Isa 17:10 Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips.

Isaiah 17 begins with a burden against Damascus (v.1). “Damascus is taken away,” that is, it shall be destroyed. This prophecy was fulfilled when Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, took Damascus, and carried the people captives to Kir (2Kings 16:9). Damascus was one of the great cities of the ancient world, and the capital of the ancient nation of Syria. Syria, under king Benhadad, made constant wars with Samaria (Israel) (1 Kings 20:1). But under Pekah king of Israel, this king made a league with Rezin king of Syria and made war with Jerusalem (2 Kings 16:5). Ahaz was the king of Judah. This was the Ahaz who rejected God’s help and instead, sought help from the king of Assyria (Isaiah 7:1-14). The king of Assyria hearkened to Ahaz and defeated Damascus (2 Kings 16:6-9). Hence, Isaiah’s prophecy against Damascus also includes Ephraim (Israel) because these two nations had conspired together to overthrow Judah. Ephraim’s alliance with a heathen nation brought her under the same judgment as Damascus (v.3-11). The third section of this chapter deals with the invaders, the Assyrians (v.12-14). Though Assyria will come with the destructive force of a raging sea, but it will not always be thus, for “God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind” (v.13). God is in control. He uses a wicked nation to accomplish His purpose and then scatters them, bringing them to an end: “At evening time, behold, terror! Before morning, they are no more! This is the portion of those who loot us, and the lot of those who plunder us” (v.14, ESV). At even there is great terror among God's people, for fear of their enemies; but before the morning comes, their enemies are cut off. This probably refers to the destruction of the army of Sennacherib on that fatal night when the angel of the Lord killed 185,000 men. They were a terror to Judah the night before, but were dead bodies by morning (2 kings 19:32-37). What was the sin of Israel? “For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge” (v.10a, ESV). The Israelites had forgotten the God of their salvation. They had forgotten all the times God was their Rock and Refuge. What about us? Have we forgotten the God of our salvation? Have we forgotten that God is our Rock and Refuge. What does it mean by God is our Rock and Refuge? God is not a small rock we can hold in our hands. God is a massive solid rock like a mountain. He is strong and unmovable and where we can take refuge, or shelter. Like Ahaz, sometimes we forget that God is our Rock whom we can rely and lean on for help. We forget that He is the God of salvation, the only One who can deliver us from troubles. What is the cause? Faithlessness! Too often, we are so caught up in the world we are living that we forget God’s place in our lives. Our work, family, and many other activities that weigh us down, keep us more than occupied that we hardly think about God. We get so consumed with the life we are living that we forget the One who give us that life. We forget the very One who provides us the blessings we are enjoying. Brethren, in the middle of your busy day today, take a few minutes to pray, read a portion of the Bible, and think about God. If you do this every day, I can assure you that you will always remember the God of your salvation. Those who forget God are those who fail to remember Him during the day.