Hezekiah Spread the Letter Before the LORD
37: 14-20

Hezekiah spread the letter before the LORD DIG: On what basis does Hezekiah believe God will help him (see Second Chronicles 32:6-8)? How does Hezekiah’s prayer compare to what the LORD had called the leadership of Judah to do all along (see 1:15)? What truths about God does Hezekiah grasp? Why does he dwell on these? How is the point of his prayer like that of the Exodus (see Exodus 15:14-16)?

REFLECT: Hezekiah models how to respond to intimidation. What big threat to Christianity do you worry about? What might intimidate you about that, except for what Hezekiah models for you? What does this prayer have in common with that of the disciples in Acts 4:23-31? What do these prayers show you about God’s and Hezekiah’s characters? What do you see here about the proper focus of prayer?

Hezekiah, king of Judah, had received Sennacherib’s letter denouncing the LORD. This was a critical moment in the history of Isra’el. What will she do at this time, stripped of all her allies, face-to-face with the crushing realities of which the field commander had spoken? Will she agree with the Assyrian field commander that ADONAI is simply one more national god, helpless before Sennacherib? Or will she admit the foolishness of her ways and, for the first time in a very long time, commit herself to God alone? Had she sided with Sennacherib, all succeeding human history would have been very different. For Judah’s unconquerable faith that the LORD was unique, was the necessary ground for the coming of the Messiah. In fact, that challenge was what made all the difference. It was like a slap in the face. It was as if Judah said, “Thanks, I needed that.” She finally realized what Isaiah had been saying all along: No one can be trusted but God!

When Hezekiah received the letter from Sennacherib he read it (37:14a). Repentance was in order; not only repentance, but also responsibility. City after city had fallen to Sennacherib and long lines of refugees were already snaking their bitter way to exile – and it was all Hezekiah’s fault. As king, Hezekiah was responsible for leading the people down the wrong path of rebellion with the lunatic alliance with Egypt. But he doesn’t blame anyone else. Rather, it is he who must go to the Temple and admit the foolishness of his and the nation’s dependence on Egypt. Whereas Ahaz had refused to even ask for a sign of God’s help, Hezekiah finally realizes that ADONAI is his only hope. At the end of his rope, he resorts to prayer. It has finally come to that! So this was a defining moment for Hezekiah and for the nation.

Then Hezekiah went up to the Temple of ADONAI. In a crisis, people are normally driven away from God or driven to Him. They either look to the world for answers, or they are driven even deeper into the LORD’s embrace. Hezekiah, wisely, chooses the latter. Hezekiah spread it out before ADONAI as a symbolic act, displaying the Assyrian’s blasphemies in the presence of God (37:14b). As with the Maccabees, who spread a copy of the defaced Torah before ADONAI (First Maccabees 3:48), this was not an attempt to inform God of something He did not already know, but an expression of outrage. He places it before the LORD as if to say, “Surely this cannot go unanswered.”

This was perhaps Hezekiah’s finest hour. He was not perfect. In fact, the mess he was in was largely of his own making. But in the last analysis, he knew that the LORD reigned, and therefore nothing was impossible or hopeless.¹³³ Then Hezekiah offered a magnificent prayer, proclaiming the basis on which his plea for deliverance was made. How feeble it makes our own prayers seem by comparison. His prayer was not based on the circumstances in which he found himself. No, it is solely based on the character of ADONAI. The king was not asking that Sennacherib be defeated because Judah was so righteous. Obviously, it was not. Rather, it was because the Assyrians had called God’s name and reality into question. This is how it should be for us. When it is ADONAI’s reputation that matters most to us, we are free from the crippling self-concern that will otherwise eat us up. That is what we see in Hezekiah’s prayer. Here was a man whose personal success and survival are no long the number one thing in his life. This was a free man.

And Hezekiah prayed, “ADONAI-Tzva’ot, God of Isra’el, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are YHVH over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, God, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God” (37:15).

Hezekiah’s prayer begins and ends with ADONAI. Referring to Him as the God of Isra’el, he recalled the special relationship that the Jews had with ADONAI. Then Hezekiah identifies the LORD in two most important ways: as King and Creator. First, God’s being enthroned between the cherubim refers to His presence in the Most Holy Place in the Temple (First Kings 8:10-13). God was above all because the cherubim were the highest order of created beings (Exodus 25:22; First Samuel 4:4; Psalm 80:1, 99:1). Secondly, he said the LORD is the Creator over all the kingdoms of the earth. Hezekiah prayed that God would both hear and see the words of Sennacherib and the defiance to the Living God.

It is true, O LORD that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not god but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, therefore, ADONAI our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, ADONAI, are God (37:16-20).

He admitted some truth in Sennacherib’s boastings. Assyria had laid waste to all these peoples and their lands. Assyria had burned up their gods. But their gods were useless because of what they were, only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. As he concluded his prayer, he asked for deliverance. He asked God to save Judah on the basis of who He is. If only we could learn to pray like this, what a difference it would make!

Hezekiah Sent Eliakim and Shebna to the Prophet Isaiah
37: 1-13

Hezekiah sent Eliakim and Shebna to the prophet Isaiah DIG: What is the significance of Hezekiah tearing his clothes and wearing sackcloth? How would you react if a leader you admired did something like that? How does his response to this threat differ from that of his father Ahaz (see 7:2-13)? What changed Sennacherib’s plans? How would his withdrawal affect the people of Jerusalem? In terms of mocking God, how does Sennacherib even outdo his field commander? What’s the point of Sennacherib reminding Hezekiah of all his conquests?

REFLECT: How must the faith of Hezekiah have appeared to the Assyrians? In what situation has your faith in God’s promises appeared equally foolish? Given your level of faith now, would you have clung to Isaiah’s prophecies at this point, or would you have caved in to “reality?” Why? What “Assyrian threat” faces you now? To what promises of God are you clinging? Isaiah’s promises must have been the anchor to which Hezekiah held. What promises of God serve as an anchor for you in times of crisis?

Hezekiah and the nation had disobeyed Isaiah, which brought about this invasion to begin with. When Hezekiah heard the Assyrian demands from Sennacherib’s field commander, he himself joins the mourning. His reaction to the report of his messengers revealed a man of faith. He tore his clothes and put on sackcloth, a biblical sign of mourning, but also repentance and humiliation, and went to the Temple of God. In addition, he sent Eliakim, the palace administrator, Shebna, the secretary, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz (37:1-2). So shyly, and with much difficulty I am sure, the king and his delegation requested Isaiah to intercede. The irony of this situation could not be missed by anyone.

The message they sent to Isaiah was a message of distress because the Assyrians have taken the Land. This is what Hezekiah said: This is a day of rebuke because they finally realized it was the result of their Egyptian alliance. This was a day of disgrace because the Assyrians had disgraced the God of Jerusalem. And it was a time of birth pangs and there was no strength left to deliver (37:3). This is a metaphor for a critical moment, which finds one utterly helpless or unprepared. A woman in this situation would die. And Judah was in the same situation, facing imminent death. Forty-six cities were already gone; only Jerusalem was left. They requested divine help.

The delegation said to Isaiah, very humbly: It may be that ADONAI your God will hear the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that He will rebuke him for the words ADONAI your God has heard. Therefore, pray for the remnant that still survives (37:4). When speaking to Isaiah they refer to ADONAI as your God because they recognize that they have been in disobedience. They admit that the field commander has defied the living God. Perhaps ADONAI will rebuke the words of Sennacherib and let those who remain survive.

It is important to take note that Hezekiah’s words: This is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace (37:3a) are an utter admission of failure. Not only had his policies brought Judah into Assyria’s crosshairs, but more importantly they had also brought about Judah’s rebuke from God. When the delegation was sent to Isaiah, it signaled the end of the pro-Egyptian policy. At long last they had discovered the error of disobeying ADONAI and His prophet. But even more seriously, God Himself had been brought into contempt. This is a lesson of life: the believer who lives a life of sin and debauchery will, at some point, bring reproach upon the LORD in the eyes of the world. The world will associate the sinful activity on the believer’s part, with inability on God’s part. And ultimately, they bring YHVH into contempt. Should we continue in such a lifestyle merely because we know that we are saved (see the commentary on Romans, to see link click Bq – The Background of the Messianic Mikveh)? Heaven forbid (chalilah, meaning it makes no sense), repentance is needed.

This kind of admission of helplessness is frequently necessary before God can help us. So long as we believe that we can handle any given situation, still claiming to be the lord of our own life, we are without hope. Only when we admit that we are completely spiritually bankrupt, are we able to receive what the LORD has for us. That was what Hezekiah did. But what will happen? Hezekiah and his officials had repudiated Isaiah for his words (30:8-11). What would Isaiah do? Would he reject them and leave them to wallow in the consequences of their own blindness?¹³²

When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, he takes no satisfaction that his predictions have come true, or that the leaders of Judah, including Hezekiah, have to admit their foolishness by coming meekly to him (37:5). On the other hand, he makes no promises of Judah’s deliverance. First, he speaks to the king: Tell your master, This is what ADONAI says, “Do not be afraid”. These were the same words he had spoken to Hezekiah’s father Ahaz (7:4). God was greater than any obstacle; that being so, he did not need to live in fear. As a result, although Hezekiah was concerned as to whether the LORD had heard the blasphemy of the field commander and Sennacherib, God was concerned that Hezekiah had heard it and had become frightened. Do not be afraid of what you have heard – those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me (37:6). God’s contempt for the Assyrian blasphemy is seen by the way He sees the underlings, like the field commander and the other officers. Their power and authority might frighten others, but ADONAI was not particularly impressed.

The prophet declared that he would put a spirit in Sennacherib. He said: Listen! I am going to put a spirit in him so that when he hears a certain report, he will return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword (37:7). The word spirit here denotes a sense of compulsion. He would put a compulsive spirit in Sennacherib that would influence his thoughts, attitude, and conduct. God was going to predispose Sennacherib to leave Judah. He said that the king of Assyria was going to hear a rumor of rebellion back home which will force him to return to Nineveh, and there the LORD will have Sennacherib cut down by the sword. Not surprisingly, this was exactly what happened, although there was a slight delay. Isaiah tells us that Sennacherib, king of Assyria, broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. Twenty years later when Sennacherib was praying in the Temple to his own god, his own two sons killed him by the sword.

In the meantime, the field commander returned to Sennacherib empty-handed because he was unsuccessful in getting Jerusalem to surrender. By that time Lachish had fallen and another city of the countryside, Libnah, was besieged. When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah. Also, the news reached him that a Cushite invasion under Tirhakah was under way. Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the Cushite king of Egypt, was marching out to fight against him (37:8-9).

Feeling very confident, Sennacherib writes a letter to Hezekiah before leaving to meet the threat from Tirhakah. He wrote to the king of Judah, saying: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says: Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria. Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? Did the gods of those nations which my fathers have destroyed deliver them, even Gozan, or Haran, or Rezeph or the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? Where is the King of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, or of Hena or Ivvah (37:10-13). But in writing his letter, Sennacherib made the mistake that the field commander had made. Sennacherib accused ADONAI of being deceptive. Basically, he was saying to Hezekiah, “Don’t trust your God if He says Jerusalem will not fall. Indeed it will.” He said other nations had fallen and the gods of those nations had proven to be defenseless. He listed the various nations that he had conquered and made the same point that the field commander made. The gods of those other nations failed to deliver them from the hand of Assyria. The implication was this: “What do you think your God is going to be able to do?”

Pride is the worst of all sins. It is the purest form of rebellion possible because we expel the LORD from the throne of our lives and put ourselves in His place (14:12-15). It is the sin of Adam and Eve, and before them the Adversary himself. It is the original sin, from which all others grow. And it was especially true of Sennacherib.

At that time Hezekiah wrote Psalm 46 just after the mighty Assyrian army besieged Jerusalem. But he trusted in ADONAI when all seemed lost. He was a different man. Inspired by God the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, he wrote:

God is our refuge and strength,
     an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore, we are unafraid,
     even if the earth gives way,
     even if the mountains tumble
     into the depths of the sea,
Even if its waters rage and foam,
     and mountains shake at its turbulence. Selah

There is a river whose streams
     gladden the city of God,
     the holy habitation of ‘Elyon –
God is in the city.
     It will not be moved –
     when daybreak comes, God will help it.
Nations were in turmoil, kingdoms were moved;
     He lifts His voice and the earth melted away.

The LORD of heavens armies is with us,
     the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Come and see the works of ADONAI,
     the astounding deeds He has done on the earth,
To the ends of the earth He makes wars cease –
     He breaks the bow, snaps the spear,
     He burns the shield in the fire.
Be still, and know that I am God,
     supreme over the nations,
     supreme over the earth.

ADONAI of heavens armies is with us,
     the God of Jacob is our fortress (Psalm 46 CJB). Selah

Do Not Let Hezekiah Mislead You
36: 13-22

Do not let Hezekiah mislead you DIG: What alternatives does the field commander offer them? Compared to the gods, where is ADONAI in all of this? Do the people respond as expected? Why or why not? Why does the field commander speak in Hebrew to the people on the walls of Jerusalem in 36:11-20?

REFLECT: Have you ever been misled by the world (First John 2:15-17)? Has someone convinced you that the world is more trustworthy than God? When was the last time in your life that someone tried to make sin seem as attractive as possible? Does sin tear at your heart or have you become so calloused that it doesn’t bother you much anymore? If that is the case, what is the solution?

Sennacherib’s field commander hoped that mere logic would undermine the people’s morale and frighten Jerusalem into submission. Calling out to the people in Hebrew, he addresses all who can hear him along the wall of the City. Raising his voice, he said: Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you! Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the LORD when he says, “The LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria” (36:13-15). The irony of this statement is that Sennacherib claimed to be more trustworthy than God! He called upon the people to distrust Hezekiah and made the same points to the people as he had the Jewish delegation. He states that Hezekiah cannot save them. That was true. But once again he made the mistake of saying that the God of Isra’el could not save them (36:7). That, however, was false.

Pressing for a quick decision, the field commander demanded: Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, until I come and take you to a land like your own – a land of grain and new wine, and a land of bread and vineyards (36:16-17). He made his offer sound as attractive as possible. He could not hide the well-known Assyrian policy of deportation (Second Kings 17:24), but he did his best to sweeten that bitter pill.

But he kept making the same mistake by insisting that it was futile to trust in ADONAI. He said: Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says: The LORD will deliver us. Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand (36:18-20)? Again the field commander exhorted the people not to be deceived by Hezekiah, for the gods of these other nations had proven useless in helping them against the Assyrians. And he infers that those gods were superior to the God of Isra’el. Therefore, his reasoning is that if greater gods than the God of Jerusalem were of no help, what could your God possibly do? He also boasts that since YHVH did not help Samaria (it had fallen to Assyria 21 years earlier in 722 BC), why should the people of Jerusalem count on their God to protect them? This fatal mistake will bring about his downfall.

The common people were not as easily swayed as the Assyrians expected them to be. But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because king Hezekiah had commanded them not to answer him (36:21). But even if Hezekiah had not told his envoys not to answer, it is difficult to see what they could have said. The field commander had bluntly blasphemed ADONAI and told them to surrender or die. There was not much room for negotiation at that point. To their credit, they remained silent (there are times when silence is the most eloquent testimony to who we are and to whom we serve). Blasphemy of that sort would not be corrected with words. No answer was possible. They could only go back in shock and dismay and tell Hezekiah what the field commander had said.

Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator, Shebna, the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the recorder went back to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn, and told him what the field commander had said (36:22). The ball is firmly back in Hezekiah’s court. But this is where the greatness of Hezekiah is seen. He sees what needs to be done, and he does it.

Please Speak to Your Servants in Aramaic
36: 2-12

Please speak to your servants in Aramaic DIG: What arguments does the field commander offer for why Jerusalem should surrender? What tone of voice do you hear? How do Assyria and Isaiah compare in their view of Judah’s alliance with Egypt (19:14-15; 30:3-5)? As a Judean leader, how would you feel, hearing the field commander repeat the same things Isaiah had been saying for years? What was Assyria’s undoing? What is the meaning of the sarcastic offer in 36:8? What is he implying by his final statement in 36:10?

REFLECT: Can you remember a time in your life that you lacked spiritual discernment? Was that before you were saved? What changed? Where does one get spiritual discernment? How does one get it (First Corinthians 12:10c)? What must happen first? Why does the world lack spiritual discernment?

Then the king of Assyria sent his field commander with a large army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. A great army accompanied him for the purposes of intimidation. Hezekiah was now isolated. In Second Kings 18:17 the field commander was accompanied by two other men, his supreme commander, the second to the king in command of the army (20:1) and his chief officer, the king’s personal advisor. But the one in charge was the field commander. He stood at the very same place where the confrontation between Ahaz, the king of Judah and Isaiah, the prophet took place back in 7:3. It was at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman’s Field (36:2). There, Isaiah gave Ahaz the option of trusting in God, or trusting in Assyria. Ahaz chose to trust Assyria and put Judah under her yoke. And now over twenty years later Hezekiah stood where his father stood, at the perilous crossroads where the way of faith and the way of works, trusting in God and self-reliance, meet. And like his father Ahaz, Hezekiah had the same choice.

If we don’t get it right the first time, God will bring us right back to the same lesson. How many times has this happened in your life or mine? How many times have you thought to yourself, “Why do I keep going through the same thing?” I think you will agree with me that with the LORD, it is better to get it right the first time!

The Jewish delegation was composed of three men. The first man was Eliakim son of Hilkiah who had become the palace administrator in fulfillment of 22:2-024. Secondly, there was Shebna the secretary that is a partial fulfillment of 52:15-19 and 25. He had been demoted in the first stage shown here, but his exile will come later. The third man, Joah, son of Asaph the recorder, also went out with them (36:3).

Without any diplomatic niceties the field commander moves directly to the attack. Speaking on behalf of the king of Assyria he points out the futility of Judah’s confidence. The field commander spoke to them. He says that Judah’s rebellion will prove to be completely fruitless. Judah has no defense. He bluntly bypasses the Judean emissaries and addresses himself to Hezekiah, whom he refuses to call king. The field commander spoke to them. Tell Hezekiah that this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, said: What are you basing your confidence on? You say you have strategy and military strength – but you speak only empty words (36:4-5). But at the same time, he tries to demonstrate the supremacy of the king of Assyria by calling him the great king. Simply put, he says that Hezekiah is just a man of empty words, not actions. His words of war never got past the talking stage. Clearly then, this is not a request, but an ultimatum.

His first attack was against Egypt and the trust the Judeans had put in them. Using words which were not so different than Isaiah’s (19:14-16, 30:7 and 31:3), he said that Egypt had proven to be no help because the Egyptian army had been defeated. The very thing that Isaiah had predicted had then been fulfilled. Look now, you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces a man’s hand and wounds him if he leans on it! Such is Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to all who depend on him (36:6). Egypt was nothing but a bruised, or splintered reed. Whoever leans on a splintered reed will fall. Sometimes we give our opponents ammunition to use against us because we have betrayed our trust in God by trusting in the world instead. God had prohibited trusting in Egypt, and now the field commander was able to mock them for doing such a foolish thing. Therefore, we need to examine closely our beliefs and actions to see if, in fact, they are a denial of our professed faith in God. If there are any practices or relationships in our lives that will give others a chance to say that we talk a good game, but are really no different from the world (First John 2:15-17), we need to get rid of them now before it kills our testimony.

And if you say to me, “We are depending on ADONAI our God,” isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar” (36:7)? Many people today have no spiritual discernment. They are like Sennacherib’s field commander. Had he stopped with Assyria defeating Judah, just as Isaiah had said, he would have been on safe ground. But he went on to say that ADONAI was of no help to the Jews. He was saying, “Don’t you know that Hezekiah had all those high places destroyed?” He thought Hezekiah had destroyed the worship of the nation so that it had no God to turn to. He thought that the worship of heathen alters on the high hills was the same was worshipping the living God in Jerusalem.

That would be his undoing. He did not understand the difference between Jewish monotheism and the worship of idols. He reasons that the God of Isra’el would prove useless because Hezekiah had not been faithful to his God. Speaking for his king, Sennacherib, he feels that God would not help Judah because Hezekiah had removed all of the high places and altars. So why would any god want to help him? He did not realize that those very high places themselves were contrary to what ADONAI had instructed. Thus, Sennacherib and his field commander reveal a total lack of knowledge of the God of Isra’el.

The Bible teaches us that only Ruach ha-Kodesh enables us to have spiritual discernment. It is possible to read, study and memorize large parts of the Bible and still not understand it. The scribes and Pharisees of Yeshua’s day were highly trained in the Torah and the TaNaKh, yet they missed its central message. They completely failed to recognize the Messiah when He came, even though He lived right among them (John 5:37-39). People without the Holy Spirit do not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to them, and they cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned (First Corinthians 2:14). Because Sennacherib and his field commander did not belong to the LORD, they could not understand the LORD. God’s Word is spiritually evaluated, discerned and understood. But people in their fallen state, before salvation, are spiritually dead.

To the field commander, Jerusalem’s only reasonable action was to surrender. In contrast to the weakness of Judah, he brags about the superiority of Assyria. “Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses – if you can put riders on them (36:8)! Mockingly, he even offered to give the Jews 2,000 horses if they could provide 2,000 riders to fight against him. The point of this taunt is that Judah does not have enough men to withstand the assault of the Assyrians. He obviously believes that Judah is not strong enough to withstand Assyria. He points to the superiority of Egypt, who was much stronger than Judah. How then can you repulse an officer of the least of my master’s officials, even though you are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen (36:9)? However, the help of Egypt could not turn the smallest and the weakest Assyrian officer back. The point here is that Egypt is not strong enough to help them either.

His speech was so convincing precisely because it contained so much that was true. But its basic premise was false; namely, that ADONAI had forsaken Judah, and therefore, that trust in Him was futile. It is always Satan’s way to make us think that God has abandoned us, and to use logic woven from half-truths to convince us of it. This speech was so subtly devilish in character that it might have been written by Satan himself. The truth is that the LORD brought Judah to the end of her own resources so that she might learn again what it meant to trust Him completely. He had not abandoned and would not abandon her. He has not and will not abandon us (John 6:37-40 and 47, 10:27-30; Jude 24).

Finalizing his argument, the field commander arrogantly boasted that ADONAI, the God of Isra’el, had ordered him to destroy Judah. Furthermore, have I have come to attack and destroy this land without the LORD? The Lord Himself told me to march against this country and destroy it (36:10). It is Judah’s own God, he says that has brought Assyria to conquer. Chapter 10:5-11 makes it clear that Assyria was commissioned by God to invade Judah. But Assyria went far beyond her commission in 10:12-19. That will prove to be a serious error. The field commander’s point here is that your God cannot help you. This was and is the purest form of defiance possible; it is ousting ADONAI from the throne of our lives and putting ourselves first. It is the sin of Adam and Eve, and before them, of Satan himself. It is the primal sin from which all others grow. And it was especially, in this case, the sin of the king of Assyria, the great king (36:13, 37:23).¹³¹

What the field commander did in his speech was to reveal the essential nature of the issue that is always before us. Shall we commit ourselves to God or to human might and glory? But more importantly, he threw down the gauntlet to the LORD Himself. If God wants to be known as God, He would need to reveal Himself. ADONAI was waiting for the right opportunity.

Up to this point the field commander has been speaking in Hebrew. But realizing the seriousness of their situation, the three Jewish negotiators request that the negotiations be carried on in Aramaic rather than Hebrew. Aramaic was the major diplomatic language in that day. It was similar to Hebrew, but different enough that the common people could not understand it. Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah said to the field commander, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall” (36:11). The reason for this request is to prevent the inhabitants of Jerusalem, many of whom were standing on top of the wall and listening to the proceedings, from hearing the Assyrian threats.

Of course, the Jewish delegation’s protest only caused the field commander to talk all the louder. Sennacherib had sent him to speak to all of the people. As a result, He arrogantly declared: Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the men sitting on the wall – who, like you, will have to eat their own filth and drink their own urine (36:12)? Confident of victory, he said that the Jews would be forced to eat and drink their own body waste to survive in the siege. The Assyrians used psychological warfare to their greatest advantage. And so does the devil, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Gs – Before Abraham Was Born, I Am).

In the Fourteenth Year of Hezekiah’s Reign
36: 1

In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign DIG: The Assyrian army had already routed Egyptian forces twenty miles west of Jerusalem, and were fighting at Lachish, some twenty miles southwest. What would the people in Jerusalem feel as they saw this Assyrian army approaching their city? How does this invasion fulfill what Isaiah warned in 7:3, 18-25 and 8:6-8?

REFLECT: When was the last time you didn’t listen to ADONAI or His Word and came face to face with the consequences of your actions? How did you react? Hezekiah went to the Temple and sought the LORD. That is still pretty good advice for us today.

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them (36:1).

In 701 BC the Assyrians, with Sennacherib as their king, came down like a flood from the north, destroying everything in his wake. He seemed invincible. He had captured every nation and city that stood in his path, or they submitted to him. The main part of the Assyrian army had come down the coast to Mount Carmel, and there Sennacherib split his army in two, with the main army coming down the coast. A smaller part of his army began to move down the central mountain range. There, a number of the rebelling nations, Edom, Mo’ab, and Amon, surrendered without fighting. This didn’t help Hezekiah one bit. The Assyrians continued traveling down the coast and took the Philistine cities. After the Philistines were defeated, the main army began marching toward Jerusalem.

The cities defeated along this route are mentioned in Isaiah 10:28-32 and Micah 1:8-16. Micah mentions them because this is his home territory. With the cities in the north taken, the last one standing was Lachish. While Lachish was still being besieged, Hezekiah sued for peace and gave the Assyrian king eleven tons of silver and one ton of gold (Second Kings 18:14). In addition to his initial demands, Sennacherib said that Hezekiah must release Hatti, so he could become king of Echelon again, which Hezekiah did. But even though Hezekiah paid Sennacherib handsomely and released Hatti, the king of Assyria decided to conquer the city anyway. He wanted Hezekiah to capitulate and to agree to deport all its citizens. At that point Sennacherib sent his field commander to Jerusalem to demand their surrender. But then he went one step beyond where God permitted him to go, saying that ADONAI could not help the Jews. At that point the Egyptian records, the Assyrian records, and the biblical record all show that something happened that made this invasion of Jerusalem a failure.

As Sennacherib was preparing to move against Jerusalem with his entire army he had to divert his attention because of the threat coming out of Egypt under the Cushite (Ethiopian) King Tirhakah (2 Kings 19:9). After defeating the Egyptian-Ethiopian army on the plains of Eltekeh in southern Palestine he invaded Egypt proper and forced her surrender, but after returning to Jerusalem his army was annihilated (2 Chron 32:21).

In 1919 the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago purchased a fifteen-inch clay cylinder, called the Prism of Sennacherib. This artifact testifies to eight of Sennacherib’s military campaigns. Regarding the third, the narrator describes Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah. So here is Sennacherib’s own version of what happened; keep in mind the Assyrian kings were not apt to admit their failures. When failure came, they would put a spin on it. They would word it in such a way that you wouldn’t know that it was a failure. Here is what Sennacherib wrote about this campaign in Isaiah 36 and 37.

“In my third campaign I set out against Hatti, as for Lulli, the king of Sidon, the awe inspiring splendor of my lordship overwhelmed him, and he ran away. In the midst of the siege he fled and disappeared. Sidon the great, Sidon the small, the cities, strong and fortified, supplied with food and drink, well provisioned for its garrisons, the awe inspiring weapons of Assyria my lord, overwhelmed him. And they obeyed and bowed at my feet. I placed a symbol of the throne over them, and gifts given to me as overlord, given without ceasing, I imposed upon him. I forced others to submit to me. The Moabite, the Ammonite, and the Edomite, splendid gifts they brought before me and kissed my feet. Others, who did not submit to my yoke, I took to the gods of the house of his father, himself, his wife, his sons, his daughters, his brothers, the seat of the house of his father, I deported to Assyria. Others, I placed a tribute, the gift of alliance with my lordship I imposed upon him. Cities that did not bow quickly unto my feet, I besieged, I conquered and I took away the spoil. The officials, the nobility and the populace of Eckron, who had thrown Hatti their king, lord with a sworn treaty with Assyria, into chains, and gave him over to Hezekiah the Judean, like an enemy, they committed sacrilege, the Egyptian kings, the bowmen, the charioteers, the king of Ethiopia. An army without number they came, called upon, and came with their aide. In the plain of Elteckah. The battle line being drawn up in front of me, they sharpened their weapons. With the thrust of Assiure my god, I fought with them and brought about their defeat. The Egyptian charioteers, the princes, together with the charioteers with the king of Ethiopia I captured in the midst of battle. Elteckah I beseeched, I conquered, and I took away the spoil. I approached Ekron and the officials, the nobles who devised the crime. I killed one hundred in the city. As for the ordinary citizens, the perpetrators of sin and infamy, I counted them as spoil. The remainder of those that were not guilty of sin and contempt, which had no punishment due them, I ordered their release. Hatti, the king from the midst of Jerusalem, I brought out as the lord on the throne. Over them I placed him. The tribute due to my lordship I imposed upon him. As for Hezekiah, the Judean, who had not submitted unto my yoke, forty six of the strong walled cities (and the small cities that surround them, which are without number), by piling up siege ramps, bringing rear battering rams, the battling of foot soldiers, and supplement of siege, I besieged and I conquered. 200,140 people, young and old, male and female, horses, mules, camels, oxen and small cattle from their midst without number, I brought out and counted as spoil. Himself (Hezekiah), like a bird in a cage in the midst of Jerusalem, it’s capital city, I shut up. Earthworks against it I raised. I prohibited exit from the city.

Beyond the formal tribute, the gifts of the land, in presence due to my lordship, I imposed against him. As for Hezekiah, himself, the awe-inspiring splendor of my lordship overwhelmed him. I took as tribute, 30 pounds of gold, 800 pounds of silver, costly stones, ivory armed chairs, elephant hide, ivory, ebony and all kind of valuable treasures, together with his daughters, his concubines, the male and female musicians to Nineveh my capital he sent to me. And for the payment of tribute and the performance of servitude, he sent his messengers.”¹³⁰

Sennacherib boasts of his siege of Jerusalem. His language leads the reader to expect that he captured Jerusalem, just as he had taken forty-six of Judah’s strong fortified cities (36:1). But at the end the account turns curiously quiet. Isaiah says that Sennacherib did not succeed in capturing the city of Jerusalem (to see link click Gw – Then the Angel of the LORD Put to Death a Hundred and Eighty Five Thousand Men in the Assyrian Camp). The Assyrian king, however, never states that he actually conquered the city. Although the Assyrian records are awkwardly silent, the Bible tells the rest of the story.

The Timeline of Sennacherib’s Invasion of Judah

An accurate understanding of Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah, his temporary military campaign into Egypt, then his return and destruction in Jerusalem can be confusing without a timeline. It is based on biblical accounts, but I have also used some secular reports to create a clearer picture of what really took place (to see link click Gw – Then the Angel of the LORD Put to Death a Hundred and Eighty Five Thousand Men in the Assyrian Camp). The main reason that a timeline is needed, is to explain how 185,000 Assyrians could die in a single night (37:36).

1. Sennacherib invades Judah through conquered Isra’el from the north.

2. He divides his army in half. One army goes down the coast to defeat the Philistines, while the other goes down the center of Judah to Lachish.

3. In the meantime, Edom, Mo’ab, and Amon surrender and are no longer a threat to him.

4. While Sennacherib lays siege to Lachish, a city in the countryside, Hezekiah strikes for peace and sends him tribute. But Sennacherib decides to take Jerusalem anyway, and sends his Field Commander to Jerusalem to demand an unconditional surrender.

5. Unsuccessful, the Field Commander returns empty-handed to Sennacherib because he could not convince Hezekiah to surrender.

6. By this time Lachish had fallen and Libnah was besieged. At this point, news reached Sennacherib that an Egyptian-Ethiopian invasion under King Tirhakah had begun.

7. Feeling very confident, Sennacherib writes a letter to Hezekiah telling him that his God could do nothing to prevent the destruction of Jerusalem and her people.

8. Sennacherib meets and defeats King Tirhakah at Eltekeh in southern Palestine.

9. With Egypt helpless before him, Sennacherib seizes the advantage and crosses the Egyptian border and receives a declaration of surrender.

10. While in Egypt, God sent a plague spread by mice that infected the Assyrian army. 

11. Having conquered Egypt, Sennacherib now turned his attention back to Jerusalem.

12. As Sennacherib and his army returned to Jerusalem his army came down with the aforesaid wasting disease.

13. On the first night of the siege, a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp died (37:36). The Light of Israel became a fire, their Holy One a flame; in a single night it burned and consumed his foot soldiers and generals (10:17). They were infected in Egypt, but they died several days later outside Jerusalem.

14. He did not set foot in Jerusalem, nor was he able to surround it.

Hezekiah and the Assyrians
36:1 to 37:38

With something of a jolt, the prophet calls us back to the grim realities of his own situation.¹²⁹ The Assyrians were convinced that they were invincible and that the God of Isra’el was no different from any of the other gods they had overcome on their westward march. As a result, in this section, Isaiah stresses the pride of the Assyrians, and that her arrogance would result in her judgment by God. Judah had been under the Assyrian yoke ever since Chapter 7 because of the disobedience of Ahaz to the prophecy of Isaiah. Assyria’s dominance continued through Ahaz’s life and right into the fourteenth year of the reign of his son Hezekiah.

Hezekiah undertook sweeping religious reforms after he became king in the year 715 BC. He reinstituted Temple worship and did away with the high places of pagan worship. But in foreign policy, he continued the subservience of his father. The whole land, including the Philistines, was subservient to the Assyrians. But in the year 713 BC, Ashdod, one of the five Philistine cities, rebelled. When this happened, the Assyrian king, Sargon II, came down and replaced the king of Ashdod. In the year 712 BC Ashdod rebels again under Egyptian agitation and this time Mo’ab and Edom rebel with the Philistines. Once again Sargon II comes down to control things. Mo’ab and Edom surrender immediately, and Sargon II takes Ashdod. This is the background of 20:1-6. Consequently, from 7:12 onward, the Land is securely under Assyrian domination. As I pointed out earlier, Hezekiah’s government had a pro-Egyptian and pro-Assyrian element. The pro-Egyptian element was pushing for an alliance with Egypt against the Assyrians. Isaiah opposed this rebellion against Assyria as seen in the prophecies of Chapters 28 to 35.

In the year 705 BC Sargon II died and Sennacherib became king. Hezekiah probably reflected the anti-Assyria discontent of many in the nation. As a result, Hezekiah, encouraged by unrest all over the Assyrian empire, seemed to have joined a coalition of states in open rebellion. He not only joined the revolt against the Assyrians; he led it. This was in direct disobedience to the prophecy of Isaiah (2 Kings 18:7). As Hezekiah joined the revolt, with Egyptian backing, alliances were made with both Edom and Mo’ab. The city of Gaza refused to join the revolt, so Hezekiah took the city and settled it with Judeans (Second Kings 18:8). Hatti, the king of Eckron, another Philistine city, refused to join the revolt, although the citizens of Eckron wished to join the revolt. As a result, Hatti was deposed by the citizens and turned over to Hezekiah, who had Hatti imprisoned in Jerusalem. Much of this information comes from the Assyrian records. But we do have parallel accounts between the biblical account and the Assyrian account on what happened in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign. The historical narrative in these chapters is mirrored in 2 Kings Chapters 18 and 19.

With the rebellion in motion, Hezekiah began to prepare for an extensive siege. He plugged up all the available water sources outside of Jerusalem so the onslaught of Assyrians could not use them. In addition, he diverted water from an underground spring into the Pool of Salome within the walls of Jerusalem. This underground tunnel, which became known as Hezekiah’s Tunnel, extended for about a half a mile. In doing this he hid away Jerusalem’s main water supply and denied its access to the Assyrians. This tunnel is mentioned in Second Kings 20:20 and Second Chronicles 32:30. Archaeologists have since discovered it.

Anytime we knowingly go against the word of ADONAI, we put ourselves at risk. Like a loving Father, ADONAI has our best interests at heart. His discipline is to protect us, not withhold good things from us. The lie of the Adversary is that God is holding out on us. After all, we can handle it. We don’t need Him. This was the lie in the Garden of Eden. And it always ends up the same. Once we are separated from His protection, we end up in trouble.

The Historical Interlude
Concerning the Crisis
of the Fourteenth Year of Hezekiah
36:1 to 39:8

These chapters are, in effect, the pivot on which the book turns, and appear to have been designed to act as a bridge between the two halves. Likewise, the issue of these chapters is central to the entire book. It is the issue of trust, and where that trust can ultimately be placed. Ironically, it was the Assyrian invader who put the issue most succinctly: On whom are you depending (36:5)? It is a question that Isaiah forces us to ponder again and again, and with good reason, for our response to it will determine the whole shape of our lives.¹²⁷

Shortly after the fall of the northern kingdom of Isra’el, the Assyrian king Sennacherib descended on Judah. His assault came in 701 BC, during the reign of Ahaz’s son Hezekiah (to see a video of King Hezekiah click here). In Chapters 28 to 35 we saw the prophecies that precipitated this crisis. Now in Chapters 36 to 39 we will see the events of the crisis itself. Up until now, the book of Isaiah has been written in Hebrew poetry; in Chapters 36 to 39 it is written in Hebrew prose. The poetry will continue in Chapter 40. The entire book is a poetic book, as well as a prophetic book. Of the 66 Chapters, 62 are written in poetry and only these 4 chapters are written in prose. Two parallel passages described in this section are Second Kings 18:3 to 20:21, and Second Chronicles 32:1-31.

These four chapters are important for two reasons. First, we will see the fulfillment of many prophecies in the first 35 Chapters of the book. What was promised in the first 35 Chapters will now become history. The second reason that these four chapters are important is that they are a transitional period from Assyrian domination to Babylonian domination. The second part of Isaiah, Chapters 40 to 66, focuses on Babylon. Chapters 38-39 represent a flashback, since the events of 701 BC had not yet occurred (38:6) and the envoys of the Babylonian king Merodach-Baladan (who ruled 721-710 BC and again in 703 BC) arrived after Hezekiah’s recovery from illness (39:1). Just as Chapters 36-37 fittingly conclude Chapters 1 to 35, which have a strong Assyrian orientation, so also Chapters 38-39 form a suitable introduction to Chapters 40 to 66, which largely describe Judah’s future relationship with the Babylonians.¹²⁸ In these two chapters Isaiah seeks to answer the questions, “Can God rescue Judah from Assyria?” and, “Can God be trusted?”

The Highway of Holiness Will Be There
35: 8-10

The highway of holiness will be there DIG: Where will this highway be? Who will be excluded from it? Why? Who will be able to walk on it? Why? Where will this Way of Holiness take those who walk on it? What will they be doing? What will they be wearing? What will their mood be?

REFLECT: Jesus said: I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6). What insight does this give you into 35:8? How are you doing on your Highway of Holiness: (a) Cruising on auto-pilot? (b) Running on empty? (c) Stuck on the side of the road? (d) Still trying to find the on ramp? What will it take for you to get on, and stay on, that Way?

During the second half of the Great Tribulation, the earth and all those who lived on it were in distress. The opening of the seven seals (Revelation 6:1 to 8:1), the sounding of the seven trumpets (Revelation 8:2 to 11:19), and the pouring out of the seven bowls (Revelation Chapters 15 and 16), made life chaotic. Travel was at best difficult and at worst impossible. The wrath of God was being poured out on an unbelieving world. But in contrast to that, travel will be easy and joyful during the Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 20:1-6).

Righteous pilgrims will once again travel to Jerusalem. They will go on a highway known as the Way of Holiness, for it will lead to God’s City where God’s people will follow His ways. The highway is exactly what it says: a causeway that will be raised above the surrounding countryside so that it is unmistakable. Earlier, ADONAI talked about other highways that would also be raised up, when He said: I will turn all My mountains into roads, and My highways will be raised up (49:11). So, it seems that while the Highway of Holiness will be the main thoroughfare on the way to Zion, there will be others as well. Evidently the purpose of these other raised highways will be to take people to the main Highway. And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness (35:8a). There is going to be a highway called the Highway of Holiness. It is going to come through the desert that will be in full bloom. But you have to be eligible to walk on this highway. It will not be for the morally wicked person who knowingly chooses to oppose God’s truth, but only for the redeemed (see the commentary on Exodus, to see link click Bz – Redemption). God never reduces His standards to match the weaknesses of His people; He raises His people to the height of His high holy standards.

Redeemed . . . ransomed, or the verb to redeem makes its first appearance here in Isaiah. The Hebrew word ga’al stresses the redeemer, his relationship to the redeemed, and his intervention on their behalf. The participle, go’el, is the technical term for the next-of-kin who has the right to take his helpless relatives needs as if they were his own (Leviticus 25:25; Numbers 5:8). The place of the go’el was something no other would dare usurp (see the commentary on Ruth Ba – Bo’az Obtains the Right of Redemption). It was, however, a right rather than an absolute duty. It speaks here, therefore, of the LORD as the only one who can redeem His people. It is He who identifies with them as their Next-of-Kin, taking their needs as if His own, the Mighty in the place of the helpless, paying their price (Leviticus 27:13, 19 and 31).

The unclean or wicked will not journey on it, because it will be for those who walk in that Way (35:8b; also see Acts 9:2, 24:14). There will be millions and millions of people who are not saved living in the Messianic Kingdom. For a thousand years the lost will reproduce and enjoy the benefits of living in a world devoid of crime, deceit and evil. They see firsthand the results of salvation. But this highway will not be for them, because it leads to the King. It leads to Zion where the Messiah will reign and rule in the Most Holy Place (see Db – The Nine Missing Articles in Messiah’s Coming Temple). These lost souls will have until their hundredth birthday to accept Yeshua as the Messiah or die (65:20). As a result, wicked fools will not walk on it (35:8c) until they are saved.

The relationship of the animal kingdom will be changed during the thousand-years. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox (11:6-7). Therefore, during Messiah’s reign, no violent lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it, they will not be found there (38:9a). Although the highway will pass through lush watered regions where wildlife would be expected to thrive, none of it will be of the vicious sort. They will not impede anyone’s travel on the highway.

But only the righteous of the TaNaKh will walk there (see the commentary of Revelation Fj – My Chosen People Will Inherit My Mountains), and the ransomed of ADONAI will return (35:9b-10a). The end of the Highway of Holiness is Zion, the Holy City. And because of the LORD’s provision and protection, gladness will permeate Jerusalem. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away (35:10b). Isaiah later quotes this verse, saying: The ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing and everlasting joy will crown their heads (51:11). This will be a time when the people of God can be set free from their own sins and live with God eternally. In short, this is the hope of biblical faith.

In the Millennial Kingdom, God’s people will once again be involved in certain aspects of TaNaKh formal worship (Zechariah 14:16-19 and Ezeki’el 40-44). Since righteousness and a desire to do the will of God will be esteemed, the people will willingly follow His instructions for worship. Also, the redeemed will be indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Ezeki’el 36:24-28). The ransomed of the Lord will have everlasting joy, with no sorrow, for they will realize what God has done for them. They will rejoice that He has saved them from the destruction of the antichrist and brought them to peace, prosperity, and the fulfillment of His promises.¹²⁶ These verses are a simple summary of the prophecies of Isra’el’s regathering, return, and restoration. And with these verses the segment of Chapters 13 to 35 reaches its climactic conclusion.

In Chapters 34 and 35, Isaiah sought to answer the question, “Do I trust God or the world?” Ahaz had proved that the nations could not be trusted. But what about God? Could He be trusted? These chapters leave us with the same conclusion as Chapters 11 and 12. Yes. God, who is Master of the nations, is utterly trustworthy. But could He deliver Judah from Assyria? This is what Chapters 36 to 39 are all about.

The Three Messianic Miracles
35: 5-7

The three messianic miracles DIG: What were the three messianic miracles? What did these three specific miracles convey to the people during the time of Christ? Why were they so important? What were the Pharisees and teachers of the law so afraid of? What effect will this spring-like salvation have on people?

REFLECT: Who are the spiritual lepers in your life? What are you doing to help them be healed? How are you voicing the Good News of Jesus Christ in your sphere of influence? Before you were saved, you were spiritually blind. But after being born again you can see spiritual realities. How has this changed your life?

Changes will occur in the people and the land. The people will be healed of all diseases and there will be an abundance of water that will transform the wilderness and the desert. These things are always true when the King is present. These signs were present in His First Coming and they will be present in His Second Coming. This message has to do with the three messianic miracles in rabbinic Judaism during the time of Christ.¹²⁵ This study is taken from Arnold Fruchtenbaum’s classic book Footsteps of the Messiah.

Sometime prior to the coming of Jesus, the ancient rabbis separated miracles into two categories. First were those miracles anyone would be able to perform if they were empowered by the Ruach Ha-Kodesh to do so. The second category of miracles was called messianic miracles, which were miracles only the Messiah would be able to perform. These messianic miracles were taken from Isaiah 35:5-6 because the rabbis understood them to be clearly messianic. Jesus did miracles in both categories: general miracles but also messianic miracles. Because of rabbinic teaching that certain miracles would be reserved only for the Messiah to do, whenever He performed a messianic miracle it created a different type of reaction than when He performed other types of miracles. This will be a study of the three messianic miracles taken from Isaiah 35:5-6, and the reaction and results of them.

The First Messianic Miracle: The Healing of a Jewish Leper

Speaking of the coming Messiah, Isaiah wrote: Then will the lame leap like a deer (35:6a). And the first messianic miracle was the healing of a Jewish leper. Under the Torah, the only time it was possible for a person to be defiled by a living human body was if he or she touched a leper. Normally, under the Torah, one could only become ceremonially unclean or defiled by touching a dead human body, touching a dead animal’s body, or touching a live unclean animal’s body such as a pig. The only time defilement came by a living human body was by coming in contact with a leper. From the time the Torah was completed there was no record of any Jew who had been healed of leprosy. While Miriam was healed of leprosy, this was before the completion of the Torah. Naaman was healed of leprosy, but he was a Syrian Gentile, not a Jew. So, from the time the Torah was completed there was never a case of a Jew being healed.

Leprosy was the one disease that was left out of rabbinic cures; there was no cure for it whatsoever. Yet, Leviticus Chapters 13 and 14 gave the Levitical priesthood detailed instruction as to what they were to do in the case of a leper that was healed. On the day that a leper approached the Levitical priest and said, “I was a leper but now I have been healed,” the Levitical priest was to give an initial offering of two birds. For the next seven days the priests were to intensively investigate the situation and to determine three things. First, was the person really a leper? Secondly, if he or she was a real leper, was he or she really cured of the leprosy? And thirdly, if the leprosy was really gone, what were the circumstances of the healing? If after seven days of investigation they were firmly convinced that the man or woman had been a leper, had been healed of the leprosy, and the circumstances were the proper circumstances, on the eighth day there would be a lengthy series of offerings. Altogether, there were four offerings. First, there was a sin offering; secondly, a guilt offering; thirdly, a burnt offering; and fourthly, a grain offering. Then came the application of the blood of the sin offering upon the healed leper, followed by the application of the blood of the guilt offering upon the healed leper. The ceremony would then end with the anointing of oil upon the healed leper. Although the priesthood had all these detailed instructions as to how they were to respond in the case of a healed leper, they never had the opportunity to put these instructions into use because from the time the Torah was given, no Jew was ever healed of leprosy. As a result, the rabbis taught that only the Messiah would be able to heal a Jewish leper. The healing of a Jewish leper was then classified as the first of the three messianic miracles.

The synoptic gospels detail the account of the healing of a Jewish leper (Matthew 8:2-4; Mark 1:40-45 and Luke 5:12-16). Matthew and Mark merely state that a man was a leper, but Luke, who by profession was a medical doctor, gave more details. According to Luke 5:12 a man was covered with leprosy. What that means is that the leprosy was then fully developed and it would not be very long before it would take his life. Covered with leprosy that man came to Yeshua and said: Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. The leper clearly recognized the authority of Jesus as the Messiah and, therefore, had the power to heal him. The only question on the part of the leper was the willingness of Jesus to do so. At that point, we read that Jesus touched him and immediately the leprosy left him (Luke 5:13). Then Jesus ordered him: Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them (Luke 5:14). Them refers to the priesthood of Isra’el. Jesus sent that man directly to the priesthood in Jerusalem in order to force them to follow through the commands of Moses in Leviticus Chapters 13 and 14. When that man appeared before them and declared himself to be a cleansed leper, they needed to offer up two birds as a sacrifice that same day. For the next seven days they intensively investigated the situation and discovered three things. First, they discovered that the man had been a leper. Secondly, they discovered that he was perfectly healed of his leprosy. Thirdly, they also discovered that Yeshua of Nazareth was the One who healed him. Immediately the leprosy left him and he was healed (Mark 1:42). Because the rabbis taught that the healing of a leper was a messianic miracle, anyone healing a leper would by that very act claim to be the Messiah Himself. Yeshua deliberately sent the cleansed leper to the priesthood in order to get the leaders to start investigating His messianic claims and to come to a decision regarding those claims (see my commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Bf – John the Baptist and the Brood of Vipers). Was He an impostor, or was He the Messiah who was offering Isra’el the Kingdom of the Jewish prophets? Having sent the healed leper to the leadership of Isra’el, Jesus then withdrew to lonely places and prayed (Luke 5:16). Jesus went into the desert where on an earlier occasion He had fasted and was tempted by Satan. But this time He went into the desert for the purpose of praying. What was He praying about? He was praying for what would happen next. He was praying that the Great Sanhedrin would accept Him as the Messiah.

The Jewish response is found in three of the Gospels: Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12 and Luke 5:7-26. Mark points out that this incident occurred in Capernaum in Galilee, many, many miles from Jerusalem. Yet Luke 5:17 states: One day as He (Jesus) was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for Him to heal the sick. What we do not have here is merely a few Jewish leaders from the town of Capernaum listening to Jesus’ teaching. Luke’s account very clearly states that these were all of the Jewish leaders that had come together from all over the country (Galilee, Judea and Jerusalem). Why are all those Jewish leaders suddenly having a convention in Capernaum? This was their response to the first messianic miracle. They knew that Yeshua had healed a leper. And they knew what that meant. If Jesus had healed the leper it could mean that He was the Messiah. They came from all over Isra’el to investigate Jesus.

According to Sanhedrin law (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Lg – The Great Sanhedrin), if there was any kind of messianic movement, the Sanhedrin had to investigate the situation in two stages. The first stage was called the stage of observation. A delegation was formed to investigate only by way of observation. They had to observe what was being said, what was being done, and what was being taught. They were not permitted to ask any questions or raise any objections. After a period of observation, they were to return to Jerusalem, report to the Sanhedrin and give a verdict: was the movement significant or was the movement insignificant? If the movement was declared to be insignificant, the matter would be dropped. But if the movement was declared to be significant, there would be a second stage of investigation called the stage of interrogation. In this stage they would interrogate the individual or members of the movement. This time they would ask questions and raise objections to discover whether the claims should be accepted or rejected. This incident records the first stage, the stage of observation. They were there to observe what Jesus was saying and doing. At this point they were not allowed to raise objections or ask questions. Because a messianic miracle had been performed, all the leaders from all over the country had come to Capernaum to perform the stage of observation; to observe what Jesus was saying, doing, and teaching.

As Jesus was teaching, four friends of a paralytic tried to get him to Yeshua so that he could be healed. Because all the Jewish leaders were blocking the doorway, they were not able to get in. So, they climbed onto the roof, made a hole in the roof and lowered the paralytic to the feet of Jesus. At this point, Jesus departed from His normal procedure. On previous occasions He simply proceeded to heal the sick one brought to Him. But here He did something different. When Jesus saw their faith, he said: Friend, your sins are forgiven. Rather than healing the man, He forgave his sins. Jesus had prayed that the leadership of Isra’el would recognize and accept Him as the Messiah. But right there in Capernaum they started to harden their hearts towards Him. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, because they couldn’t question Jesus. This was the stage of observation. They could only observe; they were not allowed to raise questions or objections. They began thinking to themselves: Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone (Luke 5:21)? Their theology was absolutely correct. No one could forgive sins except God. Since Jesus declared the prerogative of forgiving sins, it meant one of two things. First, it could mean that He was a blasphemer. But the second possibility was that He was who He claimed to be, the Messiah. It was at this point that Jesus turned to the leaders of the Sanhedrin who were present there that day and questioned them! Which is easier, to say, “Your sins are forgiven”, or to say, “Get up and walk” (Luke 5:22)?

The question was, what is an easier thing for a man to say? Is it easier for someone to say to another, “Your sins are forgiven?” Or, is it easier for someone to say to a paralyzed man, “I’m going to heal you, so get up and walk?” Which is the easier thing to say and which is the harder? The easier thing to say was, Your sins are forgiven. That required no tangible outside external and observable evidence. But to state that a paralyzed man was going to be healed was a harder thing to say because that did require external and observable evidence.

Jesus went on to say that He was going to prove that He could say the easier, Your sins are forgiven, by performing the harder, healing the paralyzed man. He proceeded to heal the paralyzed man. There was instantaneous observable evidence because the man was able to stand up, walk around and even carry his own bed. If Jesus could say the harder, it meant that He was who He claimed to be, the Messiah.

In response to the first messianic miracle in the healing of a Jewish leper, the intensive investigation of His messianic claims began. They observed Jesus claiming the right to forgive sins. Therefore, He was either a blasphemer or He was the Messiah. It is evident that the leadership of Isra’el would return to Jerusalem and decree the movement of Jesus as significant. After this event Jesus began undergoing the second stage of the Sanhedrin investigation, the stage of interrogation. Between the first messianic miracle and the second messianic miracle, everywhere Jesus went a Pharisee was sure to follow. But this time they were no longer silent. They were always asking questions or raising objections. They were trying to find a basis for rejecting His messianic claims.

The Second Messianic Miracle: The Casting Out of a Mute Demon

Between the first messianic miracle, the healing of a Jewish leper, and the second messianic miracle, the leadership of Isra’el had investigated Jesus. He was interrogated and questioned everywhere He went. The leadership learned several things. The crucial thing they realized was that Jesus simply was not going along with Pharisaic Judaism. But His most important rejection of Pharisaic Judaism was that of the Oral Law (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ei – The Oral Law), or the tradition of the elders in Matthew 15:2 (Isaiah 29:13-16).

The circumstances of the second messianic miracle are recorded in Matthew 12:22-37 and Mark 3:19-30. Mark reminds us: When His family heard about this, they went to take charge of Him, for they said, He is out of His mind (Mark 3:21). There seems to be a general recognition by this stage in the gospel accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus that a high point was about to be reached. Even His friends considered the fact that Yeshua needed protection from Himself, because they felt He was bordering on insanity. Then Jesus was presented with a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and He healed him so that he could both see and speak (Matthew 12:22). The act of throwing out demons was not all that unusual in the Jewish world of that day. Even the Pharisees, rabbis, and their followers had the ability of throwing out demons. But throwing out demons within the framework of Pharisaic Judaism required one to use a specific ritual, which underwent three stages. First, the exorcist would have to establish communication with the demon; the exorcist would then have to find out the demon’s name. Thirdly, after finding out the demon’s name he could, by use of that name, throw the demon out. There are occasions that Messiah used the Jewish methodology as in Mark 5 where being confronted with a demonic, Jesus asked the question: What is your name? The answer Yeshua received on that occasion was: My name is Legion, for we are many. There was one kind of demon that caused the person controlled to be mute so he could not speak. Since he could not speak, there was no way of establishing communication with this kind of a demon, no way of finding out this demon’s name. Therefore, within the framework of Judaism, it was impossible to throw out a mute demon. The rabbis had taught, however, that when the Messiah came, He would be able to exorcise this type of demon. This is the second of the three messianic miracles: the casting out of a mute demon.

Isaiah had written that when the Messiah came the mute tongue would shout for joy (35:6b). As a result, the throwing out of a mute demon raised quite a stir among the Jewish masses. All the people were astonished and said: Could this be the Son of David? They would ask each other, “Is this the Messiah?” After all, He was doing the very thing that the prophet said the Messiah would do. They never asked this question when Jesus cast out other types of demons. However, when He threw out a mute demon they did raise the question, because they recognized from the teachings of the rabbis that it was a messianic miracle.

However, the Jewish masses have always tended to labor under a complex called the leadership complex. Whichever way the leaders went, the people were sure to follow. Consistently throughout the TaNaKh, when the king did that which was right in the eyes of ADONAI, the people followed. But when the king did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, the people also followed. Even in this day, when Jewish believers witness to their nonbelieving friends, they consistently hear the same objection: If Yeshua really is the Messiah, then how come our rabbis have not and do not believe in Him? During the Dispensation of Torah (see the commentary on Exodus Da – The Dispensation of Torah) the stranglehold that Pharisaic Judaism had upon the masses, this leadership complex, was extremely strong. Therefore, while the Jewish masses were willing to raise the question: Could this be the Son of David? They were not willing to make that decision for themselves. Instead, they looked to their leadership to make that decision for them.

In light of the second messianic miracle, and in light of the questioning by the Jewish masses, the Jewish leaders realized they had to make a public declaration concerning their final decision about Yeshua and His messianic claims. They had two options. First, declare Him to be the Messiah in light of all the evidence. The second option was to reject His messianic claims. If they took the second option and rejected His messianic claims, they also had to explain to the Jewish masses why Jesus was able to perform the very miracles that they themselves had said only the Messiah could perform. The Great Sanhedrin took the second option and declared that He was able to perform such miracles because He was demon possessed. But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons” (Matthew 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15-16; John 7:20). They claimed that Jesus Himself was possessed or demonized, not by some common demon but by the prince of demons, Beelzebub. This name is a combination of two Hebrew words that mean “the Lord of the Flies.” The real reason that His claims had been rejected was because He had rejected the Oral Law, but the stated reason for the rejection of Jesus was that He was demon possessed. This action by the leadership of Isra’el set the stage for Jewish history for the next 2,000 years. To this day Jews believe that Jesus was demon possessed.

Yeshua Messiah responded in two ways. First, He defended Himself with four statements (Matthew 12:25-29). He said this could not be true because it would mean a division in Satan’s kingdom. Secondly, they themselves recognized that the gift of exorcism was a gift of the Spirit and even their followers were able to throw out demons (although these were not mute demons). Thirdly, this miracle authenticated the claims and the message of Jesus of Nazareth. Fourthly, it showed that Yeshua was stronger than the Adversary rather than being subservient to Adversary.

The second response was a condemnation (Matthew 12:30-37). In this condemnation Jesus said that this generation was guilty of the unpardonable sin, blasphemy of the Ruach Ha-Kodesh. Because this sin was exactly what it said it was, unpardonable, judgment was now set against that generation, a judgment that could not be alleviated under any circumstances. It came forty years later in 70 A.D. with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. Exactly what is the unpardonable sin within the context in which it is found? It is not an individual sin, but a national sin. It was committed by the Jewish generation of Jesus’ day and cannot be applied to subsequent Jewish generations. The context of the unpardonable sin was the national rejection by Isra’el of Jesus as the Messiah while He was present on the grounds of being demon possessed. And because it was a national sin and not an individual sin, people of that day could and did escape that national judgment. Nor is it a sin that anyone can commit today. On this point the Bible is very clear.

At this point, the ministry of Yeshua changed dramatically in four major areas. These four changes can only be understood in light of the commitment of the unpardonable sin in response to the rejection of the second messianic miracle. The first change concerned the purpose of His miracles. Before His rejection, the purpose of miracles was to authenticate His Messiahship, but after His rejection they were for the training of His disciples. The second change concerned the people for whom He performed the miracles. Before His rejection Jesus performed miracles for the benefit of the masses and did not ask for a demonstration of faith, but after, He only performed miracles on the basis of individual need and a demonstration of faith. The third change concerned the message that He and His disciples gave. Before His rejection when Jesus would perform miracles He would say, Go and tell, but from His rejection on, He would say: Do not tell anyone. The fourth change concerned His method of teaching. Before His rejection Yeshua taught the masses clearly, but after, He would only teach in parables. The very day that Jesus was rejected He began to speak to them in parables (Matthew 13:1-3, 34-35; Mark 4:34). It is impossible to understand why His ministry changed in these four areas unless we first understand how critical the unpardonable sin was. The rejection of His Messiahship on the grounds of demon possession was a direct response to the second messianic miracle. Therefore, sufficient light had been given to them. They had rejected the light and no more would be given.

The Third Messianic Miracle: The Healing of a Man Born Blind

Isaiah had written that when the Messiah came, the eyes of the blind would be opened (35:5). The third messianic miracle was the healing of anyone born blind. The rabbis taught that anyone empowered by God could heal someone who simply had gone blind. But when the Messiah came, they said He would be able to heal someone born blind. The details of this third messianic miracle are taken from John 9:1-41. As Jesus went along, He saw a man blind from birth. His apostles asked Him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Neither this man nor His parents sinned, said Jesus, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I Am the Light of the World. This incident occurred on the Sabbath day as they walked in the streets of Jerusalem and passed by a man who had been born blind. Not only was it the time of the Sabbath, it was also the time of the Feast of Tabernacles, which makes the Sabbath an especially high or holy Sabbath.

The question of the apostles appeared to be very strange: Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Who committed such a terrible sin that this man was born blind? The strangeness in the question is not if this man’s parents sinned and as a result, he was born blind. There is a principle in the Torah that God punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation (Exodus 34:6-7). It is conceivable that his parents had committed a specific sin and God visited that sin upon their son; therefore, the son was born blind. But that was not the strange part of the question. They also asked: Or was it this man that sinned and then he was born blind? In light of the fact that Judaism did not believe in reincarnation, how could he have first sinned and then be born blind?

The question asked by the disciples actually reflected the Pharisaic Judaism in which they had been raised. The rabbis taught that a birth defect, such as being born blind, was due to a specific sin, either committed by the parents or committed by the individual. But again, how could an individual have sinned first and then be born blind? The rabbis taught that at the point of conception, the fetus has two inclinations. In Hebrew they are called yetzer hara and yetzer hatov, which means the evil inclination and the good inclination. These two inclinations are already present within the new human being who has just been conceived in the womb. During that nine-month development within the womb of the mother, there is a struggle going on for control between the two inclinations. And the rabbis would say that it just might have occurred that at one point the evil inclination got the better of the fetus and in a state of animosity or anger towards his mother, he kicked her in the womb. For this act of sin, he was born blind. Therefore, the apostles’ question actually reflected the Pharisaic Judaism in which they had been raised. As a result, they asked: Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?

The apostles were guilty of two fallacies. The first fallacy was to accept the Pharisaic teaching that the child could have sinned in the mother’s womb and been born blind. The second fallacy is that a birth defect, such as being born blind, is due to some specific, terrible sin. Jesus dispelled that teaching of Pharisaic Judaism very quickly. Neither this man nor his parents sinned, said Jesus, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. In other words, he was born blind not because of any specific sin committed by his parents or by himself. All physical problems and death are due to Adam’s fall and are a result of the general problem of sin and fallen humanity. However, to say that a specific birth defect, sickness, illness, or injury is always due to some particular sin or a particular demon is false teaching. Yeshua clearly dispelled this teaching by saying that this man did not sin, nor did his parents. Quite the contrary, God arranged for this man to be born blind so He could gain the greater glory by accomplishing a great work.

Having dispelled and corrected the false theology of His own apostles on this point, He then proceeded with the healing. He chose to heal the person in such a way that it was somewhat of a process and at this point, the man never really saw Jesus. What Yeshua did was to spit on the ground. Mixing the spit with the dirt He made a substance of clay and then smeared the clay on the man’s eyes. He told the man to go to the Pool of Siloam and wash the clay from his eyes and he would be able to see.

It is very significant that of all the places Jesus could have sent the man to wash his eyes, He sent him to the Pool of Siloam. This pool was not easy to get to from the main part of Jerusalem, because he had to walk down a sloping hill. This was during the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. During the feast, there was a special ritual called the pouring of the water. In this ritual, the priests came down from the Temple Mount, down to the Pool of Siloam, filled jugs with the water of the Pool of Siloam, marched back up the Temple Mount, and poured the water out into the laver within the Temple compound. This was followed by great rejoicing. During the Feast of Sukkot, the main pool that was the center of Jewish attention was the Pool of Siloam; the one pool that had the greatest number of Jewish people present who would observe this third messianic miracle.

The man went to the pool of Siloam, washed his eyes, and when he opened them, for the first time in his entire life he was able to see. Since everyone knew this man and knew he was born blind, this created quite a stir. John 9:8 records: His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked: Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg? Some claimed that he was. Others said: No, he only looks like him. There was much confusion because many people recognized him to be that same man, but others had a hard time believing that a man who was born blind had been healed. Finally, ending the debate he said: I am the man. Then the crowd asked the crucial question: Then how were your eyes opened? These were high stakes because everyone knew that this was a messianic miracle. He responded: The man they call Yeshua made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to the pool of Siloam and wash. So, I went and washed, and then I could see. Then they asked him, “Where is this man?” He said: I don’t know. Remember, when Yeshua sent him away to the pool of Siolam, he was still in a blind state and never saw Jesus. Even now when he was able to see, he still did not know who Jesus was or what He looked like.

Then the man is interrogated for the first time (John 9:13-17). Because this was a messianic miracle, the man was taken to the Pharisees for investigation and explanation (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Bf – John the Baptist and the Brood of Vipers). Because Jesus chose to heal the man on a Sabbath day, a stir was created on the part of the masses. The Pharisees knew very well that they must somehow act on this issue. As the Pharisees began to interrogate the man to discover the circumstances of his being healed of the blindness with which he was born, a division developed among them. Some of the Pharisees said: This man is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath. Because they felt that healing on the Sabbath was a violation of the Sabbath, they did not believe that Yeshua could be a man of God, let alone the man of God, the Messiah Himself. But others, even among the Pharisees, were asking the question: How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?

Notice the emphasis, not just upon signs (because false prophets could also perform miracles), but upon such signs, these particular signs, these special messianic miracles. When they asked the man who was born blind and now healed of his blindness what his opinion was about Jesus, the man simply concluded that at the least He was a prophet. However, according to Pharisaic teaching, though a prophet might be able to do miracles (like Elijah and Elisha certainly did), to do a messianic miracle was not the right of a prophet, but rather the right of the Messiah alone. As a result, the first interrogation of the man did not lead to any specific conclusions.

The possibility of a false claim arose among the Pharisees. “Suppose the whole thing is not true to begin with. What if the man was never born blind and the whole thing is just a trick.” Consequently, the parents are interrogated (John 9:18-22). The parents confirmed two things. First, that this man was definitely their son and there was no doubt about it. The second thing they affirmed was that he was born blind. So, there was no longer any possibility that there was any type of subversion going on, or that someone was trying to play a trick on the Pharisees. When they asked the parents during the interrogation that if their son was really born blind how was he now able to see, they quickly decided to say nothing more. His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue (John 9:22). It had already been declared that if anyone believed in Jesus as the Messiah, he or she would be excommunicated, or put out of the synagogue. It was obvious that the parents wanted to believe in Jesus, and perhaps at this point had become secret believers in Yeshua, because they saw that He not only performed a messianic miracle but performed that miracle on their own son.

In Pharisaic Judaism, there were three specific levels of excommunication. The first level is called the heziphah, which is simply a rebuke that lasted anywhere from seven to thirty days and was merely disciplinary. It could not be taken unless pronounced by three rabbis. That was the lowest level of excommunication. An example of heziphah is found in First Timothy 5:1. The second level is called niddui, which means to throw out. It would last a minimum of thirty days or more and was also disciplinary. A niddui had to be pronounced by ten rabbis. An example of this second type is found in Second Thessalonians 3:14-15 and Titus 3:10. The third and worst type of excommunication is called cherem, which means to be devoted to destruction. This third level was permanent. It means to be unsynagogued, or to be put out of the Temple and to be separated from the Jewish community. The rest of the Jews considered someone under the cherem curse to be dead and no communication or any kind of relationship could be carried on with the person whatsoever. This third type is found in First Corinthians 5:1-7 and Matthew 18:15-20.

The fact that the expression would be put out of the synagogue is used, tells us which level of excommunication the Pharisees had chosen for one who would believe in Jesus as the Messiah. It was the third and most severe level, the cherem – to be unsynagogued, to be put out, and to be considered as dead. Hence, the Pharisees were threatening Jewish believers in Jesus with not merely a rebuke, or merely being thrown out temporarily, but being put out permanently. Because the parents knew what the Pharisees had decreed concerning belief in Jesus, that the third level of excommunication would be used, they chose not to make any further comments. They would only confirm two things: that he was their son, and that he was born blind. Therefore, the interrogation of the parents, as the first interrogation of the man, also ends inconclusively.

This led to a second interrogation of the man. During this interrogation, the Pharisees began to lose their sense of logic. They called him in for the second time and said to him: Give glory to God; we know this man is a sinner. Notice how illogical this statement is. “Praise the Lord,” they said, “because we know so-and-so is a sinner.” But this is not something to praise God for. It is a sad thing when people commit specific acts of sin. But the Pharisees were so beside themselves over Jesus that they were no longer able to think straight or think in a logical manner. At this point, the man that had been healed was able to keep somewhat calm and still was able to exercise some degree of control. He said: Whether He is a sinner or not, I don’t know. But one thing I do know. I was blind, but now I see. The statement the man made was not just a statement of fact; it was a challenge to the Pharisees, one that they had to answer. What he was saying to them between the lines was this, “I was a man who was born blind, not simply a man who went blind. You are the ones who taught me that only the Messiah would be able to heal someone like me. Well, a man named Jesus healed me. So, I would think you would want to proclaim Him to be Israel’s Messiah. Instead you call Him a sinner. Then he said to them, “Whether He is a sinner or not, I don’t know, but one thing I do know. I was blind but now I see.” Please explain this to me!”

The Pharisees took up the challenge and asked him two questions: What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes? The man had already explained to the Pharisees more than once, so he responded to them by saying: I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become His disciples, too? Of course, this was not a very smart thing to say to the Pharisees because that was the last thing they were interested in. At this point, the man was no longer being tactful. They replied in kind and hurled insults at him. They began to mock him, “You are this fellow’s disciple! But we are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where He comes from.” The implication was that God did not speak to Jesus, so to be a disciple of Moses was far superior to being a disciple of Yeshua. But the man would not keep silent. He went on to answer: Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where He came from, yet He opened my eyes. He went on to remind them of their own theology. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does His will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.

There are records of the healings of people who went blind, but not one record of someone who was born blind. This was a messianic miracle from 35:5, and for the first time in all of human history it was performed. The man simply said to the Pharisees that they had no basis or grounds for rejecting the messiahship of Jesus. The Pharisees responded: You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us! And they threw him out. The man was excommunicated.

Lastly, this man born blind experienced not only a physical healing, but also a spiritual healing. Jesus heard that he had been put out of the Temple and found him. The Messiah approached the man and asked him: Do you believe in the Son of Man? The man answered: And who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him? Remember, the man had not yet seen Jesus. You have now seen Him; in fact, He is the One speaking with you. Then he said: Lord, I believe, and he worshiped Him and was born again (John 3:3).

The result of the first messianic miracle was the intensive investigation of His messiahship. The result of the second messianic miracle was the decree that Jesus was not the Messiah on the basis of demon possession. And the result of the third messianic miracle was that anyone who believed in Jesus as their Messiah would be put out of the Temple and disfellowshiped.

When the Messiah returns there will be an abundance of water. Water will gush forth in the (Negev) wilderness and streams in the (‘Aravah) desert (35:6b). The Negev is now a sandy desert that cannot produce. It has good soil; the problem is the lack of water. But that will not be a problem in the Millennial Kingdom. Some people say that today Isra’el is making the desert bloom like the rose (even though the Bible does not have the word rose in it). But whoever has said that has never been to the deserts of Isra’el. The Negev is still unproductive today. The northern area that is productive never was desert, but merely swamps that needed to be drained. The ‘Aravah has the same problem now, which is a lack of water. But in the Millennial Kingdom the ground will produce pools of water.

Not only that, but the burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals and other desert animals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow (35:7). The way of man is to make the inhabited world unlivable; the way of ADONAI is to take the barren world and make it plentiful.

The Desert and the Parched Land Will Be Glad
35: 1-4

The desert and the parched Land will be glad DIG: What does the image of the crocus bursting into bloom convey to you? What does this show you about the ultimate purpose of the LORD’s judgment?

REFLECT: What pressures are causing your hands and knees to tremble right now? How might this message bring strength and encouragement to you? When have you given up trying to reach God? How has He come to you? Does living by faith mean you have to be perfect? What does living by faith look like in your life?

Suddenly the picture changes from the gloomy wasteland of Edom to a place of rejoicing filled with blooming flowers. One can only ask what has happened. Isaiah keeps us in suspense. He gives us a partial answer in 35:2 and then a fuller one in 35:4. The answer is ADONAI. He is the author of all joy. We human beings keep thinking that we can produce joy on our own. But we never can. Joy is always a by-product of the presence of God in His world. When we, through our lack of trust, hold Him at arm’s length, the end result is despair. It is only when we turn to Him, and recognize the uselessness of all other help, that we can perceive His coming for us and find joy in becoming complete with Him.¹²⁴

These words apply to specific areas of Isra’el. The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom like the lily (35:1a CJB). The desert refers to the ‘Aravah, which extends from the Dead Sea down to the Red Sea. The wilderness refers to the Negev Desert in southern Isra’el. Both the Jordan River Valley and the Negev are nothing but desolation today. They are dry and unproductive for the most part. But that will change. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. Amazingly, the desert will become fertile. If you go back to 29:17, 32:15 and 33:9 you will notice that Sharon, Lebanon, and Carmel will fail to produce during the Great Tribulation. But in the millennial Kingdom that will be reversed and Lebanon, Sharon, and Carmel will all become extremely productive. But more importantly they will see the Sh’khinah glory, the Glory of ADONAI (to see link click Ju – The Glory of the LORD Rises Upon You), in the Land. Consequently, the reason it becomes productive and restored is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ (63:1-6).

They glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of ADONAI, the splendor of our God (35:1b-2). Thirty-seven times the Sh’khinah glory is mentioned in the book of Isaiah. The LORD wants to share His glory with His creation, but any attempt by His creatures to produce their own glory has always ended in disaster. This sums up what has been emphasized in Chapters 34 and 35. You can either follow God or follow the Gentile nations. That theme will continue to appear throughout the book. If we worship ADONAI for His glory, then He will give His glory to us. For we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He really is (First John 3:2b).

The believing remnant during the Great Tribulation is encouraged to strengthen the hands that are feeble and steady the knees of those that give way (35:3). These are figures of helplessness. Throwing up your hands, shaking knees and a racing heart are similar figures. It is a vision to steady fearful hands, strengthen weak knees, and lift up trembling hearts. When confronted by the antichrist, who will use his power ruthlessly, what were they to do? They were to live by faith! The righteous will live by faith (Romans 1:17). Why? Because God will be coming in the person of the Messianic King. And when He does, they will see His Shechinah glory with their own eyes.

Say to those with fearful hands, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, He will come with vengeance; with divine retribution He will come to deliver you” (35:4). The basis for their encouragement is Your God! The Israelites of Isaiah’s day could recall the promise of God to Jacob: I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again (Genesis 46:4a). Or they could be encouraged by the words of Joseph when he said: God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the Land that He promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (50:24). Likewise, as a nation they could look forward to the future with confidence. In the far eschatological future Yeshua Messiah will come with vengeance and retribution to deliver Isra’el. Because of progressive revelation, they would not know it at the time, but it would eventually be as the armies of the antichrist surround Bozrah. He came the first time as the Lamb of God (John 1:29), but He will come again as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5).

The prophet Malachi tells us: See, I will send My messenger (40:3), who will prepare the way before Me. Then suddenly the LORD you are seeking will come to His Temple; the Messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come, says the LORD of heaven’s angelic armies (Malachi 3:1 CJB). In every generation it is the same. When the heart cries out, “Lord, You are too far away, I cannot reach You,” His answer is, “You do not have to reach to Me, I will come to you.”

The Restoration of Isra’el
35: 1-10

As bad as the second woe was for Judah in the day of Isaiah, it provided the hope of redemption for the sinful nation (to see link click Fq – In That Day, the Deaf Will Hear the Words of the Scroll). Here, then, is the climax, expressed in one of the most beautiful Hebrew poems ever written. In a brilliant contrast, this chapter stands out against Chapter 34. While Edom is a continuous burning wasteland during the Millennial Kingdom, Isra’el will be restored to a garden of beauty. Just as Edom in the previous chapter represented the nations in general, so here the desert represents the entire world: physical, social, and spiritual, which, human arrogance having destroyed, ADONAI in His grace, restores. Whereas trusting in the nations results in a desert in the latter, trusting in God results in a garden here.

Two comings are described in this chapter: the coming of the LORD to His people, and the coming of the people to ADONAI’s holy city, Zion or Jerusalem. Both are necessary, and this is the proper order. We humans have made our world into a desert and are helpless in it. We can feel that there is a God to whom we are accountable, but we don’t know who or what He is. All our attempts to reach Him or even describe Him flounder. If ADONAI is only humanity, then He is just as much in the dark as we are, and just as unable to change His moral behavior. That is the way of the desert. But the LORD is radically different than we are, and that means we can never know Him unless He comes to us first. He must take the initiative both to disclose Himself to us and then to deliver us from the desert into which we have condemned ourselves. We are helpless, both in our ignorance and in our sin. This is some of the meaning of the deceptively simple statements with which the gospel of John opens (John 1:1-5 and 14).¹²²

With this we have reached another resting place in our journey through Isaiah’s vision. And as we pause and catch our breath, where do we find ourselves? At home, joyful and at rest in the presence of God. It is where we long to be, and the only place where we will ever be totally content to stay. For we too are exiles (First Peter 1:1-2), and our hearts cry out for home (Second Corinthians 5:1-9). We cannot save ourselves, but the way has already been raised up for us, and we have already set out on it. Like the prodigal son, we are on the way home, but we know far better than he did the welcome that awaits us. And this part of Isaiah’s vision is like a refreshing oasis on the way, where we can pause and gather strength for what remains of the journey. Joy and gladness and God Himself are up ahead, and with that certain knowledge we can rise above our weariness and set out again.¹²³

Edom’s Streams Will Be Turned into Pitch
34: 9-17

Edom’s steams will be turned to pitch DIG: When and why does Edom’s streams turn into pitch? What other biblical event does this remind us of? What does tohu vohu mean? Why is it mentioned here? Who are these animals that will be living in this uninhabitable wasteland?

REFLECT: How do you feel about the judgment of evil? Does it seem cruel to you or just? How do you think Jesus Christ feels when He is rejected by the ones He has given His life for? When will all this take place? Do we see revenge or righteous justice in this section?

As uncomfortable as it is, there is no escaping the Bible’s teaching that those who persist in their rebellion against ADONAI will end in utter ruin. I have already pointed out in the study of Isaiah 13 and 14 that throughout the Millennial Kingdom, Babylon becomes a burning wasteland, and demons would live there. The same thing will be true of the land of Edom (or modern Southern Jordan) in the far eschatological future at the end of the Great Tribulation. Edom’s land will be reduced to volcanic waste. Her streams will be turned into black sticky pitch, and her dust into burning sulfur. The result of ADONAI’s sword of judgment on Edom is that her land will become blazing pitch (34:9)! This description reminds us of those applied to Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24-28; Deuteronomy 29:23; Psalm 11:6; Jeremiah 49:18; Revelation 14:10-11).

It also will be a place of perpetual devastation, a picture of complete finality. It will not be quenched night and day; its smoke will rise forever (34:10a). The word forever means until the end of an age or dispensation. In this case, it will continue until the end of the dispensation of the Millennial Kingdom. Throughout the thousand years (Revelation 20:2), the land of Edom, like Babylon, will be nothing but a burning wasteland. And in even stronger language than the first line, Isaiah tells us that from generation to generation Edom will lie desolate; no one will ever pass through it again (34:10b). It will have no human inhabitants, but it will have inhabitants. Isaiah lists a number of animals that will dwell there.

The desert owl and screech owl will possess it (see my commentary on Jeremiah, to see link click Ac – The Owl as a Symbol of Judgment); the great owl and the raven will nest there (34:11a). These cannot be literal animals because literal owls and ravens could not survive in the burning wasteland described here by Isaiah. We may not know what kind of animals they are, but we do know that they are the only kind of animals who can live in burning pitch and burning sulfur that will not be quenched day and night. When we look at the animal kingdom, none of them could normally survive in this kind of an environment. Then what are these?

For divine judgment itself, look at verse 11b. God will stretch out over Edom the measuring line of chaos (tohu or formless) and the plumb line of destruction (vohu or empty). The Hebrew for these words is used in Genesis 1:2 to describe the earth in its formless and empty state. They are the same words here. God’s normal method is to work from chaos to order. We see that in Genesis and here in the messianic Kingdom. He is continuing to create order out of chaos from a fallen world. This process will be finished when perfection comes (First Corinthians 13:10), which is the Eternal State (see the commentary on Revelation Fq – The Eternal State). The level, or the measuring line and the measure, or the plumb line, are commonly employed for the purpose of building up; but here God is represented as using these for the purpose of pulling down, inasmuch as He carries out this negative reverse of building with the same rigorous exactness as that with which a builder carries out his well-considered plan, and throws Edom back into a state of desolation and desert, resembling the disordered and shapeless chaos of creation.¹²⁰

At that time, the royalty of Edom will disappear. Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom, all her princes will vanish away (34:12). Unlike other countries of that day, Edom had an elected monarchy. Any time a king of Edom would die, the nobles would gather to elect a new king. Now the nobles have disappeared and so does the elected monarchy of their kingdom. At the end of the Great Tribulation, however, not only will there be no elected monarchy, there will be no Edom!

When the Messiah returns (63:1-6), all her defenses will be worthless. Edom will become a place of thorns, nettles, and brambles. Thorns will overrun her fortifications, nettle and brambles will replace her strongholds. She will become a haunt for jackals, a home for owls (34:13). Once again, these animals have to be the kind of creatures that can survive in a burning wasteland.

The clue to what they really are comes next. Desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and wild goats will bleat to each other; there the night creatures will also repose and find for themselves places of rest (34:14). The Hebrew word for wild goats is the same word used for the wild goats that inhabit Babylon for the entire Messianic Kingdom. These are demons in goat form. These other animals are also demons, which are given animal-like characteristics in places like the book of Revelation and elsewhere. Only demons can survive in a burning wasteland. Both Edom and Babylon become the home of demons for the entire millennial Kingdom. The goat’s head being the symbol for the church of Satan is no accident.

The phrase night creature, or night monster, is translated from the Hebrew word lilit. In Jewish theology, Lilit was Satan’s wife. The word itself simply means night demon. One who wanders in desert places. When discussing evil spirits Yeshua mentions this, saying: When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it (Matthew 12:43). In Talmudic Judaism, Lilit was a female demon. She was the first wife of Adam who was replaced by Eve and continued to wander in the night, seeking to harm newborn Jewish babies. Some great little bedtime story, eh?

Therefore, these animals are demons that live in Edom, which will be a place of perpetual devastation and a burning wasteland during the thousand-year reign of Christ. Whether Isaiah is talking symbolically or literally about the owls and the falcons depends on the context. He uses these terms metaphorically for demons here, in 13:21 and 14:23. But in 43:20, where he is describing the return of the exiles from Babylon, he uses these terms in a literal sense. As always, we must remember that there are three important rules when interpreting Scripture: context, context, context.

This is a very difficult verse, but we do know the context is the obliteration of Edom during the thousand years of the Millennial Kingdom. In addition, we do know that no living creature, human or animal, could live there. The owl will nest there and lay eggs, she will hatch them, and care for them, and care for her young under the shadow of her wings; there also the vultures will gather each with its mate (34:15). Therefore, the only possible interpretation can be that this scene is meant to mirror the total absence of any human beings. Only demons could inhabit such a place.

The only two places that will never be inhabited again by human beings during the thousand-year Messianic Kingdom and Eternal State will be Babylon (13:21-22) and Edom. When the LORD returns to set up His Messianic Kingdom and Edom has become a wasteland, men will take out the scroll that the book of Isaiah is written on to verify that his predictions came true.¹²¹ Look at the scroll of the LORD and read because none of these will be missing, not one will lack her mate. For it is His mouth that has given the order, and His Spirit will gather them together (34:16).

All of the creatures there, the jackals, owls, desert creatures, hyenas, wild goats, falcons, and night creatures will inhabit it. None will be missing because God has given the order. The Ruach Ha’Kodesh will gather them together in the burning wasteland of Edom. There, they will endure perpetual devastation. This burning will not be quenched night and day; its smoke will rise until the thousand years have ended. The same measuring line mentioned in 34:11 is mentioned here. God measures them for destruction. He measures the parameters of Edom, their prison wasteland, and where they will be confined for a Millennium. He allots their portions; His hand distributes them by measure. They will possess it and dwell there from generation to generation until the thousand years are over (34:17).

The heart that is bound together with the LORD’s rejoices in the judgment of evil. Because if there is no judging evil, then there is no righteousness, there is no order in the universe. Everything would be tohu vohu. We would have no King and everyone would do as they see fit (Judges 21:25). Psalms 37 and 73 vividly describe this tension between the righteous and the wicked. Both of these Psalms can be summarized by these two verses: Turn from evil and do good; then you will live safely in the Promised Land forever. For God loves justice and will not abandon His faithful. They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked one will be cut off (Psalm 37:27-28 CJB). Now it is time to move on; however, although judgment may be necessary, it is not what God wants or desires. His ultimate goal is the salvation and joy of the redeemed.

The Sword of the LORD is Bathed in Blood
34: 5-8

The sword of the LORD is bathed in blood DIG: Edom was a strange target, for Edom and Israelites were blood brothers. What is the object lesson taught to Edom, representing all nations, for having refused to willingly offer sacrifice to the Lord? Why does He return to Edom? Who is leading the charge? 

REFLECT: As a believer, what is encouraging about this scene? God is a promise keeper. What promises has He kept in your life? Does this slaughter seem out of character for ADONAI in your mind? Does the Bible describe Yeshua Messiah as a righteous warrior? How so? What will be His title when He returns?

God is a patient King, but He is also a warrior and here we meet His sword. My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens (34:5a). Ha’Shem is angry and will do battle with all the armies of the nations that are gathered together in the far eschatological future at the end of the Great Tribulation. Not all the people of the earth will be destroyed, but their armies will be destroyed. Here, Messiah pinpoints the specific place where He will destroy all these armies of the world. See, it descends in judgment on Edom, the people I have totally destroyed (34:5b). ADONAI swings His sword from heaven and finds its mark in Edom. Isaiah uses Edom as an example of God’s judgment against the world. The Edomites were descendants of Esau and throughout the TaNaKh, were treated as the antithesis to Isra’el. As such, it is typical of those nations that insisted upon their own ways in opposition to those of the LORD. It is as if Isaiah was saying, “You can choose Edom’s way or God’s way, but these are the results.”

Today Edom is southern Jordan. The armies of the world gather in the Valley of Jezreel near Mount Megiddo, otherwise known as Armageddon in Galilee. Armageddon stands for Har Mageddon, the mountain of Megiddo. But believers today call the entire valley Armageddon. The Battle of Armageddon is a misnomer. First of all, there is no battle . . . it’s a slaughter. Secondly, the Bible gives us a name for this final conflict but no one uses it; it is the Battle on the Great Day of God Almighty (Revelation 16:14). The armies of the world, under the direction of the antichrist will come south, take Jerusalem and proceed south to Edom. As for the Edomites, they are the people of God’s curse; they too are a people devoted to destruction according to the book of Obadiah. While Amon and Mo’ab have a surviving remnant in the Millennial Kingdom, Edom will not.

When Yeshua Messiah returns a second time, He returns to Bozrah (to see link click Kg – The Second Coming of Jesus Christ to Bozrah). At that time, the sword of the LORD will be bathed in blood, it will be covered with fat – the blood of lambs and goats, fat from the kidneys of rams (34:6a). These were the parts of the slaughtered sacrifices that belonged only to God (Leviticus 3:16-17, 7:23-27). He is the commander of the LORD’s army (Joshua 5:15), with His military triumphs being celebrated in the Book of the Wars of the LORD (Numbers 21:14). When He came the first time, John tells us that He was the Lamb of God (John 1:29), but when He returns a second time, he records: Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed (Revelation 5:5)!

For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in Edom (34:6b). The slaughter of the nations is viewed here as a massive sacrifice of God (Jeremiah 46:10; Ezekiel 39:17-20; Zephaniah 1:7-8; Revelation 19:17-18). But here Isaiah not only pinpoints the nation, he also points out the specific city. That city is Bozrah, or by its Greek name, Petra (Jeremiah 49:13-14), the fabled “red city.” It is modern-day Buseirah, about 25 miles southeast of the southern end of the Dead Sea. In the time of Yeshua, the Nabateans built the impenetrable fortress of Sela there, carving it from sandstone rocks. Visitors can see how these ancient people used the natural rocks of Edom for their protection. A narrow passage of steep rocks leads to Petra (Bozrah), and many of the caves they hollowed out and ornately decorated are well-preserved to this day.¹¹⁹ But there is an important principle here that we must not miss. Judgment is not merely God vindicating Isra’el. Sacrifice to the LORD is recognizing who He is and giving Him His due. Judgment is not a judicial act, nor is it a military act. It is a religious act. It is ADONAI claiming the honor due to Him as Creator and Ruler of the world. And those who do not offer sacrifice, become the sacrifice.

Why are all the armies of the earth gathered there? Because that is where the believing remnant is gathered (Micah 2:12). Remember the reason for the gathering of the armies of the world is for the final destruction and annihilation of the Jewish nation once and for all. Since the major body of Jews are in Bozrah, that is where the nations, the vultures of Matthew 24, gather together.

And the wild oxen will fall with them, the bull calves and the great bulls. The Gentile unbelievers will certainly not be using the TaNaKh sacrificial system at the end of the Great Tribulation so this cannot be taken literally. This is probably a reference to the leaders who were trying to kill every last Jew remaining on the earth. They will fall with the common people. None will be spared. Their land will be drenched with blood, and the dust will be soaked with fat (34:7). There will be a slaughter of great sacrifice that will permanently affect the land (34:1-4).

Edom is not representative of all the nations in the world, but of all the enemies of Isra’el. Once we understand that, we can discern the purpose of God’s judgment. It is to uphold Zion’s cause, for the LORD has a day of vengeance, and a year of retribution (34:8). A day of vengeance and a year of retribution are both names for the Great Tribulation in the TaNaKh. These phrases in the Hebrew are in the plural form pointing out its intensity. All indignities against Isra’el will then be avenged. And for Isra’el’s vengeance, all the armies of the world will be destroyed. And especially for Isra’el’s retribution, the land of Edom will become a burning wasteland throughout the Millennial Kingdom. The vengeance and retribution, which this involves, are expressions of God’s commitment to those He has chosen to be His people.

The LORD Is Angry With All Nations
34: 1-4

The LORD is angry with all nations DIG: Why is the Lord angry with all the nations (see 10:5-15 for the example of Assyria)? What modern political and military leaders does that example bring to mind? What is Isaiah’s purpose in describing this in such graphic detail?

REFLECT: How would you explain God’s justice to someone if there were no prospect of judgment? How is His wrath related to His love? What does it mean to you that God will fight this hard in order to save you? How do you feel about God after reading this passage? How might you feel if you read it from the viewpoint of an oppressed person reflecting on the fact that justice would one day justice would be reversed ?

Isaiah announces the destruction of all the nations in the far eschatological future at the end of the Great Tribulation (63:1-6). Notice in these first four verses the universality of what is happening. Then it will suddenly become localized for reasons we shall see shortly. There is a universal call to all nations and to the entire earth. He invites them to hear the announcement He is about to make. But they are not being called to be witnesses, but to be sentenced.

Come near, you nations, and listen; pay attention, you peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that is in the world, and all that comes out of it (34:1). The word for earth here is not the Hebrew word that means the globe, but the word that means the inhabited earth. The emphasis is on the humanity of the earth gathered together. The reason for the universal call is for all these nations to gather together for Armageddon. It will not be a battle, but an execution.

For the LORD is angry with all the nations; His wrath is upon all their armies (34:2a). His anger is a righteous anger. If ADONAI was not a holy God and He did not punish sin, there would be no need for salvation (Romans 1:16-18). His grace must ultimately culminate in a decision. The sinner cannot continue to reject the sacrifice of the cross forever. The blood of the Messiah was too great a price. Hence, to reject the Sacrifice, is to become the sacrifice.

These verses describe the results of God’s judgment against all the nations. First, the emphasis is on the totality of the destruction. He will totally destroy them (34:2b). The Hebrew word totally destroy here and devoted to destruction in Joshua 7:12 means cherem. Whatever is cherem is untouchable, because it is devoted to destruction. Whenever God pronounces something as cherem, no one can touch or save any part of it. The contents of Jericho were to be given to the Lord as the firstfruits of the Land. When Achan took a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, he became cherem. As a result, he, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys, and sheep were all stoned to death, and then he was burned, with his tent and all he had. Why? When he touched that which was cherem, then he himself became devoted to destruction.

All these nations that have been gathered together are now under the cherem judgment of God and devoted to destruction. He will give them over to slaughter. Their slain will be thrown out, their dead bodies will send up a stench. Added to the shame of defeat and slaughter is the shame of exposure of the dead. The rotting corpses will be bobbing up and down in their own blood. In fact, there will be so much blood in the Valley of Jehoshaphat that it will come up to the horses’ bridle (see my commentary on Revelation, to see link click Ex – The Eight Stage Campaign of Armageddon) and all the birds will gorge themselves on their flesh (Rev 19:21). The blood from this slaughter heavily colors Chapter 34. The mountains and the land are soaked or drenched with their blood (34:2c-3). Even the sword of the Lord is bathed in blood (35:6).¹¹⁸

Secondly, we learn that all the stars of the heavens will be dissolved, literally decayed or rotted, and the sky rolled up like a scroll (34:4a) because sin had also polluted the heavens (Job 15:15; Hebrews 9:23; Revelation 6:13). The catastrophic events in the sky will accompany Messiah’s return to the earth to establish His Millennial reign (Joel 2:10 and 30-31, 3:15; Zechariah 14:6-7; Matthew 24:29). All the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree (34:4b). The harvest-time will have come and it will be time for reaping.

As a result, the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. . . we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness (Second Peter 3: 10 and 13).

In Chapters 13 to 35 Isaiah sought to answer these questions: Can God deliver Israel from those who would harm her? Can He be trusted? Or is He just one more god, added to all the others? Is God Lord over all the nations? Is God’s counsel and wisdom superior to human leaders? But here in Chapters 34-35, the specific question that all of us ultimately have to answer is this, “Do I trust God, or the world (First John 2:15-17)?”

The LORD’s Judgment Against the Nations
34: 1-17

Judgment is not a comfortable subject. Even the LORD Himself calls it His strange work and alien task (28:21). But it is an indispensable part of the Bible’s teaching about the last days. It has to do with the fact that God is King (Chapter 33). And as King, He must rule or He is no King at all. This means that rebellion must be put down. Even though ADONAI is beyond patient, it is clear that His anger is just and entirely devastating. We are fooling ourselves if we think any differently. Thus, there is an urgent call for all the nations to listen and pay attention.

The powerful poem here depicts the effects of God’s wrath upon the Gentile nations in the far eschatological future at the end of the Great Tribulation. In 34:1-4 the universal nature of the judgment is pictured. Not even the heavens themselves will escape. Then 34:5-8 applies this judgment to Edom, much as was done with Moab in 25:10-12. The language here is of sacrifice, reminding the reader that unless someone provides a sacrifice for our sins, we become the sacrifice. Ultimately, as the B’rit Chadashah makes plain, it is only God Himself who can offer that sacrifice for all (Is 53; Rom 5:5-10). Then 34:9-17 continues the address to Edom as the typical nation, depicting the land as left utterly desolate, inhabited by nothing but desert and desolation. If the language is severe and harsh here, it is because of the seriousness of the sin. The rebellion of a whole world against Ha’Shem is not a matter that deserves a slap on the wrist. Sin always takes you further than you want to go and costs you more than you want to pay. Nevertheless, there is a price to be paid.¹¹⁷

How do we relate to such a savage passage? We must see it through our Father’s eyes. Even through the eyes of Christ. We must ask ourselves where our trust really resides. Does it reside with the Edoms of the world? If so, we are headed into the desert with those Edoms. To put our ultimate trust in creatures instead of the Creator flies in the face of all logic, because one day all the nations will eventually be judged by Him.

Chapters 34 and 35 present a striking contrast between a productive Land turned into a desert (chapter 34), and a desert turning into a garden (Chapter 35). As a result, they end the collection of teachings concerning the nations and ADONAI’s sovereignty over them (Chapters 13 to 35). When all is said and done, Isaiah says the issue is really clear and simple. Sinful man cannot stand before a holy God. Any attempt to build a life apart from Him is futile. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). In a real sense, either you accept the LORD’s sacrifice on the cross, or you become the sacrifice. Our only hope is the Rock in the wilderness (Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:11; Psalm 78:15-16, 105:41).

Your Eyes Will See the King in His Beauty
33: 17-24

Your eyes will see the king in his beauty DIG: What does this final picture of the LORD’s grace to the believing remnant emphasize about God’s plan for His people? How do you think the believing remnant felt as they beheld the King in His beauty? How do you think you will feel? Is this what the gospel is all about? 

REFLECT: Of all the Millennial Kingdom traits described in 33:7-24, which ones do you most yearn to see with your own eyes? Which one do you desire to see take root in your life more and more? What does it mean to you that the Lord Jesus is the fulfillment of 33:22? What aspects of His earthly and future ministry come to mind when you picture Yeshua as Judge? King? Savior?

In contrast to the apostate Jews terrorized by the attack of the antichrist (33:7-16), the believing remnant in Jerusalem will be peaceful and secure when the Messianic Kingdom is established. We can be confident of this interpretation in three ways. First, the people will actually see their Kosher King with their own eyes; secondly, Jerusalem and its Temple will never be moved again; and thirdly, the sins of all the Jews living in Zion will be forgiven.

The believing remnant that survives the Great Tribulation will see the Messiah and the land of Isra’el restored. Your eyes will see the King (Isaiah 32:1, 43:15; Micah 2:13; Zephaniah 3:15; Zechariah 14:9) in His beauty and view a land that stretches afar (33:17). The King will be there and the people will physically see Him. The Messianic hope will have been fulfilled. He will be their Judge, Lawgiver and King (33:22). For the first time Isra’el will occupy all of the Land God had promised (Genesis 15:18-19; Exodus 23:31). As the presence of the King is enjoyed, so also is the absence of any enemy.

In that day, ADONAI’s people will look back and think about the terror they had experienced. In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror, “Where is that chief officer? Where is the one who took the revenue? Where is the officer in charge of the towers” (33:18)? What seemed so permanent at the time will be gone, and its passing will be a sense of astonishment to them.

Although Isaiah has the far eschatological end of the Tribulation in mind here, he uses the near historical invasion of the Assyrians as an example of the kind of invasion that will cease to be during the Messianic Kingdom (33:19). There will be no more invaders like the Assyrians, those arrogant people of an obscure speech, who spoke an incomprehensible language (First Corinthians 13:8). The Land and its people will be secure, because the Lord Himself will rule and reign from the Millennial Temple (to see link click Db – The Nine Missing Articles in the Messiah’s Coming Temple). He will rule them with an iron scepter (Psalm 2:9a), and we will rule with Him. Christ declares that He will appoint those who remain faithful to Him to share in His subjugating rule over the nations. To him who overcomes, I will give authority over the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter; He will dash them to pieces like pottery, just as I have received authority from My Father (Revelation 2:26-27).

Jerusalem will be peaceful and secure, and no war ships will attack the nation of Isra’el. Being properly related to the Lord, the people will acknowledge Him as their judge, lawgiver, and King. It will be a time of peace and prosperity. Look upon Zion, the city of your festivals; your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful abode not threatened from the outside. What matters here is that the Son of God will meet mere humans face to face. Jerusalem will be like a tent that will not be moved; its stakes will never be pulled up, nor any of its ropes broken (33:20). Unlike the Tabernacle in the wilderness (see the commentary on Exodus Eq – Christ and the Tabernacle), the Millennial Temple would never be moved. God and His Temple will come in the last days to a permanent rest.

In this life all believers live in tents. This is not our home, we are just passing through. And happy is the person who realizes it for we are aliens and strangers in the world (First Peter 2:11). But one day our tents will be pegged down forever. Speaking of the faith of Abraham, the writer to the Hebrews states that he made his home in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the City with foundations, whose architect and builder is God (Hebrews 11:8-10). The traveler has truly come home when it can be said that he will never strike his tent again. We will not have to move any more because there the LORD will be our Mighty One (33:21a). Where ADONAI is, there is security.

He also mentions rivers and ships. It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams (33:21b). What is so unusual about that? Jerusalem sits on top of a mountain. But in the Millennial Kingdom there will be an entirely different topography. In the center there will be a mountain, which will become the highest mountain in the world, with a fifty-mile square plateau. As seen in Eze 48:29, there will be seven tribes, from north to south, settling north of this mountain (Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben, and Judah) and five tribes, from north to south, settling south of this mountain (Benjamin, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun and Gad).

The fifty by fifty-mile plateau will itself be subdivided into three parts. The northern division is twenty by fifty miles, with the Temple, a mile square, in the middle of it. The area around the Temple is the living quarters for the Sons of Zadok. The Tribe of Levi will live in a twenty by fifty-mile area in the middle division. The southern division is ten by fifty miles. In the middle of the southern division, in a ten-mile by ten-mile square is the Millennial Jerusalem. On each side of the City are two ten-mile by twenty-mile areas for food growing.

The Millennial River, a massive river, will begin at the Temple then flow down to the city of Jerusalem, where it splits, half heading east to the Dead Sea, and the other half heading west to the Mediterranean Sea. Rivers will characterize the millennial Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:8; Ezekiel 47:1-12). Therefore, ships will sail on the Millennial River in the Kingdom. But while there may be ships on the Mediterranean, there will be no ships of war. No galley with oars will ride them, no mighty ship will sail them (33:21c).

The King will rule and reign from millennial Jerusalem. For ADONAI will be Isra’el’s judge, in the sense of the book of Judges, He will be her champion and defender. In the wicked world we live in today, what a wonderful thing it will be when justice will reign. Because Yeshua will be her lawgiver, He will be more than fair in His dealings with her; because He will be her King (33:22).

While Isra’el will be saved in the Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 20:1-6), the enemy will be destroyed. The evil force in the world will have failed and the Adversary’s head will have been crushed (Genesis 3:15b). With the continuation of the ship motif, Isaiah declares: Your rigging hangs loose. The mast is not held secure, the sail is not spread. Rather than obtaining plunder, the antichrist and his followers become plunder. The abundance of spoils will be divided and even the lame of Isra’el will be able to carry off plunder (33:23).

In contrast to the enemy, Isra’el will live in security. Why? Because the sins of the believing remnant will be forgiven (Isaiah 33:24; Jeremiah 31:34, 33:8, 36:3, 50:20). Illness will be wiped away. No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill,” physically or spiritually (Isaiah 57:18-19 and Jer 33:6). Peace, prosperity, and salvation will come by God’s sovereign work – not by foreign alliances or human cunning.¹¹⁶ What a day that will be!

Look, Their Brave Men Cry Aloud in the Streets
33: 7-16

Look, their brave men cry aloud in the streets DIG: What treaty was broken here? Who invades and why? When will Jesus Christ arise, be lifted up, and exalted by all the nations? How does the context help us identify the timing of all of this? Why are the wicked, consumed by their own plans, always surprised by God’s consuming fire? Is this His choice or theirs (Second Peter 3:9b)? With regard to Genesis 12:3a, what countries or peoples are blessing Isra’el today? Which countries or peoples curse Isra’el today? Is this Scripture as true today as it ever was? Why or why not?

REFLECT: How do you see the six characteristics in 33:15? When was the last time the Lord miraculously provided for you in your wilderness experience? Did you receive your provision in time? How did you show your appreciation? What kind of change must one undergo to be at peace with God?

The context here is the far eschatological future at the end of the Great Tribulation. As is his style, Isaiah alternates back and forth between ungodly lamenting over the antichrist breaking the seven-year treaty between himself and Isra’el (33:7-9), the Second Coming of the Messiah (33:10-11), the insecurity of those who rebelled against Jesus Christ (33:12-14), and the security of the believing remnant (33:15-16).

As the armies of the world assemble in the Valley of Jezreel, under the control of the antichrist, the nation is in total disarray. To the apostate Jews there seems to be nowhere to hide from the invading army. They thought they could trust the antichrist. But he had turned on them and was ready for his final solution. The brave men cannot help, neither can the Jewish diplomats. The antichrist will have broken the treaty with Isra’el and all hope will be lost. Everyone will mourn, even the land will mourn. At that moment, it will be painfully clear that there is nothing more human effort can do. God waits for those kinds of moments. It is not until we have exhausted our efforts that we are finally able to recognize the hand of the LORD at work and stop claiming for ourselves what is rightly His.

But all is not lost for those of faith. ADONAI is a promise keeper. Once He is invited back by the believing remnant, He comes with a dual purpose. First, He comes to save the remnant (see the commentary on Revelation, to see link click Ev – The Basis for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ). Secondly, He comes with judgment against those of unbelief. He will fight the Campaign of Armageddon alone with only His arm to sustain Him (see the commentary of Revelation Ex – The Eight Stage Campaign of Armageddon). Then, He will usher in the thousand-year Messianic Kingdom.

Those in Judah who thought they could achieve peace with the antichrist with the signing of a seven-year covenant will weep bitterly. As the antichrist and his armies sweep down from the Valley of Jezreel to Jerusalem, the results of the invasion are devastating. Look, the brave men cry aloud in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly (33:7). The envoys will weep bitterly because they failed to negotiate peace. They were responsible for negotiating the treaty, or covenant, that had been broken. Civil order will break down, and traveling along the highways will become unsafe. The highways are deserted, no travelers are on the roads. The treaty is broken, its witnesses are despised, no one is respected (33:8). There is distrust everywhere. If even the envoys cannot be trusted, then nobody could. If they could not bring peace, then nobody could. Without a condition of peace, travel was minimal because of fear. Anarchy will reign.

The cities are destroyed and the Land becomes desolate. The Land mourns and wastes away, Lebanon is ashamed and withers; Sharon is like the Arabah, and Bashan and Carmel drop their leaves (33:9). The areas Isaiah mentions are Israel’s most productive areas, and these most productive areas are the very ones that fail to produce. Lebanon, north of Isra’el and well known for its cedar forests, will wither. Sharon was the coastal plain south of Mount Carmel extending inland to the hill country of Ephraim. An extremely fertile area, it will become a desert, like the Arabah (which means arid or dry). Bashan (which means fertile plain), east to the Sea of Galilee, was productive agriculturally (Jeremiah 50:19) and known for its oak trees (Isaiah 2:13; Ezeki’el 27:6; Micah 7:14 and Zechariah 11:2). Carmel (which means fruitful land) was a mountain range thickly forested and well-watered. This destruction will show that the nation would not save itself. And so the land mourns and languishes. After the land is devastated, ADONAI turns around to destroy the invaders.

Now I will arise, says the LORD. In Hebrew, each phrase in this verse begins with the word now and its use emphasizes that determination. This is not something God may do; this is something God will do. Now will I be exalted; now will I be lifted up (33:10). It is interesting that the two verbs, exalted and lifted up, are the very ones that appear in 6:1 and 52:13. Clearly then, for Isaiah, when ADONAI showed up, His enemies were defeated and His people were saved. However, those who are consumed with their own goals and plans are always surprised by God’s coming. But human failure is the LORD’s opportunity.

You conceive chaff, you give birth to straw (33:11a). The enemy is viewed as being pregnant, but with chaff that will give way to straw. And the breath of fire applied to straw destroys it. Your breath is a fire that consumes you (33:11b). In addition, the enemy carries within itself the seeds of its own destruction. This can best be explained by the principle in the Abrahamic Covenant found in Genesis 12:3a: I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse. Any nation that becomes anti-Semitic, that anti-Semitism in the nation carries within it the seeds of its own destruction.

The result is the burning of the enemy, the peoples will be burned as if to lime. It will be total, sudden and quick, like cut thorn bushes they will be set ablaze (33:12). There are a great variety of thorny shrubs and plants abounding in Palestine that these people gladly gather and use for fuel. They make a quick, hot fire, which kindles easily and soon expires. The idea conveyed in the text is that of swift destruction. The wicked are to be destroyed quicker than the heat from a fire of thorns could reach the cooking vessels (33:12).¹¹⁴

The terror of the Jewish unbelievers who had tried to placate the antichrist is clearly seen. They will experience Magor-Misabib (Jeremiah 20:3), or terror all around. The LORD of the universe declares to them, “You who are far away, hear what I have done; you who are near, acknowledge My power” (33:13)! Sooner or later everyone must hear of God’s greatness. Therefore, God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11).

There is a call to Jewish repentance in light of this coming judgment. The sinners of Zion, the apostate Jews, are terrified because the judgment is clear. Trembling grips them. They have acted in a totally godless way during the Great Tribulation and their fate is inescapable (Micah 7:1-4). The question, at the end of this verse, is who is capable of surviving this period of consuming fire and everlasting burning (33:14)? Many of the Tribulation judgments are carried out by fire and well over three-quarters of the earth’s population will be killed. Who among the Jews will survive? The apostates cannot and will not survive. These are the many of Dani’el 9:27 who enter into the covenant with the antichrist. While 33:13-14 describes the insecurity of the apostate Jews, 33:15-16 describes the security of the believing remnant.

But in contrast to the apostates, the believing remnant will find security in the LORD. The prophet tells us that the means of their security, the means by which the faithful remnant of the Tribulation will survive in spite of the burdens of the time, is by living according to the six characteristics listed in 33:15. These characteristics are essentially using the Torah as a blueprint for living (see the commentary on Exodus Dj – The Ten Commandments), but with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

As a review, there are four different groups of Jews in the Great Tribulation. First, the largest group is the apostate Jews. They are the many of Dani’el 9:27 who enter into a covenant relationship with the antichrist. They believe that he is the Messiah, and they enter into a covenant relationship with him for the purpose of security. Secondly, there are the 144,000 believing Jews, 12,000 from each tribe, who are the evangelists of the Great Tribulation. Thirdly, there are other Jews who become believers under the preaching of the 144,000, but are not a part of that number. Fourthly, there is the believing remnant, who are described here.

The question of 33:14 is answered in this next verse. Who can dwell with the consuming fire of divine judgment? Over one hundred years later, Jeremiah says that they needed new hearts, saying: I will put my Torah within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be My people (see the commentary on Jeremiah Eo – The Days are Coming, declares the LORD, When I Will Make a New Covenant with the People of Isra’el). This can only happen by His grace. It is impossible to live a godly life without God. It is impossible to be righteous without the Righteous One. The verbs here are all singular, pointing out the individual nature of the actions.

The elements of that character are described in three couplets. The first describes the general style of life, he who walks righteously and speaks what is right. The second and the third amplify the first, making it plain that character is what you do when no one is looking. This changed heart is one who rejects gain from extortion and keeps his hand from accepting bribes. Those who have put away their old nature and have become a new creation stops their ears against plots of murder and shuts their eyes against contemplating evil (33:15). This is how the righteous of the TaNaKh should live.

Jewish teachers have at various times attempted to make summaries of the Torah. Rabbi Samlai gives one very remarkable one to us; he said: Moses gave six hundred and thirteen commandments on Mount Sinai. David reduced these commandments to eleven in answer to the question: ADONAI, who can rest in Your tent? Who can live on Your holy mountain (Psalm 15:1 CJB)? After David, Isaiah came and reduced the eleven to six, as may be seen here in 33:15. Then came Micah and he reduced the six to three (Micah 6:8). Once more Isaiah brought down the three to two (Isaiah 56:1). Lastly came Habakkuk, and reduced them all to one: but the righteous will live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4).¹¹⁵ The believing remnant will live by faith.

The believing remnant will comprise about one-third of the Jewish population during the Great Tribulation, and will not have anything to do with the antichrist. Both in this passage and especially in Chapters 40 onward, when Isaiah describes the actions of the faithful remnant in the Great Tribulation, he always points out that they live up to the light given to them. In other words, they will be Orthodox Jews trying to live up to the Torah and the six characteristics of 33:15. For this reason, they reject the Covenant with the antichrist. The reason they survive is because of these characteristics. Isaiah points out in Chapter 65 that because they will not take the mark of the beast, they will not have the legal right to buy or sell. But God will miraculously provide for them. They will survive the Great Tribulation by fleeing to Bozrah (Petra) from the middle of the Great Tribulation onward. These are the Jews who ask Yeshua to return and are saved (Zechariah 12:10 to 13:1). When Paul writes that all Isra’el will be saved (see the commentary on Romans Da – The Redemption of Isra’el), he is describing the believing remnant at the end of the Tribulation.

Then Isaiah points out the place of their security, which is given three characteristics. First: this is the man who will dwell on the heights, meaning a mountainous region (33:16a). This is exactly what Matthew 24:15-16 says: So, when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel – let the reader understand – then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. When the remnant flees, it flees to the mountains.

Secondly: whose refuge will be the mountain fortress, meaning a wilderness area (33:16b). This is consistent with Revelation 12:6: The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days, and Revelation 13-14: When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times, and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. The remnant will then flee into the wilderness, to the city of Bozrah or modern-day Buseirah in Mount Seir.

Thirdly: his bread will be supplied, and water will not fail him (33:16c). As God provided for the Jews in the wilderness under Moses, He will provide for the Jews in this wilderness as well. Bread and water symbolize the most basic needs of human life. Many people today, as well as in Isaiah’s day, need something more basic than food and drink. They are starving spiritually, because they have been attempting to meet their own needs without realizing that ADONAI has already provided refuge and nourishment for everyone through faith in the Messiah (Ephesians 2:8).

Woe to You, O Destroyer,
You Who Have Not Been Destroyed
33: 1-6

Woe to you, o destroyer, you who have not been destroyed DIG: Who is the object of this last woe in the Book of Woes? How is he a destroyer and a traitor? How is the destroyer destroyed? How does the fact that Isaiah says that the nations will be scattered set the context of this passage?

REFLECT: Are you a promise keeper? When was the last time you felt betrayed? How do you view those who break their promises? How does God view them? How does it make you feel to know that whenever you turn to God in faith, restoration will follow? When was the last time you cried out to the Lord, “I long for You?” Looking back, did He respond to you? Was His response in His timing or yours? How long did you have to wait? How is the fear of the Lord the key to salvation and wisdom and knowledge in your life?

This is the fifth woe in the Book of Woes. Woe to you, O destroyer, you who have not been destroyed. Woe to you, O traitor, you who have not been betrayed! When you stop destroying, you will be destroyed; when you stop betraying, you will be betrayed (33:1). But the uniqueness of it lies in the fact that the first four woes were against Judah and Jerusalem, and this is the only woe against a Gentile nation. This woe was against the leader of the one who was responsible for the devastation of Isra’el in the previous chapters. As this chapter progresses, it deals with the devastation that is worldwide, opposed to just a local devastation of Isra’el. This woe is against the antichrist. He is the destroyer because in Zechariah 13:8-9 it tells us that he is responsible for destroying two-thirds of the world’s population during the Tribulation. He is the traitor because he is the breaker of the covenant, something that Isaiah pointed out in 28:18-19 and is also mentioned in Dani’el 9:27. But now the time has come for him to be destroyed. He will be the initial casualty of the Second Coming (Second Thessalonians 2:8).

There is a believing remnant in every age. When discussing the remnant section of the Book of Immanuel (11:11-16 and 12:1-6), we saw that the uniqueness was that they were willing to wait for ADONAI to act. The same thing is seen in 28:16 where the faithful remnant will not accept the covenant with the antichrist. The response of the remnant is not security in a covenant, but security in a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation (28:16). Although the antichrist will seemingly have all the answers for the problems of the world, especially for the Jews, the remnant says that whoever believes will not act hastily. The waiting of the remnant can also be seen in 25:9 and 30:18. They rely on God to be their protection as they wait. So as the armies of the world tighten their noose around Bozrah, the believing remnant patiently waits and prays for God’s promises to be fulfilled. They cry out: O Lord, be gracious to us; we long for You; literally, we wait for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress (32:2).

ADONAI answers the believing remnant in the next three verses. When Yeshua was going into Jerusalem to be crucified on the cross, He wept over her and said: If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes. They did not recognize the time of God’s coming (Luke 19:41-44). How He longed to be worshiped as the Messiah. But now, at the end of the Great Tribulation, the believing remnant has finally recognized who Jesus is and will cry out: We long for You. But as they wait patiently for His return, the armies of the antichrist will gather at the Valley of Jezreel. They will descend on Jerusalem and the city will be captured (Zechariah 14:1-2), then they will turn their attentions east to Bozrah (Jeremiah 49:12-13). It is there that Messiah returns and destroys the armies of the world (to see link click Kg – The Second Coming of Jesus Christ to Bozrah). His timing is perfect, never late. He does this by Himself with no one to help Him. When He returns, Yeshua Himself will say: I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support; so My own arm worked salvation for Me, and My own wrath sustained Me (63:5 and 59:16).

As a result, the nations will be scattered. At the thunder of Your voice, the peoples flee; when You rise up, the nations scatter (33:3). The Gentile nations of the world intent on destroying the Jews, once and for all, are themselves destroyed. Your plunder, O nations, is harvested as by young locusts; like a swarm of locusts men pounce on it (33:4). The invading armies themselves will become the plunder. They will enter for plunder; but instead, they become the plunder. When the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5) is through with them, they will experience the harvest of death just as assuredly as a nice green field of crops is harvested by young locusts. Nothing but blood will be left of the antichrist’s army.

The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horse’s bridles (about four-and-a-half feet) for a distance of 180 miles or 300 kilometers (Revelation 14:19-20). This treading takes place outside the city of Jerusalem, where the Valley of Kidron, also known as the Valley of Jehoshaphat, is located. Isaiah also spoke of the Messiah with His garments stained crimson from treading the winepress of His wrath and anger (63:1-6). The Campaign of Armageddon will conclude with the seventh Bowl Judgment (see the commentary on Revelation Ex – The Eight Stage Campaign of Armageddon).

The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; He will fill Jerusalem, or Zion, with justice and righteousness (33:5). That leads to ADONAI being exalted, and the establishment of the messianic Kingdom. In 32:1 the two characteristics of the King and the Kingdom are justice and righteousness. The establishment of the millennial Kingdom will give Jerusalem these two characteristics, plus a sure foundation, a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge (33:6a).

The fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure (33:6b). None of these things were happening in Jerusalem during Isaiah’s day; all of these things will happen in the millennial Kingdom. These verses are basically introductory, and summarize what he now details in the rest of this chapter.

What if Yeshua Messiah came back today. How would you feel about that? Is it something you eagerly anticipate, or dread? How long have you been waiting to get serious about your relationship with God? Will you have time? Jesus warned: Just as it was with in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left (Luke 17:26-35).

The Proper Place of Security
33: 1-24

This involves the oracles caused by the crisis during the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah. We have gone back and forth between two covenants; the near historical covenant with Egypt against the Assyrians and the far eschatological covenant with the antichrist, both for the purpose of security. The covenant with the antichrist will result in the devastation of the Land. All of Isra’el will be devastated and only Jerusalem will survive. In the end, it will bring about a worldwide devastation after the signing of the seven-year covenant with the antichrist. It is specifically that event that brings about the Great Tribulation (see the commentary on Revelation, to see link click Bz – The Signing of the Seven-Year Covenant). In these verses about the covenant with the antichrist, Isaiah teaches Isra’el a lesson to be learned from the covenant that she had made with Egypt.