Idols of Empty Wind and Confusion

Isaiah 41:14-29

14 "Fear not, you worm Jacob,
You men of Israel!
I will help you," says the LORD
And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

15 "Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth;
You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small,
And make the hills like chaff.
16 You shall winnow them, the wind shall carry them away,
And the whirlwind shall scatter them;
You shall rejoice in the LORD,
And glory in the Holy One of Israel.

17 "The poor and needy seek water, but there is none,
Their tongues fail for thirst.
I, the LORD, will hear them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18 I will open rivers in desolate heights,
And fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land springs of water.

19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree,
The myrtle and the oil tree;
I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine
And the box tree together,
20 That they may see and know,
And consider and understand together,
That the hand of the LORD has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

21 "Present your case," says the LORD.
"Bring forth your strong reasons," says the King of Jacob.

22 "Let them bring forth and show us what will happen;
Let them show the former things, what they were,
That we may consider them,
And know the latter end of them;
Or declare to us things to come.

23 Show the things that are to come hereafter,
That we may know that you are gods;
Yes, do good or do evil,
That we may be dismayed and see it together.

24 Indeed you are nothing,
And your work is nothing;
He who chooses you is an abomination.

25 "I have raised up one from the north,
And he shall come;
From the rising of the sun he shall call on My name;
And he shall come against princes as though mortar,
As the potter treads clay.

26 Who has declared from the beginning, that we may know?
And former times, that we may say, 'He is righteous'?
Surely there is no one who shows,
Surely there is no one who declares,
Surely there is no one who hears your words.

27 The first time I said to Zion,
'Look, there they are!'
And I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good tidings.

28 For I looked, and there was no man;
I looked among them, but there was no counselor,
Who, when I asked of them, could answer a word.

29 Indeed they are all worthless;
Their works are nothing;
Their molded images are wind and confusion.

The utter futility of serving idols of any shape or form, tangible or intangible and imaginary, brings only wind which cannot be half as empty and unreal confusion.  Only the LORD is our Redeemer and His word tells us this over and over until we accept of reject it to our salvation or judgment.  The high place of idol worship were to be threshed to eliminate the chaff of false worship in the whirlwind of God’s breath as God’s people were to rejoice and glory in the Holy One alone due the glory and honor of our worship.  God hears the poor and needy to bring them water because He hears (Matthew 5:6, Revelation 7:16) and will not forget those who look to Him for deliverance from suffering and death.  He plants the different trees together as a picture for us and a testimony to “consider and understand together that the hand of the LORD has done this” and “the Holy One of Israel has created it.”  We as His people should study to understand from His word what He has done by His work and not substitute lifeless idols of our own hands as if our work could do any of His wondrous works.  Yes, we also cannot be called on to predict the future as false prophets of our own imaginations or explain the course of history apart from His word.  We are simply powerless and lack understanding in light of the Lord and His working.  We are not gods as verse 23 reminds us.  Apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5); we must abide in Him to bear fruit because we simply do not have any lasting ability in ourselves.  Whoever therefore chooses idols or relies on the work of man’s hands will only encounter futility as an abomination against grace.  Only reliance on God’s word and works will suffice.  The proof is seen in all the philosophers and self appointed seers whose predictions fall flat with no good answers to life and meaning which we find in God alone in Christ alone according to His word alone.  Apart from the Counselor within us there is no good counsel to be found as verse 28 reminds us (Romans 11:34, John 14:16, 16:13).  Yes, all other worldly counsel and worship is futile and of no value.  The idols of man are but intangible wind and meaningless confusion of empty answers not based on truth and reality.  Who do we trust in and serve?  Idols of wind and confusion or the Holy One who tells us all things to our good and His glory (Romans 8:28)? 

Fear Not, Trust Him Who is with His People

Isaiah 41:1-13 

1 "Keep silence before Me, O coastlands,
And let the people renew their strength!
Let them come near, then let them speak;
Let us come near together for judgment.

2 "Who raised up one from the east?
Who in righteousness called him to His feet?
Who gave the nations before him,
And made him rule over kings?

Who gave them as the dust to his sword,
As driven stubble to his bow?
3 Who pursued them, and passed safely
By the way that he had not gone with his feet?

4 Who has performed and done it,
Calling the generations from the beginning?
'I, the LORD, am the first;
And with the last I am He.'"

5 The coastlands saw it and feared,
The ends of the earth were afraid;
They drew near and came.

6 Everyone helped his neighbor,
And said to his brother,
"Be of good courage!"

7 So the craftsman encouraged the goldsmith;
He who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil,
Saying, "It is ready for the soldering";
Then he fastened it with pegs,
That it might not totter.

8 "But you, Israel, are My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
The descendants of Abraham My friend.

9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its farthest regions,
And said to you,
'You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not cast you away:

10 Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'

11 "Behold, all those who were incensed against you
Shall be ashamed and disgraced;
They shall be as nothing,
And those who strive with you shall perish.

12 You shall seek them and not find them—
Those who contended with you.
Those who war against you
Shall be as nothing,
As a nonexistent thing.

13 For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand,
Saying to you, 'Fear not, I will help you.'

Fear not.  Do not be afraid of your enemies.  Trust Him who promises to be with His people whom He has chosen as His own.  God calls them into accountability to judgment who are against all His people, Israel and the rest of the church in Christ.  He calls us still to stop and hear these words of comfort to us by recalling His calling of a people by faith through Abraham, a people to rule the nations and through whom the ultimate Sovereign Ruler over all would come.  He fought the battles and gave victory to Israel and fights for all His people chosen and called out to Himself even now, reminding us to cast off fear of being defenseless or cast off from His goodness and providence.  God called the generations to follow Abraham before they were born as a predetermined calling because He is the first and last, the great I Am.  This powerful working made the nations fear Him for their impending judgment when they opposed God’s people, causing them to hand together to help and encourage each other but ended up trusting in lifeless idols covered in gold as if trying to make them more valuable or appealing, but of no use for defending them from the Sovereign One.  The LORD chose His people as descendants of faithful Abraham (James 2:23, Romans 4:3, Galatians 3:7-9) who was the friend of God.  This includes we who are of that same trust in God’s work and promises in Christ Jesus.  Just as He took Abram from out of the farthest place and Israel as well, so He pulls us out of the nations because He has chosen us through faith to serve Him forever without fear of being ever cast out from His presence.  We are forever His through trusting His work (John 6:29) and not our own attempts to attain righteousness (Titus 3:5).  Therefore, we have no fear of not being good enough to not be let go afterwards because it is His choosing and sustaining grace of His choice for the chosen as His own whom He gives eternal life (John 17:2-3, 10:28).  He reminds all His people then to not fear because He is with us as our eternal God who will give us strength and protection to keep us forever.  This is by His omnipotent hand of goodness and grace which has been gifted to us and not earned.  He further promised that all opposed to His people will ultimately only find shame and disgrace as they strive in futility and fail as they perish eternally because they reject God through His chosen ones.  They will be gone from our presence forever just as the enemies of Israel were told would not be found because God Himself will hold their right hand with His righteous hand of power and strength while reminding them and us to fear not.  He helps us in His righteousness and imputes it to us as a guarantee of that eternal and irrevocable promise of eternal life in His work and choice of the chosen.  He will never leave or forsake us in judgment (Hebrews 13:5-6, 1 John 4:18).  Fear not!  Amen. 

I am Gump

 I am Forrest Gump

Grace to Humbly Follow and Serve - Isaiah 30:21

Watching Forrest Gump again (July 7, 2022), it struck me how he talked at the end of the film of not knowing if events in our lives are destiny alone, or random circumstances that open ways for us to go. He then thinks it may be both. I find in Christ a camaraderie of sorts with this character and all he experienced in life which led him, made him prosper, and grow wiser in both sorrow and joy. Like a box of chocolates, we don’t know what we will get when we reach in to partake of one. 

The difference is knowing according to God’s word that destiny is actually God’s sovereign working of predestined grace in my life; it is not random nor is it an impersonal programmed set of circumstances which I have lived through. My pride made me initially think that the finger of God had touched me in some special way to lead and guide me, to teach me, to bring me to certain people and places to make me of some great use to Him unlike many other believers. The Spirit’s sanctifying work and the mind of Christ given me have been misinterpreted along the way of my walk with Christ, especially since some of the circumstances seemed to be so incredible. I think of how He led me to trust Him for salvation with the acrobatic bicycle incident and the dream of talking with my best friend to see him again, as well as the events after my conversion to teach me trust like the bus in Carmel arriving on my walk back from Point Lobos where I entered without breaking stride as it stopped and the door opened. There were times of great insight into His word that left me breathless and times of silent witness offering me a chance to verbalize the gospel. I have come to believe these to be more normative workings of God in every born-again believer. 

Over time, I have learned that the supernatural working of the Lord in all things in my life is His destined grace on me for His glory as well as my good in all His provision in ways of jobs, places, houses, and many other extra things undeserved and unasked for. The Lord may not use me as I expect or imagine, but that is His choice, and I only hope to follow after His leading still and not choose my own way. There were times of finding a house or car that was just what was needed at the time without me demanding or expecting such unmerited provision, not to mention the church trip to Keukenhof in the Netherlands where my friendship with my future bride began. Even in the smallest things like being in the right place at the right times to press the shutter button to capture wonderful photographs still makes me sit back in wonder. 

Like Gump, I am not always the brightest flame, but can trust the leading in life and follow as I do my best to make the journey honor God. These thoughts had played in my head after watching the movie last night, and have a sobering perspective in walking by faith, service, and humility. Too often I do what seems like nothing for my Lord, or I let pretense or pride subtly creep in and spoil the good He works in and through me in teaching or writing, none of which I imagine I am particularly gifted in or good at. May I lean more on Him to do what I am destined to do and take advantage of the unforeseen circumstances He leads me through in my sanctification and service.

Strengthened by God’s Immeasurable Strength

Isaiah 40:12-31

12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
Measured heaven with a span
And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?
Weighed the mountains in scales
And the hills in a balance?

13 Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD,
Or as His counselor has taught Him?
14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him,
And taught Him in the path of justice?
Who taught Him knowledge,
And showed Him the way of understanding?

15 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket,
And are counted as the small dust on the scales;
Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.
16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn,
Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 All nations before Him are as nothing,
And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.

18 To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
19 The workman molds an image,
The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,
And the silversmith casts silver chains.
20 Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks for himself a skillful workman
To prepare a carved image that will not totter.

21 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

23 He brings the princes to nothing;
He makes the judges of the earth useless.
24 Scarcely shall they be planted,
Scarcely shall they be sown,
Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,
When He will also blow on them,
And they will wither,
And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.

25 "To whom then will you liken Me,
Or to whom shall I be equal?" says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high,
And see who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number;
He calls them all by name,
By the greatness of His might
And the strength of His power;
Not one is missing.

27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
And speak, O Israel:
"My way is hidden from the LORD,
And my just claim is passed over by my God"?

28 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the LORD,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.

29 He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,

31 But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

God’s people are strengthened by His immeasurable strength, wisdom, and knowledge of understanding and not our own.  He makes that clear here through Isaiah.  The LORD alone created the heavens and earth in that power and manifold wisdom (Psalm 104:24) without being taught or receiving counsel from anyone.  He counts all nations and heir supposed power and influence as if nothing in comparison to Himself and His works, raising kingdoms up and bringing them down again as He wills.  Their worth is meaningless apart from Him.  People have mistakenly made lifeless idols to worship as their gods in His place only to discover that they are deaf, dumb, and blind as they also become (Psalm 115:5-8, Romans 1:22-23) what they worship.  We all are reminded here starting in verse 21 that God has told us from the beginning of creation that He is Lord over all His creation and He alone is to be worshiped and served.  In His sovereign rule He controls all nations and nature; the power and judgment is His, and the winds blow at His command.  The LORD God is neither like or equal to any other and calls us to look up at His handiwork of creation in the heavens and on earth by His power and greatness of care and sustaining attention.  Like Israel, we cannot rightly say that our ways are hidden from God’s sight or that we are treated unjustly by His sovereign rule over us all.  In His word He has told us plainly that He is eternal, omnipotent, and omniscient.  Nothing is not understood completely by Him nor out of His absolute control.  Yes, He cannot faint or grow tired and so is able to impart strength to we His people, even though we all falter and fall at some point.  God never tires or fails.  If we then trust and wait patiently on His enabling grace of understanding and strength, then we shall find renewed energy and resolve to continue following Him as the majestic bird who rises high on the rising thermal winds above adversity and as the runner who does not tire or faint as he runs the race for the Lord our God, just as Hebrews 12:1-2 reminds each of us called out by name to Himself.  Our hope is in the Almighty God, ruler of all heaven and earth!  Let us then resolve to trust and follow Him according to His word and the principles set here for us.  We are strengthened by His infinite strength and guided by His infinite wisdom by God given understanding. 

Comfort in God’s Work for Salvation

Isaiah 40:1-11

(cf. Luke 3:4–6)

1 "Comfort, yes, comfort My people!"
Says your God.

2 "Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,
That her warfare is ended,
That her iniquity is pardoned;
For she has received from the LORD's hand
Double for all her sins."

3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

"Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough places smooth;

5 The glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

6 The voice said, "Cry out!"
And he said, "What shall I cry?"

"All flesh is grass,
And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever."

9 O Zion,
You who bring good tidings,
Get up into the high mountain;
O Jerusalem,
You who bring good tidings,
Lift up your voice with strength,
Lift it up, be not afraid;
Say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"

10 Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand,
And His arm shall rule for Him;
Behold, His reward is with Him,
And His work before Him.

11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young.

Ah, Lord God, You have done such wonderful things according to Your word!  How Your salvation from sin’s iniquity embedded in our fallen hearts has been covered by Your work of deliverance and not our own feeble efforts of righteousness which is only found in You!  You spoke comfort to Your chosen people through Isaiah and those same words speak it to the redeemed min You now.  You have pardoned our prison sentence of judgment on us for our sin by Your mighty hand of grace, letting us know through John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1-3, John 1:23) of Your work in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1) to see the way of repentance and faith laid out for us as spoken here by being tempted as we are yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15) to be able to redeem us.  You humble the mighty who rely on themselves and exalt the humble who trust in You alone for deliverance, making our way bent by sin straight by Your straight and true righteousness.  We have seen Your glory in Your work through Your Son as it was spoken and written.  Yes, all we are as dried grass waiting to be burned away or cut down when our flower of greatness and beauty fade due to our tainting of sin, but Your word of grace and truth for salvation remains forever (1 Peter 1:23-25)!  What then?  We hear and heed this word to shout out Your word of deliverance which is the gospel (Romans 10:14-15) from the highest hill as we worship You, not fearing rejection or fading in strength.   The message is to see You as our God, King of kings and Lord of lords.  You will return with a strong hand to rule forever on earth from the Celestial City brought down to us (Revelation 21:2) to be in Your presence forever, and we anticipate the rewards of Your work done in and through us in the resurrection of life to come.  You already feed Your flock as our Shepherd and gather to Yourself we who have been lost, in tender mercies of lovinkindness as Your children, and You will continue that work in Christ forevermore.  How we are humbled in awe and comforted in Your salvation!  Comfort, yes, comfort My people!" Says your God. 

Treasures Taken Away

Isaiah 39:1-8 

(2 Kin. 20:12–19)

1 At that time Merodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 And Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.

3 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, "What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?"

So Hezekiah said, "They came to me from a far country, from Babylon."

4 And he said, "What have they seen in your house?"

So Hezekiah answered, "They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them."

5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: 6 'Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,' says the LORD. 7 'And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.'"

8 So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good!" For he said, "At least there will be peace and truth in my days."

The Babylonian envoys were shown all the tempting treasures accumulated by king Hezekiah and his forefathers when they came to visit the king.  It began with letters and a present from  Babylon to Hezekiah because he had been sick almost unto death (until the LORD intervened with merciful grace).  This generosity moved the king to do something seemingly foolish, for he let the Babylonian ambassadors see all the hidden wealth as a tempting target to take later.  Whether that was their original intent is unknown, but the temptation apparently was too much to ignore, for this was not too far after the Queen of Sheba had seen the massive and unparalleled wealth of Solomon.  They may have heard stories and wanted to see for themselves before coming for it under the pretense of looking after king Hezekiah’s health and welfare.  Either way, Isaiah confronted him about the visit, questioned Hezekiah about what he had done, and then pronounced the consequences to come.  The treasure which God’s people had built up would all be taken away (presumably because of their continuing disobedience), but not in Hezekiah’s lifetime.  He would be spared the invasion and captivity that the remaining people of God would endure.  Even his sons would be taken and made eunuchs to end his lineage and serve the king of Babylon.  Hezekiah’s reply either meant he understood the consequences of his sin or that he was simply relieved that he would not have to live to suffer and see the suffering of his people after he died.  Either way, he had accepted the consequences of his actions to boast in the monetary wealth of Israel instead of showing and telling them of the greater value of the LORD their God whom he served.  This is a lesson for us as well to value the Giver and not the gifts of our Lord and Savior; we need to be bragging about Jesus Christ and the gospel message and not our accumulation of material things gifted to us by the undeserved grace and goodness of God who has given them to us to enjoy but not value more than Him (Luke 12:21, 34, 1 Timothy 6:17).  Do we boast in what we have or who we have?  All we collect turns to dust or can be stolen, but the eternal treasure of our Lord cannot be taken away (Matthew 6:19-20).  This passage of scripture is an example for us of the consequences or reward for what we treasure. 

Life - He has Done it for Us!

Isaiah 38:9-22

9 This is the writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:

10 I said,
"In the prime of my life
I shall go to the gates of Sheol;
I am deprived of the remainder of my years."

11 I said,
"I shall not see YAH,
The LORD in the land of the living;
I shall observe man no more among the inhabitants of the world.

12 My life span is gone,
Taken from me like a shepherd's tent;
I have cut off my life like a weaver.
He cuts me off from the loom;
From day until night You make an end of me.

13 I have considered until morning—
Like a lion,
So He breaks all my bones;
From day until night You make an end of me.

14 Like a crane or a swallow, so I chattered;
I mourned like a dove;
My eyes fail from looking upward.
O LORD, I am oppressed;
Undertake for me!

15 "What shall I say?
He has both spoken to me,
And He Himself has done it.
I shall walk carefully all my years
In the bitterness of my soul.

16 O Lord, by these things men live;
And in all these things is the life of my spirit;
So You will restore me and make me live.

17 Indeed it was for my own peace
That I had great bitterness;
But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption,
For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.

18 For Sheol cannot thank You,
Death cannot praise You;
Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth.

19 The living, the living man, he shall praise You,
As I do this day;
The father shall make known Your truth to the children.

20 "The LORD was ready to save me;
Therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments
All the days of our life, in the house of the LORD."

21 Now Isaiah had said, "Let them take a lump of figs, and apply it as a poultice on the boil, and he shall recover."

22 And Hezekiah had said, "What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?"

This passage is a responsive prayer of king Hezekiah after being granted an extension to his life by a pleading prayer of intercession for himself, a life which was to have ended abruptly and far too soon.  He thought his life would be cut short in the prime of his life which was told would be taken away from him by God’s decree through Isaiah.  He mourned over not seeing the LORD in the land of the living for much longer nor anyone else.  He wanted to live.  Yes, he saw his his end as life to be taken away abruptly like a stolen tent over his head or cut off like a carpet on a loom before it was completed.  He was to be ended like a lion consuming him and chattered as a nervous bird and a mournful dove at the thought of it all.  But Yah his God had personally spoken to him through His messenger and had done the work of restoring his life for fifteen years longer as an answered prayer.  In response, Hezekiah promised to live more carefully in following the LORD with the bitter memories of what might have been.  He wanted to live.  He was thankful.  He had hope in restoration.  He saw his own bitterness over a death sentence as a blessing of peace with God in disguise.  The king realized that his salvation was because of grace in which the Lord God had cast his sins behind His back (Micah 7:19, Psalm 103:12) in forgiveness and life so he could live for God in response of thanksgiving (Psalm 119:67).  He could not so praise God if he had died, but desired to do so ever more in life.  He promised further that he would make this forgiving grace known to others in his praises.  For the rest of his life he would sing of his salvation which God was willing to do for him as he himself could not and was not able to do.  The sign of his recovery was this thankful heart of a changed life, not the turning back of time for the portion of a day.  We in like manner can reflect on our own deliverance from God’s wrath on our sin and sing songs of thanksgiving as a testimony to His grace in Christ Jesus our Lord for such undeserved salvation from the punishment of deserved death and a life extend into eternity instead of a decade and a half like Hezekiah.  He has both spoken this grace to us and He has done it for us (Romans 5:6, 8, 1 Corinthians 15:3, Psalm 22:30-31)! 

Hezekiah's Life Extended by Grace

Isaiah 38:1-8

(2 Kin. 20:1–11; 2 Chr. 32:24–26)

1 In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, "Thus says the LORD: Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.'"

2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the LORD, 3 and said, "Remember now, O LORD, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

4 And the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying, 5 "Go and tell Hezekiah, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years. 6 I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city."' 7 And this is the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing which He has spoken: 8 Behold, I will bring the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward." So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial by which it had gone down.

The good king of Judah received bad news of his imminent death through the messenger of God.  Isaiah had told him that his sickness was to result in death and that the LORD wanted him to arrange his affairs before he died, which was a kindness to allow Hezekiah to prepare his last wishes and arrange for his inheritance and government after his demise.  The king was devastated at the news and responded with a heartfelt prayer with bitter tears.  He reminded the God how he had lived as faithfully as he could with a true and loyal heart in all his actions.  He was likely repentant for hidden sins as he wondered why he should die so soon and so suddenly.  God heard the sincere heart of Hezekiah and answered him through the prophet.  Isaiah told him that God heard his heart and saw his sorrow and allowed him fifteen more years to live and serve Him.  Furthermore, God assured him of deliverance from the Assyrian king and his army because the Lord Himself would defend them.  He gave an impossible sign to prove His word in case there was any doubt; God would move the sundial backwards.  He would turn back time, extending the day as a reminder and proof He would extend the king’s life as well.  Therefore, Hezekiah could also trust that God would bring victory not only of life over death, but over his enemies as well.  This is a picture of sorts of how the Lord in Christ can bring life from death and defeat the enemy of He and us as well, for nothing is too difficult for Him (Jeremiah 32:17).  It also points to answered prayer for life but does not guarantee a miracle for everyone to get everything asked for in prayer.  God had specific reasons for sparing Hezekiah and answering his heartfelt prayer in this way.  He answers us according to His word and His providence.  We can learn from this example to marvel at His grace and pray accordingly.  We have lives extended eternally by His grace and that should be enough of a miracle to sustain us until we meet Him and dwell forever in His presence! 

The Word of the LORD for the Remnant

Isaiah 37:21-38 

(2 Kin. 19:20–34, 35–37)

21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word which the LORD has spoken concerning him:

"The virgin, the daughter of Zion,
Has despised you, laughed you to scorn;
The daughter of Jerusalem
Has shaken her head behind your back!

23 "Whom have you reproached and blasphemed?
Against whom have you raised your voice,
And lifted up your eyes on high?
Against the Holy One of Israel.

24 By your servants you have reproached the Lord,
And said, 'By the multitude of my chariots
I have come up to the height of the mountains,
To the limits of Lebanon;
I will cut down its tall cedars
And its choice cypress trees;
I will enter its farthest height,
To its fruitful forest.

25 I have dug and drunk water,
And with the soles of my feet I have dried up
All the brooks of defense.'

26 "Did you not hear long ago
How I made it,
From ancient times that I formed it?
Now I have brought it to pass,
That you should be
For crushing fortified cities into heaps of ruins.

27 Therefore their inhabitants had little power;
They were dismayed and confounded;
They were as the grass of the field
And the green herb,
As the grass on the housetops
And grain blighted before it is grown.

28 "But I know your dwelling place,
Your going out and your coming in,
And your rage against Me.

29 Because your rage against Me and your tumult
Have come up to My ears,
Therefore I will put My hook in your nose
And My bridle in your lips,
And I will turn you back
By the way which you came."'

30 "This shall be a sign to you:
You shall eat this year such as grows of itself,
And the second year what springs from the same;
Also in the third year sow and reap,
Plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them.

31 And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah
Shall again take root downward,
And bear fruit upward.
32 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant,
And those who escape from Mount Zion.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

33 "Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria:
'He shall not come into this city,
Nor shoot an arrow there,
Nor come before it with shield,
Nor build a siege mound against it.

34 By the way that he came,
By the same shall he return;
And he shall not come into this city,'
Says the LORD.
35 'For I will defend this city, to save it
For My own sake and for My servant David's sake.'"

36 Then the angel of the LORD went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead. 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh. 38 Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

The message of Isaiah concerning Sennacherib was in answer to king Hezekiah’s prayer for God’s glory to be seen in working for His people to deliver them.  The people of God were able to laugh behind the back of the attacker because God was fighting for them and the enemy would certainly be defeated at His word.  Because of the blasphemy and arrogance of the Assyrian king against the LORD and His people, the sentence was passed in this word of the Lord through His messenger.  Because of God’s sovereign plan Assyria was able to rise up to be a military might for a season, only to be knocked down in their pride.  God made them and now was about to end them after this warning due to their blasphemy against the only God as if equal to all the other false idol gods he had defeated before this according to the will and work of the Almighty through them as an instrument. In verse 28 the Assyrian king is seen as a type of Satan who went in and out before the Lord as in Job 1:7, 2:2 and who rages against the Lord and His anointed (Psalm 2:1-2, Revelation 12:17) to no avail in the end.  God would hook him and reel him in for judgment.  The sign which God gave to Hezekiah was for continuing fruitfulness in the crops illustrating the remnant of His people whom He would rescue from their sin and oppression.  The remnant would be settled in good soil to put down deep roots and bear fruits accordingly.  The zeal of God who was their Lord would do all these things because He loved them and worked for their good in His glory (Romans 8:28).  With the sentence passed, the final word of the LORD to Assyria and for the encouragement of the remnant was the sending of their army back to Assyria because God defended His people for His own sake and according to His word of promise through David in the line of the Messiah for ultimate deliverance of all His remnant which is the church of both Jew and Gentile.  After the LORD wiped out much of the Assyrian army at night by His avenging angel, the king returned and was assassinated by his own sons while bowing down to his false god like the idols which he had boasted in defeating them in blasphemous comparison to the LORD before (Isaiah 36:18-20).  God protects His people and will ultimately judge their enemy who also opposes Him.  We trust and pray to the One true God and will bow to idols and know we will be delivered by the Son of God (Daniel 3:17-18, 25).  This is the word of the LORD for His remnant (Romans 9:27, 11:5) of grace. 

Assurance of Deliverance

Isaiah 37:1-20 

(2 Kin. 19:1–7, 2 Kin. 19:8–19)

1 And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. 2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3 And they said to him, "Thus says Hezekiah: 'This day is a day of trouble and rebuke and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 It may be that the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.'"

5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 And Isaiah said to them, "Thus you shall say to your master, 'Thus says the LORD: "Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. 7 Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land."'"

8 Then the Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish. 9 And the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, "He has come out to make war with you." So when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 "Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying: 'Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, "Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria." 11 Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?'"

14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. 15 Then Hezekiah prayed to the LORD, saying: 16 "O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 17 Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. 18 Truly, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, 19 and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men's hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. 20 Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD, You alone."

Isaiah gave the message of God’s assurance in the midst of a day of trouble, rebuke, and blasphemy.  They were seemingly helpless as a baby ready to be born but with a mother powerless to deliver that one into the world.  They prayed for the LORD to hear those assaulting words from Assyria and to judge and correct them as king Hezekiah entreated all to pray with him for God’s defense and deliverance.  The leaders took this message to Isaiah and received a word of assurance.  They were told by God to not fear, but hear the salvation as the LORD would fight the battle for them by causing false news which made the blasphemer to turn back to Assyria and the Assyrian king to be killed in his own country.  That was their assurance of deli by God’s own hand and power, not their own.  This is a picture for us of our salvation, our deliverance from sin’s penalty and power over us which blasphemes our Lord in the rebellion of our inherited and ongoing disobedience.  Grace is God delivering us by his work and power, not our own which only brings fear of defeat.  That is the power of the message of the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ which is he good news of our salvation.  The enemy will contradict this just as the Assyrian king who further mocked the Lord and threatened His people saying that their God had no more power than all the (false) gods of other nations he conquered.  Hezekiah trusted God in the troubles and prayed.  He acknowledged that the LORD alone was sovereign God and no other just as the first commandment says.  He prayed that God would hear and see the reproach on His glory and the threats against His people, and then asked for deliverance to save them from the conqueror of nations and idols.  Hezekiah prayed especially that their salvation would be a testimony of who the LORD is by he power of His works as Jesus demonstrated (John 10:25-26, 37-38) when Immanuel walked among us.  He alone is God.  That was the message to the blasphemous king of the enemy of God’s people just as it remains today and always.  He is our assurance of deliverance for the salvation of our souls no matter what battles we face.  This is a recollection and reminder of the assurance of deliverance by God’s working which brings peace in tumult and hope in believing. 

Futility of Boasting Against the LORD

Isaiah 36:1-22 

(2 Kin. 18:13–37; 2 Chr. 32:1–19)

1 Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 2 Then the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh with a great army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And he stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller's Field. 3 And Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to him.

4 Then the Rabshakeh said to them, "Say now to Hezekiah, 'Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: "What confidence is this in which you trust? 5 I say you speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. Now in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? 6 Look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So 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 whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, 'You shall worship before this altar'?"' 8 Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your part to put riders on them! 9 How then will you repel one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 10 Have I now come up without the LORD 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; and do not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people who are on the wall."

12 But the Rabshakeh said, "Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?"

13 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and said, "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 nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, 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 peace with me by a present and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern; 17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, "The LORD will deliver us." Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? 20 Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?'"

21 But they held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king's commandment was, "Do not answer him." 22 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.

Sennacherib the king of Assyria boasted against the LORD as if he had all the might to defeat God’s people.  He pushed through Judah and came up against Jerusalem to utter threats and an ultimatum.  The message relayed from the Assyrian king was for Hezekiah to surrender at once and not rely on the power of Egypt to back them up.  He really was questioning their trust in the LORD God and mocked Hezekiah for tearing down the many high places and setting the one temple in Jerusalem as the one place to worship, as if that made God smaller with less influence or presence.  That was man’s reasoning based on size and not on supernatural sovereign power.  He even blasphemed the LORD in his arrogant pride by saying that He had sent the Assyrian army to take the land with Jerusalem to destroy it all!  The messengers spoke not just between the leaders so all who were defending the city could be intimidated.  The deceit was loudly broadcast to not trust in the LORD or His chosen servant leader Hezekiah for deliverance; the command was to submit and trust Assyria over God.  This subtle lie appears in a different angle today to call God’s people to trust in political or military might over the Lord (Psalm 56:11, 146:3), but with the same deception of our enemy to replace trust in God with the feeble and fleeting power of man.  The Assyrian message came with an offer of reward if they surrendered and submitted by abandoning faith in the Lord for deliverance through Hezekiah.  He named false gods defeated by Assyria and dared lump the Holy and Sovereign LORD God among them in his blasphemy, much as people today have relegated God to a lesser being who is the same as any other religion.  Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder all wisely held their tongues as they had been told so as not to stir up a fight.  These told what was said to king Hezekiah with sorrow and distress in their trust.  We also find ourselves wanting to fight back against the enemies of God who are atheists and lovers of their own power and pleasure in their rejection of the gospel, but must trust God as our defender and deliverer from trouble accordingly to His word.  May we stand firm on the wall to defend the faith (2 Samuel 22:3, Jude 1:3, 1 Timothy 6:12, 2 Timothy 4:7) without wavering or shifting our reliance to any power besides our omnipotent Lord Jesus Christ of the Father according to His Spirit working in and through us (Ephesians 3:20).  We have one Savior, and He is no worldly leader or power.  It is futile to boast against the Lord and when we are attacked or faced with an impossible situation, do we go immediately before God with praise and ask for His name to be honored, or do we only seek our own well-being?  The examples in Scripture continually point to God and not to us.  Amen! 

The Glory of God’s Ransomed and Redeemed

Isaiah 35:1-10 

1 The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them,
And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose;
2 It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice,
Even with joy and singing.

The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
The excellence of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the LORD,
The excellency of our God.

3 Strengthen the weak hands,
And make firm the feeble knees.
4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted,
"Be strong, do not fear!
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 shall be unstopped.
6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer,
And the tongue of the dumb sing.

For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness,
And streams in the desert.
7 The parched ground shall become a pool,
And the thirsty land springs of water;
In the habitation of jackals, where each lay,
There shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

8 A highway shall be there, and a road,
And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.
The unclean shall not pass over it,
But it shall be for others.
Whoever walks the road, although a fool,
Shall not go astray.

9 No lion shall be there,
Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it;
It 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,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness,
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

What prophetic messages through Israel to the rest of God’s people from all nations as the church!  The pictures and foreshadowing of events which Jesus Christ spoke and did from this chapter of Isaiah are astounding and deeply moving now that we have seen their fulfillment and tasted God’s grace and glory in them.  The glory of His ransomed and redeemed bubble up here with the joy and singing of fruitfulness of spirit and soul like the desert full of the nations grafted into the totality of God’s chosen people in the Anointed One.  We have truly seen the excellence and glory of our LORD God through scripture recording His word and deeds among us as Immanuel.  This foundation of God’s work gives strength to weak knees which tend to knock together in fear at times and give our hands strength to grasp the grace of this salvation which ransoms us from certain judgment with an eternal hope which cannot fade away (1 Peter 1:4).  He tells us repeatedly to not fear because the punishment of sin’s penalty has been taken on for us (1 John 4:18) and we need no longer fear the lake of fire where the worm does not die (eternal death of suffering) and the fire is not quenched in that terrible and real place of torment night and day (Mark 9:44, Isaiah 66:24, Revelation 14:11).  God’s recompense for sinners is also recompense of grace for those sinners finding deliverance by faith in Christ alone by grace alone for God’s glory alone, and not solely in payment for our sin alone.  He has come and saved us as verse 4 alludes to Christ’s work here!  Yes, He has proven it by fulfilling the scriptures to open blind eyes and deaf ears unable to hear and see the hidden things (Colossians 1:26-27) along with the lame given feet to walk and hands to grasp the word and work of God.  It is His work alone which brings us to repentance as He bestows faith to understand and act (John 1:12) for deliverance which we call salvation.  He has also told us of springs of living water to flow in and out of us (John 7:38), which is His Spirit first given at Pentecost and then to every regenerated believer who follows after them (Ephesians 1:13).  He sets before us the road of holiness to walk as we follow Him (Leviticus 11:44, 1 Peter 1:16).  We no longer walk on the highway to hell as the world glorifies but on the highway of holiness as we gaze upon our Lord who is altogether righteous as our example to pursue (1 Corinthians 11:1).  Even fools such as I cannot go astray with His leading of grace!  He protects us from the roaring Lion (1 Peter 5:8) out to get us and He leads us to a future where that evil one is no longer present.  The redeemed and ransomed of the Lord will be gathered after the second death in the resurrection to eternal life in the New Zion, the New Jerusalem brought down from heaven to the earth (Revelation 21:2) that we might sing His praises in everlasting joy and gladness at last!  There will be no more sorrow (Revelation 21:4) and sighing of defeat under sin’s power and influence any longer.  This is the hope of glory (Romans 5:2-3, Ephesians 1:18, Colossians 1:27) of the Lord’s ransomed and redeemed!  Let us then say so out loud of the gospel of redeeming grace as Psalm 107:2 reminds us to do. 

Judgment of Wrath on the World

Isaiah 34:1-17 

1 Come near, you nations, to hear;
And heed, you people!
Let the earth hear, and all that is in it,
The world and all things that come forth from it.

2 For the indignation of the LORD is against all nations,
And His fury against all their armies;
He has utterly destroyed them,
He has given them over to the slaughter.

3 Also their slain shall be thrown out;
Their stench shall rise from their corpses,
And the mountains shall be melted with their blood.

4 All the host of heaven shall be dissolved,
And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll;
All their host shall fall down
As the leaf falls from the vine,
And as fruit falling from a fig tree.

5 "For My sword shall be bathed in heaven;
Indeed it shall come down on Edom,
And on the people of My curse, for judgment.

6 The sword of the LORD is filled with blood,
It is made overflowing with fatness,
With the blood of lambs and goats,
With the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

7 The wild oxen shall come down with them,
And the young bulls with the mighty bulls;
Their land shall be soaked with blood,
And their dust saturated with fatness."

8 For it is the day of the LORD's vengeance,
The year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

9 Its streams shall be turned into pitch,
And its dust into brimstone;
Its land shall become burning pitch.
10 It shall not be quenched night or day;
Its smoke shall ascend forever.
From generation to generation it shall lie waste;
No one shall pass through it forever and ever.

11 But the pelican and the porcupine shall possess it,
Also the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.
And He shall stretch out over it
The line of confusion and the stones of emptiness.
12 They shall call its nobles to the kingdom,
But none shall be there, and all its princes shall be nothing.

13 And thorns shall come up in its palaces,
Nettles and brambles in its fortresses;
It shall be a habitation of jackals,
A courtyard for ostriches.

14 The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the jackals,
And the wild goat shall bleat to its companion;
Also the night creature shall rest there,
And find for herself a place of rest.
15 There the arrow snake shall make her nest and lay eggs
And hatch, and gather them under her shadow;
There also shall the hawks be gathered,
Every one with her mate.

16 "Search from the book of the LORD, and read:
Not one of these shall fail;
Not one shall lack her mate.
For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them.

17 He has cast the lot for them,
And His hand has divided it among them with a measuring line.
They shall possess it forever;
From generation to generation they shall dwell in it."

This is a difficult message from Isaiah of God’s wrath of vengeance to judge the world which when He initially created it He called good.  How it must grieve Him to have to judge His creation, yet how necessary to His holiness and righteousness!  The message is for everyone in all the world to hear and heed His indignation and furious anger against the rebellion of sin and the destruction coming because of it.  This is more than just retribution against old enemies of the nation of ancient Israel, for the language is found later in the words of Jesus and the apostles as well of the wrath of God against all unrighteousness (Romans 1:18) to hold us all accountable to His word.  Were it not for the grace of God in Christ, we would all remain under the curse and penalty of judgment (Colossians 3:6-7, Ephesians 5:5-6), but instead He has chosen some for redemption (we do not choose ourselves as is commonly and erroneously taught) to demonstrate His wrath to destruction and grace of forgiveness and reconciliation on those prepared for the new Zion (Romans 9:22-24).  In verse four the words about the heavens dissolved and rolled up with the hosts falling down are echoed in places like Matthew 24:29, 2 Peter 3:10, and Revelation 6:13-14 concerning the final judgment.  God’s sword of His just vengeance (Revelation 19:15, 21) will end the false sacrifices of people using ritual instead of their contrite hearts of repentance.  In the day of the Lords vengeance (not only for Israel’s enemies then but for all His enemies who reject Him) there will be a recompense with brimstone and fire that has smoke going up forever as a perpetual wasteland, a picture of hell we are used to hearing about.  Just as the nations who rejected the Lord and His people then were held accountable and their land rendered uninhabitable, so will the lake of fire be a barren burn pit of the wrath of God.  This is not a popular topic of the reality of God’s word and plan, but unless it is clearly addressed and understood, many may refuse to hear the good news because they never considered the bad news of their destiny apart from the grace of God in Christ which cannot be earned by any number of good works as sacrifices or acts of meaningless penance.  The Lord gathers His people by His Spirit just as the animals here who did not lac a mate by His goodness of grace.  His choice, His lot cast for us as His chosen people, Jew and Gentile through the promise by faith through Abraham, that is what gives us the right to an eternal country as our promised land to have forever and ever, amen.  Through the judgment and wrath against sin on the world we find mercy and forgiving reconciliation in Christ as the good news we need.  Hell and brimstone are reminders for us of our well-deserved fate apart from that work of grace through faith.  Yes, there is a judgment of hell as well as grace of forgiveness in God’s love.  Without knowing the bad news of our sinful state and its just end, we cannot understand the good news of undeserved forgiveness. 

To See the Lord and His Heavenly Kingdom!

Isaiah 33:17-24

17 Your eyes will see the King in His beauty;
They will see the land that is very far off.

18 Your heart will meditate on terror:
"Where is the scribe?
Where is he who weighs?
Where is he who counts the towers?"

19 You will not see a fierce people,
A people of obscure speech, beyond perception,
Of a stammering tongue that you cannot understand.

20 Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts;
Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet home,
A tabernacle that will not be taken down;
Not one of its stakes will ever be removed,
Nor will any of its cords be broken.

21 But there the majestic LORD will be for us
A place of broad rivers and streams,
In which no galley with oars will sail,
Nor majestic ships pass by

22 (For the LORD is our Judge,
The LORD is our Lawgiver,
The LORD is our King;
He will save us);

23 Your tackle is loosed,
They could not strengthen their mast,
They could not spread the sail.
Then the prey of great plunder is divided;
The lame take the prey.

24 And the inhabitant will not say, "I am sick";
The people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity.

To see the Sovereign Lord God in His beauty and the heavenly country to come which seems so far off, that is clear and focused vision indeed!  This message of Isaiah has one meaning but  applications for both the deliverance of Jerusalem and of all God’s people in eternity.  The fear of looming judgment applies to both as well; here there was fear for losing all that Jerusalem and God’s people had in their knowledge of scribes, trade with scales, and protection of the city’s towers.  In the heavenly kingdom the gain is knowledge of God seen face to face and a growing knowing until that day, the provision of eternity to negate the need for commerce to survive, and His presence as our protection from the presence of sin forevermore.  Today’s enemies are fierce and come from places where we cannot understand their speech, but the peace of God in all circumstances will be fully known and experienced in the New Jerusalem come down from heaven to the renewed earth where unending worship will take place.  This kingdom is unshakable (Hebrews 12:27-28) and will have the Lord Himself present there with the river of life and trees of healing (Revelation 22:1-2) with no need of ships to navigate its waters, just as the prophetic message of Isaiah hinted at with the illustration of the Lord as our place of such peace.  Yes, the same Lord who is the Judge over Israel in that time long past is ours now and forever, He is our Sovereign and the one who saves us.  Those without Him, who reject Him, they will be as on ships without tackle tied down and no way to raise a sail to move from the danger of judgment or gain lasting treasure.  But in the end they who turn to the Lord will find spiritual healing of the soul and forgiveness for sin’s inner iniquity which fills the corrupted heart of the fall in the Garden of Eden in the beginning.  Oh how we who are delivered from the penalty of sin yearn to be in His presence and no longer in sin’s presence, to see the Lord and His heavenly kingdom face to face!  Come quickly, Lord. 

Fear of Impending Judgment

Isaiah 33:10-16

10 "Now I will rise," says the LORD;
"Now I will be exalted,
Now I will lift Myself up.

11 You shall conceive chaff,
You shall bring forth stubble;
Your breath, as fire, shall devour you.
12 And the people shall be like the burnings of lime;
Like thorns cut up they shall be burned in the fire.

13 Hear, you who are afar off, what I have done;
And you who are near, acknowledge My might."

14 The sinners in Zion are afraid;
Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites:

"Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?
Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?"

15 He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,
He who despises the gain of oppressions,
Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes,
Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed,
And shuts his eyes from seeing evil:

16 He will dwell on high;
His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks;
Bread will be given him,
His water will be sure.

This warning to Israel is also for all who read and hear these words.  God will rise up in judgment after allowing sin to run its course as He did before the flood where Noah was saved (Matthew 24:37-39, 1 Peter 3:20-21) as a sign for us of deliverance in Christ.  God will always be seen as exalted and great in His works of severity and goodness (Romans 11:22) in judgment and mercy.  He must get all the glory from our lips as well.  Those disobedient and disbelieving are as leftover chaff from the good wheat which is burned, and the illustration of burned bodies here is a foreshadowing of the lake of fire prepared for heavenly rebels and those who follow in like suit (Matthew 25:41).  What then?  Hear what God says!  He calls those near and far to hear all He has done from the pages of scripture and especially for those nearby to give Him the glory in acknowledging His omnipotence over all.  Sinners who hear and understand, who do not turn a blind eye and deaf ear, these will fear their future as much as he hypocrites who say Lord, Lord, but do not follow that word (Matthew 7:22-23).  The fear of eternal punishment is not to be downplayed or ignored as if a taboo subject which might drive away those hearing God’s word in the gospel, rather it is the heart of the good news to know what one is being saved from to truly understand what they can be saved to.  The Lord expects His people to live righteously and care for his neighbors as the greatest commandments summarized for us in Mark 12:30-31 as our reminder.  That means dealing honestly with others in all things (especially matters of money), not oppressing or using others for our own gain, but refusing bribes and listening to stories of abusing people and evil subjects in general.  We are to be righteous and holy because He is if we are truly His.  Then we have God’s blessings of protection in His good providence, not when we live in opposition to His word and will for us as Ephesians 2:10 tells us we are made and saved to do.  There is no fear of impending judgment for those truly in Christ, but there is accountability for our lives nonetheless (1 John 4:18, 1 Corinthians 3:14-15).  May we who are His people, Jew and Gentile, then live in such a way as to glorify and honor God for His great mercy of forgiving grace to exalt His name because we have been spared the impending eternal punishment of His righteous judgment.  Amen! 

Hopeful Prayer in Deep Distress

Isaiah 33:1-9 

1 Woe to you who plunder, though you have not been plundered;
And you who deal treacherously, though they have not dealt treacherously with you!
When you cease plundering,
You will be plundered;
When you make an end of dealing treacherously,
They will deal treacherously with you.

2 O LORD, be gracious to us;
We have waited for You.
Be their arm every morning,
Our salvation also in the time of trouble.

3 At the noise of the tumult the people shall flee;
When You lift Yourself up, the nations shall be scattered;
4 And Your plunder shall be gathered
Like the gathering of the caterpillar;
As the running to and fro of locusts,
He shall run upon them.

5 The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high;
He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times,
And the strength of salvation;
The fear of the LORD is His treasure.

7 Surely their valiant ones shall cry outside,
The ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.
8 The highways lie waste,
The traveling man ceases.
He has broken the covenant,
He has despised the cities,
He regards no man.

9 The earth mourns and languishes,
Lebanon is shamed and shriveled;
Sharon is like a wilderness,
And Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.

This prayer was made in the deep distress of God’s people under attack and judgment.  Their enemies are called to task for their plundering and treachery, and the Lord assures Israel that their oppressors will be plundered themselves.  The prayer then begins with asking for God’s mercy in grace because they look to Him patiently while waiting for His deliverance from troubles every new day.  They acknowledged His sovereignty and omnipotent ability to drive their enemies away as if a hoard of locusts absolutely devastating them and leaving nothing behind.  They exalted Him in praise to recognize His sovereign power and goodness of grace because of His justice and righteousness.  They above all looked at themselves to confess that God given wisdom built on the knowledge of His word would bring them a solid peace as their foundation, just as it continues to do for us today.  His word in its certainty is the strength of out salvation to deliver us not only from our enemies, but also for our adversary in the spiritual realm and the sin which engulfs us now in this fallen world.  Our fear of the Lord in judgment and awe of His glory and grace is the solid Rock of our foundation on whom we stand.  The mighty will fall around us as He defeats the devil and the world he now has temporary jurisdiction over.  Just as the world then was broken and was fading away (1 Corinthians 7:31, 1 John 2:8, 17), so it continues to do so until all is made new after the judgment to come and the renewal of all creation.  We anticipate His return and glory in His merciful grace to His people in our deep distress in the present time.  Our hope is steadfast and certain in our Lord whom we glorify and worship because He is our peace and treasure.  Knowing these things concerning justice and righteousness, we are given wisdom and stability in the eternal assurance of our salvation because we stand on Him and His work (John 6:29) and not our own righteousness of futile effort.  Amen. 

Consequences of Complacency and Peace with God

Isaiah 32:9-20

9 Rise up, you women who are at ease,
Hear my voice;
You complacent daughters,
Give ear to my speech.

10 In a year and some days
You will be troubled, you complacent women;
For the vintage will fail,
The gathering will not come.

11 Tremble, you women who are at ease;
Be troubled, you complacent ones;
Strip yourselves, make yourselves bare,
And gird sackcloth on your waists.

12 People shall mourn upon their breasts
For the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.
13 On the land of my people will come up thorns and briers,
Yes, on all the happy homes in the joyous city;
14 Because the palaces will be forsaken,
The bustling city will be deserted.
The forts and towers will become lairs 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 counted as a forest.

16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
And righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
17 The work of righteousness will be peace,
And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.

18 My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation,
In secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places,
19 Though hail comes down on the forest,
And the city is brought low in humiliation.

20 Blessed are you who sow beside all waters,
Who send out freely the feet of the ox and the donkey.

The complacency of Israel was addressed as if they were women who laid about doing little and who needed to take heed to God’s word to them.  God warned them that they would face fruitlessness and that the only remedy was repentance, to turn from complacency to attention for the things of the Lord according to His word.  The mourning for their loss of a bountiful harvest of the pleasure of the vineyard and the grain for food would make the cities empty as everyone left them to ruin because they had left their Lord God and chose laziness and inaction.  The Lord told them to wait until he poured out His Spirit on them all from heaven (Joel 2:28, Acts 2:17, 21) to deliver and make them fruitful once more in Him.  This is a picture of how the church was formed and is being added to daily through His Spirit and our repentance to turn from the unfruitfulness and complacency of sin to Him for bountiful living in giving the Lord glory in our purposeful regenerated lives.  He spoke through Isaiah to further promise justice and righteousness in their empty lives which would result in peace with God with the further effect of a settled assurance in quietness through that righteousness which we now know is Christ’s in whom we live and not our own.  The peace of God we have as Romans 5:1 speaks of is in Him and the solid peace of the soul in His imputed righteousness which is not imparted as if our own, but which is always His in whom we dwell because His Spirit lives in us to sanctify each is us.  Therefore, we find peace while living in turmoil and abundance of fruitfulness while living in a barren world of sin.  We are secure in His work which quiets the troubled and complacent soul with purpose and meaning no matter the world situation.  Like the picture of redeemed Israel sowing food by the waters and sending out the stock to become more food to sustain themselves, we sow the reconciliation of the gospel of peace with God by Christ’s righteousness in His work to deliver us from sin to follow Him.  May we freely go out and on our way in His footsteps of redeeming grace with this good news of peace with God in Christ as we speak of the consequences of spiritual complacency and the reconciliation of peace and purpose with God.  Amen.