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.

Till the Spirit is Poured upon Us From on High
32: 15-20

Till the Spirit is poured upon us from on high DIG: What will the restored Kingdom look like? How do these promises of God compare with those given earlier (see 28:16, 29:17-24, 30:19-26, 32:1-8, 33:20-24)? What is distinctive about the imagery Isaiah uses to convey his message?

REFLECT: How does Isaiah understand what the outpouring of the Spirit will be like on the LORD’s people? How does that compare to the disciples’ question in Acts 1:5-6? Which is closer to your own view of what it means to be filled with the Spirit? How so? What does Isaiah say about God’s ultimate desire for you?

Here there is a swift change from the prophecy of warning to the prophecy of salvation. Once again Isaiah leaps forward to the far eschatological final invasion by all the nations of the world. Here, after speaking of the devastation of Judah, Isaiah describes a future time of blessing in the Land and of the people, for when the Great Tribulation is finally over and God is ready to restore Isra’el, the Messianic Kingdom will be initiated by the outpouring of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh. Why? Because Yeshua Messiah cannot come back until He is recognized for who He is, and invited back by the nation of Isra’el (see the commentary on Revelation, to see link click Ev – The Basis for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ). Speaking of the believing remnant, Zechariah prophesies: And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication. They will look upon Me, the One they have pierced and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a first born (Zech 12:10-11).

These Scriptures beg for the question, “How long will the judgment continue? How long will the devastation of Judah last?” ADONAI answers and says: Until the Spirit of God is poured upon us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest (32:15). This says basically the same thing as 29:17 except the desert is substituted for Lebanon. The picture is one of abundance. What was formerly useless for crops will become fertile, while what was fertile will be become a virtual jungle. Is anything to hard for the LORD (Genesis 18:14a)?

The judgment will continue until Isra’el’s national regeneration (Zechariah 12:10-14; Joel 2:28-32) and the means of this regeneration is the outpouring of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh. At that time, the Land will again produce and become fruitful. Joel makes the very same point. In Joel 1:15, he begins to describe the Day of the Lord, the term in the TaNaKh for the Great Tribulation (in this case the end of the Great Tribulation). He first describes the Day of the Lord and the judgments that will be poured out in the remainder of Chapter 1 and the first part of Chapter 2, and then he describes the total devastation of the crops as a result of the tribulation judgments. But notice Joel 2:21-27. After showing that there will be a massive devastation in the Great Tribulation that will destroy the crops of Isra’el, he describes the regeneration of the land and the crops. In verses 2:15-20, he describes the destruction of any further armies that would come against Isra’el. But in Joel 2:21-27, he describes the restoration of the crops. Then in 2:28-32, in the same context, he links the restoration of the Land with the pouring out of His Spirit. Other prophets also spoke of this outpouring of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh (Ezeki’el 36:26-27; Joel 2:28-29 and Zechariah 12:10).

We find the very same thing in Isaiah 32. Devastation is seen in 32:12-14 until Judah becomes a wasteland. But that is going to change. When Isra’el is restored (Zechariah 12:10-14) there is going to be an outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 33:15 and Joel 2:28-32). And what is now a wilderness will become a fertile field, and what is now a fertile field will be considered a wilderness by comparison. The LORD has a way of both reversing disaster at the last minute (37:36), and overlooking beyond disaster to what He, in His steadfastness, determines to do.

As the redeemed of Isra’el enter the Millennial Kingdom, they will have the same benefit of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit as do believers in the Church Age today. Therefore, they will have an inward desire to do the will of God (Ezeki’el 36:27). There will be four results.

First, justice will dwell in the desert and righteousness live in the fertile field (32:16). True abundance will be in matters of the spirit. From Isaiah’s point of view, Judah’s relationship with ADONAI had been like a desert. Righteousness and justice had withered away while the people had abandoned God’s ways and pursued after their own goals. This had led to the oppression of the poor and a disastrous foreign policy. Judah had, in effect, cut herself off from her source of life. But in the far eschatological future, she would live in relationship with her God and holy living will once again be hers.

Secondly, the results of righteousness will be peace (9:6 and 59:8-9), quietness, and confidence forever. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest (32:17-18). This is seen more clearly in the progressive revelation of the B’rit Chadashah. The person who has received the grace of the LORD’s forgiveness is at peace with Him. For He Himself is our peace (Ephesians 2:14a). When Yeshua’s character is central in our lives, we don’t have to lean upon others to supply our own needs. The fact that this has not produced significant long-term changes in the world is a testimony to the extent of our sin nature. I don’t know about your neighborhood, but there is no “Garden of Eden” sign posted in mine!

Thirdly, the destruction of Isra’el’s enemies is seen. Though hail flattens the forest and the city will be leveled completely (32:19). Again, Isaiah refers to a specific city that will be leveled completely at the time of Isra’el’s restoration, which, in conjunction with earlier Isaiah passages, would be the city of Babylon (see Dk – Babylon, the Jewel of Kingdoms, will be Overthrown).

Fourthly, we see material blessings for those in the Messianic Kingdom. How blessed you will be, sowing your seed by every stream, and letting your cattle and donkeys roam free (32:20). Even the animals will be able to roam free among the crops because the crops will be so plentiful. Blessing (asre) has three shades of meaning: under divine blessing (Psalm 32:1), enjoying fulfillment of life (Psalm 112:1), and doing the right thing at the right time (Psalm 2:12, 137:8-9). For the believer in Yeshua Messiah, all three are seen in the Messianic Kingdom: divine favor, personal fulfillment and total righteousness.

We have already seen the close association of the Holy Spirit with the messianic promise (see Dc – A Shoot Will Come Up from the Stump of Jesse). It is because the Spirit of ADONAI rests on Messiah that He is able to rule as He does. Not only Him, but also the members of His Kingdom (32:1-8). John the Immerser underscored this when he differentiated himself from Messiah by saying that he only baptized with water, whereas, Messiah would immerse with the Ruach Ha’Kodesh and fire (John 7:37-39). So now, just as Isaiah had promised, the Messiah, through the Spirit that the Father has given, makes it possible for believers to live a life of true nobility – one of generosity and self-giving, one of justice and righteousness, one that the uncertainties of this life cannot ultimately disrupt. There are inner resources with which to meet everything that comes to us and to triumph over them. That is the Good News.¹¹³

You Women Who Are So Complacent
32: 9-14

You women who are so complacent DIG: Up to this point, how have the men responded to Isaiah’s message (see 28:7-10)? Why might he be turning to the women at this time? What does he anticipate for them? What does he mean by the thorns and briers (see 1:7, 5:6, 7:23, 27:4)? What is wrong with the revelry and merriment over which he calls the women to mourn (see 22:12-13)?

REFLECT: What is the difference between “security” in God’s love and “complacency” that you are in the right? Are you at ease because you think you can manipulate ADONAI? Or because you are resting in Him? Are you merely going about your business as if everything will remain the same? How can you be sure that you have the correct view of the events in this world? What lights your path?

The righteous far eschatological Kingdom described in 32:1-8 will be preceded by judgment. ADONAI has every intention of providing a final restoration, but judgment for sin was demanded first. As in the previous chapters, Isaiah alternates between the near historical invasion of Assyria in 32:9-14 and the far eschatological righteous Messianic Kingdom of 32:15-20; between the LORD’s indignation of one nation and God’s anger with all nations. Here Isaiah reverts back to the present Assyrian threat and points out another area of sin that must be punished, the false security of Judah’s women (to see link click Av – The Women of Zion Are Haughty). They were probably representative of the attitude of Judah in general.

You women who are so complacent, rise up and listen to me; you daughters who feel secure, hear what I have to say (32:9). He calls these Jewish women to listen and to hear. While there is nothing inherently wrong with ease and security, they are destructive when based on a false premise (Amos 6:1). Those women were living in such a self-confident state that they failed to see the coming judgment and the calamity that would come with it. Throughout the Scriptures, the recurring question is, where is your trust? And if the answer is anything other than ADONAI, you are in for trouble.

The devastation would begin soon, in little more than a year Assyria would invade Judah in 701 BC. At that time, those very women who felt so secure would tremble. The grape harvest would fail and the harvest of fruit would not come (32:10). So, the first evidence of judgment would be the failing harvest of the grapes and other fruit as the Assyrians would overrun their fields. It is as if Isaiah was saying, “You may rejoice now, but what about next year when the harvest fails?” It is easy to trust in our circumstances, assuming everything will go unchanged. Trust in God, however, raises us above our circumstances. I know that is easy to do. Faith, in the face of calamity, can only be seen in a relationship with the LORD that is so strong that it overcomes fear. And even then, we may have to say to Jesus, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief” (Mark 9:24).

The prophet called on the women to begin to mourn for the land about which they feel so confident. Tremble, you complacent women; shudder, you daughters who feel secure! The harvest time was supposed to be especially joyful. Here, Isaiah’s words would have been especially painful. Particularly in happy times, we do not like to be reminded that death stares us all in the face. God’s prophet would not let the women of Judah escape the reality of the coming judgment. Therefore, because of the coming disaster, the women are told to strip off their clothes and put on sackcloth around their waists (32:11).

The people of Noah’s day displayed the same attitude and so, according to Jesus, will those who live in the last days before His return. False security is a constant problem, and it is the way of wicked people to indulge in it even when disaster is staring them in the face. It is a way of avoiding the necessity of coming to terms with reality.¹¹²

The grape harvest was the basis of their economy, and its failure would cause Judah’s women to mourn for the land in which they had placed their confidence. Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vines (32:12). It seems that it was common for men in the ancient Near East to beat upon their breasts and put sackcloth around their waists as a gesture used in lamentation to express exceeding great grief and sorrow (Luke 18:13)

And for the land of My people, a land overgrown with thorns and briers – yes, mourn for all houses of merriment and for this city of revelry (32:13). The phrase, and for the land of my people, makes it very clear that just because the Jews might be called the people of God, He is not some lucky charm for them (Jeremiah 7:4). They do not have some kind of magical claim to Him. The pleasant fields and the good vines could be overgrown with thorns and briers as quickly as any other place whose people were out of harmony with God. Elsewhere in 1:7, 5:6, 7:23, and 27:4 the terms briers and thorns are used. But here Isaiah reverses them and uses thorns and briers, which is the phrase used in Genesis 3:18 with respect to the curse on the land.

The climax of the mourning is reached in this verse. Why the mourning? Because Jerusalem would become empty. Perhaps most significantly, the fortress, or the palace will be empty. There would be no earthly king in Judah. It was as if Isaiah was saying, “No, the Kingdom I am talking about will not be brought in by people going about their business as usual.” The gutless, scheming leaders of Judah described in Chapters 28-31 would not bring in a new day. They would bring disaster.

The Assyrian advance was the beginning of the end for Jerusalem. The City of David would fall to the Babylonians 115 years later in 586 BC. Therefore, Isaiah was not saying that the judgment would be completed in little more than a year but that it would begin in little more than a year. In the near historical future, the fortress will be abandoned, the noisy city deserted (Lamentations 1:1); the citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland forever, the delight of donkeys, a pasture for unfettered flocks (32:14). This was foretold in 6:11-13, implied in 11:11, and predicted again in 30:8-17. The general sense one gets is that, what was formerly cultivated, now has become a wasteland.

Olam, the Hebrew word forever, does not always carry the same weight as the English word “forever.” In the next section we learn that eventually the Holy Spirit will be poured out upon Israel and the people of God will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest (32:15-20). Consequently, it is obvious that Isaiah saw a day when the desolation would cease. Therefore, it is better to understand olam here as meaning for a long intermediate time.

The women and men of Judah had lost their way. They were looking to the world for help (First John 2:15-17). So how can you be sure that you do not go in the wrong direction in your life? The Bible teaches us that God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a light for our path (Psalm 119:105). Recognizing that His Word was his light to direct him (119:130 and Proverbs 6:23), the psalmist vowed to follow it (Psalm 119:105-106). How about you? Is it easy? No, the world, our flesh and the devil tempt us (James 1:13-15). But is it worth it? Read on.

See, a King will Reign in Righteousness
32: 1-8

See, a king will reign in righteousness DIG: What conditions marked the reign of the leaders who did not trust God (see 28:7-10, 14-15; 29:13)? By contrast, what will this kingdom of righteousness look like? What will happen to the ways of the fool and the unjust? Why would foolishness flourish when there is no justice?

REFLECT: When you need someone to be a shelter for you, to whom do you turn? Why? How is Jesus presented in this passage? For whom could you be like a shelter or a stream of water today? How? What example can you think of where a person’s power has been mistaken for true greatness? Is your culture more influenced by a leader’s style, or by substance? Why do you think so? What marks of true greatness do you want to see growing in you? How can you cultivate that fruit (see Matthew 6:33)?

Chapters 28 and 29 spoke of the false leaders, and Chapters 30 and 31 spoke of their false counsel. Now Chapters 32 and 33 speak of the true leader and characteristics of His reign. Here Isaiah utilizes the language of the wisdom tradition to talk about sense and nonsense; wisdom and foolishness. Throughout the Book of Woes the folly of Judah’s spiritually blind leaders has been described. Here then, the LORD, through His prophet, pictures the future righteous reign of Isra’el as a contrast with the present defiled one.

See, a King will reign in righteousness (32:1a), serves to underline the contrast with Judah’s leadership in Isaiah’s day that were not leading the nation according to the path established by their God. Indeed, they had carefully planned to conceal their path from Him (29:15- 16, 30:1-2). Yet, the willingness to discover right and do it, was the mark of a righteous King. Thus, Isaiah looks to the far eschatological future when a righteous King would rule Isra’el during the Messianic Kingdom. The King Isaiah is speaking about here is the Messiah, who will reign in righteousness. And rulers will rule with justice. Those rulers under Him will be righteous and just (32:1b). The same point is made in Jeremiah 23:5-6. Therefore, because the LORD would protect Jerusalem, He will also bring about a time when righteousness will flourish.

The righteous leader protects His people and enables them to carry on because of what He provides for them. Nowhere is there a better example of this than Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who lays down His life for His sheep (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Gu – The Good Shepherd and His Sheep), and the Servant who did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many (see my commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Im – The Son of Man Came to Serve, and to Give His Life as a Ransom for Many). Isaiah looked forward to a time when a divinely empowered King would do what people had wanted in a true king all along, but what an ordinary king could never live up to.

Isaiah spells out the results of this righteous reign. Each man will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm (32:2a). No longer will the leaders of Isra’el be predators from whom the people will need to seek relief (29:20-21). Rather, the leaders themselves will be sources of protection and support. Because the Messiah Himself will rule the future righteous government, it will produce righteous men. Like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land (32:2b). They will refresh others like water in the desert and a rock that gives shade from the desert heat. In all four illustrations the perfection of His rule is pictured. The contrasting dangers of wind and storm picture protection from every threat; the supply of water and shadow point to provision of every need.

Secondly, not only will the true leaders provide security for their people, they will also make possible the removal of all spiritual hardening on the part of Isra’el. This seems to be a clear reversal of the situation described in 6:10 and 29:10-12, where their hearts were calloused, their ears dull, and their eyes closed. But during the righteous reign of Christ, their spiritual eyes are open so they can see spiritual truth. Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen (32:3). Their ears are open so they can listen to and obey spiritual truth.

Thirdly, their hearts will be soft so they can understand spiritual truth. The mind of the rash will know and understand, and the stammering of their tongues will cease so they can communicate spiritual truth fluently and clearly (32:4). Spiritual clarity and perception always flow from submission to God’s ways. Refusal to submit is the surest prescription of an inability to discern any difference between good and evil (Isaiah 5:18-23 and Proverbs 4:14-9). Therefore, it is appropriate that here spiritual clarity is a result of faithful leaders who themselves submit to the LORD and to whom their people have no difficulty submitting.¹¹¹

The fourth result is a proper evaluation of the character of men and women. No one will be politically correct. The fool will no longer be called noble; the scoundrel will no longer be highly respected (32:5). The word fool is one of the strongest negative words in the Dispensation of Torah, because it depicts the person who has consciously rejected the ways of God, which are the road to life, but instead has chosen the ways of death. Though the fool and the scoundrel will still be present in the Messianic Kingdom, they will be called what they are. Isaiah then describes the characteristics of the fool.

These next three verses are a separate and a very clever little poem clarifying the deeds of the fool and the scoundrel, ending with a pithy statement about true nobility. For the fool speaks folly, his mind is busy with evil: He practices ungodliness and spreads error concerning the LORD (32:6a). The word speaks is in the imperfect tense and expresses typical behavior. The emphasis here and 32:7 is on the sins of the speech. It is the thinking and behavior of a person living an immoral lifestyle. The fool opposes ADONAI and does not care about the needy. The hungry he leaves empty and from the thirsty he withholds water (32:6b).

He is greedy and is constantly seeking higher social status. The scoundrel’s methods are wicked; he makes up evil schemes to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just (32:7). The word evil schemes, or zimma, has a consistently bad meaning. It occurs nineteen times of sexual misconduct (Leviticus 18:17 for example). It is planning for one’s own advantage no matter what the cost to others. He speaks foolishness and fails to communicate spiritual truth. He practices sin because he understands no spiritual truth. He lacks obedience and therefore plots evil schemes.

On the other hand, the noble person of righteousness plans to do good to others. But the noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands (32:8). This word may refer to social standing, but its root meaning refers to character, someone who is generous and large-hearted, someone who knows that God supplies all his or her needs and as a result, can afford to be generous to those less fortunate. As a result, the fool, the scoundrel and noble people of character will all be present in the Messianic Kingdom. The righteous will be those believers who reign with Christ for a thousand years on this earth, but the fool and the scoundrel will die by the time they are one-hundred years old if they do not accept Yeshua as the Messiah (65:20).

The Reign of a Righteous King
32: 1-20

Isaiah now contrasts the righteous King Messiah, during His thousand year reign in the far eschatological future, to the corrupt leadership of his own day. He expands his theme on what will happen during Isra’el’s restoration. Because ADONAI would protect Jerusalem, He will also bring about a time when righteousness will flourish. Here then, Isaiah speaks about the reign of a righteous King, Yeshua Messiah (see Psalm 72).

Woe to Those
Who Go Down to Egypt for Help
31: 1-9

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help DIG: How is this woe related to the one in 30:1? What similarities do you see? What differences? What reasoning is given here for the warning in the previous woe? If you were a leader in Judah, why would you be seeking this alliance? What have these leaders overlooked as they formed it? In contrast to the stumbling of the Egyptians, how will God help Judah during the Assyrian attack? How will the LORD be like a lion? Like a mother bird? Like a fire? How will this be like another Passover for Judah (see Exodus 12:12-13)? What will be the result for the Assyrians? For the Jews? What does it mean that God does not wait until we have repented to act mercifully on our behalf?

REFLECT: What pressures have you felt lately? In practical terms, does relying on God in such times mean not involving the help of anyone else? How can you tell when it is wise and right to seek godly counsel? When have you actually lived as though the LORD didn’t matter? What difference does it make to you to realize that even in those times God is protecting you as a lion or a mother bird? Judah made a wrong choice in forming an alliance with Egypt. What amounts to a wrong choice for you? Is there anything that you are trusting in more than God right now? What would happen if you put the LORD first in your life?

Like the previous woe (to see link click Fs – Woe to the Obstinate Children, Declares the LORD), this one was directed against the Egyptian alliance that some in Judah thought they needed for protection against the Assyrian threat. Not only would Egypt not be able to help Judah, but in going, she had rejected ADONAI. She would reject the true and choose the false. As a result, Judah would experience the terrible reality of her sin (Jeremiah 52:1-34 and the book of Lamentations). This is the fourth woe in the Book of Woes. But this one also points to the Messiah who will one day deliver His people (32:1-20).

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help (31:1a). What He promised in the previous chapter is going to be carried out. Those who went to Egypt for help, and who relied on Egyptian horses and chariots instead of God, will be punished. Both actions, going to Egypt and acquiring horses and chariots, violated the Torah (Deuteronomy 17:16). God does not go back on His words; He would judge the nation for her disobedience. Again, Isaiah points out that Egypt is going to prove to be weak and helpless. The Egyptians are men, not God. The horses are made of flesh, not of Spirit. The Egyptians can only help as long as the flesh is able to help. And that will prove to be worthless, because the flesh of Assyria is stronger. Only God could ultimately protect them from their enemies. Consequently, God’s judgment will cause both Egypt and Judah to fall. Both the helper and the helped will fall together. The Egyptian alliance would fail as Isaiah had prophesied, but God would not abandon His people.

Woe to those who rely of horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen (31:1b). The emphasis upon horses here suggests the likely reason why Egypt’s help seemed especially attractive. Ever since the introduction of the horse into the Near East in the Middle Bronze Age (1800 BC), warfare had been revolutionized, first through chariots, then by this time, through the beginning of cavalry. Apparently this weapon had an almost magical effect on the leaders of Judah. No matter how mighty the Assyrian army might be, they thought an alliance with Egypt, with their horses and chariots, would ensure safety. So, it would be like a splash of cold water in the face when Sennacherib’s field commander sarcastically commented that Judah would not know what to do with horses even if they had them (see Gr – Please Speak to Your Servant in Aramaic)!

In the ancient Near East, at this time, horses and chariots were something like the “ultimate weapon.” When the horse, with its speed and stamina, was hitched to a light two-wheeled chariot on which was a two or three-man crew, the results could be devastating. Along with the driver, there was at least one archer with a powerful bow. In some cases, there was also a spearman. They were so desirable that even countries like Judah, whose hills and valleys meant the chariots were of limited usefulness, felt they had to have a chariot force. Today, we look for defense by other kinds of armaments: shell-proof tanks, stealth aircraft, and laser-guided missiles. But where is our defense? Both nationally and personally, what is it, or who is it that we are trusting in?¹¹⁰

But the destiny of a country does not rest upon either horses or missiles, and when a people feel that special weapons can relieve them of dependence upon God, they are on the road to destruction. This is not to say that weapons and faith are mutually exclusive in a fallen world, but it is safe to say that commitment to God’s ways, with whatever that may mean for weapons in a given situation, is of foremost importance. This kind of commitment was clearly lacking in Judah. They had not sought ADONAI’s direction, nor did they put their trust in Him. As a result of their faithlessness, God said: Do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the LORD (31:1c). Judah would have to suffer the consequences of her actions.

Isaiah taunted the leaders of Judah by saying: Yet He too is wise and can bring disaster (31:2a). Hezekiah’s royal counselors, who were supposed to be so wise, had counseled for dependence upon Egypt (5:21, 19:11-15, 28:14-15, 30:1-2). They acted as if the LORD knew nothing, as if the Creator of the universe did not really understand their situation. It was as if Isaiah was saying, “You know, God understands a little something also.” He does not take back His words (31:2b) means that if we change, this enables Him to change His approach to us. We can see this in the book of Jonah (Jonah 3:10 and 4:1-2). God kept pursuing Jonah until he had a change of heart. Unless we change, He is relentless as time itself. All the Egypts in the world could not alter what He says.

And if Judah carried through with her plan of faithlessness, He will rise up against the house of the wicked, against those who help evildoers (31:2c). ADONAI told it like it was when He called them the house of the wicked instead of the house of Judah. What a scathing denunciation! It didn’t matter that they were the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Their birthright didn’t matter and neither did their supposed alliances. If Judah refused to trust in ADONAI, far from being the apple of His eye (Deuteronomy 32:10), He would be forced to discipline her because He loved her so much.

So just how do you get faith? Or trust? Or belief? Where does it come from? The Bible teaches us that without faith it is impossible to please God (see my commentary on Hebrews, to see link click Cn – The Faith of Enoch). It is a decision. The world-famous evangelist Billy Graham’s magazine is named “Decision” for that very reason. And everyone will eventually stand in front of Yeshua Messiah, the Judge (John 5:22), to be held accountable for what they decide. If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9 also see First Corinthians 15:3-4). Our love for God needs to be greater than whatever it is that we fear. Most of the time we don’t feel like it. Our flesh wants the evidence first. But after the decision based on faith is made, the feelings follow. Some people get the cart before the horse, but it doesn’t work that way.

The Ruach continued to inspire His human author when Isaiah contrasted Egypt and God by asserting that the flesh is hardly equal to the spirit. He said: they were merely men and not God; their horses are flesh and not spirit (31:3a). This is clearly true, but we human beings have a tough time with this concept. Because of our fallen nature, we tend to value the seen more than the unseen. But Jesus said: The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you – they are full of the Spirit and life (John 6:63).

In reality, only ADONAI could protect them from their enemies. When the LORD stretches out His hand, the nation who helps will stumble, the nation who is helped will fall; both will perish together (31:3b). If Judah persisted in seeking an alliance with Egypt, both nations would meet disaster together.

As in 30:19-33, here Isaiah turned from the condemnation of the false hope in Egypt to the declaration of the true hope in ADONAI. If the LORD were relentless towards sinful Judah, He would also be relentless in the defense of repentant Judah. The motivation to trust always was, and always is, both negative and positive. This announcement of trust before the fact is typical not only of Isaiah, but also the gospel. God does not wait until we have repented to act mercifully on our behalf (mercy is not getting what we deserve). More accurately, His mercy becomes the incentive for repentance. We are invited to repent because of our attraction to God, rather than, because of avoidance of Him.

God assured the people that His greatness would protect them from the terrifying Assyrian threat. As a lion meets up with a flock of sheep and is unafraid of a number of shepherds, so the LORD was not afraid of the Assyrians. As a lion growls, a great lion over his prey – and though a whole band of shepherds is called together against him, he is not frightened by their shouts or disturbed by their clamor. In other words, the Lion of Judah cannot be frightened off by a pack of people shouting and beating their pans. As a result, the LORD of heaven’s angelic armies will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights (31:4).

God is also going to protect Jerusalem like a bird hovering over her nest. Like birds hovering overhead, the LORD of heaven’s angelic armies (CJB) will shield Jerusalem; He will shield it and deliver it, He will “pass over” it and will rescue it (31:5). Even though 46 of Jerusalem’s surrounding cities will be destroyed, God would protect the city of David. Like a bird hovering over her nest, God protected Mount Zion and the Assyrians would fail in their attempt to destroy her.

Since God would rescue Judah, Isaiah called on the nation to turn back to Him. Isaiah pleaded with them, saying: Return to Him you who have so greatly revolted against, O Israelites (31:6). Eventually, they would throw their idols away (30:22) in favor of the true God. For in that day, every one of you will reject the idols of sliver and gold your sinful hands have made (31:7). In light of Isra’el’s future national salvation, Judah ought to throw them away immediately. They are called to reject the idols of silver and gold that their sinful hands had made. When both the helplessness of idols and the grace of God are revealed, the idols are powerless. Although they are valuable metals, they are valueless. When they returned from the Babylonian captivity, they had learned the invaluable lesson that idols are an abomination to God. As John Calvin (1509-1564), one of the great pastors during the Protestant Reformation, said, “True conversion does not ask the price.” But the opposite is also true: so long as a person continues to question whether he or she can possibly afford to trust in ADONAI, the cost will always be too high.

The last two verses put the seal upon the LORD’s promises. It is God Himself, and no other, that will destroy the Assyrian king and his army. Assyria will fall by a superhuman sword that is not of man; a sword not of morals, will devour them (37:36). It will be Malach ADONAI, the Angel of the LORD or Yeshua Messiah. They will flee before the sword and their young men will be put to forced labor (31:8). The Assyrian commanders, seeing Judah’s battle standard and their soldiers being slaughtered, would be terrified. Their stronghold will fall because of terror; at the sight of the battle standard their commanders will panic, declares the LORD (31:9a).

It is ADONAI, not man, that delivers. This truth resurfaces again and again in the Bible. It appears at the conception of Isaac (Genesis 18:10-15, 21:1-7), when all human power was gone. It appears at the crossing of the Sea of Reeds (Exodus 14:19-31) and again at Jericho (Joshua 5:13 to 6:27). It is there in the story of Gideon (6:1 to 7:25), and in the rout of the Philistines in Samuel’s day (First Samuel 7:2-17). Jehoshaphat experienced it in his fight with the Edomites (Second Chronicles 20:1-30). This truth is at the heart of Paul’s contrast between the flesh and the spirit (Galatians 5:16-26). When people believe they can save themselves, they, in effect, dethrone God in their lives and doom themselves (Philippians 3:7), for it is only as the King of our lives that He can help us.

Whose fire is in Zion, whose furnace is in Jerusalem (31:9b)? Ariel means two things, the lion of God and the burning altar-hearth of God. The word is used in the lion of God sense in 2 Samuel 23:20, Isaiah 33:7 and here. The word is used in the burning altar-hearth of God sense here in Isaiah 29:2 and Ezeki’el 43:15-16. Isaiah will use both figures. He will view Ariel as a burning altar-hearth and he will view Ariel as a lion. God declares, through His prophet Isaiah, that His burning fire is in Zion, and His furnace is in Jerusalem. Therefore, in these verses, Isaiah uses both meanings for Ariel; sometimes a lion and sometimes like a burning fire.

In 1887, just following an evangelistic meeting held by Dwight L. Moody, a young man stood to share his story in an after-service testimony meeting. As he was speaking, it was obvious to everyone there that he knew little about the Bible. His closing lines, however, spoke volumes to all the believers there. He said, “I’m not quite sure what I’m supposed to do now. But I’m going to trust, and I’m going to obey.” Daniel Towner was so struck by the power of those words that he quickly jotted them down, then delivered them to John Sammis, who developed the lyrics to the famous hymn Trust and Obey. Towner composed the music and the song quickly became a favorite. It remains popular to this day.

Refrain:

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way,

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,

What a glory He sheds on our way!

While we do His good will, He abides with us still,

And with all who will trust and obey.

Refrain

Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,

But His smile quickly drives it away;

Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,

Can abide while we trust and obey.

Refrain

Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,

But our toil He does richly repay ;

Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,

But is blessed if we trust and obey.

Refrain

But we never can prove the delights of His love

Until all on the altar we lay,

For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,

Are for them who will trust and obey.

Refrain

Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet

Or we’ll walk by His side in the Way (Acts 24:14).

What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;

Never fear, only trust and obey.

Refrain

For ADONAI is a sun and a shield; ADONAI bestows favor and honor; He will not withhold anything good from those whose lives are pure. The LORD of heaven’s angelic armies, how happy is anyone who trusts in You (Psalm 84:11-12 CJB)!

The Voice of the LORD Will Shatter Assyria
30: 27-33

The voice of the LORD will shatter Assyria DIG: What images, names, and verbs are associated with God? What do these teach you about who the LORD is, what He does, and why? What will happen to Assyria at Topeth (see Jeremiah 7:31-32, 19:12-14)? How did the LORD shatter Assyria?

REFLECT: When we pray Your Kingdom come, what does that imply about those who resist God and are not part of His Kingdom? Should one rejoice at the thought of God’s judgment? Why or why not? Knowing the LORD’s judgment is certain, how does that strengthen you to keep on following Him? God intended to deliver Judah even while she persisted in rebellion. What hope does that offer you (see Romans 5:8)?

These verses combine the “now” and the “not yet” of the believer’s life in an important way. The “now” that Isaiah spoke of was for him and his generation, prophesying that the Assyrian army, which was surrounding Jerusalem, would be defeated (37:36). This occurred in 701 BC. ADONAI, in His raging anger, would rush against His enemies. But in addition to this near historical prophecy, Isaiah and his generation also looked forward to the ultimate protection of Messiah in the Messianic Kingdom.

We experience the blessings of today, all the time knowing that there are incredibly greater blessings to come on the other side of the grave. This is the “not yet” aspect in the life of a believer. However, the modern secular view denies that there is any other world than this one. The secularist believes that the physical-material world is all there is. But the biblical world is markedly different. It insists this is a real world, where real decisions of great consequence are to be made. We may choose to make our lives here and now better, or we may choose to make them worse. But why is this world real? Because it is the product of the invisible Creator, and that leads us to the realization that as real as this world is, it is only of a larger reality that includes the unseen world.

Thus, believers live in two worlds. We live here and now and confront “the Assyrians” of our everyday life. We seek to live as obedient subjects of the Kingdom of God this very day. But at the same time, we know that there is more to come. Just because “Assyria” is defeated today does not mean that there are no more “Assyrians” ahead. And we see a world where the kingship of the Creator is not yet fully worked out. So, we live faithfully and confidently today, looking to the last day when all God’s enemies will be defeated forever, and when He will ascend His throne and rule His happy subjects forever.¹⁰⁸

Isaiah catapults us back to the present situation that presented itself to Judah. With respect to the Assyrian threat, would she trust ADONAI or Egypt? God’s prophet prophesied that the Assyrian army (30:31), which was surrounding Jerusalem, would be defeated (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). God is shown as coming from a great distance on the wings of a storm. See, the Name of the LORD comes from afar, with burning anger and dense clouds of smoke; His lips are full of wrath, and His tongue is a consuming fire to overcome His enemies (30:27). Neither Assyria, nor her king, could escape the wrath of ADONAI.

The Name of the LORD points specifically to God’s character as redeemer (see my commentary on The Exodus Bz – Redemption). It is important to understand that this appearance of Him should begin with His Name. For His character and His Name had been slandered by both the leaders and people of Judah by trusting in Egypt. He would vindicate His Name by delivering Jerusalem from the very Assyrian army that had sent them to Egypt for help.

His breath is like a rushing torrent, rising up to the neck (30:28a). This speaks of wadis, or gulches, which are normally dry but can be a rushing torrent in a matter of minuets as a result. Therefore, because His Name was slandered by the king of Assyria (37:9-13), he and his nation will be shaken by the strainer of destruction. He places in the jaws of the peoples a bit that leads them astray (30:29b). Each of these figures leads to destruction: the rushing torrent of drowning, the strainer to divide the good grain from the useless chaff, and the bit that leads an unbreakable horse to its death.¹⁰⁹ They will be up to their neck in trouble.

The defeat of Assyria would result in a new Passover song for Isra’el. ADONAI said through His prophet, “And you will sing as on the night you celebrate a holy festival” (30:29a). At the time of Isra’el’s national salvation there will be a song in the night. Their hearts will rejoice as when people go up with flutes to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel (30:29b). This joy of God’s judgment is also seen in Psalm 91:2-3. It is not odd Assyria’s destruction should be compared to a time of feasting. Biblical feasts were first and foremost times of rejoicing over ADONAI’s acts of deliverance. It was as if God was saying, “You have abandoned Me because you thought I could not help you. That abandonment will bring destruction upon you. But despite bringing the Assyrians against you, I have not abandoned you. The proof is that one day you will be able to rejoice over what I have done.

Theirs was the song, but His is the victory. The LORD alone will cause men to hear His majestic voice and will make them see His arm coming down with raging anger and consuming fire, with cloudburst, thunderstorm and hail (30:30). Judah would be a joyous spectator to these acts. Isaiah prophesied that God would fight Assyria in battle with the blows of His arm (30:32). Here Isaiah introduces the concept of the arm of the LORD. It will be developed further in the book as Isaiah expands our understanding of this phrase. This is the first of nine times it is used by Isaiah (40:10, 50:2, 51:5 and 9, 52:10, 53:1, 59:1 and 16, 62:8, 63:5).

Merely by the command of His voice, ADONAI will shatter Assyria; with His scepter He will strike them down (30:31a). Assyria had claimed to hold the scepter of the world; but in reality, ADONAI held that scepter and would shortly strike down the imposter outside the gates of Jerusalem. The point is, what God will do in the future against all the nations, He will now do to Assyria. This would cause Judah to rejoice. Every stroke the LORD lays on them with His punishing rod will be to the music of tambourines and harps (30:31b). The reference to tambourines and harps reminds us of Jehoshaphat’s defeat of the Edomites (Second Chronicles 20:13-30). All Isra’el had to do was to praise God in confidence and receive His blessing.

God’s war is specifically against the Assyrian king who will be defeated. Topeth has long been prepared; it had been made ready for Sennacherib, the king. Its fire pit has been made deep and wide, with an abundance of fire and wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze (30:33). The result is the preparation of Topeth, which is the same as the Valley of Ben Hinnon, a valley on the southern side of Jerusalem. In Greek, it was called the Valley of Gehenna. It was a place where human sacrifices were offered by the kings of Judah to the god Molech (2 Kings 23:10; 2 Chro 28:3, 33:6; Jer 7:31-32, 19:2-14). The people of Jerusalem dumped their garbage there and burned it. Therefore, it was a place of continual burning. Later, the homeless dead, with no one to claim their bodies, were thrown in the fire. It eventually became a symbol of hell. Isaiah says that hell is already prepared for the Assyrian king.

The expression: Topeth has long been prepared means has been prepared since yesterday. Hell has been prepared since yesterday for the king of Assyria. It is from this expression of yesterday that the rabbis came up with the theory that hell was made on the second day of creation. Because that was the first day that could have a yesterday. For this reason, they said that no blessing could be pronounced on that day. Every other day God said it was good, but He doesn’t say that on the second day (because, the rabbis would say, hell was not good). Once again Isaiah is counseling His people that they need not seek an alliance with Egypt because of their fear of Assyria. What they really needed to do was to draw closer to the One who truly held Assyria’s destiny in His hand.

The People of Zion Will Weep No More
30: 18-26

The people of Zion will weep no more DIG: In light of all the warnings throughout Chapters 28 to 30, how do you account for the promises of God’s grace here? What do the agricultural images convey about the LORD’s grace? What is the condition for this outpouring of grace? What contrasts do you observe between 30:18-26 and 27-33? Are salvation (30:18-26) and judgment (30:27-33) flip sides of the same action on God’s part? How do they work together to achieve the same divine purpose?

REFLECT: How will your life change when the faithful remnant of Isra’el weeps no more? When will that be? What will cause their weeping to cease? What have you been saying to ADONAI lately? Does He hear you? How do you know? What do you most look forward to in the thousand-year Messianic Kingdom?

Therefore, although the nation of Isra’el had turned from ADONAI, He longed to be gracious and compassionate to them for they were in a covenant relationship with Him (Deuteronomy 29:1-29). For the LORD is a God of justice, giving blessings to those who depend on Him. Blessed are all who wait for them (30:18). And Isaiah, although he pronounces judgment upon judgment, also wants to include the promise of Israel’s future restoration. But there is going to be a delay.

Because of the previously mentioned sins, the LORD is going to wait. God is a God of justice, and He must wait before showing grace. First, He must be exalted. Because ADONAI is a God of justice, sin must be punished. He cannot simply bestow His grace freely while leaving sin unpunished. This is the reason for the delay. Blessed are those who meet God’s waiting with their own waiting. Messianic Jews and Gentile believers still wait today for Israel’s national regeneration and restoration. We know it will ultimately happen, because the believing remnant of the Great Tribulation look to Him, the One they had pierced, and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son (Zechariah 12:10). And once God sees repentance, He is free to bestow blessing.

Then, inspired by the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, Isaiah gives a far eschatological prophecy of blessing on Isra’el. During the Messianic Kingdom, the Holy Ones (Deuteronomy 33:2-3; Job 5:1; Psalms 16:3 and 34:9; Zechariah 14:5) will once again be faithful to ADONAI. He will say to them: O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious He will be once He hears Isra’el cry for help at the end of the Great Tribulation (see the commentary on Revelation, to see link click Ev – The Basis for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ)! As soon as He hears her cry, He (and not some other nation like Egypt, Syria or Ethiopia) will answer her (30:19) with His return (see Kg – The Second Coming of Jesus Christ to Bozrah).

He is ADONAI Yishma, or the LORD who hears. Talk! Talk! Talk! We all need to be heard. We each have a contribution to make, a thought, an idea, an opinion. God knows what we are going to say even before it is on our lips. And, no matter how much we have to say, He never gets tired of listening to us. That is His name.

Although Isra’el will experience the bread of adversity and the water of affliction during the Great Tribulation, the LORD will bless and restore her afterwards (30:20a). When Isra’el is restored, God will provide two types of guidance. First, they will receive outward supernatural guidance, by means of teachers who will teach them the Word. In contrast to rejecting them (30:10), the Israelites will gladly listen to them. Her teachers will be hidden no more; with their own eyes they will see them (30:20b). Rejection of the Word will be a thing of the past. Previously ADONAI had tried to teach them (28:9-13, 29:11-12, 30:15), but their own stubbornness had blinded and deafened them to the truth. Now, because of the judgment of the Great Tribulation, their eyes and ears will be opened to what He had been trying to say all along.

C. S. Lewis likened the LORD’s use of adversity to walking a dog. If the dog gets its leash wrapped around a pole and tries to continue running forward, he will only tighten the leash more. Both the dog and the owner are after the same end, forward motion, but the owner must resist the dog by pulling him opposite the direction he wants to go. The master, sharing the same intention but understanding better than the dog where he really wants to go, takes an action precisely opposite to that of the dog’s will. It is in this way that God uses adversity.

Secondly, they will receive inward guidance, from the still small voice of the Holy Spirit (NKJ). Like never before, the nation of Isra’el will be sensitive to God’s Word. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, they will hear His voice saying: This is the way; walk in it (30:21). The natural result of the inward and outward guidance will be the end of all idolatry.

Then you will defile your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, “Away with you” (30:22)! With their eyes opened as a result of both the judgment of the Great Tribulation and the corresponding grace of God. Isra’el will finally see the uselessness of idolatry. So instead of being defiled by their idols, they will defile their idols by getting rid of them (Hosea 14:3b; Micah 5:13-14). Not even the outward gold and silver will be kept as a reminder of them.

Then Isaiah turns to describe what it will be like when the people of Isra’el live according to God’s Word and are obedient to Him. Another element of the restoration will be the material blessings from the Land, which will prove to be productive. In the Messianic Kindgom He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the Land will be rich and plentiful (Deuteronomy 28:1-14). In that day, your cattle will graze in broad meadows (30:23). Even the beasts of burden will be well fed. The oxen and donkeys that work the soil will eat fodder and mash, spread out with fork and shovel (30:24).

In the day of great slaughter (Revelation 16:16, 19:17-21), after Isra’el’s and ADONAI’s enemies are destroyed, she will enjoy great peace. When the towers fall, streams of water will flow and there will be an abundance of water on every lofty hill and every high mountain (30:25). Throughout Isaiah, especially the first part of the book, dryness and barrenness are associated with human pride. Likewise, water and fruitfulness are associated with trust in ADONAI and dependence on Him. Consequently, when the towers of Isra’el’s pride are smashed (2:12-17, 32:14-15, 57:15), she may expect a new era of unbelievable fruitfulness.

Also, light will be increased because of the Sh’khinah glory of God (see the commentary on Revelation Fu – The New Jerusalem had a Great, High Wall with Twelve Gates), for the moon will be like the sun. And the sun will be seven times brighter than normal, like the light of seven full days, when the LORD binds up the bruises of His people. At that time, ADONAI will heal His people of the wounds He inflicted; that is, He will restore them to the place of blessing (30:26).

These are Deceitful Children
Unwilling to Listen to the LORD
30: 8-17

These are deceitful children unwilling to listen to God DIG: What was the “official” response to Isaiah? What inescapable logic do you see in God’s judgments here? What does Isaiah mean by the image of the wall? In contrast to their alliance with Egypt, what is Isaiah’s plan for their deliverance? What will happen as a result of Isra’el rejecting this plan?

REFLECT: Isra’el was tired of hearing the Word of God, and wished to be left alone or listen to others as well. What in your life are the pleasant things or illusions (30:10) you would rather listen to at times? How have these resulted in high walls fencing out God? Have you experienced this wall of illusion eventually cracking, bulging, and collapsing around you (30:9-14)? What effect has that had upon you? With what are you building a new wall? Compare 30:15 and 28:12 with Matthew 11:28-30. What differences do you see? What similarities? What thoughts or pictures come to mind as you consider the LORD as a resting place? If you are a workaholic, reliant on swift horses, how would you begin to apply 30:15 to your life? How does a busybody or workaholic find rest and quietness? What is there to repent of? Has the foolishness in your life been wasted? Or are you still learning?

Here Isaiah turns from talking about the dependence upon Egypt (30:1-7), to the attitudes that encouraged the alliance. It was basically a refusal to trust God (30:15), which in fact is what Chapters 7 through 39 are all about. And having made up their mind about the issue, they didn’t want to discuss it any further. The fact was that they had the Torah, the mercy seat and the ark of the Covenant, which contained the golden jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded and the stone tablets of the covenant (Hebrews 9:4). But they said in effect, “Don’t confuse us with the facts, our minds are made up.”

They were stuck in their ways just as the Pharisees and Sadducees were when Messiah came. They were convinced that right standing before God was achieved through the Oral Law (see my commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Ei – The Oral Law), and refused to hear anything that might be at odds with that conviction (Luke 6:6-11). But Isaiah told the Jewish religious leaders of his day that if they refused to hear the truth from him, they would have to hear it from ADONAI Himself. God would wait until they had been reduced to a state of helplessness in their own efforts. The good news is that He waits to be gracious (30:18).

It is ironic that only after we break ourselves on the results of our pride that we are able to see that He was offering His grace to us all along. The truth remains, however, if we refuse to wait for ADONAI, He will wait until our circumstances force us to turn to Him.

The people did not want to listen to ADONAI’s instructions through Isaiah. Therefore, God told His prophet to write it down, or inscribe it, on a tablet or scroll to serve as an eternal reminder of the foolishness of this alliance. The LORD commanded: Go now, write it on a tablet for them, inscribe it on a scroll, Because the prophecy will ultimately be fulfilled, as we will see in Chapters 36 and 37, it will serve as an everlasting witness to authenticate Isaiah’s near historical prophecy against Assyria (30:8). Remember the test of a prophet is to predict some near things that can be fulfilled exactly, and then he can be trusted to make prophecies far beyond his own lifetime. The reason to inscribe this truth is Israel’s state of sin.

The information on the tablet was to serve as an everlasting witness. It was not for the prophet’s own hardened generation, but for generations in the future (8:16). They would look back on the record of God’s fulfilled promises, both for discipline and for blessing, see how they were fulfilled, and then have faith in Him. Consequently, they could learn from their mistakes and the foolishness of the nation would not be wasted. The next three verses (30:9-11) summarize for us why such a witness was necessary.

These were rebellious people (30:9a). This is an astonishing condemnation in the context of the ancient Near East. All the other nations would only record their triumphs. If we are to learn anything of their failures, we can only look to other sources, certainly not from their own national literature. But not so the Judean’s. Isaiah’s own bitter words have preserved the evidence of their rebellious failure. What God thinks of us is more important than what we think of ourselves.

They were also disappointing children, children unwilling to listen to the LORD’s instruction (30:9b). They failed to act like respectful and obedient children. By refusing to listen to the Torah, which is the voice of God to them, they disappointed ADONAI.

Isaiah describes Israel’s inclination for false prophets. They say to the seers, “See no more visions!” and to the prophets, “Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions” (30:10). These are probably not the actual words of the people, but as in 29:15, they represented their true feelings. Isra’el was not asking the prophets to stop prophesying; they are asking them to change their message. The people wanted to pretend that they were pious (1:2-31). They said: Leave this way, get off this path (30:11a). The path is the teaching of the Torah. They wanted to turn the direction of the prophetic message. In that way they would stop the Holy One of Isra’el from ever confronting them. By keeping the prophets and seers from proclaiming His real message they, in effect, didn’t have to think about their state of sin (30:11b). However, Israel’s desire for false prophets, and rejecting the message of the one true prophet, led to consequences.

This is an increasing problem today. Children are not being taught about consequences in life. You can do whatever you like and never have to pay. “Self-esteem” has nothing to do with performance and behavior. Thus, it is emerging that some of the people with the highest self-esteem are thieves and crooks. The triumph of “feel good” psychology is killing us, because all of this is an illusion. There are consequences in life, and those in the public eye who teach otherwise are the modern equivalent of the false prophets. They tell us we can have everything we want with no responsibility for the outcome. One of the tragic examples of this trend is the epidemic increase in male irresponsibility for the children they have fathered. The social costs of this phenomenon are only beginning to be felt. We need prophets who will declare, “What is right” and not what people “want to hear.”¹⁰⁵

The consequences of Judah’s Indifference: Immediately after they said they did not want to be confronted, Isaiah confronts them with more words from the Holy One of Isra’el. He declared: Therefore, this is what the Holy One of Isra’el says: Because you have rejected this message, relied on oppression and depended on deceit (30:12). Isaiah reiterates the cause and disobedience to God’s message through His prophet. As a result of rejecting his message, relying on oppression (plans to avoid God’s counsel) and deceit (which Egypt would practice on them), they would undergo judgment because they despised the words of the prophets. The refusal to be instructed by God is a sin, and if not corrected, over time, will lead to disaster. This sin is described in two figures, both of which indicate the suddenness and totality of the impending disaster.

The first consequence will be the fall of the house Judah. Isaiah uses an analogy and says that their spiritual condition is similar to houses built of clay. Of these there are several varieties. Some have a framework of wicker hurdles thickly daubed with mud. In others the walls are made of layers of mud placed one over the other, each drying before the next is put on. Others still are made of sun-dried bricks. This style of building is very ancient, and is still common in many parts of the East. A thief might easily break through a wall of this kind, and modern thieves are as ready to do it as were the burglars who lived in the days of Job 4:19.¹⁰⁶

This sin will become for you a high wall (30:13a). The first figure of disaster is a wall that is ready to topple. The interval from the first cracks until the actual collapse may be quite a long time, but when the collapse comes it is sudden, terrible and irreversible. The judgment would come suddenly, like a cracked and bulging high wall that suddenly collapses in an instant (30:13b). So, it would be with Judah’s refusal to rely on ADONAI. Years would pass, but one day the Assyrians would stand at the door of Jerusalem with all of Judah in ruins behind them (see Gr – Please Speak to Your Servants in Aramaic).

The second figure is that of a ceramic jug. When the wall collapses it will be shattered as suddenly and completely as a jug dropped on a rock. One minute the jug was whole, the next it was only pieces. Isaiah prophesied that the Judeans would break like pieces of pottery, shattered so mercilessly that among its pieces not a fragment would be found for taking coals from a hearth or scooping water out of a cistern (12:14). They will be broken in so many pieces that each piece will be of no use. In short, Judah was overconfident, thinking that God would protect them no matter how great their sin.

We saw the same thing outside Washington, DC in 1861 before the Civil War. The Union Army had convinced itself that it could dispose of the ragtag Confederate Army in short order. After all, they had better-looking uniforms and more up-to-date equipment, and they were better drilled. As a matter of fact, however, they knew little about discipline, determination, and courage – things the Southerners had a good deal of. In the battle, it quickly became apparent that in terms of raw fighting skill, the northern army was badly outclassed. Soon setbacks were turned into defeats, defeats into retreats and the retreats into headlong flight. The picnickers who had come out to watch the “jolly fight” led the rush back to the defenses of Washington.

If we place our confidence in the wrong things, adversity and difficulty will destroy us. We will have no resources to meet them. But if our confidence is in God and not in ourselves, these things will only drive us closer to Him. We know that He will not fail us, so we can be faithful, even to death. That kind of fortitude means that defeats do not turn into routs. We can fall back to a new line of defense and fight it out with courage, knowing that God is at our back. The Judeans had forfeited that knowledge by turning to Egypt, just as the overconfident the Union army had trusted in their own superiority.¹⁰⁷

The second consequence will be flight and depopulation. The cause of their consequences is again the rejection of the prophetic message. For this is what Adonai ELOHIM, the Holy One of Isra’el says: In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it (30:15). Isaiah’s plan for their deliverance was repentance and rest. In the KJV, return means in the sense of conversion. In the NIV, repentance also means in the sense of conversion. Both have the fundamental idea of turning around or turning back. This would be how they would obtain their rest. The rest is to stop trying to achieve salvation by any human activity and resting in the grace of God. Then they would have quietness and trust, or confidence. But Isaiah’s contemporaries rejected all this; they would have none of it. They had obviously failed to learn from the mistake of Ahaz (7:3-4). It was this original subjugation of Judah under the Assyrian yoke that was the motivation for their current course of action. Now Isaiah offers them another message. Do not rebel by trying to free yourself from the dominance of the Assyrian Empire. In time God will free you. But instead, they wished to rely on their own plans, reject the prophetic message, and turn to the Egyptians for help. Therefore, they continued to make the same mistake that Ahaz had made.

The Holy One of Isra’el had extended His arms to them with a gentile word of strength. God said: This is the resting place, let the weary rest, and: This is the place of repose – but they would not listen (28:11). They could have hidden beneath His wings like chicks, but they would not (Matthew 23:37). Why not? They were proud and overconfident. Friend, that is a dangerous combination.

Instead of depending on God, they depended on military might. Therefore, their consequences would be twofold. The first consequence would be flight. You said: No, we will flee on horses. Therefore, you will flee! You said: We will ride off on swift horses. As a result, your pursuers will be swift (30:16). If they were to rely on horses (31:1), God said they would be forced to flee. This is the opposite of the blessings promised for obedience in the Torah (Leviticus 26:8; Deuteronomy 32:30) and in Joshua 23:10. Because they trusted in the wrong things, when those things fail, they would be completely undone.

The second consequence would be that of depopulation. A thousand will flee at the threat of one Assyrian; at the threat of five you will all flee away, till you are left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill (30:17). The emphasis is on the solitary condition under which Judah will be left. Being easily alarmed by the threat of the enemy, they would stand alone like a flagstaff on a mountaintop as a warning to others not to count on military strength.