Isaiah 32:1

Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. A man shall be as a 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. 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.

Father, as we look into Your Word tonight, we ask that You give us insight. Lord, give us understanding and application. Guide us by Your Spirit. Help us to know and understand You and Your work as we study Your Word. We thank You that before You move, before You work, You reveal what You are going to do in Your Word. I pray that You would stir in us to be those students of the Scriptures that rightly divide Your Word of truth, not ashamed, as workmen and workwomen, desiring to do Your will. So God, speak to us, we pray, by Your Spirit. For we ask it in Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed, saying, Amen. You can be seated.

Behold, Isaiah says, a king shall reign in righteousness. There is a lot of discussion, as there always is, among commentators on the prophetic passages in the Bible about who the prophet is referring to when he says things like, "Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness." Some commentators see this as speaking of King Hezekiah, while others see it as referring to his great-grandson, Josiah. Yet, when we read of a king that reigns in righteousness, my mind immediately goes to the ultimate fulfillment of this passage: Jesus. Truly, Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the king that would come and reign in righteousness. This most clearly speaks prophetically of the Messiah who will come. Remember, this was written some 700 years before Jesus came in His first coming.

But we also know that He is going to come in His second coming as a King to establish His kingdom. We've already seen this idea of the King ruling in righteousness in other passages in Scripture.

If you turn back to Isaiah chapter 9, remember that passage that spoke about the Son being given, the child being born. Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6 states, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace."

Notice verse 7, which says, "Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end. Upon the throne of David and upon His kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." So, Jesus will come, the one who is the child that would be born, the Son that would be given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. When He comes, He is going to rule and reign with justice and judgment, with righteousness and judgment.

Not only that passage, but just a couple of chapters later in Isaiah chapter 11, we read in verse 3, "And this one shall, and God shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord. And He shall judge not after the sight of the eyes, neither after the hearing of the ears, but with righteousness shall He judge the poor and reprove with equity the meek of the earth. And He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth. And with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins and faithfulness the girdle of His reign."

So, when Jesus comes to smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, which we recognize when reading through prophetic passages has not yet come to pass, He is going to come one day to establish His reign of righteousness. He will rule and reign with righteousness. He is not going to judge by the seeing of the eyes nor the hearing of His ears, but with righteousness He shall judge.

Now, King David, that great psalmist of Israel, recognized the importance of the righteous reign of the Lord. He said in 2 Samuel chapter 23, verse 3, "The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me, he that rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God." David said the one who is going to rule over men, not just over the nation of Israel, but over man as a whole, must be just.

And remember that question that Abraham asked God back in Isaiah.

Actually, in Genesis chapter 18, just before God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and the three other cities of the south, Abraham asked, "Shall not the judge of all the earth do right? Shall not the judge of all the earth be righteous?"

We read in Isaiah chapter 32, verse 1, that a king is coming who will rule and reign in righteousness. Furthermore, verse 1 states that his princes shall rule in judgment. When we read of princes, we need to recognize that this could be translated as his rulers, his generals, or his governors. It is not specifically speaking of a prince in the sense of an offspring of a king, but rather the cabinet members of the king, the administration of that king. They will rule in judgment.

What a great hope we have in our coming king! He will come and rule and reign in righteousness, and those who will judge with him will do so with right judgment. Even some of the greatest earthly rulers we have seen, some of the greatest kings who have reigned over this earth, have had wicked governors and leaders under them. However, this will not be the case with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. When He comes and establishes His kingdom here on earth, those who rule and reign with Him will reign in righteousness right alongside Him. There will not be a group of ragtag wicked governors underneath the Lord when He comes, executing their own sort of justice or vigilante justice as we might see in our day.

I don't know about you, but I am looking forward to the day when the King will rule and reign in righteousness. I don't think there has ever been such a rule and reign here upon the earth. Sure, men have tried to be good in their ruling, but there is always some sort of discrepancy in their character because man, at heart, is wicked. Jeremiah chapter 17, verse 9 says, "The heart of man is desperately wicked. Who can know it?"

We, who are now here in the kingdom of the Lord, recognize that as followers of Jesus Christ, we are of another kingdom. Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for our King to come and bring us home. As Paul says, we are ambassadors of Christ here and now. We are representatives of the King of Kings and the kingdom of that King. Therefore, we ought to live our lives in a way that aligns with His kingdom and His reign. We know that in the future, when He comes, He will rule in righteousness, and those who rule alongside Him shall execute judgment justly.

Therefore, you and I ought to live justly now. We ought to seek to walk in righteousness. The Apostle Peter, in 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 9, says that you and I are a chosen generation and a royal priesthood, God's own peculiar people. If you don't think you're a peculiar person, just look in the mirror from time to time. We'll see that we're very special people, aren't we? But we are God's peculiar people.

What has God called us for? Well, in chapter 2, verse 9, it says that we should show forth the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. We are ambassadors of Christ, and we are a chosen generation and a royal priesthood. The prophet Micah, in Micah chapter 6, verse 8, says, "He has shown you, O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you: but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." God has called us to do justly and to love mercy.

Now, a lot of times people mix that verse up and say, "He has shown you what to do, man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you," but to love justice, many people say. While that is true, we are to love justice, but even more so, we are to do justly. We're to walk in justice, to walk in the right way.

Now, we cannot do that in and of our own strength. Have you ever tried to do the will of the Lord, to follow the law of the Lord in your own strength? It's a tiring thing to try and accomplish God's will and God's command in your own strength. But as God is working in us, we can fulfill His commands. When we become followers of Jesus Christ, He gives us a new heart. The prophet Jeremiah spoke about this, and the prophet Ezekiel as well. In Ezekiel chapter 36, verse 26, it says there that God is going to put a new heart of flesh in us when we become followers of Him. That is the born-again experience.

When we are born again by the Spirit of God, we have a desire to obey God. We can only fulfill that desire as God works in us to will and to do His good pleasure. It is a fact that, as we follow the Lord, we will be sanctified more and more into His image. We ought to walk justly and endeavor to walk in a way that is pleasing to the Lord, bringing glory to the King and to the kingdom of that King.

Well, Isaiah continues, saying, "Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and his princes shall rule in judgment. A man shall be as a hiding place from the wind and as a covert from the storm, from the tempest."

As rivers of water in a dry place, as a shadow of a great rock in a weary land, when the Lord comes and establishes His kingdom, He shall be, we are told here, a hiding place from the wind and a covert from the tempest. The Lord is a refuge. He is the one that we are to run to for shelter. This idea of the Lord being a refuge and being a sanctuary has already been clearly laid out for us in the Book of Isaiah.

Back in Isaiah chapter 8, verse 14, speaking of the Messiah, it says, "And He shall be for a sanctuary, but for a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the house of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem." You see, at that point in time, Israel and Jerusalem had departed from the Lord. They had rebelled against the Lord. As a result, God was like a great stone that would be a stumbling stone for those who rebelled against Him. But for those who drew near to the Lord, the remnant of the children of Israel, they would find that God would be their sanctuary. He would be their refuge.

Isaiah also spoke about this in Isaiah chapter 17, verse 10. It says, "Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and it shall set it with strange slips." Here, God said, "You've forgotten that I am your strong tower. I'm the one that's to be your rock of strength."

Then again in Isaiah chapter 26, we are told in verse 4, "To trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord God is everlasting strength." He is our strength, He is our shield, He is our refuge. In Isaiah chapter 28, it says, "Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion a foundation stone, a tried stone, and a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believes shall not make haste, or he that believes shall not be ashamed." Those who put their confidence in the Lord, their trust in the Lord, will not be ashamed. They will find that He truly is their refuge and their strength.

Now, the passage that we are covering tonight here in the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah 32 and 33, is believed to be from the very time period when this was written by the prophet Isaiah, and it is thought that Psalm 46 was also written during this time. Let me read to you Psalm 46. It says,

What an important reminder that God is the one in whom we seek refuge. Jesus is our shelter. We are told in Isaiah chapter 32, verse 2, that He is the hiding place from the wind, a covert from the tempest, and from the storm. He is also called the rivers of water in dry places, as a shadow of a great rock in a weary land. Our Lord is not only our shelter from the storm, but He is also our shade from the sun.

We remember that the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt, wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. During their wilderness wanderings, the Scriptures say that God led them with a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day. The minor prophets tell us that the cloud covered the children of Israel and served as a covering, a shade in the desert. God covered His people while they were there; He is a shade in the desert.

Additionally, Jesus is a refreshing river. He is our shelter in the storm and our shade from the sun. We are told that He shall be as a river of water in a dry place. In John chapter 7, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles is celebrated over a seven-day period. During the time when the temple was still built in Jerusalem, there would be a parade of people from the Temple Mount all the way down to the Pool of Siloam.

Each morning, on each of those seven days, the priests would go from the Temple Mount down to the Pool of Siloam with big water jugs and silver basins. They would take up water from the Pool of Siloam and bring it back to the Temple Mount, where they would pour out the water as the people rejoiced and shouted with great joy. On the great day of the feast, which is the last day of the feast, the celebration reached its peak.

They would go down to the Pool of Siloam, but the parade of people that were there would keep silent. They would not take up water. They would bring the pitchers down into the water as if they were going to take up water, but they would bring them up empty. Then, they would bring them back to the Temple Mount and turn them over, and no water would come out. This was to be a sign of remembrance to the people that God provided water for them while they were in the desert. However, when they came into the Promised Land, the water from the rock ceased, and God provided for them from the Promised Land.

Prophetically, this looked forward to the coming of Jesus. On that great day of the feast, in John 7, verse 37, it says, "In the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, 'If any man thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He that believes on me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.'"

On that great day of the feast, it was a solemn assembly, meaning that everybody was silent. There was not a word heard on the Temple Mount when the priests turned over those pitchers and no water came out, until a rabbi from Galilee stood up and cried loudly, "If any man thirsts, let him come to me, and let him drink. He that believes on me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow forth rivers of living water." Jesus is our refreshing river. He is the shelter from the storm, the shade from the sun, and also that refreshing river.

Here, we prophetically see Him spoken of in Isaiah 32. When the Lord comes, when this King comes to rule in righteousness, when He establishes His kingdom, when He provides shelter for His people, shade for those from the sun, and refreshes them with living water, we read in verse 3 that the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall not hearken. The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak. When Jesus rules and reigns in righteousness in His coming kingdom, these are the things that are going to take place.

Now remember, in Isaiah chapter 6, verses 9 and 10, when Isaiah was commissioned to go and speak to the children of Israel.

God told Isaiah that his message was going to cause the people of Israel to harden their hearts, to close their ears, and to shut their eyes, lest they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and be converted. God's message through Isaiah was more to harden the hearts of God's people and to prepare them for judgment than it was to open their hearts and prepare them for salvation. Now, that's a pretty interesting thing to consider, but that was the commission that God gave to Isaiah.

Isaiah's ministry was ultimately a ministry of preparing them for the one who was to come. When Jesus came the first time, we see in Isaiah chapter 61 that He fulfills the ministry of opening blind eyes and setting the captives free. Jesus literally opened the eyes of the blind. Miraculously, there were blind men in the cities of Judah whose eyes God opened during His ministry.

However, in John chapters 8 and 9, we see that Jesus opened the eyes of a young man who was born blind, but the spiritual eyes of the Pharisees were revealed to be blinded at the end of John chapter 9. The children of Israel have remained blinded for the last 2,000 years, and their eyes will not be opened until Jesus returns. Zechariah chapter 14 tells us that when Jesus returns, they will look on Him whom they have pierced. They will see the wounds of the one who was pierced, and their eyes will be opened.

This is similar to the experience of Saul of Tarsus, whose eyes were opened when he received the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. Remember, for three days he had scales on his eyes and was blinded. But then, when Ananias came and prayed for him, the scales fell from his eyes. Not only could he see physically, but he could also perceive and understand spiritually that Jesus was indeed the Christ, the Messiah.

For the most part, the nation of Israel, the people of Israel, the Jews today, are still blinded. There is a small remnant of Jewish people, often referred to as messianic believers, who have recognized that Jesus is the Messiah. However, the majority of the nation of Israel, the descendants of Abraham, have had their eyes closed. Those eyes will remain closed until the Lord returns. But when the Lord returns, their eyes will be opened. We see that here in verse 3: the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. Their eyes will be opened.

Their ears will listen, and the heart of the rash shall understand knowledge. The heart of those foolish individuals who rejected the Lord will once again understand knowledge. The tongue of the stammerer shall be ready to speak plainly.

But then we read in verse 5, "The vile person shall no more be called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful." For the vile person will speak villainy, and his heart will work iniquity, practicing hypocrisy and uttering error against the Lord. He will make empty the soul of the hungry and cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.

When the Lord comes to establish His reign of righteousness, those who rule and reign with Him shall judge with justice. The Lord will be a shelter from the storm, a shade from the sun. He will be refreshing water, a river to those who are thirsty. He will open blinded eyes spiritually and stop up ears.

However, the Lord will also cause the wicked of this world to be seen for what they truly are. He will reveal their true intentions. Oftentimes, the fools of this world, the wicked, are exalted. In our day, do we not see that the wicked and the fools are exalted?

The churl mentioned in verse 5, in the King James Version, refers to the self-serving individual. It is that scoundrel who uses his or her position for personal profit, rather than for the good of the people. In Isaiah's day, just like in our own, the common people admired the rich. They admired the famous and looked up to these celebrities of their time.

However, these celebrities deserved no respect other than their wealth and perhaps their name among the people. They had no good character, no righteousness, and no justice in any way. They had money, fame, and influence, and the eyes of the people were focused on them. They exalted them to be something important.

But in the kingdom that the Lord establishes, there will no longer be this wicked deception. The wealthy will not be spoken of as generous, outstanding individuals. Everyone will recognize an evil man when he sees him. The hypocrites will not be able to hide behind their hypocrisy any longer when the Lord comes to establish His kingdom.

There's going to be no hypocrisy. There will be no hidden motives. It will be exposed when the King of Kings rules and reigns in righteousness. We read that the vile person will no longer be called liberal; he will no longer be called noble. These foolish individuals are looked up to, but God says, "I'm going to right these wrongs."

Not only that, the Lord then speaks to the complacent of the land. In verse 7, look at what He says: "The instruments also of the churl are evil." That is, the plans of these self-serving individuals are wicked. He devises wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaks right. But the liberal devises liberal things, and by liberal things shall he stand. God says that these wicked, foolish individuals capture men with their wicked plans. But not when the Lord comes to rule and reign with righteousness. They will be removed; they will be exposed.

Then, in verse 9, God turns to the complacent ones in the land of Jerusalem. "Rise up, you women that are at ease. Hear my voice, you careless daughters. Give ear unto my speech. Many days and years shall you be troubled, you careless women. For the vintage shall fail; the gathering shall not come. Tremble, you women that are at ease. Be troubled, you careless ones. Strip you and make bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins."

They shall beat their breasts for the pleasant fields and for the fruitful vine. Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briars. Yes, upon all the houses of joy and the joyous city, because the place shall be forsaken. The multitude of the city shall be left. The forts and the towers shall be for dens forever, a joy of the wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks.

In verses 9 through 14, God speaks to the complacent individuals of the city of Jerusalem. He addresses those women who were at ease. We were already introduced to these women back in Isaiah chapter 3. In Isaiah 3:16, it says, "The Lord said..."

The man I want to read from the book describes a stark contrast between the superficial and the profound. Instead of a belt, there is a well-set hair baldness. Instead of a rich robe, there is a skirt of sackcloth. And branding replaces beauty. Your men shall fall by the sword, your mighty men in battle, and her gates shall lament and mourn. Empty, she shall sit on the ground.

Isaiah chapter 3, verses 16 through 26, describes the women who were at ease, as spoken of in Isaiah chapter 32, verses 9 through 14. These women in the city of Jerusalem were completely given over to their desire for the finery of this world. Their whole focus was on being well adorned to entice men. We see this in Isaiah 3:16, where it says that these daughters of Zion walk haughtily, with outstretched necks, glancing wantonly. They look around, trying to entice people to themselves with all the lists of things they wore: their pendants, bracelets, scarves, headdresses, armlets, and sashes.

God says, "I’m going to remove all your finery. Instead of beautiful robes, you will wear sackcloth. Instead of a beautiful sash, you will have just a rope. Instead of wonderful perfumes, there will be a stench." God was going to judge these complacent women who were at ease in the city of Jerusalem. They were not focused on the Lord or on the inward beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit; they were only focused on enticing men with their looks. Therefore, God declares that judgment is coming.

A modern example of these women at ease can be seen in what is presented as entertainment in our nation today, especially in a show that has gained significant popularity called The Real Housewives of fill-in-the-blank: New York, New Jersey, Orange County, and Washington, D.C. These real housewives represent the epitome of the women who were at ease during the time of Judah and Jerusalem, as described in the time of Isaiah. God speaks against them, saying that judgment will come upon them, and the place of their city will be forsaken. As stated in verse 14, "The land of my people will come up briars and thorns."

The land will be desolate. Their pleasant fields and fruitful vines will languish because these people have set themselves towards ease and arrogance against the Lord. This judgment that the Lord speaks of would likely be fulfilled in a very short period of time. Notice it says in verse 10, "Many days and years shall you be troubled." That's not really the best translation of that verse in the King James Version. In the New King James Version, it reads, "In a year and some days you'll be troubled, your complacent women, for the vintage will fail and the gathering will not come in."

This prophecy was very likely spoken just a year before the judgment of God at the hand of the Assyrians in 701 B.C. At this point, Hezekiah is king over Jerusalem, and the Assyrians are destroying the northern ten tribes of Israel. They have already destroyed them and led them away captive. The Assyrians, led by King Sennacherib, are getting ready to come back down into Judah and Jerusalem to destroy them as well.

The reason the Assyrians were going to come down was not just because King Sennacherib wanted to take more land; it was because God had set out to judge the people of Judah and Jerusalem. He was going to use an earthly king and an earthly army to bring that judgment. We saw that back in Isaiah chapter 10.

Turn back to Isaiah 10 for just a moment. In verse 5, we see that judgment is increasingly coming closer and closer as we get to Isaiah chapter 32. God says, "In a year and some days, in just a short period of time, I'm going to bring the Assyrians down here, and they're going to judge you because you sit at ease. You sit in a sense of false security, worshiping your false gods, and focusing fully upon yourselves."

Worshiping God with your lips, but your hearts are far from Him. Therefore, God says, "I am going to judge you, and your judgment is about to come." In fact, we will see in just a few weeks, when we get to Isaiah chapters 36 and 37, that their judgment would come during the time of King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah. He would actually see these things come to pass.

So, what does the Lord call them to do? Look at verse 11 of chapter 32. He says to the women who are at ease, "Tremble, you women that are at ease. Be troubled, you careless ones. Strip yourselves, make yourselves bare, gird yourselves with sackcloth upon your loins." God basically says there in verse 11, "Repent. Repent. Get rid of all your glorious clothing and put on sackcloth." Sackcloth was worn when people would grieve or sorrow, but it was also worn by those who were repenting.

Remember the book of Jonah? That great unwilling prophet refused to go to the city of Nineveh, which just so happened to be the capital of the Assyrians. God ultimately got Jonah to Nineveh, and he had a very short message: "Yet 40 days and you're toast." That's kind of modern language, but essentially, it meant that in 40 days, God was going to destroy them. The book of Jonah records that the people of the city of Nineveh repented, from the king all the way down to the livestock. They wore sackcloth; they even put sackcloth on their sheep and cattle. All of them cried out to God, asking that He would relent as they repented to Him.

And you know what the Lord did? The Lord did not destroy them at that time. Ultimately, they would turn back to their wickedness and would be destroyed, but for a period of time, they received the grace of God because they repented. A sign of their repentance was their physical appearance. You could tell that the people repented just by looking at them. They took off all their glorious apparel and put on robes of sackcloth, and they cried out.

Here in verse 11, God says to these women who are at ease, "You need to repent. You need to turn back to the Lord." If they would repent, then surely they would have seen that God would have protected them. A very similar word is given in the New Testament in the book of James. In James chapter 4, the apostle is speaking to those who are rich, and he says to them in verse 9 of chapter 4,

Be afflicted and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up.

He goes on to say again in verse 1 of chapter 5, "Go to now, you rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, your garments are moth-eaten, your gold and your silver are cankered. The rust of them shall be a witness against you, and it shall eat your flesh as it were a fire. You have heaped up treasure together for the last days."

Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cries out, and the cries of those who have reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord. God says to those people there, you need to repent. You need to afflict yourselves and mourn and come before God, or else He is going to judge you.

God says the same thing in Isaiah chapter 32: you need to repent and turn to the Lord. I don't know if you see the correlation to our own nation, but I think it's very clear. We are a people who sit at ease, a people that are entertained, a people that have a false sense of security. Yet, in a moment, the Lord could judge us just as He judged the people of Jerusalem 2,700 years ago.

I recognize that this is not a popular message, nor was it when Isaiah spoke it. People didn't want to hear what he had to say. In fact, they rebuked him, mocked him, and dismissed his words. Yet, the Lord still brought His judgment upon them.

As we've talked about many times while going through the book of Isaiah, we see that our own nation is already beginning to experience the beginnings of the judgment of the Lord, the removal of His protection, and the removal of His blessing. Yes, there still is blessing here and there throughout our nation, and I would say that this has to do with the remnant of God's people who remain.

Yet, as Billy Graham said many years ago, if God does not judge the United States of America, He'll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah. That's a scary thought. But 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, "If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek me and repent of their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will heal their land."

Oh, that we would take heed to the word of the Lord and see Him bless us in a powerful way.

But God says judgment is going to come upon the people of Judah and Jerusalem, and this judgment is spoken of in verse 13. He says, "Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briars; yea, upon all the houses of joy and the joyous city, because the places shall be forsaken. The multitude of the city shall be left; the forts of the towers shall be for dens forever, for the joy of the wild donkey to pasture the flocks."

God says the city is going to be forsaken, the land is going to be forsaken and left desolate. Instead of crops and vineyards, there are going to grow up thorns and briars. But notice what he says in verse 15: "Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted a forest, then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. The work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever."

Their land would be desolate; it would be filled with thorns and briars until the spirit is poured out and until the Lord moves. Until the Lord intervenes and brings a stop to this judgment by His spirit, there would be barrenness and judgment. But then, ultimately, it would be turned around, and there would be an abundance of fruitfulness. Notice it there in verse 15: "The wilderness will be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field will be counted as a forest."

When the Lord comes by His spirit, ultimately, the Lord is going to bring justice. In verse 16, it says, "Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness and righteousness remain in the fruitful field." When the Lord brings about this restoration, it certainly has a physical aspect to it. It has a temporal aspect to it, as the children of Israel would be taken out of their land in Judah and Jerusalem by the Babylonians. The land would fill up with thorns and briars for a time, and ultimately, they would return to the land and see it sprout forth and bring forth fruit once again.

Then, in AD 70, they were expelled from Jerusalem, and ultimately, in AD 120, they were expelled from the land of Israel. The whole land sat just overgrown and destroyed for 1,900 years until the children of Israel returned in the early part of the last century. Ever since then, that land has grown forth.

It has become fruitful once again, but ultimately, this is speaking of a spiritual restoration—a great transformation that will come when the Lord returns. We know this is the case because in verse 16, it talks about judgment and righteousness being that which leads the land and fills the land.

If you look at Jerusalem and the land of Israel today, yes, physically it is a fruitful land, but not in righteousness and judgment. The Lord will come and establish His kingdom one day, and He will establish it with judgment and justice—judgment and righteousness, the very things He was looking for from the city of Jerusalem but did not find.

In Isaiah chapter 5, verse 7, it says, "For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah His pleasant plant. He looked for judgment, but behold, He found oppression. He sought for righteousness, but behold, He found a cry." Why did He find oppression and a cry? In Isaiah chapter 1, verse 21, it says, "How has the faithful city become a harlot? It was full of judgment and righteousness; righteousness lodged in it, but now murderers." Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.

God was looking for judgment and righteousness in the city, but He didn't find it. As a result, God says, "I'm going to judge you." Ultimately, after the judgment, He has refined them, and He will one day bring forth judgment and righteousness from the land. When the Lord does, we read in verse 17, "The work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness will be quietness and assurance forever."

It is interesting because the word used in verse 17 when it talks about quietness and assurance forever is the very same Hebrew word that was used a few verses before when it spoke of the women who were at ease. They had a false sense of peace and a false sense of quietness that they had established in their flesh, but it would be undone by the judgment of the Lord. Ultimately, there is only true quietness and true peace found from the Prince of Peace.

Even today, in our world, there are times when people say "peace," but it is not true peace. I remember when I was in high school; there was that peace accord in 1993 that Bill Clinton brought about.

What it's about is Akrabin and Yasser Arafat, and there was supposed to be an enduring peace in the Middle East. Did it last? No. Go back even further to the time of Jimmy Carter and the Oslo Accords that were established during that time. The peace accords that were signed at Camp David, the Camp David Accords—did it last? Clearly, it didn't.

There is a push today by the United Nations and even by our own president to bring about more peace in the Middle East, and they will probably sign some sort of papers. Do you think it will last? It will not last until the Prince of Peace comes and establishes peace forever.

Verse 18 continues, saying, "And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation and in sure dwellings and in quiet resting places." When it shall hail coming down on the forest, the city shall be low in a low place. Blessed are you that sow beside all waters, that send forth their feet, send forth thither the feet of the ox and the donkey.

But verse 1 of chapter 33 says, "Woe to those that spoil, and thou hast not spoiled, and those that deal treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee. When thou shalt cease to spoil and when thou shalt make an end of your treacherous dealing, you shall be dealt with treacherously; you shall be spoiled."

Chapter 33, verse 1 speaks to the judgment upon the oppressors. In Habakkuk, God spoke to the prophet Habakkuk, saying, "I'm going to judge the nation Judah and Jerusalem with the Chaldeans, with the Babylonians." Habakkuk didn't like the sound of that because he said, "Well, they're worse than we are; they're more wicked than we are." God said to Habakkuk, "Don't worry. Once I'm done judging you by the Babylonians, I will judge the Babylonians."

So God, here in Isaiah, was going to judge the children of Judah and Jerusalem by the Assyrians. But once He had fulfilled that judgment, now He speaks that He is going to judge the Assyrians as well. "Woe to those that spoil and had not been spoiled, those that dealt treacherously but had not been dealt treacherously with." He's speaking to the Assyrians, saying judgment's going to come upon you, and you're going to reap what you have sown.

Galatians chapter 6, verse 7 says, "God is not mocked; whatsoever a man sows, that he shall also reap." Here we see the wicked Assyrians reaping what they have sown.

Had sown, they would be judged with the same judgment they judged with. When the Lord brings about this judgment, He would be gracious to His people.

O Lord, be gracious unto us, for we have waited for You. Be Thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble. At the noise of the tumult, the people fled; at the lifting up of Thyself, the nations were scattered. Your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpillar; as the running to and fro of the locusts, shall He run upon them. The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high. He has filled Zion with judgment and with righteousness. Wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of Thy times and strength of salvation; the fear of the Lord is His treasure.

God would come and judge the Assyrians after He used the Assyrians to judge the women at ease, the people of Jerusalem who had a false sense of security. But after judging the people of Assyria, He would be gracious to His people. O Lord, be gracious unto us; we have waited for Thee. Be their arm every morning, our salvation in our time of trouble.

You see, in the midst of God's judgment upon the children of Israel, He would still be gracious to them because His punishment was for the purpose of purification. He didn't want to completely wipe them out. If God wanted to wipe them out completely, He would have done just what He did to Sodom and Gomorrah, throwing flaming brimstone down from heaven. But He was still gracious even in the midst of His judgment because His judgment was a punishment; it was disciplining His children.

They had rebelled against Him; they had turned away from Him; they had backslidden. God had called them to Himself. He called them and said, "Repent, turn to Me." But they hardened their hearts; they stiffened their necks; they wouldn't listen to Him. So God had to come in and discipline them, but He would be gracious.

O Lord, be gracious unto us; we have waited for Thee. Remember what we saw last week in Isaiah chapter 30, verse 18: "Therefore will the Lord wait that He may be gracious unto you; therefore will He be exalted that He may have mercy upon you, for the Lord is a God of judgment. Blessed are all they that wait for Him."

God told His people, "I am waiting to be gracious to you. If you'll just turn to Me, if you'll just repent, I will be gracious." But they continued to rebel; they continued to be stubborn. So the Lord disciplined them, and ultimately...

In His discipline, they finally turn to Him and say, "Lord, be gracious unto us." God is surely gracious to those who call upon Him, desiring that none should perish but that all would come to repentance.

Continuing on in verse 7, it says, "Behold, their valiant ones shall cry without; the ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly." The highways lie waste; the wayfaring man ceases. He has broken the covenant; he has despised the cities; he regards no man. The earth mourns and languishes. Lebanon is ashamed and cut down; Sharon is like a wilderness. Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.

The Assyrian army, led by Sennacherib, would come from the north, destroying Lebanon, destroying Syria, and destroying the northern ten tribes. This occurred over the course of a number of years. It wasn't just under King Sennacherib, but also King Sargon before him and King Tiglath-Pileser before him. Through the reign of four different Assyrian kings, they went on a rampage through the known world at that time, and ultimately, they would come down into Judah. They would almost completely destroy the cities of Judah.

We read about this in what is called the Taylor Prism. The Taylor Prism is a record from Sennacherib, the king of Assyria. He had men write everything down, not with pen and ink, but with cuneiform on stone tablets. One of those stone tablets, retrieved from archaeological digs at Nineveh, is in the British Museum today. You can go look at it; it's called the Taylor Prism. It talks about Hezekiah and Sennacherib's devastation of Judah.

In Sennacherib's annals, it says, "Because Hezekiah, king of Judah, would not submit to my yoke, I came up against him by force and arms and might and power. I took 46 of his strong, defensed cities, his walled cities, and of the smaller towns which were scattered about, I took and plundered countless numbers from these places. I took and carried away 200,156 persons, old and young, male and female, together with their horses, their donkeys, their camels, their oxen, and their sheep—a countless multitude." King Sennacherib speaks about his judgment.

He brought upon the people of Judah destruction, destroying many of their cities. In the midst of this judgment, one city would fall, then another, and then another, all the way up to 46 walled cities that were destroyed by Sennacherib and his armies. Only one stronghold remained: the city of Jerusalem. Everything else was destroyed, resulting in over 200,000 prisoners of war. There was one final stand.

Now, imagine for a moment that you were living in the city of Jerusalem when all of that was happening. Did it look like it would be a good outcome? It looked pretty grim; it looked pretty bleak. In the middle of all that, while those cities were being destroyed, King Hezekiah, who was in the palace at Jerusalem, figured he had to find a way to stop this. He didn't know what to do. He had turned to the Egyptians seeking help, as we saw in Isaiah chapters 30 and 31 last week. God told him not to go to Egypt because they would not help him.

He was tempted to turn to Egypt, but ultimately, the Egyptians were destroyed by the Assyrians, and now his only hope for help was gone. So, he sent men to King Sennacherib with gold and silver from his palace and from the temple, hoping that perhaps the king would stay his attack.

Look at it with me for just a moment in 2 Kings chapter 18. If you're in Isaiah, turn to the left: 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles. In 2 Kings chapter 18, verse 13, it says, "Now in the 14th year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came up against all the fenced or walled cities of Judah, and he took them." Hezekiah, king of Judah, sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, one of the cities that he was besieging, saying, "I have offended you; return from me that which you put on me, and I will bear it." The king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah, king of Judah, 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold, and Hezekiah gave him the silver.

That was found in the house of the king. At that time, Hezekiah cut off the gold from the temple of the Lord and from the pillars which Hezekiah, king of Judah, had overlaid. He gave them to his kingdom, and his nation was being destroyed. There was one stronghold left: Lachish, which was just 30 miles south of Jerusalem. The armies of Assyria were getting closer. Not knowing what to do, Hezekiah said, "Listen, I'm sorry I stopped paying you that tax. Just tell me what I owe you; I'll pay it."

The king of Assyria replied, "All right, you owe me 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold." So, Hezekiah went and looked for gold wherever he could in the city, and he paid the king off. However, verse 17 says, "And the king of Assyria sent Tartan, Rabsaras, and Rabshaka from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem." He sent an army instead. He took the gold, he took the silver, and he still sent the army.

We read in Isaiah 32, prophetically, before this event would take place. Verse 7 states, "Behold, their valiant ones cry without; their ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly." The mighty army of Jerusalem is crying; they are weeping. The ambassadors who went to try and secure peace for the people of Jerusalem weep bitterly. The highways lie in waste; the whole city is devastated. The wayfaring man ceases; he that has despised the cities regards no man. This is speaking of the king of Assyria; he doesn't care.

Not only are the cities of Jerusalem or Judah destroyed, but the earth mourns and languishes. Lebanon is ashamed, hewn and cut down. Sharon is like a wilderness; Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits. The entire nation and all the nations are destroyed in the wake of the coming Assyrian. God says prophetically in verse 10, "Now will I rise," says the Lord. "Now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself. You shall conceive chaff, and you shall bring forth stubble. Your breath as fire shall devour you. The people shall be as burning lime; as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire. Hear ye that are far off what I have done."

I’m going to rise up, and when I rise up, I’ll be exalted. I’ll lift myself up, and the Assyrians, they’re going to be cut down. They’re going to be burned up; they’re going to be destroyed. Ultimately, God says through this, I will be glorified.

Verse 13: "Hear ye that are far off what I have done, and you that are near acknowledge my might." God says those nations that are far off are going to hear what I’m going to do, and those that are near, those that are in Jerusalem, are going to see my might.

You see, if the Egyptians had helped, if the Egyptians had come up and destroyed the Assyrians and pushed them off, then Hezekiah would have won the day. Everybody would have said, "Oh, what a glorious king! He made such a smart decision in going down and getting the help of the Egyptians." But God said, "No, that’s not going to happen."

If the Assyrian king Sennacherib had received the silver and the gold and said, "All right, that’s enough; I’ll go home now," then once again the people would have said, "See, our money is where our hope is." But God wouldn’t have that. God says, "I’m not going to allow you to trust in the horses and the chariots of Egypt. I’m not going to allow you to trust in your silver and your gold. You are going to see that only I am the one who is worthy of trust."

So He allowed their alliances to be destroyed. He allowed their money to in no way buy them safety, ultimately that He would be glorified and that the people of Jerusalem would recognize that He alone, God, is to be feared.

Verse 14: "The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness has surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with the everlasting burnings?"

Here’s the result: when God judges the Assyrian army, the sinners of Zion, that is, the wicked people there in Jerusalem, the result is they shall fear. They shall fear. They’re going to say, "Who shall dwell with the devouring fire?" Who is the devouring fire? God is revealed in the Scriptures as the devouring fire. They say, "If the Assyrian army, 185,000 strong, are destroyed by the Lord, by His devouring fire, how possibly are we going to be able to stand?"

The result of God's judgment upon the Assyrians was His glory among the nations. Those who were far off and the sinners of Jerusalem would also recognize that God alone is to be feared. It reminds me of the passage in Hebrews where the author states, "For we know Him that has said, 'Vengeance belongs unto Me; I will repay,' says the Lord. And again, 'The Lord shall judge His people.' It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

They would see in God's judgment of the Assyrians that truth. If they were afraid of the Assyrian army and King Sennacherib, they would fear even more the God who destroyed the Assyrian army in one night. This leads to the question posed in verse 14: "Who can walk in His presence? Who can dwell with this burning fire? Who can dwell with the Lord?"

God answers their question in verse 15: "He that walks righteously and speaks uprightly, he that despises the gain of oppressions, he that shakes his hands from holding bribes, he that stops his ears from hearing of blood and shuts his eyes from seeing of evil, he shall dwell on high. His place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks; bread shall be given him, and his waters shall be sure."

Who can dwell among the Lord, this Lord who is the living God, who judges and repays those who are wicked? Who can possibly approach Him? The answer is given in a very similar question asked by David in Psalm 15: "Lord, who shall abide in Your tabernacle? Who shall dwell in Your holy hill?" God answers, "He that walks uprightly, that works righteousness, and speaks truth with his heart. He that backbites not with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor; in whose eyes a vile person is contemned, but he honors them that fear the Lord. He that swears to his own hurt and changes not, he that puts not his money out to usury, nor takes reward against the innocent; he that does these things shall never be moved."

Then the psalmist asks again in Psalm 24, and we actually sang a song tonight that came from this passage.

Right out of Psalm 24, it says in verse 3, "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in His holy place?" God answers, "He that has clean hands and a pure heart, that has not lifted up his soul to vanity nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation." This is the generation of them that seek, that seek Thy face, O God of Jacob.

God would allow His people in Jerusalem to be judged by the Assyrians. On the outside, on the external, the temporal, it would look like a terrible thing. How could God do something like this? But ultimately, it was for their good. It was to discipline them; His punishment was for the purpose of purification and ultimately that He would be glorified.

In verse 17, it says, "Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty, and they shall behold the land that is very far off. Thine heart shall meditate on terror. Where is the scribe? Where is the receiver? Where is he that counts the towers?" You shall not see a fierce people of a deeper speech that you cannot perceive, of a stammering tongue that you cannot understand.

God says to His people, "You'll see the King of Assyria; you'll see his mighty armies come into your land, but it's just going to be like a dream in the night. You're going to meditate upon that terror. You're going to think about it: Where did he go? Where did that king go? He came here with all of his armies and set up those towers, counting the city as if they were going to destroy it and take a spoil. Yet now they're gone—here one second and gone the next."

But God says, "You're not going to see this fierce people. You're not going to see them come in and destroy the city. Look upon Zion, the city of our solemn feasts. Thine eyes shall see Jerusalem, a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down. Not one of the stakes thereof shall be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken. But the glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams, wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ships pass thereby. For the Lord is our judge."

The Lord is our King; He will save us. The tackling is loose; they could not well strengthen their mast, and they could not spread the sail. Then, the prey of a great spoil is divided. The lame take the prey, and the inhabitants shall not say, "I am sick." The people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.

Ultimately, this passage finishes with Isaiah prophetically looking forward to that great day when the Lord will once again establish His kingdom. In this passage, we see God mentioned in verse 1 of chapter 32 as a King, then in verse 17 of chapter 33 as the King, and finally in verse 22 of chapter 33 as our King. You see, God in our lives must move from that place of being a King to being the King. We must make Him our King, or else we will suffer the same fate as the Assyrian army. Yes, He is a King, but is He your King?

The Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King. If He is your King, then you have this awesome promise from verse 22: He will save us. Amen.

Let's stand and pray. God, we thank You that You are our Judge, our Lawgiver, our King. We thank You for the salvation that we have in You. Thank You that You've called us and set us apart to be Your people. Those that were not a people are now the people of God; those that had not obtained mercy now have received it.

Lord, having received mercy, I pray that by Your Spirit, You stir us and enable us to speak boldly the truth of Your Word. Although people may mock the message and even mock us, the messenger, and perhaps dismiss the words that we have, Lord, help us to be bold and never to back down from sharing the truth.

Would you, just as you did with Jeremiah, put your words into our mouths that we would speak? You are the one who can save, but you are also the one who will judge. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, as we are going to see in just a few weeks when we get to Isaiah 36 and 37.

Lord, there we see you move against those who blaspheme. God, help us to be those who run to you and find refuge. We find that you are our shelter from the storm, the shade from the sun, and the refreshing river of living water. Thank you that you have given us shelter, refuge, and living water. We praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.