Isaiah 33:13-24
Isa 33:13
Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and,
ye that are near, acknowledge my might.
Not only does this lesson apply to Assyria and to Judah,
but it also applies to all the other nations of the world that they better pay
attention as to what God is doing to a very powerful empire and how the same
principles will apply to all other nations of the region and of the world.
If they do not acknowledge the power of God, then they will experience it
in judgment and then they will believe.
That at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, of things in
heaven, and things in earth,
and things under the earth;
(Philippians 2:10)
Isa 33:14
The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath
surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who
among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
When those in Zion who were living in false religions or
adopted false gods, now saw what the true God of Israel had done to Assyria and
what they saw and heard now caused them to cringe in fear of God.
The hypocrites who pretended to be godly yet were doing things behind the
scenes which were ungodly and unethical were also living in fear because they
understood that what happened to Assyria on a mass scale could happen to them on
an individual scale. Then they
asked the questions in light of the destruction of Assyria, how is it possible
to live under a God who is a devouring fire?
They were wondering who could abide in the presence of this type of God?
They asked those kind of question because their false gods had allowed
them to do whatever they wanted and according to sin but now they and their
actions would have to be under the scrutiny of a true and holy God.
The everlasting burnings refers also to hell when those who walked
opposite of God in this world and opposed his people would be sentenced to live
there eternally. The threat of
eternal damnation struck the hearts of the sinner and hypocrite with the
realization they would not get away with anything.
Isa 33:15
He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he
that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of
bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from
seeing evil;
Here is a description of how the truly saved who are
following the LORD must conduct their lives.
They must walk righteously, that is, to conduct their lives in a way
which avoids the sinful pitfalls of this world.
The people must speak uprightly, that is, without swear words or
manipulative speech, to be able to speak what is true whether it be rejected by
those hearing it or not. They are
to refuse the gains whether it be monetary or personal gain or position when it
is taken from those who are oppressed.
If they hold a position of authority then they are to shun bribes and
refuse them since bribes tend to bias the one who is receiving them.
The person will not enter into any pact with those who are planning evil
ways of gaining wealth, in fact, they will not even give ear to such schemes.
They will also shut their eyes to evil, that is, not that they will not
see what is going on in the world but will refuse to partake of any sinful
activity because all of these things would ruin the testimony of the true
believer.
Isa 33:16
He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be
the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be
sure.
The person who lives that type of lifestyle can expect
some great benefits from the LORD.
He will dwell on high which means that he will have sweet fellowship with the
LORD. His defense will be the LORD
himself who will be like an impenetrable fortress or castle made of rock which
cannot be destroyed. The bread that
he will receive will be the bread of life who is Christ himself and also the
bread given him means he will have the provisions needed for life.
He will receive the waters of life which will be made sure, that is,
permanence and assurance will be given to him.
Isa 33:17
Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall
behold the land that is very far off.
Once the invaders have been removed from the land of
Judah, the people will once again see King Hezekiah in all his royal robes as in
times of peace. This statement also
means that those who are truly saved and have their spiritual eyes will be able
to see the King, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ.
One day they are promised they will see him face to face in all his
glory. These people also do not
just look at the world around them but their spiritual sight is set beyond the
horizon of earth to the land of Heaven which is very far off, yet is not that
far from the believer. The land
that is far off is a land of righteousness but the earth beneath is filled with
sin and iniquity.
Isa 33:18
Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the
scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the
towers?
Then when the Assyrians have been divinely removed from
the land by the destroying hand of God, the people who remain will ask the
questions based upon how strong Assyria was and how weak they are now.
They will meditate on the terror which they faced as the Assyrians
approached Jerusalem. The scribe
was the one who took the names of all those who were taken captive from the
other cities of Judah but they were not needed against Jerusalem because they
were stopped. The receiver as the
one who took count of all the spoils they received from their conquered enemies
but they were not needed in Jerusalem because they were stopped.
Then those who counted the towers were the ones who scouted out the city
so the invading army would have an easier time in attacking and conquering.
None of these people were needed because Assyria was stopped by the hand
of God.
Isa 33:19
Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper
speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst
not understand.
God’s protection of Jerusalem had guaranteed that they
would not see the fierce people who were the Assyrians.
The deeper speech was an unintelligible speech which the Assyrians spoke.
The stammering tongue was a foreign language which was used against the
people of Judah in a manner of deriding them.
They could not understand the language of the Assyrians but only
understood the Hebrew language so they would have been at a disadvantage when
listening. It was like in the
Middle ages when the Roman Catholic Church used only Latin.
The people of different languages had no idea what was being said.
Isa 33:20
Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes
shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be
taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall
any of the cords thereof be broken.
Then once the threat of Assyria has been removed, the
people were to look upon Zion which was the place where they had celebrated all
the solemn feasts. Now instead of
turmoil in the city and fear pervading it, they shall now see Jerusalem in a
safe and quiet habitation as they no longer are concerned about being destroyed
by the enemy. It would be a sigh of
gentle relief that would overtake the city.
There was fear among the people that the temple would be destroyed but
just as the tabernacle in the wilderness was taken down and moved, the temple
would stand firm and not even so much as a connecting joint would be removed by
the Assyrians. It was a time of
peace and serenity and relief knowing that the threat was abolished.
Isa 33:21
But there the glorious LORD will be unto us a
place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars,
neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.
This verse is basically saying is that supplies for life
will not have to be brought in by boat which normally rides on large streams and
rivers. There were no large rivers
which ran by Jerusalem. Here we are
being told that Jerusalem will have all the supplies it requires by the hand of
the LORD who will provide for them.
The large rivers like the Nile also afforded protection for cities but here the
LORD is also stating that he will be the one who will protect Jerusalem without
any natural fortifications. Gallant
ships could refer to nations that had a great navy to protect them.
Isa 33:22
For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our
lawgiver, the LORD is our king;
he will save us.
Here we see that the LORD himself is the threefold
protector of Jerusalem. He is the
King who oversees Jerusalem and rules over it.
He is also the lawgiver as he gave the law to Moses on Mt. Sinai.
He is also the judge who executes justice upon his own people when they
break the law but not only on them, he executes justice on behalf of his people
when others attack or force themselves upon them like he did to the Assyrians.
This verse was also used by the Founding Fathers of
America when they were forming the Government and made it a threefold government
with a complete system of checks and balances.
Our Founders were godly men and not the bums the secular school system
makes them out to be.
Judge – Judicial Branch
Lawgiver – Legislative Branch
King – Executive Branch
Isa 33:23
Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not well strengthen
their mast, they could not spread the sail: then is the prey of a great spoil
divided; the lame take the prey.
The Assyrians are here described as a ship that has
failed. When it started its journey
to its destination it was strong and able for the journey but now it has become
a ship that was in bad shape, ready to sink.
The tacklings were the ropes which held it together were now so loose
that it could not strengthen the mast to make it stand upright.
The sail was not able to be spread so
they could catch the wind to move the ship instead they were dead in the water
when the Lord had destroyed their army and they were unable to go anywhere
except back home. They could not
gather all the spoils they wanted to, instead the lame took the prey which was
the Jews of Judah who were able to retain their possessions as the Assyrians
were in no position to bring back the spoils.
Isa 33:24
And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people
that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.