Isaiah 33: Judgment on the Invader (Assyria), blessing on Jerusalem

Context

• 1.4 Warnings & Jerusalem’s hope Ch.28-35
• 1.4.1 Warnings
  • Ch.28 – Woe to the leaders of Ephraim and Judah
  • Ch.29 – Woe to Jerusalem
  • Ch.30 – Woe to Israel for obstinate rejection of God
  • Ch.31 – Woe to Israel relying on Egypt for deliverance from the Assyrians
• 1.4.2 Judgments with Hope
  • Ch.32 – The Coming of Disaster then a new era of Righteousness & Blessing
  • Ch.33 – Judgment on the Invader (Assyria), blessing on Jerusalem
  • Ch.34 – Judgment against the nations & Edom
  • Ch.35 – Transformation for the returning redeemed

Chapter 32

• Part One: v.1-14: God will judge the invader, and the sinners of Jerusalem
• Part Two: v.15-24: Peace & blessing will come to Jerusalem

[Preliminary Comment: This is a particularly difficult chapter to assess because people are referred to by the prophet but without any name being given to them. The reader may find an alternative approach but we hope the following will be helpful.

Part 1: The Judgment:  The inference is that this warning [v.1] is probably Assyria, the mighty power of the day. When they come the people will call for God’s help [v.2] for they know He is a God of power who scatters enemy armies [v.3] so that any plunder they may have taken [v.4] is taken from them [as when Aram laid siege to Jerusalem – 2 Kings 7] and God will restore order to Jerusalem [v.5,6]. When God acts, enemy armies fall [v.7-9] and He is exalted [v.10]. He burns up that which is worthless [v.11], including unrighteous peoples [v.12-14].

Part 2: The Result: When the unrighteous are destroyed, the righteous will prosper [v.15,16] as they enter into a new relationship with the Lord [v.17] as He removes the unrighteous from their midst [v.18,19]. Jerusalem will become a place of peace, security and provision [v.20,21] as God reigns in their midst [v.22]. When the wind is taken out of the sails of the enemy’s intentions, he will be plundered [v.23] and God’s blessing will abound in Jerusalem [v.24].

A chapter of very figurative prophecy that seems to come as a warning of God’s coming judgment on the invader which will leave Jerusalem blessed.]

Part One: v.1-14: God will judge the invader, and the sinners of Jerusalem

v.1 A warning to Assyria [?]

v.1 Woe to you, destroyer,
    you who have not been destroyed!
Woe to you, betrayer,
    you who have not been betrayed!
When you stop destroying,
    you will be destroyed;
when you stop betraying,
    you will be betrayed.

[Notes: A warning of retribution on an unnamed nation

v.2-6 The all-powerful God is called upon, whose power devastates nations

v.2 Lord, be gracious to us;
    we long for you.
Be our strength every morning,
    our salvation in time of distress.

v.3 At the uproar of your army, the peoples flee;
    when you rise up, the nations scatter.

v.4 Your plunder, O nations, is harvested as by young locusts;
    like a swarm of locusts people pounce on it.

v.5 The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;
    he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness.

v.6 He will be the sure foundation for your times,
    a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;
    the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.

[Notes: The prophet calls on the Lord for grace and strength. He recognises peoples flee before God’s army while others capitalize on God’s victories. God on high brings in justice & righteousness. He is the One who brings salvation.]

v.7-10 When He comes nations fall and He is glorified

v.7  Look, their brave men cry aloud in the streets;
    the envoys of peace weep bitterly.

v.8 The highways are deserted,
    no travellers are on the roads.
The treaty is broken,
    its witnesses are despised,
    no one is respected.

v.9 The land dries up and wastes away,
    Lebanon is ashamed and withers;
Sharon is like the Arabah,
    and Bashan and Carmel drop their leaves.

v.10  ‘Now will I arise,’ says the Lord.
    ‘Now will I be exalted;
    now will I be lifted up.

[Notes: Their enemies are brought down Invasive calamities bring emptiness and moral bankruptcy and the land is turned into wilderness and desert. The Lord says now is His time.]

v.11-14 He burns up worthless peoples, sinners even in Jerusalem

v.11 You conceive chaff,
    you give birth to straw;
    your breath is a fire that consumes you.

v.12 The peoples will be burned to ashes;
    like cut thorn-bushes they will be set ablaze.’

v.13 You who are far away, hear what I have done;
    you who are near, acknowledge my power!

v.14 The sinners in Zion are terrified;
    trembling grips the godless:
‘Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?
    Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?’

[Notes: He challenges, you bring words and just produce more hot air that burns you so peoples will thus be burned up. Let the world see God’s acts. Those who sin in Jerusalem are rightfully fearful of His fire.]

Part Two: v.15-24: Peace & blessing will come to Jerusalem

v.15-19 But the righteous will be blessed, provided for, and enjoy the transformed land

v.15  Those who walk righteously
    and speak what is right,
who reject gain from extortion
    and keep their hands from accepting bribes,
who stop their ears against plots of murder
    and shut their eyes against contemplating evil –

v.16 they are the ones who will dwell on the heights,
    whose refuge will be the mountain fortress.
Their bread will be supplied,
    and water will not fail them.

v.17  Your eyes will see the king in his beauty
    and view a land that stretches afar.

v.18  In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror:
    ‘Where is that chief officer?
Where is the one who took the revenue?
    Where is the officer in charge of the towers?’

v.19 You will see those arrogant people no more,
    people whose speech is obscure,
    whose language is strange and incomprehensible.

[Notes: But the righteous are the ones who will feel secure and be well fed and who will see the Lord’s beauty. They may look back at how things had been, seeing some people will not be there after God has acted.]

v.20-24 Jerusalem will know security and provision, as God rules, the unrighteous are plundered and Jerusalem’s inhabitants are blessed

v.20  Look on Zion, the city of our festivals;
    your eyes will see Jerusalem,
    a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved;
its stakes will never be pulled up,
    nor any of its ropes broken.

v.21  There the Lord will be our Mighty One.
    It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams.
No galley with oars will ride them,
    no mighty ship will sail them.

v.22 For the Lord is our judge,
    the Lord is our lawgiver,
the Lord is our king;
    it is he who will save us.

v.23 Your rigging hangs loose:
    the mast is not held secure,
    the sail is not spread.
Then an abundance of spoils will be divided
    and even the lame will carry off plunder.

v.24 No one living in Zion will say, ‘I am ill’;
    and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.

[Notes: Jerusalem will remain secure; it will God’s place of provision and security, for God is our ruler. When the wind fails, plunder is easily taken from the unrighteous and God’s blessing will be on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.]

For those who may wish to make a study of this chapter, to perhaps think some more about what you have been reading, use the link below: