Isaiah laid it all out so
elegantly. “Woe to you who spoils”, he shouted (vs 1). That may well
have happened when Sennacherib’s emissaries came to scoff at the God of Hezekiah.
They all cried to God
for deliverance, because the insults were intolerable (vs 2).
He reflected on the dread of the Assyrian advance (vs 3) and the heaps of spoil that
littered the landscape behind them, which were like the gatherings of the caterpillar and the
locust (vs 4).
But the people followed the example
of Hezekiah and exalted their unmoved God (v 5). He promised wisdom and
stability, but assured Assyria that their emissaries and men of war would weep.
Then judgment fell in
verse 10: “Now will I rise, says the LORD; now will I be exalted; now will I
lift up myself”. Instead of conceiving victory they conceived chaff and produced stubble as the fire of God consumed them . God drew the line. Nations would learn
to fear him.
Isaiah promised that the righteous would advance and those who shunned the works of evil would rejoice. They would see the
king in his beauty and the glory of heaven afar off.
Thus God scoffed at
those of Assyria who came to record their claims and their spoil. They came and then turned back in shame.
The assurance of Isaiah was that his people would not be
preoccupied with terror and fear but would find peace in the walls
of Jerusalem. For God would be like a broad river, an allusion to the water
tunnels that would not quench the Assyrians but would always sustain the
righteous.
It is an allegory for the secret place of the most high, the unseen reservoir of strength and provision that has always and will always sustain the church of God.
It is also reminiscent of the
rich man in Sheol, who cried for water from Lazarus. What was denied the latter
in life, sustained him in glory, but the rich and arrogant were judged.
What a powerful anthem
against a most arrogant ruler and what a triumphal refrain for all who put
their trust in God. The righteous shall surely not be moved.
He closed with the hope
of not feeling the sickness associated with sin, but the healing that comes
with forgiveness and mercy.
God cautions all the nations (Isaiah 34)
He summonses them all.
His indignation shall be upon all nations. His fury will touch them all. The stench
of their death will fill the earth and the mountains will melt with blood.
This is a promise that
extends from the sudden fury of his judgment against Sennacherib. He did it
then. He will do it again. Nations will yet tremble before him.
That past aspect of history
thus blends with the future and foresees the end-time gathering of nations who
will again lay siege to Jerusalem.
That will come before
the end, when God will roll up the heavens like a scroll (Revelation 6:14).
Then Jesus will ride
in a garment dipped in blood, to judge all the nations (vs 5). That will mark
the day of God’s vengeance for the evil they have brought against Zion (vs 8).
He sees rivers, like
magma, flowing with pitch and flame as unquenchable fires. The Germans cities of Dresden and Hamburg, which fell to Allied bombing, were described like that.
All that will remain
is a wasteland, for the flesh-eating raven and others: but the raven was the first
bird of judgment, released from the ark to pick on the carcasses left by the
flood.
Verse 16 confirms that
the book, the words of God will be fulfilled completely. God help us all.
By contrast, his people will thrive and endure
(Isaiah 35)
God here gives the promises
that are being fulfilled in Israel, as the desert has indeed blossomed like the rose.
The reclamation of that dry land has turned it into a flourishing land that is
now a net exporter of food. It is the envy of all her neighbors.
It will blossom
abundantly, but God specifically promised three things:
- The glory of Lebanon, as in the cedars of the temple, promises a life of freestanding purpose set as a vital, living stones or pillars in the richness and diversity of His church.
- The splendor of Carmel, like the burning bush, recalls Elijah’s fire. It confirms God as God, resolves any doubts about that, and ignites His fire of passion in us.
- The wheat and barley fields of Sharon’s coastal plain promise the grace and truth we need to run our race, rather than the daily bread of a dependent life
He will strengthen hands and weak knees, an inspiration reprized in Hebrews 12, which reflects the return
to dignity of those who submit to his disciplines, like sons.
He promised sight to
the blind through a renewal of his spirit and hearing to the deaf through the
transforming of hearts.
Then the lame will
leap like a hart. It’s a promise to all of us. We are lame, have been for so long: a
people of such potential, but limited by the weight of sin and its power over
us.
The language is so
redemptive. We all know that our spiritual feet are like lead. Its like wading
through mud for most of us, most of the time, but a time is coming when we will
be freed of our hindrances and dance in his power: freed at last.
All my life I
experienced two competing dreams: in the one my legs were like lead
before my pursuers, but in the second I could
leap long distances and outrun them all.
That is what God is promising to
his church.
The parched ground
will become a pool and there will be a highway, a course through this world
that will be called the way of holiness. It will inaccessible to the unregenerate,
but the redeemed will see it, walk it and find their way through the confusing times to
come.
There will be no lion
or ravenous beast there. I foresee a time coming where the scales will tip and the
church will see the life of Christ so richly fulfilled in her that she will
stand and thrive as sin does just the opposite to evil men to frustrate their
dark cause.
Then the ransomed will return to Zion with singing in their hearts and everlasting joy will be on
their heads. They will find gladness and sorrow will flee away.
This is one of the
greatest and most beautifully written prophecies of Isaiah. It is for you,
today, and it is a message of great hope and redemption for his people.
(c) Peter Missing @ bethelstone.com
