#998 Isaiah 36 Tell Me What I Believe Again

 

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 2 And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem, with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer's Field. 3 And there came out to him Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder.

4 And the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours? 5 Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust, that you have rebelled against me? 6 Behold, you are trusting in Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 7 But if you say to me, “We trust in the Lord our God,” is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You shall worship before this altar”? 8 Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. 9 How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master's servants, when you trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 10 Moreover, is it without the Lord that I have come up against this land to destroy it? The Lord said to me, “Go up against this land and destroy it.”’”

11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 12 But the Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?”

13 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you. 15 Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord by saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us. This city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 16 Do not listen to Hezekiah. For thus says the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern, 17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Beware lest Hezekiah mislead you by saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? 20 Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’”

21 But they were silent and answered him not a word, for the king's command was, “Do not answer him.” 22 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh. Isaiah 36 ESV

Isaiah 36 Sennacherib threatens to invade Jerusalem

2 Kings 18

2 Chronicles 32

1-3. In the 14 year of Hezekiah - The links above will give more the setting to this. Jerusalem is in Judah, and the fortified cities have already been taken by the Assyrian army. This is what Isaiah had already prophesied was coming.

Eliakim, Shebna and Joah - These would be members of Hezekiah's cabinet, men he held close to him.

4-10. And the Rabshakeh - The high ranking officer (field commander) of Sennacherib, king of Assyria. He was sent from Lachish which had recently been defeated, along with the northern tribes of Israel and Syria. Their army seems unstoppable. 

The mention of Lachish is important historically. Lachish was thirty miles south-west of Jerusalem. Archaeologists have discovered a pit there with the remains of about 1,500 casualties of Sennachaerib’s attack. In the British Museum, you can see the Assyrian carving depicting their siege of the city of Lachish, which was an important fortress city of Judah. - Enduring Word

On what do you rest this trust of yours - Hezekiah was defying this tyrant who wanted to bring the world under his rule. He has already been warned by the prophet Isaiah not to align with Egypt in Isaiah 19, 20 and 30. 

Do you think that mere words - The ambassadors had already failed, and refusal of Sennacherib was not enough, he wasn't going to take no for an answer. 

 Behold, you are trusting in Egypt - The Assyrian is warning against this, but Hezekiah has already been warned by God. Assyria dominated Egypt and Cush, Judah's neighbors to the south. To a man of war, this seems the probable reason for Hezekiah's defiance.

“Egypt had made its one attempt to redeem its promises (28:14) and its army had been beaten at El Tekeh. The Rab-shakeh had himself seen this, but his words are more far-reaching and damaging, exposing the criminal stupidity of Judah’s leaders: surely, he said, they knew that anyone who ever trusted Egypt suffered for it.” (Motyer)

We trust in the Lord our God - This is where Isaiah has been directing all along, and sealed it in the scroll, with witnesses, that thus God has spoken. He will be the Deliverer of Jerusalem. Now the Rabshakeh will try to tear down such a claim of faith.

Whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed - His argument is mute, Hezekiah did this in respect of God, Who did not authorize these high places, places of apostasy. In fact, he was one of only a few kings who reformed Jerusalem to that extent.  It's like an unbeliever posing with a Bible, picking a verse out of context and acting like you should be moved to anything other than reproving them. 

…2“Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them this is what the LORD has commanded: 3‘Anyone from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox, a lamb, or a goat in the camp or outside of it4instead of bringing it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to present it as an offering to the LORD before His tabernacle—that man shall incur bloodguilt. He has shed blood and must be cut off from among his people.… Leviticus 17: 2-4

This command runs completely contrary to the way most people come to God in our culture. For the most part, Americans have an entirely individualistic way of coming to God, where each person makes up their own rules about dealing with God as they see Him. In the book Habits of the Heart, Robert Bellah and his colleagues interview a young nurse named Sheila Larson, whom they describe as representing many Americans’ experience and views on religion. Speaking about her own faith and how it operates in her life, she says: “I believe in God. I’m not a religious fanatic. I can’t remember the last time I went to church. My faith has carried me a long way. It is ‘Sheilaism.’ Just my own little voice.” This “pick-and-choose-as-I-go-along-according-to-my-inner-voice” approach is just like picking your own high place and altar to sacrifice to God the way you want to instead of the way God wants you to. - Enduring Word

The Lord said to me - Hezekiah already knows what the Lord has said through His prophet Isaiah. Yes, God allowed the Assyrians to carry out His justice upon Israel, Syria and Judah, but He also said it would go no further into Judah, into the city of Jerusalem. He told them not to go down to Egypt for help. Now, we were already warned that these things would take place, wars and rumors of such, so do we trust in the word of the living God, Who has told us before hand, or do we see the things he told us would happen, and now fear them more than the eternal Creator? If they carefully listened to God then they would see the error in the messenger now before them. He wants them to give up, to surrender an easy victory.

11-22. Do not speak to us in the language of Judah - They didn't want the people to hear, to become more afraid. They were told not to give the messenger an answer, and these men are obviously shaken to some great degree themselves. 

Make your peace with me - He talks like the Devil, promising them their own vines until he takes them to a better place, but they just have to deny their king, and they can live.

That the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand - He has quite a record, a long list of defeats, including their own brothers to the north. None of their gods saved them. He doesn't understand, there is only one God, and Israel knew that God, but dishonored Him by disobedience, and He is eternal, so He is infinitely opposed to all He calls sin, and let that sink in to all our hearts, that we not take His name in vain. Will God deliver Jerusalem? He said He would, and God cannot lie.

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#997 Isaiah 35 Crocus

 

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;

the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;

2 it shall blossom abundantly

and rejoice with joy and singing.

The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,

the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.

They shall see the glory of the Lord,

the majesty of our God.

3 Strengthen the weak hands,

and make firm the feeble knees.

4 Say to those who have an anxious heart,

“Be strong; fear not!

Behold, your God

will come with vengeance,

with the recompense of God.

He will come and save you.”

5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer,

and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

For waters break forth in the wilderness,

and streams in the desert;

7 the burning sand shall become a pool,

and the thirsty ground springs of water;

in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,

the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

8 And a highway shall be there,

and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;

the unclean shall not pass over it.

It shall belong to those who walk on the way;

even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.

9 No lion shall be there,

nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;

they shall not be found there,

but the redeemed shall walk there.

10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return

and come to Zion with singing;

everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;

they shall obtain gladness and joy,

and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Isaiah 35 ESV

Isaiah 35 The ransomed return

…19The creation waits in eager expectation for the revelation of the sons of God. 20For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.…

…22We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time. 23Not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he can already see?… Romans 8: 19-24

1-2. The wilderness and dry land shall be glad - After the judgment of the previous chapter, we see the restoration of all things. 

Like the crocus - Different flowers have been called this, including the saffron, but I think the picture here is of the first signs of hope. It is like the first flower of spring pushing through the snow, or as here, the first signs of life coming up from what was dry, desert and lifeless land. 

They shall see the glory of the Lord - Lebanon, Carmel and Sharon will be fruitful again, but shall also perceive in truth that this is from the Lord. They will see all things and Him through Whom all things were created. 

3-4. Strengthen the weak hands - Why are you still drinking milk? 

Are there such here tonight? No doubt there are — weak at work, and weak at praying. The two things go together — weak hands and feeble knees. May they both be strengthened. - Spurgeon

…11No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it. 12Therefore strengthen your limp hands and weak knees. 13Make straight paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.… Hebrews 12: 11-13

He will come and save you - Be anxious for nothing. Know that all things will come at their appointed time. 

…6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things.… Philippians 4: 6-8

5-7. Blind, deaf and lame - The spiritual ramifications of this are much weightier; it is a horrible thing to be blind to truth, to not hear it or recognize it when it comes. Christ will come and show His power over all these things by performing the physical miracles associated with these prophecies. The outward manifestations of sin, the physical ailments of it, ie blindness, lameness, deafness, the Messiah demonstrates in His power to remove these, that He can also cut out the root of sin, set us free. They bare testimony to Who He is.

…4Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 6Blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of Me.”… Matthew 11: 4-6

21In His name the nations will put their hope.” 22Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed the man so that he could speak and see. 23The crowds were astounded and asked, “Could this be the Son of David?”… Matthew 12: 21-23

…20When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?’ ” 21At that very hour Jesus healed many people of their diseases, afflictions, and evil spirits, and He gave sight to many who were blind. 22So He replied, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.… Luke 7: 20-22

The burning sand shall become a pool - Some translate this as parched land, but the meaning is deeper still. We see things dimly now, as afar off, or as reflections on polished metal, but we shall see Him as He is, at some time not so far off, face to face.

“The word translated parched ground actually means mirage, air reflection, an atmospheric phenomenon frequently seen in Eastern deserts which is caused by the reflection of the hot rays of the sun… Now the prophet brings the glad tiding that what used to be a mere semblance and an illusion will one day become a glorious reality.” (Bultema)

In the haunt of jackals - Places where only the most capable scavengers of the rocks, the best thieves among animals could ink out an existence. These deprived places, poor of nutrients and water, like the stone hearts of fallen, unregenerate man, God will cause water to spring up from these rocks, and the desert will flourish as Eden.

8-10. Way of Holiness - Jesus said, "I am the way the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by me." 

Even if they are fools, they shall not go astray - What a remarkable statement, and as a fool myself, it is an easement to my greatest concern. How will I not falter, what will keep me from error?

…7Return to your rest, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you. 8For You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.9I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.… Psalm 116: 7-9

…12Your vows are upon me, O God; I will render thank offerings to You. 13For You have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life. Psalm 56: 12-13

…29For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified. 31What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?… Romans 8: 29-31

…10nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 12“Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything.… 1 Corinthians 6: 10-12

No lion shall be there - Fear is removed, predation is gone. The devil is locked up for a thousand years.

…7Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 8Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.… 1 Peter 5: 7-9

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return - He has purchased them with His blood, the Guiltless for the guilty, and those freed from every bondage of sin shall have a new song in their heart. 

…18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot. 20He was known before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in the last times for your sake.… 1 Peter 1: 18-20

…19must offer an unblemished male from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order for it to be accepted on your behalf. 20You must not present anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.21When a man presents a peace offering to the LORD from the herd or flock to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without blemish or defect to be acceptable.… Leviticus 22: 19-21

…13For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that their bodies are clean, 14how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God! 15Therefore Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, now that He has died to redeem them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.… Hebrews 9: 13-15

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#996 Isaiah 34 O Nations

 

Draw near, O nations, to hear,

and give attention, O peoples!

Let the earth hear, and all that fills it;

the world, and all that comes from it.

2 For the Lord is enraged against all the nations,

and furious against all their host;

he has devoted them to destruction, has given them over for slaughter.

3 Their slain shall be cast out,

and the stench of their corpses shall rise;

the mountains shall flow with their blood.

4 All the host of heaven shall rot away,

and the skies roll up like a scroll.

All their host shall fall,

as leaves fall from the vine,

like leaves falling from the fig tree.

5 For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens;

behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom,

upon the people I have devoted to destruction.

6 The Lord has a sword; it is sated with blood;

it is gorged with fat,

with the blood of lambs and goats,

with the fat of the kidneys of rams.

For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,

a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

7 Wild oxen shall fall with them,

and young steers with the mighty bulls.

Their land shall drink its fill of blood,

and their soil shall be gorged with fat.

8 For the Lord has a day of vengeance,

a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

9 And the streams of Edom shall be turned into pitch,

and her soil into sulfur;

her land shall become burning pitch.

10 Night and day it shall not be quenched;

its smoke shall go up forever.

From generation to generation it shall lie waste;

none shall pass through it forever and ever.

11 But the hawk and the porcupine shall possess it,

the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.

He shall stretch the line of confusion over it,

and the plumb line of emptiness.

12 Its nobles—there is no one there to call it a kingdom,

and all its princes shall be nothing.

13 Thorns shall grow over its strongholds,

nettles and thistles in its fortresses.

It shall be the haunt of jackals,

an abode for ostriches.

14 And wild animals shall meet with hyenas;

the wild goat shall cry to his fellow;

indeed, there the night bird settles

and finds for herself a resting place.

15 There the owl nests and lays

and hatches and gathers her young in her shadow;

indeed, there the hawks are gathered,

each one with her mate.

16 Seek and read from the book of the Lord:

Not one of these shall be missing;

none shall be without her mate.

For the mouth of the Lord has commanded,

and his Spirit has gathered them.

17 He has cast the lot for them;

his hand has portioned it out to them with the line;

they shall possess it forever;

from generation to generation they shall dwell in it. Isaiah 34 ESV

Isaiah 34 Judgment on the nations

…20Pray that your flight will not occur in the winter or on the Sabbath. 21For at that time there will be great tribulation, unmatched from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again. 22If those days had not been cut short, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.… Matthew 24: 20-22

1-4. Draw near, O nations, to hear - This is the judgment of the nations, a great period of tribulation coming upon the world and its system. The disciples were directed to take the gospel to every nation, and this is the first part of it, that God is holy, that sin is come into the world and that a holy God must be just and remove sin. Do not leave them uninformed or as many who claim to know God now, yet ill informed. 

All the hosts of heaven shall rot away - The armies of mankind will be brought down and even the cosmos will fall. Everything that man sees as permanent or strong will be shaken.

…28Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. 29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.… Matthew 24: 28-30

5-7. It descends for judgment upon Edom - Edom is representative of those devoted to destruction. Edom is also a name for Esau, Jacob's brother. 

…12not by works but by Him who calls, she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13So it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” 14What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Certainly not!…

…15For He says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”… Romans 9: 12-17

“Edom was a sister nation to Israel, but it hated Israel more than any other nation. Throughout all of history we see a burning hatred of Edom against Israel. It is for this reason that Edom is frequently presented as a representative of all the nations that hated the Jews.” (Bultema)

ii. “Edom had derided and attacked Judah for centuries, but now God would avenge this hateful attitude that is so characteristic of the world’s ways.” (Wolf)

8-12. And her soil into sulfur - This is reminiscent of Sodom, God has not changed in His opposition to sin, but we are with even less excuse, for we know the history of all the nations. 

It's nobles - Over what? There are no permanent human habitations there; it is desolate.

13-17. Thorns shall grow over its strongholds - Ruins are all over our world, some of great architecture that baffles todays engineers, yet they are now inhabited by vines, monkeys, owls and snakes.

Indeed, there the hawks are gathered - The carcasses of men may be the carrion that originally draws them, like Matthew 24: 28. 

Seek and read from the book of the Lord - Look and see whether these things come to pass, if these are true sayings. Watch and be ever on the look out.

34But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare. 35For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of all the earth. 36So keep watch at all times, and pray that you may have the strength to escape all that is about to happen and to stand before the Son of Man.”… Luke 21: 34-36

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#995 Isaiah 33 Crying Heroes & Weeping Diplomats

 

Ah, you destroyer,

who yourself have not been destroyed,

you traitor,

whom none has betrayed!

When you have ceased to destroy,

you will be destroyed;

and when you have finished betraying,

they will betray you.

2 O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you.

Be our arm every morning,

our salvation in the time of trouble.

3 At the tumultuous noise peoples flee;

when you lift yourself up, nations are scattered,

4 and your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;

as locusts leap, it is leapt upon.

5 The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;

he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness,

6 and he will be the stability of your times,

abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;

the fear of the Lord is Zion's treasure.

7 Behold, their heroes cry in the streets;

the envoys of peace weep bitterly.

8 The highways lie waste;

the traveler ceases.

Covenants are broken;

cities are despised;

there is no regard for man.

9 The land mourns and languishes;

Lebanon is confounded and withers away;

Sharon is like a desert,

and Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.

10 “Now I will arise,” says the Lord,

“now I will lift myself up;

now I will be exalted.

11 You conceive chaff; you give birth to stubble;

your breath is a fire that will consume you.

12 And the peoples will be as if burned to lime,

like thorns cut down, that are burned in the fire.”

13 Hear, you who are far off, what I have done;

and you who are near, acknowledge my might.

14 The sinners in Zion are afraid;

trembling has seized the godless:

“Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire?

Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?”

15 He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,

who despises the gain of oppressions,

who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe,

who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed

and shuts his eyes from looking on evil,

16 he will dwell on the heights;

his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks;

his bread will be given him; his water will be sure.

17 Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty;

they will see a land that stretches afar.

18 Your heart will muse on the terror:

“Where is he who counted, where is he who weighed the tribute?

Where is he who counted the towers?”

19 You will see no more the insolent people,

the people of an obscure speech that you cannot comprehend,

stammering in a tongue that you cannot understand.

20 Behold Zion, the city of our appointed feasts!

Your eyes will see Jerusalem,

an untroubled habitation, an immovable tent,

whose stakes will never be plucked up,

nor will any of its cords be broken.

21 But there the Lord in majesty will be for us

a place of broad rivers and streams,

where no galley with oars can go,

nor majestic ship can pass.

22 For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver;

the Lord is our king; he will save us.

23 Your cords hang loose;

they cannot hold the mast firm in its place

or keep the sail spread out.

Then prey and spoil in abundance will be divided;

even the lame will take the prey.

24 And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”;

the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity. Isaiah 33 ESV

Isaiah 33 O Lord, Be gracious to us.

…26Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and will have nothing. Then the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood, and until the end there will be war; desolations have been decreed. 27And he will confirm a covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of the temple will come the abomination that causes desolation, until the decreed destruction is poured out upon him. Daniel 9: 26-27

1. Ah, you destroyer - This has present implications for Isaiah and Israel in the coming army of Assyria, but to all Israel's enemies till Messiah's kingdom is established. 

You traitor - Like the antichrist, Sennacherib received tribute from nations, including Israel, but greater than the cost of the silver and gold was the loss of true religion. This started in Ahaz's reign, and rather than repent of what God hates, Ahaz sought the favor of a tyrant in Assyria, even modeling his worship after theirs. He assumed that the gods of the Syrians beat the God of Israel, and so he sacrificed to their god, and then paid the king of Assyria tribute to remove some of his human enemies, but Ahaz was his own worse enemy, as were all who went against the only true God. 

Ill alliance

Ties

2-6. O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for You - This is a complete turn around compared to their taunts of Isaiah before, telling God, go ahead and judge us, "the spoil speeds, the prey hastens."

When You lift Yourself up - He is already high and lifted up, but now these people and their enemies will know.

And Your spoil is gathered as the caterpillars gather - The caterpillar does not plant the seed, water the plant, but it harvests the leaves. When the 185,000 Assyrian soldiers were killed by one angel of God, then even the lame, the outcasts could plunder the spoil of the dead soldiers. They carried much with them for they had destroyed and plundered other cities, but at the noise and horror they fled quickly. 

The fear of the Lord is Zion's treasure - This is a gift to any people, for with it comes wisdom, and He gives a desire unto righteousness.

…33Wisdom rests in the heart of the discerning; even among fools she is known. 34Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.35A king delights in a wise servant, but his anger falls on the shameful.… Proverbs 14: 33-35

7-9. The envoys of peace weep bitterly - Their heroes, men of war, cannot see Judah through this. The protectors cry for the enemy has swept through unimpeded. The diplomats have also failed in their attempts at peace, and the sight of this would make the people tremble. Where is our hope? 

The highways lie waste - There are no more travelers, Judah is effectively cut off. We know that Egypt will not deliver them, and there is no one else who would dare send them aid, not even food. The siege seems sure.

There is no regard for man - Human life means little, no one sees the image of God in their fellow. 

Lebanon, Sharon, Bashan and Carmel - Lebanon was known for her great cedar forests, Sharon and Bashan held rich pastoral lands. Carmel means fertile land or vineyard of God. These places are devastated by the invaders, cutting off food supply to the area. All the securities and comforts have been removed, the army is crying, the diplomats weep, human life is not sacred and the crops are spoiled to further set them back and increase the hopelessness. 

…13He made him ride on the heights of the land and fed him the produce of the field. He nourished him with honey from the rock and oil from the flinty crag, 14with curds from the herd and milk from the flock, with the fat of lambs, with rams from Bashan, and goats, with the choicest grains of wheat. From the juice of the finest grapes you drank the wine.15But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—becoming fat, bloated, and gorged. He abandoned the God who made him and scorned the Rock of his salvation.… Deuteronomy 32: 13-15

10-12. Now, I will arise, says the Lord - This is as far as Assyria in this case may come; his time of plundering has drawn to an end. He has fulfilled his duty as a punisher, but he does not recognize the true God either. His actions are allowed by God to correct God's people, but he is not jealous for the Lord. 

You conceive chaff; you give birth to stubble - The thief comes but to kill steal and to destroy, but now the plunderer will be plundered.

As if burned to lime - This resembles the stench of the brimstone of Sodom and Gomorrah when they had reached the fulness of the cup of God's wrath. 

13-16. Far off and near - When the Lord delivers Israel then the nations will know of God's might. Those in Jerusalem, who proclaimed to be of God's people, yet still loved their sin, they would now be afraid. When we read of the destruction of the Canaanites, of Sodom, God's deliverance of the people from Egypt, from the Philistines, and His direction not to be part of this world's system, how is it found in those who call themselves the church? We must repent. 

 Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire - This reminds us of the story of Uzzah, and it should remind today's church of Ananias and Saphira. 

There are sinners in Zion, hypocrites, that enjoy Zion's privileges and concur in Zion's services, but their hearts are not right in the sight of God; they keep up secret haunts of sin under the cloak of a visible profession, which convicts them of hypocrisy. Sinners in Zion will have a great deal to answer for above other sinners; and their place in Zion will be so far from being their security that it will aggravate both their sin and their punishment. Now those sinners in Zion, though always subject to secret frights and terrors, were struck with a more than ordinary consternation from the convictions of their own consciences. 1. When they saw the Assyrian army besieging Jerusalem, and ready to set fire to it and lay it in ashes, and burn the wasps in the nest. Finding they could not make their escape to Egypt, as some had done, and distrusting the promises God had made by his prophets that he would deliver them, they were at their wits' end, and ran about like men distracted, crying, "Who among us shall dwell with devouring fire? Let us therefore abandon the city, and shift for ourselves elsewhere; one had as good live in everlasting burnings as live here." Who will stand up for us against this devouring fire? so some read it. See here how the sinners in Zion are affected when the judgments of God are abroad; while they were only threatened they slighted them and made nothing of them; but, when they come to be executed, they run into the other extreme, then they magnify them, and make the worst of them; they call them devouring fire and everlasting burnings, and despair of relief and succour. Those that rebel against the commands of the word cannot take the comforts of it in a time of need. Or, rather, 2. When they saw the Assyrian army destroyed; for the destruction of that is the fire spoken of immediately before, v. 11, 2. When the sinners in Zion saw what dreadful execution the wrath of God made they were in a great fright, being conscious to themselves that they had provoked this God by their secretly worshipping other gods; and therefore they cry out, Who among us shall dwell with this devouring fire, before which so vast an army is as thorns? Who among us shall dwell with these everlasting burnings, which have made the Assyrians as the burnings of lime? - Matthew Henry

…10At that instant she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11And great fear came over the whole church and all who heard about these events. 12The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people, and with one accord the believers gathered together in Solomon’s Colonnade.… Acts 5: 10-12

…28Therefore, since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be filled with gratitude, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. 29“ For our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12: 28-29

He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly - The evangelical church, for the most part, has long left out the call to righteousness, the preachers duty to prosecute, they would quench the Spirit's conviction, and the people would forsake their duty to repent. You have become the whore you left, when the early church went from Catholic (the body of Christ universal) to Roman Catholic (apostate church). You go back to her with empty rituals, tickling ears and prostituting religion. You have forgotten that God is holy, and the righteousness of Christ you see as some small thing. 

Who despises gain of oppressions - The righteous do not seek to enslave and tax others with heavy burdens to build their own kingdoms. 

Lest they hold a bribe - No, not for me, I will not have my decision swayed by such. Quid pro quo has been talked about much these days, yet when it was found in the party that cried so often about it, they did nothing but hide it and pushed to honor the guilty.

From hearing of bloodshed - He will not be part of such plots.

Shuts his eyes from looking on evil - He will not participate, and will not allow himself to be conditioned to such. Like Joseph, he will flee temptations, even if all the world accept them, they are not the measure of righteousness. God's word is the true measure.

…1Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. 2But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.3He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.… Psalm 1: 1-3

17-22. Your eyes will behold the King in His beauty - The deliverance from Assyria is from the Lord, not from Hezekiah who is wearing the clothes of mourning. This looks forward to the reign of the King of kings. Seeing the present restoration of Hezekiah would give the people hope after such a horrifying threat.

High and lifted up

Weighed the tribute, counted the towers - Both sides had their wise men, war counsels, but for Zion they could recount the horror of that moment, counting heads, sending men to the towers, the cry to take arms, and yet God was the one who delivered them. Neither money, might nor conversation worked for them, salvation was of the Lord.

…19For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 20Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.… 1 Corinthians 1: 19-21

But there the Lord in majesty will be for us - The kingdom in Messiah's reign will have His visible presence and direct protection. Jerusalem will be bordered by waters, yet not in fear of enemy ships. 

The Lord is our law giver - There will be no doubt to Who the true giver of the law is, and that what He says is eternal and perfect.

Your cords hang loose - The Assyrians, who did not see themselves this way, were hopelessly unprepared against God's one angel. Jerusalem, who had come to terror, crying and despair, realized themselves unable to defeat Assyria, some realizing they had the same sins in their city as Assyria. No one here had earned God's blessing, but He delivered His people.

The people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity - Repent and be saved, if anyone would come after Him, first deny yourself, all self righteousness and every earthly hope, then take up your cross and follow Him.

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