s use of chemical weapons. In
response, many have already begun to speculate that this may lead to the
fulfillment of the prophecy we find in Isaiah 17 concerning the destruction of
Damascus. While this may well be the beginning
of the process which brings these things about, one question many have asked
over the years is just what occurs that provokes Israel to do what it does.
That
too, was a question I considered at length when I first began my studies of the
Isaiah prophecy and the conclusion I came to was the result of searching for
the location of the “cities of Aroer” mentioned in the passage above. Although some might disagree, I believe it is
a very strong possibility that, as you can see from the two maps above, what
Isaiah may be telling us is that Israel responds to an attack by Syria on the
nuclear research facility at Dimona. While this is certainly speculation on my
part, considering the events that have occurred recently, I personally find it hard to
believe it is coincidence that the location of Aroer and Dimona appear to be
one in the same.
The
area mentioned in the Isaiah 17 prophecy is described as "the cities of
Aroer". Unlike Damascus, Aroer no
longer exists, so we are left to try to identify its location by studying past
references, and looking for archeological evidence that might support a
conclusion as to its whereabouts. Aroer is mentioned three times in the Bible,
and all occur in the Old Testament.
Unfortunately for us, however, each describes a different location, so
we are left to examine what the Bible says about each and see if we can decide
which location Isaiah is attempting to describe. The first mention of Aroer is found in the
book of Deuteronomy where it says;
“From
Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, and from the city that is in
the ravine, as far as Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us; the
LORD our God delivered all to us.”
Deuteronomy 2:36 NKJV
This
site has been identified as being on the northern bank of the Arnon ravine
located in the modern country of Jordan, just east of the Dead Sea. The second mention of Aroer we find is in the
book of Joshua, where Moses is allotting land to the twelve tribes and
describing their boundaries. In this
verse he describes;
“Their
territory was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the
Ammonites as far as Aroer, which is before Rabbah,” Joshua
13:25 NKJV
Joshua
describes Aroer as being "before
Rabbah". This city or any ruins
of it have never been located, but by the description we know it would need to
be situated be some twenty miles or so north of Jerusalem. The final time Aroer is mentioned before
Isaiah’s prophecy is in the book of Samuel, where we find it listed among a
group of cities that David is sharing spoil with from his defeat of the
Amalekites. We find when we read that;
“those
who were in Aroer, those who were in Siphmoth, those who were in Eshtemoa,” 1 Samuel 30:28 NKJV
This
location has been identified as being in the Negev, twelve miles southeast of
Beer-sheba. We also see from reading
this passage that it was one of many cities located in the same area which
helped and supported David in his battle with the Amalekites. Ruins of this city have been found, and you
can even locate it on a map if your Bible has maps in the back. Simply look for a map of Israel in the time
of David, and you should be able to see Aroer located in the south of Israel,
southwest of Beer-sheba. So we have three different locations to choose from,
and no help from the Isaiah passage to identify which one he is referring to. Is it possible to find a way to know for sure
exactly which one of these locations is the one that Isaiah describes as being
"forsaken"?
First
of all, I think it may be logical to assume that Isaiah is referring to the
location southeast of Beer-sheba for several reasons. The first is that if you compare the dates
that these three books were written, you find that the Samuel passage was
written closest to the time of Isaiah, as opposed to the others which were
written much earlier in Israel’s history.
Also, if you look closely at these three locations, you see one of them
is in Jordan, not Israel. Since Isaiah
is describing a conflict between Syria and Israel, I think we can dismiss the
Jordan location as a possibility.
So
we are left to choose between two locations, one which has never been
positively located, and one which not only has been located, but may have some
military significance as well. If we
look at a map of Israel during the time of the twelve tribes, we can easily see
where Aroer is located. Now compare that
map with a map of Israel today and you may be surprised to find that a very
significant complex has been constructed in the same approximate location of
ancient Aroer, and that is the nuclear research facility known as Dimona. Since Isaiah is describing a future conflict
between Israel and Syria, obviously there must be a good reason that Israel
chooses to completely destroy Damascus.
Is it possible that it is in response to an attack of some sort on
Dimona?
“The
cities of Aroer are forsaken;”
The
word "forsaken" in the Hebrew is "azab"
which means "to depart, abandon,
loose, relinquish, leave." The
first thing that crossed my mind when I read this was not what it does say, but
what it doesn't say. It doesn't say that
Aroer is destroyed; only abandoned. It
also says “cities” which gives the impression of a very large area being
affected. This scenario seems best
explained by either the use of chemical weapons, or an attack that somehow damages the reactor and allows radiation to escape. Obviously the Syrian regime
has no problem using chemical weapons on its own people, and Iran is more than happy to provide them with advanced missiles, so the question seems
to be, which will they choose to use and will they be willing to use them against Israel?
casus belli: an event or action that justifies or allegedly justifies a war or conflict
The fact that the nation of Israel is surrounded by enemies who desire nothing more than to see their destruction is certainly not news to anyone even slightly informed about the world we live in today. This situation, obviously, then begs the question; “what are they waiting for”? It can be fairly said that Israel has made the attempt to live in peace with its enemies since the birth of the nation in 1948, fighting wars only to defend itself rather than being the aggressor. Yet, since God in His foreknowledge has told us that there are wars yet to be fought, it is logical to wonder what exactly is going to occur that provokes Israel’s enemies to attack once again. Now while some might argue that the nation of Syria has too many problems of its own to attempt to respond to Israel’s actions, I would say we need to consider another term from history which would seem, in light of recent events, to be extremely relevant, and that is “proxy war”.
proxy war: A war instigated by a major power which does not itself become involved.
The relationship between Iran and Syria is complicated, but the one thing that remains clear is that Iran has invested a lot of money, materiel, and personnel to develop and upgrade Syria’s military capabilities. Much of Syria’s missile technology and armament has been provided by Iran, and at present it is reported as fact by many intelligence sources that members of the Iranian Republican Guard are in Syria helping develop and train Syrian troops. Iran has spent much of its time in the past few years attempting to establish bases of operation within the borders of Syria, while Israel has made a habit of blowing them up. Most of all, Iran has so far committed itself to support the president of Syria, Bashar Assad, in power. So the question must be asked, just what does Iran want from Syria in exchange for all of this help?
The fact that the Isaiah 17 prophecy tells us that the city of Damascus is destroyed, rather than Tehran, obviously supports the conclusion that Israel is attacked from Syria. While that is the case, one has to wonder, considering the situation there, who is really behind the attack on Israel? Most at this point in time would agree that Iran is the country behind all that is going on in that region, and their hatred for Israel is well known. I believe, and many agree, that at this point in time Iran is simply waiting for a justifiable excuse to attack Israel and attempt to make good on the myriad of threats it has made in the past.
Only
time will tell if this is what Isaiah is telling us, but what we do know is
that God has prophesied that Damascus “will cease from being a city.”
Keep
watching.
Update 3/31/2020
https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/has-syria-reactivated-its-chemical-weapons-program/
Update 3/31/2020
https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/has-syria-reactivated-its-chemical-weapons-program/
UPDATE 12/26/21
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-689777
