Who is the king that will reign in righteousness with honest leaders? Let’s look at Isaiah 32.
Who is this king that shall reign? Is this a prophecy of Jesus’ second coming?
Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly. (Isa 32:1-4 KJV)
Will this be a time when only righteous people will be allowed to be in government?
No longer will the wicked fool be called noble, Or the rogue be spoken of as generous. For a wicked fool speaks wicked folly, And his heart does wickedness: To do ungodliness and to speak error against Yahweh, In order to make the hungry person empty; He even causes the thirsty to lack a drink. As for a rogue, his weapons are evil; He counsels wicked schemes To wreak destruction on the afflicted with lying words, Even though the needy one speaks justly. But the noble man counsels noble plans; And by noble plans he rises up. (Isa 32:5-8 LSB)
Will selfish women who care more for their luxuries than for the suffering be given a warning?
Rise up, you women who are at ease, And hear my voice; Listen to my word, You complacent daughters. Within a year and a few days You will be troubled, you complacent daughters; For the vintage is ended, And the fruit gathering will not come. (Isa 32:9-10 NASB)
Will the inequality of a corrupt society come to an end, one that allows some to live extravagantly, while causing others to suffer?
Tremble, you complacent women; shudder, you daughters who feel secure! Strip off your fine clothes and wrap yourselves in rags. Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vines and for the land of my people, a land overgrown with thorns and briers—yes, mourn for all houses of merriment and for this city of revelry. (Isa 32:11-13 NIV)
Will the exclusive housing of the selfish rich be abandoned until the Spirit of God has been poured out? Will Israel’s brown lands turn green?
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—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. (Isa 32:14-15 NKJV)
Will Israel finally become a place of justice and righteousness? Will bounteous crops grow in a land where once desert dominated?
Justice will rule in the wilderness and righteousness in the fertile field. And this righteousness will bring peace. Yes, it will bring quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in safety, quietly at home. They will be at rest. Even if the forest should be destroyed and the city torn down, the Lord will greatly bless his people. Wherever they plant seed, bountiful crops will spring up. Their cattle and donkeys will graze freely. (Isa 32:16-20 NLT)
Was the Spirit being poured out experienced in its initial fulfillment on Pentecost?
It will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams. Yes, and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days, I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy. (Acts 2:17-18 WEB)
Was the gift of the Holy Spirit also poured out on Gentiles?
While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell on everyone who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. (Acts 10:44-45 CEB)
Who is the king that will reign in righteousness with honest leaders? You decide!
Foolish Alliances (Isaiah 31)
Do our nations also make foolish alliances like Israel, instead of trusting God? Let’s continue in Isaiah 31.
Was it foolish for Israel to go down to Egypt for help?
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they don’t look to the Holy One of Israel, and they don’t seek Yahweh! (Isa 31:1 WEB)
Who is stronger than the horses and army of any nation on earth?
But God also knows how to bring disaster; he has not taken back his words. God will rise up against the house of evildoers and against the help of those who do wrong. Egypt is human and not divine; their horses are flesh and not spirit. The Lord will extend his hand; the helper will stumble, those helped will fall, and they will all die together. (Isa 31:2-3 CEB)
How did God describe His planned protection of Jerusalem?
The Lord All-Powerful said to me, “I will roar and attack like a fearless lion not frightened by the shouts of shepherds trying to protect their sheep. That's how I will come down and fight on Mount Zion. I, the Lord All-Powerful, will protect Jerusalem like a mother bird circling over her nest.” (Isa 31:4-5 CEV)
What did God want from those who have revolted against Him and made idols?
Turn to him from whom people have deeply revolted, O children of Israel. For in that day everyone shall cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you. (Isa 31:6-7 ESV)
Is this a prophecy of how God assigned an angel to kill 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night outside Jerusalem?
Then Assyria will fall, but not by human sword; a sword will devour him, but not one made by man. He will flee from the sword; his young men will be put to forced labor. His rock will pass away because of fear, and his officers will be afraid because of the signal flag. This is the Lord’s declaration—whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem. (Isa 31:8-9 HCSB)
Did the apostles also describe God’s presence as an all-consuming fire?
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and worship God in reverence and fear in a way that pleases him. For “our God is an all-consuming fire.” (Heb 12:28-29 ISV)
Do our nations also make foolish alliances like Israel, instead of trusting God? You decide!
Was it foolish for Israel to go down to Egypt for help?
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they don’t look to the Holy One of Israel, and they don’t seek Yahweh! (Isa 31:1 WEB)
Who is stronger than the horses and army of any nation on earth?
But God also knows how to bring disaster; he has not taken back his words. God will rise up against the house of evildoers and against the help of those who do wrong. Egypt is human and not divine; their horses are flesh and not spirit. The Lord will extend his hand; the helper will stumble, those helped will fall, and they will all die together. (Isa 31:2-3 CEB)
How did God describe His planned protection of Jerusalem?
The Lord All-Powerful said to me, “I will roar and attack like a fearless lion not frightened by the shouts of shepherds trying to protect their sheep. That's how I will come down and fight on Mount Zion. I, the Lord All-Powerful, will protect Jerusalem like a mother bird circling over her nest.” (Isa 31:4-5 CEV)
What did God want from those who have revolted against Him and made idols?
Turn to him from whom people have deeply revolted, O children of Israel. For in that day everyone shall cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you. (Isa 31:6-7 ESV)
Is this a prophecy of how God assigned an angel to kill 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night outside Jerusalem?
Then Assyria will fall, but not by human sword; a sword will devour him, but not one made by man. He will flee from the sword; his young men will be put to forced labor. His rock will pass away because of fear, and his officers will be afraid because of the signal flag. This is the Lord’s declaration—whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem. (Isa 31:8-9 HCSB)
Did the apostles also describe God’s presence as an all-consuming fire?
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and worship God in reverence and fear in a way that pleases him. For “our God is an all-consuming fire.” (Heb 12:28-29 ISV)
Do our nations also make foolish alliances like Israel, instead of trusting God? You decide!
Trust God (Isaiah 30)
Who should Israel trust, God or foreign alliances? Who do we trust? Let’s look at Isaiah 30.
What did God warn Israel about trusting in a treaty with Egypt?
This is the Lord's message for his rebellious people: “You follow your own plans instead of mine; you make treaties without asking me, and you keep on sinning. You trust Egypt for protection. So you refuse my advice and send messengers to Egypt to beg their king for help. You will be disappointed, completely disgraced for trusting Egypt. The king's power reaches from the city of Zoan as far south as Hanes. But Egypt can't protect you, and to trust that nation is useless and foolish.” (Isa 30:1-5 CEV)
Does the phrase “Rahab [pride] who sits still” describe Egypt here as “do nothing pride?”
An oracle on the beasts of the Negeb. Through a land of trouble and anguish, from where come the lioness and the lion, the adder and the flying fiery serpent, they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people that cannot profit them. Egypt's help is worthless and empty; therefore I have called her “Rahab who sits still.” (Isa 30:6-7 ESV)
Were people in ancient Israel very similar to many moderns, wanting to hear only smooth things, illusions?
Go now, write it on a tablet in their presence and inscribe it on a scroll; it will be for the future, forever and ever. They are a rebellious people, deceptive children, children who do not want to obey the Lord’s instruction. They say to the seers, “Do not see,” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy the truth to us. Tell us flattering things. Prophesy illusions. Get out of the way! Leave the pathway. Rid us of the Holy One of Israel.” (Isa 30:8-11 HCSB)
How suddenly would the collapse of the nation in rebellion against God be?
Therefore, this is what the Holy One of Israel says: “Because you reject this message, and put your trust in oppression and enjoy it, and since you rely on it, therefore, for you this sin will become like a breach in a high wall that is about to collapse, bulging out, and whose crash comes suddenly—in an instant. Its breaking will be like when potters’ vessels are broken, shattered so ruthlessly that among its fragments not even a broken sliver will be found for taking fire from a hearth or scooping water out of a cistern.” (Isaiah 30:12-14 ISV)
What would have guaranteed the salvation of the nation?
For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill. (Isa 30:15-17 KJV)
Will Jerusalem eventually return to God and be blessed?
Therefore Yahweh waits with longing to be gracious to you, And therefore He is on high to have compassion on you. For Yahweh is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who wait for Him. O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. The Lord has given you bread of distress and water of oppression; He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will see your Teacher. And your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left. And you will defile your graven images overlaid with your silver, and your molten images plated with your gold. You will scatter them as an impure thing and say to them, “Be gone!” (Isa 30:18-22 LSB)
What will the day look like when God heals the people of Jerusalem?
Then He will give you rain for your seed which you will sow in the ground, and bread from the yield of the ground, and it will be rich and plentiful; on that day your livestock will graze in a wide pasture. Also the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground will eat seasoned feed, which has been winnowed with shovel and pitchfork. And on every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be streams running with water on the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. And the light of the full moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day the Lord binds up the fracture of His people and heals the wound He has inflicted. (Isa 30:23-26 NASB)
Will the people of Jerusalem have gladness on the day of judgment?
See, the Name of the Lord comes from afar, with burning anger and dense clouds of smoke; his lips are full of wrath, and his tongue is a consuming fire. His breath is like a rushing torrent, rising up to the neck. He shakes the nations in the sieve of destruction; he places in the jaws of the peoples a bit that leads them astray. And you will sing as on the night you celebrate a holy festival; your hearts will rejoice as when people playing pipes go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel. (Isa 30:27-29 NIV)
How glorious will the judgment of the Lord be in that day? Is Tophet in the Valley of Hinnom, which as the town’s rubbish dump, pictured hell?
The Lord will cause His glorious voice to be heard, And show the descent of His arm, With the indignation of His anger And the flame of a devouring fire, With scattering, tempest, and hailstones. For through the voice of the Lord Assyria will be beaten down, As He strikes with the rod. And in every place where the staff of punishment passes, Which the Lord lays on him, It will be with tambourines and harps; And in battles of brandishing He will fight with it. For Tophet was established of old, Yes, for the king it is prepared. He has made it deep and large; Its pyre is fire with much wood; The breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, Kindles it. (Isa 30:30-33 NKJV)
Did Jesus echo this chapter as He grieved over Jerusalem?
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. (Mat 23:37 NLT)
Who should Israel trust, God or foreign alliances? Who do we trust? You decide!
What did God warn Israel about trusting in a treaty with Egypt?
This is the Lord's message for his rebellious people: “You follow your own plans instead of mine; you make treaties without asking me, and you keep on sinning. You trust Egypt for protection. So you refuse my advice and send messengers to Egypt to beg their king for help. You will be disappointed, completely disgraced for trusting Egypt. The king's power reaches from the city of Zoan as far south as Hanes. But Egypt can't protect you, and to trust that nation is useless and foolish.” (Isa 30:1-5 CEV)
Does the phrase “Rahab [pride] who sits still” describe Egypt here as “do nothing pride?”
An oracle on the beasts of the Negeb. Through a land of trouble and anguish, from where come the lioness and the lion, the adder and the flying fiery serpent, they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people that cannot profit them. Egypt's help is worthless and empty; therefore I have called her “Rahab who sits still.” (Isa 30:6-7 ESV)
Were people in ancient Israel very similar to many moderns, wanting to hear only smooth things, illusions?
Go now, write it on a tablet in their presence and inscribe it on a scroll; it will be for the future, forever and ever. They are a rebellious people, deceptive children, children who do not want to obey the Lord’s instruction. They say to the seers, “Do not see,” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy the truth to us. Tell us flattering things. Prophesy illusions. Get out of the way! Leave the pathway. Rid us of the Holy One of Israel.” (Isa 30:8-11 HCSB)
How suddenly would the collapse of the nation in rebellion against God be?
Therefore, this is what the Holy One of Israel says: “Because you reject this message, and put your trust in oppression and enjoy it, and since you rely on it, therefore, for you this sin will become like a breach in a high wall that is about to collapse, bulging out, and whose crash comes suddenly—in an instant. Its breaking will be like when potters’ vessels are broken, shattered so ruthlessly that among its fragments not even a broken sliver will be found for taking fire from a hearth or scooping water out of a cistern.” (Isaiah 30:12-14 ISV)
What would have guaranteed the salvation of the nation?
For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill. (Isa 30:15-17 KJV)
Will Jerusalem eventually return to God and be blessed?
Therefore Yahweh waits with longing to be gracious to you, And therefore He is on high to have compassion on you. For Yahweh is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who wait for Him. O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. The Lord has given you bread of distress and water of oppression; He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will see your Teacher. And your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left. And you will defile your graven images overlaid with your silver, and your molten images plated with your gold. You will scatter them as an impure thing and say to them, “Be gone!” (Isa 30:18-22 LSB)
What will the day look like when God heals the people of Jerusalem?
Then He will give you rain for your seed which you will sow in the ground, and bread from the yield of the ground, and it will be rich and plentiful; on that day your livestock will graze in a wide pasture. Also the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground will eat seasoned feed, which has been winnowed with shovel and pitchfork. And on every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be streams running with water on the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. And the light of the full moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day the Lord binds up the fracture of His people and heals the wound He has inflicted. (Isa 30:23-26 NASB)
Will the people of Jerusalem have gladness on the day of judgment?
See, the Name of the Lord comes from afar, with burning anger and dense clouds of smoke; his lips are full of wrath, and his tongue is a consuming fire. His breath is like a rushing torrent, rising up to the neck. He shakes the nations in the sieve of destruction; he places in the jaws of the peoples a bit that leads them astray. And you will sing as on the night you celebrate a holy festival; your hearts will rejoice as when people playing pipes go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel. (Isa 30:27-29 NIV)
How glorious will the judgment of the Lord be in that day? Is Tophet in the Valley of Hinnom, which as the town’s rubbish dump, pictured hell?
The Lord will cause His glorious voice to be heard, And show the descent of His arm, With the indignation of His anger And the flame of a devouring fire, With scattering, tempest, and hailstones. For through the voice of the Lord Assyria will be beaten down, As He strikes with the rod. And in every place where the staff of punishment passes, Which the Lord lays on him, It will be with tambourines and harps; And in battles of brandishing He will fight with it. For Tophet was established of old, Yes, for the king it is prepared. He has made it deep and large; Its pyre is fire with much wood; The breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, Kindles it. (Isa 30:30-33 NKJV)
Did Jesus echo this chapter as He grieved over Jerusalem?
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. (Mat 23:37 NLT)
Who should Israel trust, God or foreign alliances? Who do we trust? You decide!
Jerusalem Humbled (Isaiah 29)
Does God bless the spiritually blind and proud or the humble? Which are we? Let’s look at how God will deal with Jerusalem in Isaiah 29.
Though her annual festivals will continue, will Jerusalem be humbled? Is the term Lion of God used sarcastically of Jerusalem’s pride?
Ariel, Ariel, [Lion of God, Jerusalem] the city where David camped! Continue year after year; let the festivals recur. I will oppress Ariel, and there will be mourning and crying, and she will be to Me like an Ariel. I will camp in a circle around you; I will besiege you with earth ramps, and I will set up my siege towers against you. You will be brought down; you will speak from the ground, and your words will come from low in the dust. Your voice will be like that of a spirit from the ground; your speech will whisper from the dust. (Isa 29:1-4 HCSB)
Will God suddenly move to defend Jerusalem from her enemies, who will become like fine dust?
But the hordes of your enemies will become like fine dust, and the hordes of tyrants like flying chaff. Then suddenly, in an instant, you will be visited by the Lord of the Heavenly Armies—with thunder, an earthquake, and great noise, with a windstorm, a tempest, and flames from a devouring fire. Then the hordes of all the nations that fight against Aruel, all that attack her and her fortification and besiege her, will become like a dream, with its visions in the night—as when a hungry man dreams—he eats, but wakes up still hungry; or when a thirsty man dreams—he drinks, but wakes up faint, with his thirst unquenched. So will it be with the hordes of all the nations that fight against Mount Zion. (Isa 29:5-8 ISV)
Was Jerusalem acting like a drunkard, in a state of spiritual sleep?
Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. (Isa 29:9-10 KJV)
Will people look at the Bible and claim it’s sealed (closed) or that they can’t read? Is that a familiar excuse people make today for not reading the Bible?
The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, “Please read this,” he will say, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” Then the book will be given to the one who does not know how to read a book, saying, “Please read this.” And he will say, “I do not know how to read a book.” (Isa 29:11-12 LSB)
Did Jerusalem have another problem, familiar today? Do the traditions of men seem to dominate church culture, overshadowing the commandments taught by Jesus?
Then the Lord said, “Because this people approaches Me with their words And honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of the commandment of men that is taught; Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men will perish, And the understanding of their men who have understanding will be concealed.” (Isa 29:13-14 NASB)
Do we delude ourselves that God doesn’t see our deeds like ancient Israel did? Do people still say that God did not create us?
Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think, “Who sees us? Who will know?” You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, “You did not make me”? Can the pot say to the potter, “You know nothing”? (Isa 29:15-16 NIV)
Is there a time of restoration, where the poor will rejoice and tyrants will be brought to nothing?
Is it not yet a very little while Till Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, And the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest? In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness. The humble also shall increase their joy in the Lord, And the poor among men shall rejoice In the Holy One of Israel. For the terrible one is brought to nothing, The scornful one is consumed, And all who watch for iniquity are cut off—Who make a man an offender by a word, And lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, And turn aside the just by empty words. (Isa 29:17-21 NKJV)
How will Israel feel towards God as a time of restoration comes?
That is why the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, says to the people of Israel, “My people will no longer be ashamed or turn pale with fear. For when they see their many children and all the blessings I have given them, they will recognize the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob. They will stand in awe of the God of Israel. Then the wayward will gain understanding, and complainers will accept instruction. (Isa 29:22-24 NLT)
Did Mary quote a similar sentiment in her words of praise to God?
He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. (Luke 1:52 CEB)
Does God bless the spiritually blind and proud or the humble? Which are we? You decide!
Though her annual festivals will continue, will Jerusalem be humbled? Is the term Lion of God used sarcastically of Jerusalem’s pride?
Ariel, Ariel, [Lion of God, Jerusalem] the city where David camped! Continue year after year; let the festivals recur. I will oppress Ariel, and there will be mourning and crying, and she will be to Me like an Ariel. I will camp in a circle around you; I will besiege you with earth ramps, and I will set up my siege towers against you. You will be brought down; you will speak from the ground, and your words will come from low in the dust. Your voice will be like that of a spirit from the ground; your speech will whisper from the dust. (Isa 29:1-4 HCSB)
Will God suddenly move to defend Jerusalem from her enemies, who will become like fine dust?
But the hordes of your enemies will become like fine dust, and the hordes of tyrants like flying chaff. Then suddenly, in an instant, you will be visited by the Lord of the Heavenly Armies—with thunder, an earthquake, and great noise, with a windstorm, a tempest, and flames from a devouring fire. Then the hordes of all the nations that fight against Aruel, all that attack her and her fortification and besiege her, will become like a dream, with its visions in the night—as when a hungry man dreams—he eats, but wakes up still hungry; or when a thirsty man dreams—he drinks, but wakes up faint, with his thirst unquenched. So will it be with the hordes of all the nations that fight against Mount Zion. (Isa 29:5-8 ISV)
Was Jerusalem acting like a drunkard, in a state of spiritual sleep?
Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. (Isa 29:9-10 KJV)
Will people look at the Bible and claim it’s sealed (closed) or that they can’t read? Is that a familiar excuse people make today for not reading the Bible?
The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, “Please read this,” he will say, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” Then the book will be given to the one who does not know how to read a book, saying, “Please read this.” And he will say, “I do not know how to read a book.” (Isa 29:11-12 LSB)
Did Jerusalem have another problem, familiar today? Do the traditions of men seem to dominate church culture, overshadowing the commandments taught by Jesus?
Then the Lord said, “Because this people approaches Me with their words And honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of the commandment of men that is taught; Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men will perish, And the understanding of their men who have understanding will be concealed.” (Isa 29:13-14 NASB)
Do we delude ourselves that God doesn’t see our deeds like ancient Israel did? Do people still say that God did not create us?
Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think, “Who sees us? Who will know?” You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, “You did not make me”? Can the pot say to the potter, “You know nothing”? (Isa 29:15-16 NIV)
Is there a time of restoration, where the poor will rejoice and tyrants will be brought to nothing?
Is it not yet a very little while Till Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, And the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest? In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness. The humble also shall increase their joy in the Lord, And the poor among men shall rejoice In the Holy One of Israel. For the terrible one is brought to nothing, The scornful one is consumed, And all who watch for iniquity are cut off—Who make a man an offender by a word, And lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, And turn aside the just by empty words. (Isa 29:17-21 NKJV)
How will Israel feel towards God as a time of restoration comes?
That is why the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, says to the people of Israel, “My people will no longer be ashamed or turn pale with fear. For when they see their many children and all the blessings I have given them, they will recognize the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob. They will stand in awe of the God of Israel. Then the wayward will gain understanding, and complainers will accept instruction. (Isa 29:22-24 NLT)
Did Mary quote a similar sentiment in her words of praise to God?
He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. (Luke 1:52 CEB)
Does God bless the spiritually blind and proud or the humble? Which are we? You decide!
Drunkards (Isaiah 28)
What did God say to drunkards in Israel and Judah? Do we listen to the word about God’s kingdom and bear fruit? Let’s look at Isaiah 28.
What does God have to say to drunkards of the tribe representing northern Israel, Ephraim? Is it a problem today?
And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley Of those who are overcome with wine! Behold, the Lord has a strong and mighty agent; As a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction, Like a storm of mighty overflowing waters, He has thrown it down to the earth with His hand. The splendid crown of the habitually drunk of Ephraim is trampled underfoot. And the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley, Will be like the first-ripe fig prior to the summer, Which one sees, And as soon as it is in his hand, He swallows it. (Isa 28:1-4 NASB)
Though northern Israel failed, who will be the glorious crown for the remnant?
In that day the Lord Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people. He will be a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment, a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. (Isa 28:5-6 NIV)
Have the spiritual leaders also failed in this regard, vomiting from excessive drinking?
But they also have erred through wine, And through intoxicating drink are out of the way; The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink, They are swallowed up by wine, They are out of the way through intoxicating drink; They err in vision, they stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filth; No place is clean. (Isa 28:7-8 NKJV)
Rather than repent, do the people insult the nature of God’s holy scriptures?
“Who does the Lord think we are?” they ask. “Why does he speak to us like this? Are we little children, just recently weaned? He tells us everything over and over—one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there!” (Isa 28:9-10 NLT)
If Israel failed to listen to God in their own language, would they hear the Lord in the language of their Assyrian captors?
But he will speak to this nation with stammering lips and in another language, to whom he said, “This is the resting place. Give rest to the weary,” and “This is the refreshing;” yet they would not hear. Therefore Yahweh’s word will be to them precept on precept, precept on precept; line on line, line on line; here a little, there a little; that they may go, fall backward, be broken, be snared, and be taken. (Isa 28:11-13 WEB)
Is this message also for those in Judah and Jerusalem? Is their covenant of lies with a foreign power, a deal with death?
Therefore, hear the Lord’s word, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem. You said, “We’ve cut a deal with death; with the underworld we made a pact. When the overflowing flood passes through, it won’t reach us; for we have made lies our hiding place, and in falsehood we take shelter.” Therefore, the Lord God says: Look! I’m laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a valuable cornerstone, a sure foundation: the one who trusts won’t tremble. I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line. But hail will sweep away the hiding place of lies, and water will overflow the shelter. Your deal with death will be dissolved, and your pact with the grave won’t stand. The rushing flood: when it passes through, you will be annihilated by it. Every time it passes through it will take you, for morning by morning it will pass, by day and by night. It will be nothing but terror to understand the message. The bed is too short to stretch out, and the shroud is too narrow to cover oneself. (Isa 28:14-20 CEB)
Had the Lord given Israel victories at Perazim and Gibeon? Would the next time surprise them with defeat unless they repent?
The Lord will fiercely attack as he did at Mount Perazim and in Gibeon Valley. But this time the Lord will do something surprising, not what you expect. So you had better stop sneering or you will be in worse shape than ever before. I heard the Lord All-Powerful threaten the whole country with destruction. (Isa 28:21-22 CEV)
How long can God teach His people before He expects His plowing and sowing to bear a crop?
Give ear, and hear my voice; give attention, and hear my speech. Does he who plows for sowing plow continually? Does he continually open and harrow his ground? When he has leveled its surface, does he not scatter dill, sow cumin, and put in wheat in rows and barley in its proper place, and emmer as the border? For he is rightly instructed; his God teaches him. Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin, but dill is beaten out with a stick, and cumin with a rod. Does one crush grain for bread? No, he does not thresh it forever; when he drives his cart wheel over it with his horses, he does not crush it. This also comes from the Lord of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom. (Isa 28:23-29 ESV)
Did Jesus also use an analogy about a crop and hearing God’s word? Do some bear fruit?
But the one sown on the good ground—this is one who hears and understands the word, who does bear fruit and yields: some 100, some 60, some 30 times what was sown. (Mat 13:23 HCSB)
What did God say to drunkards in Israel and Judah? Do we listen to the word about God’s kingdom and bear fruit? You decide!
What does God have to say to drunkards of the tribe representing northern Israel, Ephraim? Is it a problem today?
And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley Of those who are overcome with wine! Behold, the Lord has a strong and mighty agent; As a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction, Like a storm of mighty overflowing waters, He has thrown it down to the earth with His hand. The splendid crown of the habitually drunk of Ephraim is trampled underfoot. And the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley, Will be like the first-ripe fig prior to the summer, Which one sees, And as soon as it is in his hand, He swallows it. (Isa 28:1-4 NASB)
Though northern Israel failed, who will be the glorious crown for the remnant?
In that day the Lord Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people. He will be a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment, a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. (Isa 28:5-6 NIV)
Have the spiritual leaders also failed in this regard, vomiting from excessive drinking?
But they also have erred through wine, And through intoxicating drink are out of the way; The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink, They are swallowed up by wine, They are out of the way through intoxicating drink; They err in vision, they stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filth; No place is clean. (Isa 28:7-8 NKJV)
Rather than repent, do the people insult the nature of God’s holy scriptures?
“Who does the Lord think we are?” they ask. “Why does he speak to us like this? Are we little children, just recently weaned? He tells us everything over and over—one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there!” (Isa 28:9-10 NLT)
If Israel failed to listen to God in their own language, would they hear the Lord in the language of their Assyrian captors?
But he will speak to this nation with stammering lips and in another language, to whom he said, “This is the resting place. Give rest to the weary,” and “This is the refreshing;” yet they would not hear. Therefore Yahweh’s word will be to them precept on precept, precept on precept; line on line, line on line; here a little, there a little; that they may go, fall backward, be broken, be snared, and be taken. (Isa 28:11-13 WEB)
Is this message also for those in Judah and Jerusalem? Is their covenant of lies with a foreign power, a deal with death?
Therefore, hear the Lord’s word, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem. You said, “We’ve cut a deal with death; with the underworld we made a pact. When the overflowing flood passes through, it won’t reach us; for we have made lies our hiding place, and in falsehood we take shelter.” Therefore, the Lord God says: Look! I’m laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a valuable cornerstone, a sure foundation: the one who trusts won’t tremble. I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line. But hail will sweep away the hiding place of lies, and water will overflow the shelter. Your deal with death will be dissolved, and your pact with the grave won’t stand. The rushing flood: when it passes through, you will be annihilated by it. Every time it passes through it will take you, for morning by morning it will pass, by day and by night. It will be nothing but terror to understand the message. The bed is too short to stretch out, and the shroud is too narrow to cover oneself. (Isa 28:14-20 CEB)
Had the Lord given Israel victories at Perazim and Gibeon? Would the next time surprise them with defeat unless they repent?
The Lord will fiercely attack as he did at Mount Perazim and in Gibeon Valley. But this time the Lord will do something surprising, not what you expect. So you had better stop sneering or you will be in worse shape than ever before. I heard the Lord All-Powerful threaten the whole country with destruction. (Isa 28:21-22 CEV)
How long can God teach His people before He expects His plowing and sowing to bear a crop?
Give ear, and hear my voice; give attention, and hear my speech. Does he who plows for sowing plow continually? Does he continually open and harrow his ground? When he has leveled its surface, does he not scatter dill, sow cumin, and put in wheat in rows and barley in its proper place, and emmer as the border? For he is rightly instructed; his God teaches him. Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin, but dill is beaten out with a stick, and cumin with a rod. Does one crush grain for bread? No, he does not thresh it forever; when he drives his cart wheel over it with his horses, he does not crush it. This also comes from the Lord of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom. (Isa 28:23-29 ESV)
Did Jesus also use an analogy about a crop and hearing God’s word? Do some bear fruit?
But the one sown on the good ground—this is one who hears and understands the word, who does bear fruit and yields: some 100, some 60, some 30 times what was sown. (Mat 13:23 HCSB)
What did God say to drunkards in Israel and Judah? Do we listen to the word about God’s kingdom and bear fruit? You decide!
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