Before God can bless humanity, must He prove His existence to a stubborn world, punish all evils, and expose all our efforts as futile? Let’s look at Isaiah 34.
As God was angry with Israel’s evils, is He also angry with all nations’ evils?
Come near, you nations, to hear! Listen, you peoples. Let the earth and all it contains hear, the world, and everything that comes from it. For Yahweh is enraged against all the nations, and angry with all their armies. He has utterly destroyed them. He has given them over for slaughter. Their slain will also be cast out, and the stench of their dead bodies will come up. The mountains will melt in their blood. All of the army of the sky will be dissolved. The sky will be rolled up like a scroll, and all its armies will fade away, as a leaf fades from off a vine or a fig tree. (Isa 34:1-4 WEB)
Is the punishment of Edom (Esau), Israel’s neighbor and frequent enemy, an example of God’s judgment upon the whole world?
When my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens, it will descend upon Edom for judgment, upon a people I have doomed for destruction. The Lord has a sword covered with blood; it is soaked with fat from the blood of lambs and goats, from the kidney fat of rams, for the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom. Wild oxen will fall with them, steers with mighty bulls, and their land will be drenched with blood; its soil soaked with fat. The Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of payback for Zion’s cause. (Isa 34:5-8 CEB)
Is this a time also described in Revelation, where God will punish the nations?
Edom's streams will turn into tar and its soil into sulfur—then the whole country will go up in flames. It will burn night and day and never stop smoking. Edom will be a desert, generation after generation; no one will ever travel through that land. Owls, hawks, and wild animals will make it their home. God will leave it in ruins, merely a pile of rocks. (Isa 34:9-11 CEV)
Will Edom become discounted as nothing, no longer a kingdom?
Its nobles—there is no one there to call it a kingdom, and all its princes shall be nothing. Thorns shall grow over its strongholds, nettles and thistles in its fortresses. It shall be the haunt of jackals, an abode for ostriches. And wild animals shall meet with hyenas; the wild goat shall cry to his fellow; indeed, there the night bird settles and finds for herself a resting place. (Isa 34:12-14 ESV)
Would the ecological disaster punishing those who oppose Israel and thus God, be so complete that only wild animals would live there?
The sand partridge will make her nest there; she will lay and hatch her eggs and will gather her brood under her shadow. Indeed, the birds of prey will gather there, each with its mate. Search and read the scroll of the Lord: Not one of them will be missing, none will be lacking its mate, because He has ordered it by my mouth, and He will gather them by His Spirit. He has ordained a lot for them; His hand allotted their portion with a measuring line. They will possess it forever; they will dwell in it from generation to generation. (Isa 34:15-17 HCSB)
Does Revelation also describe God’s final anger upon the atrocities of the nations?
So the angel swung his sickle in the earth, gathered the grapes from the earth, and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. The wine press was trampled outside the city, and blood flowed from the wine press as high as a horse’s bridle for about 1,600 stadia [300 kilometres]. (Rev 14:19-20 ISV)
Before God can bless humanity, must He prove His existence to a stubborn world, punish all evils, and expose all our efforts as futile? You decide!
Zion's Treasure (Isaiah 33)
Though God’s justice sometimes seems harsh from our perspective, does it result in an eternal joy that is beyond our wildest dreams? Let’s look at Isaiah 33.
What does God prophecy to Assyria who had defeated Israel?
You defeated my people. Now you're in for trouble! You've never been destroyed, but you will be destroyed; you've never been betrayed, but you will be betrayed. When you have finished destroying and betraying, you will be destroyed and betrayed in return. (Isa 33:1 CEV)
As Assyria threatens, do God’s people eventually turn from relying on Egypt, to relying on God alone?
O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble. At the tumultuous noise peoples flee; when you lift yourself up, nations are scattered, and your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers; as locusts leap, it is leapt upon. (Isa 33:2-4 ESV)
The Lord’s discipline may seem hard by human standards, but does it bring us to humility and an understanding of who He is?
The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. There will be times of security for you—a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure. (Isa 33:5-6 HCSB)
Will brave men and those who made a treaty with Egypt weep and feel ashamed?
“Listen! Their brave men cry out in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly. The highways are deserted; travelers have quit the road. The enemy has broken treaties; he despises their witnesses, and respects no one. The land mourns and wastes away; Lebanon feels ashamed and withers. Sharon is like a desert; Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.” (Isa 33:7-9 ISV)
What will happen to those who relied upon a foreign government rather than God?
Now will I rise, saith the Lord; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself. Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you. And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire. (Isa 33:10-12 KJV)
Did God punish the sinners, but allow those who walk uprightly to endure?
“You who are far away, hear what I have done; And you who are near, acknowledge My might.” Sinners in Zion are in dread; Trembling has seized the godless. “Who among us can sojourn with the consuming fire? Who among us can sojourn with continual burning?” He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly; He who rejects greedy gain of oppression, And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe; He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed And shuts his eyes from looking upon evil; He will dwell on the heights, His refuge will be the strongholds of the cliffs; His bread will be given him, His water will be sure. (Isa 33:13-16 LSB)
Who will the righteous see? Will it be a great experience in our eternity?
Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; They will see a distant land. Your heart will meditate on terror: “Where is one who counts? Where is one who weighs? Where is one who counts the towers?” You will no longer see a fierce people, A people of unintelligible speech which no one comprehends, Of a stammering tongue which no one understands. (Isa 33:17-19 NASB)
Is this a description of a future Jerusalem as a peaceful abode?
Look on Zion, the city of our festivals; your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved; its stakes will never be pulled up, nor any of its ropes broken. There the Lord will be our Mighty One. It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams. No galley with oars will ride them, no mighty ship will sail them. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us. (Isa 33:20-22 NIV)
Will sickness and sin one day be removed from Jerusalem?
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. And the inhabitant will not say, “I am sick”; The people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity. (Isa 33:23-24 NKJV)
Is this also described in Revelation in the new heavens and new earth?
No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever. (Rev 22:3-5 NLT)
Though God’s justice sometimes seems harsh from our perspective, does it result in an eternal joy that is beyond our wildest dreams? You decide!
What does God prophecy to Assyria who had defeated Israel?
You defeated my people. Now you're in for trouble! You've never been destroyed, but you will be destroyed; you've never been betrayed, but you will be betrayed. When you have finished destroying and betraying, you will be destroyed and betrayed in return. (Isa 33:1 CEV)
As Assyria threatens, do God’s people eventually turn from relying on Egypt, to relying on God alone?
O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble. At the tumultuous noise peoples flee; when you lift yourself up, nations are scattered, and your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers; as locusts leap, it is leapt upon. (Isa 33:2-4 ESV)
The Lord’s discipline may seem hard by human standards, but does it bring us to humility and an understanding of who He is?
The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. There will be times of security for you—a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure. (Isa 33:5-6 HCSB)
Will brave men and those who made a treaty with Egypt weep and feel ashamed?
“Listen! Their brave men cry out in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly. The highways are deserted; travelers have quit the road. The enemy has broken treaties; he despises their witnesses, and respects no one. The land mourns and wastes away; Lebanon feels ashamed and withers. Sharon is like a desert; Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.” (Isa 33:7-9 ISV)
What will happen to those who relied upon a foreign government rather than God?
Now will I rise, saith the Lord; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself. Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you. And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire. (Isa 33:10-12 KJV)
Did God punish the sinners, but allow those who walk uprightly to endure?
“You who are far away, hear what I have done; And you who are near, acknowledge My might.” Sinners in Zion are in dread; Trembling has seized the godless. “Who among us can sojourn with the consuming fire? Who among us can sojourn with continual burning?” He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly; He who rejects greedy gain of oppression, And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe; He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed And shuts his eyes from looking upon evil; He will dwell on the heights, His refuge will be the strongholds of the cliffs; His bread will be given him, His water will be sure. (Isa 33:13-16 LSB)
Who will the righteous see? Will it be a great experience in our eternity?
Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; They will see a distant land. Your heart will meditate on terror: “Where is one who counts? Where is one who weighs? Where is one who counts the towers?” You will no longer see a fierce people, A people of unintelligible speech which no one comprehends, Of a stammering tongue which no one understands. (Isa 33:17-19 NASB)
Is this a description of a future Jerusalem as a peaceful abode?
Look on Zion, the city of our festivals; your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved; its stakes will never be pulled up, nor any of its ropes broken. There the Lord will be our Mighty One. It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams. No galley with oars will ride them, no mighty ship will sail them. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us. (Isa 33:20-22 NIV)
Will sickness and sin one day be removed from Jerusalem?
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. And the inhabitant will not say, “I am sick”; The people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity. (Isa 33:23-24 NKJV)
Is this also described in Revelation in the new heavens and new earth?
No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever. (Rev 22:3-5 NLT)
Though God’s justice sometimes seems harsh from our perspective, does it result in an eternal joy that is beyond our wildest dreams? You decide!
An Ethical King (Isaiah 32)
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!
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!
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