Isaiah 32 - The Righteous King

Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice. 2 Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. 3 Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will give attention. 4 The heart of the hasty will understand and know, and the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak distinctly. 5 The fool will no more be called noble, nor the scoundrel said to be honorable. 6 For the fool speaks folly, and his heart is busy with iniquity, to practice ungodliness, to utter error concerning the Lord, to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied, and to deprive the thirsty of drink. 7 As for the scoundrel—his devices are evil; he plans wicked schemes to ruin the poor with lying words, even when the plea of the needy is right. 8 But he who is noble plans noble things, and on noble things he stands. 9 Rise up, you women who are at ease, hear my voice; you complacent daughters, give ear to my speech. 10 In little more than a year you will shudder, you complacent women; for the grape harvest fails, the fruit harvest will not come. 11 Tremble, you women who are at ease, shudder, you complacent ones; strip, and make yourselves bare, and tie sackcloth around your waist. 12 Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine, 13 for the soil of my people growing up in thorns and briers, yes, for all the joyous houses in the exultant city. 14 For the palace is forsaken, the populous city deserted; the hill and the watchtower will become dens forever, a joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks; 15 until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest. 16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. 17 And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. 18 My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places. 19 And it will hail when the forest falls down, and the city will be utterly laid low. 20 Happy are you who sow beside all waters, who let the feet of the ox and the donkey range free. - Isaiah 32:1–20

Target Date: Sunday, 29 September 2024

Word Study/ Translation Notes:

will reign - yimlak - This, as a yiqtol verb, should be taken as an action to be completed, not as a command to be obeyed. The translation is good so long as we understand “will” to be pointing to a future state, not as a euphemism for “shall”.

This does not indicate that a “good king” SHOULD rule in this way; it is a promise that THE Good King WILL reign in this way.

Thoughts on the Passage:

This chapter is the description of the Righteous, Promised King, Jesus Christ. It cannot be accurately applied to any other king or government; the promises here are specific to the kingdom of Jesus, the kingdom of heaven, alone.

Some might reply, “But if our worldly leaders were more like Jesus, the High King, would it not be better for us?”

We read God’s answer to that last week in the story of Josiah - his goodness as a king only delayed the long-overdue judgment of God from his own lifetime, but the judgment of God was inevitable.

For those “Christian Nationalists” who hold out hope to “save the nation”, their hope is in the wrong place. America is not, nor will it ever be, the shining beacon of anything but idolatry, greed, and avarice. The hope it holds is for this world only.

Would God be so unjust as to overlook the rampant murder of children, the flaunting of His order, and the organized and lauded offenses to His word? Do not the victims of these grave crimes deserve God’s justice as well?

If your faith cannot survive the complete conquest or collapse of your government, if it cannot survive the loss of everything you counted on and dreamed of for your entire life, your faith is NOT in God. And, just like the women in 9-14, you will weep on that inevitable day.

We mustn’t fall into the error of thinking WE can bring God’s kingdom to earth - that is the work of the Righteous King, through the Holy Spirit.

HE calls His people; He rescues His sheep; He leads His church to the good works He has prepared for us.

Who is this King?

NICOT - It is God in Isaiah’s present time.

M. Henry - it is Hezekiah in the near future, but Jesus Christ in the ultimate future.

1-5 - Description of the promised King.

A major question is whether the segment was intended as a messianic prophecy. The most significant argument raised against that point of view is that the language is not nearly so idealized as it is in such undoubtedly messianic passages as 8:23–9:6 (Eng. 9:1–7) and 11:1–9. Those who raise this argument urge that the references are to ordinary human beings. This point of view is supported by the references to “princes,” who do not appear in the other messianic passages, where the focus is exclusively on the Messiah.

A king: the indefinite is the idiom of indefiniteness for the sake of emphasis, as if to say ‘A king—you know who I mean!’

1 - Is there a distinction made here between righteousness and justice, or are they used as parallel terms for the same state?

We often see righteousness and justice together, so there is abundant evidence that these are considered in the same state.

But the subject in each half-verse is different in scope: there is a SINGLE king in first part who REIGNS, but plural princes who RULE (oversee).

Does this alone indicate a delegation of justice to the plural princes by the High King of heaven?

6-8 - This is not simply the description of foolish leadership, but serves as a contrast with the Righteous King.

The fool and the scoundrel work for his own ease - the Good King cherishes His people.

9-14 - It is not the foolish king alone who is complicit in his evil. Those who benefit from his evil reign, support it, will find they have lost everything.

They will mourn over their loss even though they had no role in creating or acquiring it.

They are complacent in their wealth and ease under the unrighteous king (v.10).

They have ease, but they have no rest and quiet (v.17).

9 – The women of Judah would be facing the loss of stability in their government and in their society.

Anarchy and revolution are used by God in his judgments.

15 - 18 - The promise of true rest and peace. The Holy Spirit will be poured out - a peace that passes all understanding and explanation.

19-20 - ?

Sermon Text:

The 32nd chapter of Isaiah represents almost the midpoint of the book.

The gospel of God has had a prominent place in his prophecy so far, as has God’s sovereignty over all the earth.

The nations, you may recall, rise and fall in their days by His will alone.

But in many cases in this book, we have been introduced much more clearly to the negative aspects of God’s sovereignty:

Nations fall; judgment comes.

Nature comes against us; strife and civil war plague our societies.

And if we cherry-picked these judgments, we might easily come to the conclusion that God’s sovereignty is a whole lot of bad news for people.

And as people who confess the natural sinfulness of every single person, we would have to confess that God’s justice is entirely right to execute His judgment on sinful people.

Not that He needs our permission;

But we do confess that He owes grace, mercy, and love to no one whose nature is as corrupt as ours.

But here we are reminded of the GOOD side of God’s sovereignty, His promise that He is also in control of the good times.

And the same holy, perfect sovereign will that brings His judgment and wrath on mankind is the same will that brings times of refreshing and rest to us as well.

We mustn’t forget that the same holy God who destroyed the entire earth in a flood is the same God who put His rainbow in the sky to remind us of His promise not to inundate the world in water again.

So all throughout the first 31 chapters of Isaiah, we have seen the leaders of Judah blow it.

They led people in sin.

They aided in the people’s idolatry.

And most recently, those scoundrels even rejected God’s promise of deliverance from Assyria and put their faith in that sick-man of the ancient world, Egypt.

Perhaps you remember our passage last week ended with this description of the LORD: whose fire is in Zion, and whose furnace is in Jerusalem (31:9).

And God’s zeal for His people from that fire brings the promise at the beginning of chapter 32: Behold, a king will reign in righteousness.

God’s holy sovereignty doesn’t just dispense calamity and wrath on people;

He also delivers hope and good.

In fact, if you think about it, God provides far more unearned good things than He dispenses judgment at this time.

We are living in the time of God’s mercy, in the days of His common grace.

Even His enemies are treated with patience and longsuffering:

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. - 2 Peter 3:9

It is humbling and even a bit saddening to think that for unbelievers who die in their sins, no matter how rotten their lives may have been on earth,

no matter how much difficulty they had, or how much sorrow they experienced,

They will look back from hell and realize this was as close to heaven as they will ever be in all eternity.

That this life, no matter the troubles they saw, was surrounded by God’s goodness and kindness toward them.

That they were [this close] to the grace of God, but they rejected His mercy to propel themselves into His just wrath.

And for the rest of eternity, without mercy or parole or death, they will live in the utter absence of His grace and mercy and kindness, exposed only to His terrifying wrath.

So even in the midst of a fallen nation, led by fallen men, God promises a righteous King.

Now whether this promise was for one of Judah’s last good kings, like Hezekiah or Josiah, I really could do nothing more than speculate.

But what is beyond doubt is that God is pointing to THE King,

the King promised to David, the Son promised to Abraham, and the child promised to Eve – Jesus Christ.

Every evidence of this chapter screams the fulfillment in Jesus:

The ones who will see, and hear, and understand, and proclaim.

The wisdom that comes from God.

And the righteousness, the complete right-ness with God, that no other king, ever, has or will have.

There is no other king in all history that can be described as righteous, and no reign that could be called righteous.

The best reigns are “good tries” at best;

Most are dismal failures.

But to this nation in crisis, whose leaders have failed the people, and the people have failed each other and their leaders, God declares to them He will give them a righteous King.

I must say, there is really nothing surprising there; but we are only halfway through verse 1.

But then we get to the second half of the first verse, and things get a little more difficult: and princes will rule in justice.

Princes?

The word is really common in the Old Testament, translated prince, commander, official, leader, chief – basically someone with some authority.

More than 500 times in the Old Testament alone.

So it leads us to ask where “princes” or “chieftans” come into a Messianic prophecy?

Is it talking about the apostles?

Or church elders?

Or does the presence of the princes in verses 1-2 mean this righteous King is not Jesus Christ after all?

I do not think it overstating the importance to say if we do not understand the identity of these princes, we cannot understand the message of this chapter.

I remind you of the statement I made at the beginning or our look at this passage: God is sovereign over good things, too.

So these princes are exactly what you might think they are: earthly kings and leaders.

And, in the sovereignty of God, they are subject, whether they know or like it or not, they are subject to Jesus Christ, the High King of Heaven.

These princes, these rulers, are appointed by God, and notice how they will rule.

He doesn’t say they will reign in righteousness;

They will rule in JUSTICE.

It is for this reason Paul tells the ROMANS – the ones under the nose of Nero:

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. - Romans 13:1–4

That is the very definition of ruling in justice – carrying out the law.

Notice how the Holy Spirit through Isaiah describes leaders who rule justly:

Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will give attention. The heart of the hasty will understand and know, and the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak distinctly. (vv.2-4)

EACH will be – each one.

When God, in His sovereign mercy, grants a people a just ruler, they will see times of refreshing, times of safety, times of shelter.

The just ruler will be a protector of the weak and fearful, taking care of those who are in need.

This is contrasted with the unjust rulers, who we can just call “the stinkers”:

In addition to NOT being refreshing and caring, the stinkers:

Call fools noble (or are fools themselves).

Honor scoundrels.

Practice ungodliness.

Teach people wrong things about God.

Fail to feed the hungry or aid the thirsty.

And even rip off the poor.

Stinkers are in it for themselves and whatever they can get out of it.

Not necessarily money, but power, or control, or a boost to their ego.

Perhaps a leg up for people they love, even if they are unqorthy of the honor.

Stinkers don’t even require official power – they could just be influencers.

They are not known simply for their political power, but for the turmoil they create in a community.

There are a LOT of stinkers right now, for example, whining that we cannot afford more poor people moving into our cities.

And some stinkers pandering to their fears and keeping people in turmoil.

v.8 – He who is noble plans noble things, and on noble things he stands.

In my lifetime, politicians and wannabes have told us to fear the influence and influx of:

The Haitians (this is in reverse order).

Arminians.

The Mexicans.

The rich.

The Arabs.

The poor.

The Chinese.

The Japanese.

The Communists.

The Blacks.

The Russians.

The Vietnamese.

And, only slightly before my time, the Jews. (And this is not all of them)

There will always be STINKERS who will tell you to fear an entire group of people. This is NEVER noble.

I don’t care if they can point to an incident or two – when you are told to fear or shun so many groups, you are highly likely to have some bad people in those groups.

Stinkers use these fear tactics, reinforced by a few stories, real or imagined, to get you to dance to their tune.

To vote for them.

To give them power or support.

And so the promise that God, in His perfect timing, will send just and noble princes to be oases in our earthly sojourn, is a good and welcome promise.

Not all the time – “Each” in verse 2 tells us that this will happen, as best we can tell, on occasion.

All in his perfect timing.

But, you may well ask, what if we live in a time like today, when we have two absolute stinkers vying for our votes?

Or in Judah’s time, when they didn’t get a vote?

Or in Paul’s Rome, where that government that was instituted by God turned on God’s people?

And even worse, what shall we do when we were comfortable, but then some great upheaval shook us to the core?

Verses 9 through 20 help us to understand.

Because that is the exact situation Isaiah is describing here: the rulers have failed the people; the people have failed each other.

He speaks, in this passage, to the women.

I think because:

1. They were not in charge.

2. The men had been slaughtered on the battlefield, and they were the ones left.

3. They were complacent, even at ease. I am not sure if God is condemning them for this, or simply telling them that their repose was ending.

But what does God tell them to do?

Lament.

That is literally the first word in v. 12, translated here “Beat your breast”.

It is the picture of mourning, but even more than weeping, of deep prayer in utter helplessness.

Lamenting is not just sadness, although it contains deep sadness.

And, hear this, lamenting is NOT faithless – it is the picture of faith.

It is taking your sorrow to the One who can DO something about it – Almighty God.

There is nothing more faith-filled you can do than to cast your deepest burdens on Him:

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. - 1 Peter 5:6–7

What should they lament?

For the pleasant fields.

For the fruitful vine.

For the ruined, untilled soil.

For the joyful homes made silent.

For the forsaken palace.

For the deserted city.

Praying to God and lamenting these things takes a LOT of faith.

And a lot of humility.

We want to FIX things, set them right, exact retribution.

God wants us to come to Him with our needs and see how HE will answer.

How much faith is required to exact revenge?

How much faith in God is required to get even with someone?

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. - Ephesians 4:26–27

And how long should we pray?

(vv. 15-18) - until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest. Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.

It takes FAITH to pray like that.

Some so-called gospel teachers scoff at prayer for these things, unless we follow it up with action.

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” - Luke 18:1–8

Pray, even lament, until God answers your prayer.