Isaiah 33
Notes
Transcript
O Lord, Be Gracious to Us
O Lord, Be Gracious to Us
So remember what has been happening in the nation of Judah, the southern kingdom that consisted of the tribes of Benjamin and Judah.
People put their confidence in other nations, Egypt
They refused to turn and trust the Lord.
They never saw or understood that God was their deliver and Savior
He would be gracious and loving to his people.
And so the story continues as we walk into chapter 33
1 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.
So this begins with another call or a woe type oracle, God is pronouncing His word upon it.
God refers to them as the destroyer.... While a generic title that could refer to about anyone, there is only one nation defeating all the others, and it is Assyria.
They have been on the march, defeating moab in 16:4, and Babylon in chapter 21 and so it makes sense through the text that is Assyria.
God refers to Assyria as the traitor, the betrayer and a treacherous one.... They were unjust in that they broke treaties and attacked those nations around them.
And when they had finished their career of treachery, they will be betrayed. They will one day experience what they have infected upon others.
Verse 2 Isa 33:2
2 O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you.
Be our arm every morning,
our salvation in the time of trouble.
Hearing a word of Hope, (that the destroyer will be destroyed) the prophet prays to God, be gracious to us, speaking of the people of Jerusalem.
Judah waited for God to act, this was the Hope they longed for...
They were waiting for God’s help, for God to reveal his power to be a person of Salvation, the one who saves them from the enemy.
God would save them, but oh to recognize He was a Savior, the one who saves not just in battle but in the future, would save people from their sin.
They put their trust in God.
Verses 3-4 Isa 33:3-4
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.
When God reaches out, at the appointed time will defeat the enemy and the spoils of war will be picked up God own people.
They didn’t bring the victory, but would enjoy the spoils of war. They would have the benefits of a defeated army who had collected much on their march in overtaking the countries around them.
At the thunder of his voice people will flee but they will not escape..
VV 5-6 Isa 33:5-6
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.
The prophet moves us away from the defeated world, the destruction of a nation to the coming of Zion, God’s kingdom.
And look at what the prophet says there, The Lord is exalted, and will fill Zion with justice and righteousness.
God will make Zion new again, like it was meant to be… He will himself be Zion’s stability. But he will be their store, literally their resource.
He will be their salvation, wisdom and knowledge.... and will fill his people with these things
So think of this....He will bless his people again and fulfill his plans for the people. even when the destroyer is destroying, God still reigns on high and do not give up on God,
The Lord is His people treasure… wow, do we ever think o this...
He is truly all we need… His salvation, Wisdom and Knowledge are gifts given to us his people.
VV 7-9 Isa 33:7-9
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.
The people are blessed to think about the glories of God;s spiritual riches, the historical scene that Isaiah and this audience are facing did not reveal God’s salvation right at that point in time.
If you remember those men who went down to hopefully make peace with the enemy, well they wept as others cried out in the streets.
Those others are called hero’s or brave men are beside themselves in bitter agony.
The roads were empty refers to the normal commercial and civic activities have ceased. People have fled, they have run away hoeing to escape the destruction of Assyria.
The gates of the city are closed in an effort to stop the enemy from entering the city.
Isaiah says here that the covenants are broken, it may have been that the nation had a treaty with Assyria in the past but not the treaty has been broken. We know that Hezekiah sent them a tribute in order to help spare the country, but the set it asaide and take the naiton anyway.
The land mourns and languishes Isaiah says …remember the people are tied to their land.. They land is part of their identity as they are part of tribes. So to mourn the land speaks to the people mourning over their pain and hurt for it and their very lives are being threatened
When the people suffer the attacks of another nation, the crops of the field, the animals of the land, literally all that belonged to the people was be devoured by the enemy. They mourned at their loss.
Now we see something wonderful in verses 10-13 lets look,
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.
Now I will arise says the Lord… literally God is saying He is going to now act.
3 times in verse 10 God says “now” he is going to act.
Now I will Arise,
Now I will lift myself up
Now I will be exalted....
God’s power and His glory will be on display as He acts on behalf of His people.
Verse 11 When you consider what is being said there, the people of jerusalem are doing their hardest, but they failed in their efforts did not involve seeking God. So their efforts are like chaff and stubble, they will fail. Burned up easily.
But along the same lines, the enemies of Jerusalem, of Judah and Benjamin will not have success.
Verse 12 speaks to the enemy losing life, their bodies burned. The dead had to be dealt with, they did not bury the bodies but burned them up in the valley outside the city.
And in verse 13 the subject is God. God’s mighty acts will destroy the enemy these peoples faraway and near will know the Lord God is Almighty.
Now, lets move forward to verses 14-16
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.
Now as we walk into these last verses, some scholars have refereed to these last few verses of Isa 33 as what we might call entrance liturgies.
It is like the the priests of the temple asking those who enter a series a questions to ensure they were worthy to be there and worship....
And with verse 14…Having seen God’s power, coming to terms with all his mighty acts left the people of Zion with fear and trembling because they realize they are sinner who deserve God’s wrath.
We (mankind) are powerless in front of God. They always thought God would defend them no matter what, now they understand it is a false trust. God will not protect those who move away from Him in sin. At times he will allow affliction to the people of Judah because of sin.
Think of the sin of Ai in the book of Joshua
Listen we cannot manipulate the power of God, we cannot think he will be ok with whatever we do…
The people of Jerusalem may have begun to really understand what it meant to live in front of God.
Verse 15 is the answer to the question of 14, who can stand… those who live righteously, those who are obedient, repentant, free from greed and so forth..
Isaiah 1–39 (3) Third Woe: Confidence in God’s Victory over the Destroyer (33:1–24)
God is not interested just in pious proclamations or confession at revival meetings; he is interested in seeing how the results of confession and statements of trust actually transform a person’s behavior. The
Isaiah 1–39 (3) Third Woe: Confidence in God’s Victory over the Destroyer (33:1–24)
“Walking righteously” and “speaking uprightly” are positive signs of a transformed life. Walking
Verse 16 Isaiah reminds us that only the righteous people are acceptable to God, only the righteous will find refuge.
Now verses 17-24 opens the very last section...
17 Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty;
they will see a land that stretches afar.
Only Jerusalem was not taken by Sennacherib, and when Judahs future land is seen, it iwll be broad and wide, but only after the divine King arrives and defeats their enemies
This would make us think that this is a future event, speaking of when the king arrives....
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.
When God comes in power to rule in Zion, Judah will control here land and the Assyrians will leave… after the Assyrians defeat, the people will muse or think on the terror they witnessed
Those who disappeared are the ones to be counted the one who weighed, the one who counted towers are all the ones who were part of the oppressive rule of Assyria, but Isaiah says they will soon disappear soon
These foreigners, strange talking people, are the ones driven n off by the power of God.
Now Isa 33:20-22
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.
When God’s salvation comes, the people will behold the King. The city will celebrated having been set free from the enemies and now celebrating the festivals.
God will bless his people.
But why will Jerusalem an God’s people survive the Assyrian crisis? Jerusalem is the place where God dwells and the city who had no water in the time of crisis would be a city in the future where a river ran forth, speaking of the river that flows from the throne of God
God is the only true judge of Jerusalem, he controls what will or will not happen to his people. He is their king.
The Lord our God will judge them
Now the last two verses...
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.
The defeated Assyrian encampment that was around Jerusalem. The cords that held the Assyrian banner are lose from neglect because the soldiers have fled or are dead.
There for the sail or banner cannot fly properly.
None of the inhabitants of ion will be too sick to plunder the spoils of war,
Then God will restore his relationship with his people and forgive the rebellious and sinful people of Judah who failed to trust him to deliver them at the start of the crisis.
What can we take away from all of this my friends?
Isaiah 1–39 (3) Third Woe: Confidence in God’s Victory over the Destroyer (33:1–24)
When believers are in trouble and the forces of this world are overpowering them, they need to call on God for deliverance and confidently trust him to act on their behalf.