Going to Isaiah chapter 33. In our series through the book of Isaiah, this is now message number 40, entitled Eyes Behold the King. So we're going to look at this chapter. I'm going to read the first verse to get started. Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled, and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee. When thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled, and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee. So we are in a section of Isaiah referred to as the book of woes, chapters 28 to 34. Primarily these woes are woes to Judah and to Jerusalem, though there are some others as this chapter is an example of that. And in these chapters, the central issue has to do with Judah seeking a secret alliance with Egypt in order to oppose Assyria. And then that ultimately led to the Assyrian invasion that ended up with Jerusalem surrounded with the Assyrian army and really on the brink of falling with no means of deliverance within sight. And as we've seen this section, it has, much like what has come prior in Isaiah, it's been a continued blend. of prophecies, of prophecies of things that are nearer, more immediate to the time of the prophecy, things that are far, far future in terms of fulfillment. We've seen this blending of messages of judgment and restoration, although we have noticed a very consistent pattern that it's judgment that precedes restoration. The restoration comes after judgment. And there's been this emphasized concern in this chapter over what we could call the carelessness of Judah because they have refused to hear God's word. So the issue is not that God did not send them word. It's not that they've not had the prophets that were faithfully giving them God's word. Of course, they've had false prophets giving them messages they were much more agreeable to. But they would not listen, and they would not trust in what they were being told. They would hear this message, and they would think, well, that sounds good, but then they would look over here, and they would see Assyria as it was on its march of conquest and conquering nation after nation and city after city falling, and even the borders of Judah had been breached and cities are falling. And as they look around, see all of this, they think we need a more practical in a more immediate solution than sitting around waiting for the promise of the Messiah. We need something more immediate. And they even told the prophet to quit prophesying judgment to them, quit speaking to them of the promises of the Messiah. Tell them something that was much easier to hear, something much more agreeable to what they thought. Now, chapter 32, that we looked at last time, made plain again that Israel's peace and safety will only come with the coming of the King. And again, this central issue of making these covenants with these other nations, that is not the path to peace and prosperity for Israel. Only with the coming of the King. So it's not these international covenants and such that's going to save them. which is actually a very interesting foreshadowing of their great apostasy in that time of tribulation when they enter into the covenant with the Antichrist. gives us the sixth and final woe of this section. And this is a woe actually to Assyria, whereas they have been the destroyer, they are going to be destroyed. They have conquered, but they're going to be conquered. And there's also a return in this chapter to the king and his kingdom, showing that deliverance is only going to come when the Messiah is exalted in Zion. And they thought, those of Israel to whom the Messiah came the first time, they thought this cannot be the lowly son of a craftsman from Nazareth. This cannot be the Messiah. Because when you read chapters like this, you get these pronouncements of His coming. And His coming means judgment on the nations. It means shaking of the heaven and the earth. It means the destruction of all of their enemies. It means an exaltation of Jerusalem above the nations of the earth. This can't be Him. This can't be it. This is not the promise. And, of course, they rejected Him. And, of course, they did so not rightly interpreting the prophecies of the Old Testament that actually do speak of His suffering and rejection and His sacrifice. So we're going to look at this chapter in two parts. So verses 1 to 9 is essentially what we could call the prayer in light of the judgment on Assyria. And then in verses 10 to 24, the promise of this kingdom. So let's look at verses 1 to 9. We'll start here again with verse number 1. So this is a woe to Assyria. Obviously, this is also to Assyria as essentially representative of all who oppose God and oppose His nation. The sixth, again, the sixth and final woe of this section. And we've already seen to this point a repeated prophecy of Assyria's destruction. And really from the very beginning of Isaiah and early in Isaiah through to now, we've covered a pretty good span of time, some decades there. And Assyria has been the primary world power, though by this time Babylon is really on the ascendancy as well. But there's been repeated prophecies of Assyria's destruction back in chapter 10, in chapter 14, in chapter 30, and even in chapter 31 more recently. We've seen these prophecies about their destruction even though It's also revealed through Isaiah that God was actually using Assyria as an instrument. He was using them as an instrument of punishment for both Israel and Judah, as well as bringing judgment on some other nations through their conquest. Verse two, O Lord, be gracious unto us. We've waited for thee. Be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble. Now these are the words of a prayer. And it's not entirely clear, and if you look at commentators, they're somewhat divided. Is this a prayer that's coming from Judah, the remnant, the faithful of Israel and their expectation? Is this a prayer that's coming actually from the prophet Isaiah himself, and it's for Judah? And it's not entirely clear what the source of the prayer is, but nevertheless, The prayer asks for mercy. This graciousness that is, the word is translated here, it's mercy. It is a bending down in kindness. In other words, they're asking for God to have pity on them, for God to have compassion on them, to treat them mercifully. And again, it's not any sort of a claim, a claim of anything that is deserved, anything that is owed. It is a sheer request for mercy, for God to be their strength. Verses three and four, at the noise of the tumult, the people fled. At the lifting up of thyself, the nations were scattered, and your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpillar, as the running to and fro of locusts shall be run upon them." So verses three to four give us an immediate reference to the flight of Assyria, and we're going to encounter that when we get into chapter 37, I believe it is. We're going to encounter the historical record of that flight of Assyria when their destruction actually came. Or at least their defeat there at Jerusalem. But also, this is the enemy nations in the time of God's wrath at the end of this present age. And we're going to see more about that in the next chapter as well. Now, just notice the language that is used about excuse me, the noise of tumult, the lifting up of thyself, the nations were scattered. This is a reference to God's wrath, God's coming in judgment. Now this word for lifting yourself up is a word that's frequently used in the Psalms. We encountered it, we studied it, we talked about it numerous times. I believe the first time that it shows up in the Psalm collection is Psalm 33. And we noticed how that this is a term that is used most frequently in association with exaltation to reign. It is a term that is associated with kingship. It is messianic. It is used in reference to David and essentially through David as a figure of the Messiah to come. We saw it used countless times there in the Psalms. Here this word is used. And so it's a messianic reference to exaltation, to reign. And we're going to actually see more of this here a little later. But it's the same term here that's translated high in chapter 6 and verse 1. When Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up. And he was on the throne of his glory. That vision that Isaiah had of that millennial reign of Jesus Christ. So this is connected. In other words, this judgment that is being talked about, it is connected to the exaltation of the Messiah to reign. And there are Numerous connections that we'll see here, we'll see in the next chapters as well, and even the mention of Zion. So when the Messiah is exalted, we're told, the goyim, the nations, will be scattered in front of him. In other words, speaking of his judgment. So what we're getting here is images of a complete spoiling. So it's like a field. Maybe a field that's maybe ready for harvest, it's close to harvest, and it is swarmed by locusts and the plants are swarmed by the caterpillars, by the worms, and they eat up everything and they leave nothing. That's the image that's being used. Now what this points to is that all the wealth and the trappings of conquest that the nations have amassed, along with all of their idols, that none of these things will save them from the terrible wrath of the king when he is exalted to reign." When he returns. Verses 5 and 6. So verses 5 and 6 are giving us praise to the king. So this theme of the king's exaltation is continuing. Zion, we're told, will be filled with justice. Now that means filled to the full. In other words, there's going to be no space. There will be no room for injustice. There will be no room for unrighteousness when he reigns. And the blessings of the kingdom are spoken of in terms that are far superior to mere gold and silver treasures, the things that the nations of the world lust and hunger and thirst and fight after and kill for. It is nothing to be compared with the scope of the blessings of this kingdom. And just as an aside, we've seen quite a few places in Isaiah where some of these future blessings have been looked forward to and we learn a lot actually about the conditions of life on earth within the kingdom from the book of Isaiah. We're going to see a lot more to come after this, but still yet We don't really fully know or understand what the scope of these blessings truly are. We have some hints, we get some things here and there, but we really don't know the full extent of it. But here, it's being described in terms that makes it so much more superior to the treasures of the earth. The true wealth of the nation is her king in all his glory. This is how, in a sense, you could say how God has set apart Israel for himself. Verses 7 through 9. their valiant ones shall cry without, the ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly, the highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth, he that broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man, the earth mourneth and languisheth, Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down, Sharon is like a wilderness, and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits. So here, this is essentially a lamenting of the fact that Israel has failed to secure their own peace. So we got broken covenants like that with the Assyrians, and you can read about that back in 2 Kings 18. But what Israel had tried to do, and Judah in particular in this time, was they had tried to buy peace. by paying the Assyrians, by plundering the temple to send them gold and silver and all of these things, and that failed. So even Sennacherib that had received all of this tribute, even from Hezekiah, But still yet, he invaded Judah, and he surrounded Jerusalem to take it. So they could not buy peace from Assyria, as though peace were to be purchased like some sort of a bartered item. That's not the way that peace is going to come. for Israel and the nations of the world. And this description of Sharon and Lebanon, these are essentially places that were known for their fertility, they're known for particular product, almost a wealth of natural, some natural resource in a sense, and they were wasted by the Assyrians. So the very best of their lands could be destroyed. and their provision destroyed. And so this is one of the reasons why we see in these future promises here in this chapter and in some of the chapters to come, why the future promises emphasize that idea of safety and peace. Because there is a time, in that time of restoration, when Israel will possess, will inherit and possess the land that has been promised to them from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and will have no fear and no threat of other nations taking that land from them, removing them from off of it, or destroying the wealth and the abundance of the fruit of that land. That's the safety and the peace that is promised to them in that kingdom, again, when the Messiah is exalted in Zion. So now verses 10 to 24, now speak toward God's promise, what it is that He is going to do. So here in verses 10 to 12, now will I rise, saith the Lord, now will I be exalted, now will I lift up myself. You shall conceive chaff, you shall bring forth stubble, your breath as fire shall devour you, and the people shall be as the burnings of lime, as thorns cut up, shall they be burned in the fire. So here God speaks of arising in judgment. Now, immediately this is speaking to the Assyrians, and he would bring judgment upon them, which would come in not an extremely long time from the time this prophecy was spoken. The word that's used here means to stand up or to perform, and it's a common word that we saw again used particularly in the Psalms, referring to God arising to act. To bring judgment and and requests for him to do so some of the laments There was a complaint there about how long how long before how long are you going to let this go on? You see our enemies you see what what they're doing how long before you are going to arise and do something well here the the lord is speaking about when he is going to arise and that is going to happen in that time at the last of days as we have seen characterized throughout this section of Isaiah. Him being exalted is the same word that's used for lifted up in chapter 6 and verse number 1. High and lifted up. That's the same word here that's translated exalted. And lift up that is used in verse 10. He will be exalted. He says, now I will lift up myself. That lift up is the same It's used back in verse number 3 that we saw the lifter of mine head and such in Psalm 3 and verse number 3. In other words, we see that Isaiah is collating together a number of terms that are associated with exaltation to rule. This is a reference to the coming of the king. and the establishment of his kingdom and his reign. This is when these things are going to happen. This is when he's going to arise in judgment. He's going to act with authority in judgment and in vengeance on his enemies. And verses 11 to 12 that talk about the conceiving of chaff and bringing forth stubble and such This is describing the judgments against them. And it's sort of a wisdom reversal type of judgment that we've talked about a number of times. So there's imagery here, like a mother going through nine months of pregnancy and going through labor to give birth and then to deliver nothing, essentially. In other words, all of the efforts of the nations, all of their strength, all of the things that they have gone through, is going to turn to nothing. They have been breathing fire of destruction upon others, but that very breath of fire is going to burn and consume them, is what we're being told. And so this description then describes how that they will be like the burning of thorns cut up. In other words, just quick work. They can't resist that hot fire. They will be burned in short order and consumed. Now versus 13 and 14, Hear ye that are far off what I have done, and ye that are near, acknowledge my might. The sinners in Zion are afraid. Fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? So these judgments that are described here, these judgments in the day of the Lord, they shall extend to the whole earth. In other words, we can see that there's this blending. Obviously, some of these things are directed to Assyria in the more immediate future. Historically, it had been fulfilled. But obviously, there's more than that that's being talked about here. This is going to extend to the whole earth. and the knowledge of his judgments will extend to the whole earth. Now, those who are far off is a reference to the nations of the earth. And again, God will act so as to make himself known in his actions. There will be no question when God arises in judgment, when the Lord comes forth in judgment, there'll be no question about who is doing this, where these judgments have come from. It's why we read in the book of Revelation about how in that day that men will be seeking to hide from the face of the Lamb, just crying for the rocks and the mountains and things to fall upon them, to hide them from the wrath of the Lamb and so on. And then the question is put essentially as, who's going to dwell? In other words, who's going to stand before this kind of devouring, consuming fire? Who is going to stand? Who will survive the judgments of God on this earth? Now, on the one hand, this question, and it seems as though this question is either anticipated or maybe it's even provoked to come from those of Israel. or even of the nations, but there's a realization in this question that God really does judge evil. These are not empty threats, and these are not just flowery speech to talk about general hard times throughout the progress of history. God really does judge evil without remedy. So the question is, who will stand before Him? The answer comes in verses 15 to 16. and speaketh uprightly, he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil, he shall dwell on high, his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks, bread shall be given him, his waters shall be sure." So that is the answer. Who will stand in these judgments? Well, the righteous will. Those who have faith, in other words, the remnant, they will stand, they will survive. And this goes along with many of the descriptions of the righteous that we've had as far as despising oppressions, walking uprightly, and eschewing bribes, all of those sort of things. The faithful, who put their trust in God shall receive security and provisions, even in such an unprecedented time as this time of tribulation. And he begins enumerating future blessings of the kingdom. And one of those, the focus here is that of safety and of plentiful provision. And then we get to verses 17, through 24 that ends this chapter. So let's look at verse number 17. So Hezekiah, though among Judah's kings, was certainly one of the better, but Hezekiah still yet was a king who could not deliver. A king of David's line who could not bring about the kind of deliverance that has been prophesied of the king, particularly here in Isaiah. But the coming king, the king that is actually the object of these prophecies, will deliver them. And so the picture is one of beauty, one of glory, of majesty that contrasts with a mournful and lamenting king that cannot weather the destruction. But notice it says their eyes will see the king, physical sight of the king in his kingdom. This is not talking about some sort of supposed spiritual kingdom that's somehow seen with some spiritual eyes. Their eyes, this is a physical description, their eyes will see the king and from the context in Zion as we see. Verses 18 to 19. Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? Where is the receiver? Where is he that counted the towers? Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of deeper speech than thou canst perceive, of a stammering tongue that thou canst not understand. So there will be a remembrance of these past tribulations. Essentially what it's saying is these will be a thing of the past. There will be no enemies. There'll be no oppressors. There'll be no rulers over them. They will not be at the feet of any other nation. Of course, this ties into the exaltation of Israel in the kingdom when the Messiah reigns in Jerusalem that comes all the way back in chapter 2 and the first four verses. But there will be deliverance from these judgments, the foreign invaders, the conquerors. For that to be no more, God's indignation against Israel has to be fulfilled. It has to be exhausted. It has to be satisfied. Verse number 20, be broken. Essentially, we're told that Jerusalem will be delivered and will never fall again. And the imagery is like that of a tent that will never be taken down and folded up and moved. In other words, it will be permanent. Jerusalem will be established. Verse 21, So Jerusalem will be secure. This is speaking of security. There will be no enemy ships, no invaders, no conquerors that will be coming against them. Verse 22, for the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king, he will save us. So God is the Savior, not other nations, not other armies, not weapons that men have crafted. And the Messiah is described here as judge, lawgiver, king, and savior. And of course, Lawgiver is one of those titles and aspects of the Messiah that doesn't really seem to get a lot of emphasis. But we saw him revealed as Lawgiver there beginning in the Sermon on the Mount and the Law of Christ that was completed through his apostles. So this is a picture of Jerusalem in their own strength. They're like a ship without tackling that cannot sail, that just lies vulnerable, cannot defend itself, and is just open to being taken over. In verse 24, the inhabitants shall not say, I am sick. The people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity. So this is the deliverance when Jerusalem is established. They'll be delivered from their infirmities. They'll be healed and forgiven of their sins, again describing those kingdom blessings. So the promised restoration of Israel certainly refers physically to people, nation, and land. And the restoration extends, though, to all nations in all the earth. This is how they will be safe, in a sense. And this restoration also means that there will be a radical change in international relations. Israel will be exalted above all the nations and Israel will then be the head and not the tail as has been prophesied. But don't overlook the fact that nations will be there in that kingdom when Jesus Christ reigns from Jerusalem. When God's Son is exalted to David's throne and reigns over the earth, What this means is that all those who trust in Him will have part in this kingdom. And that is a part of the great promise of God that's not only to Israel, but it's to all who are far off if they will hear His voice, repent, and believe in Him.