Zion’s Sinners and Righteous Ones
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Isaiah
31. An expository study of Isaiah, chapter 33
God’s
cup for measuring evil
Throughout the book of Isaiah, we find the prophet
taken up with the development and the advance of the Assyrian Empire and army.
It was establishing its dominance on the world scene of that day. God informs
His people concerning it and encourages them by referring to its ultimate
destruction. His word reaches out to the Assyrian himself to warn him of the
coming judgment. As I have mentioned previously, these prophecies stretch beyond
the immediate situation to the rising Babylonian Empire and to other world
powers, which will take their place in the future, and sometimes they reach to
the end of the age.
Therefore in verse 1, the subject addressed is
primarily Assyria, but takes in any oppressive human system that exerts its
power over weaker nations. They are characterized as destructive and
treacherous and they attack without provocation. They are not seeking to
recover, what has been taken from them, or to take revenge on harm done to them.
Those under their attack have not betrayed or hurt them in the past. That is
not necessary to an army made up of fallen human beings. They are inherently
evil.
God allows them to progress up to a certain point and
carefully measures the level of their evil deeds. He makes a curious statement
in the book of Genesis, stating that “the
iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete” (Gen.15:16), giving this as a
reason why He would delay the beginning of His plan to use Abraham’s descendants
to conquer the Amorites and Canaan, for four generations. On the other hand,
Christ stated that the generation had come and the time was ripe for rebellious
Jews to “fill up, then, the measure of
your fathers” (Mt.23:32). The prophecy before us declares that the time will
come, when all evildoers will be visited with the same treachery and
destruction that they have dealt to others.
Waiting
for God to arise
Isaiah utters the prayer of his people, as the threat
of the Assyrian enemy becomes a reality and Judah turns to its God, imploring
Him to treat them with grace. Old Testament or New, the only way to obtain the
favor of God is through grace and never by the worthiness of His people or
their deeds. As in verse 2, from time to time, Isaiah expresses the need to
wait upon or to wait for God. We look
forward to contemplating that famous promise in chapter 40: “They who wait for the Lord shall renew
their strength…” If we intend to be His followers, we must learn to wait patiently.
The deceitful world is quick to offer its solutions, especially in this push-button
age, but God’s ways remain the same. They require that we wait, in order to
receive from His hand that which is the very best.
The Lord’s people should be consistently conscious of
their daily dependency upon Him, in order to expect His help in the time of
trouble, which is soon to come. His help is described and this is what is to be
expected, as an answer to prayer: “At the tumultuous noise peoples flee; when you
lift yourself up, nations are scattered, and your spoil is gathered as the
caterpillar gathers; as locusts leap, it is leapt upon” (v.3,4).
When Jesus spoke peace, the wind and the waves were stilled, but when the voice
of the Lord roars in thunder, armies are scattered and leave behind a spoil to
be gathered by the Jews in the coming Assyrian conflict.
More than deliverance for those
who are His, the Lord performs His mighty works to the exaltation of His name.
What follows are the manifestations of His attributes on earth among His
people. The first evidence of His kingdom is the establishment of a department
of justice and righteousness (v.5). The condition of Zion will stabilize, there
will be multiplied testimonies of His salvation, carried out through His wise
ways and His perfect knowledge of every situation. The fear of God rules in
society, called in verse 6, a treasure. Those, who have experienced the moral
poverty of a society that lacks the fear of God, can appreciate that treasure.
Isaiah tends to switch
from prophecies concerning the future to descriptions of the present condition
in Judah. The word behold introduces
such a change in his account, as he now writes of the cries of the courageous
and the weeping of ambassadors, who have failed in their negotiations with the
enemy. Travel ceases, highways are deserted, treaties are meaningless, individual
life has no value and regard for the population of the cities is also despised
(v.7,8). In the rural areas, the land is neglected and the great forests of
cedars and oaks are bared and wasted (v.9).
Now the measure is full
and the Lord arises to perform His unique work in such a way that no one can explain
it as anything less than divine intervention. Thereby, He alone can be exalted
(v.10). God turns and speaks to the enemy and His word is a declaration of
truth, regardless of the measures that men will take in reaction to it. “You conceive chaff; you give birth to
stubble; your breath is a fire that will consume you. And the peoples will be
as if burned to lime; like thorns cut down, that are burned in the fire” (v.11-12).
Man’s finest plans and greatest efforts produce nothing more than chaff,
stubble, lime and thorns to be burned. As stated in verse 1, their treachery
and destruction turn against them to consume them. All the earth, near and far,
must hear His voice, because His fame must be known everywhere (v.13).
The sinners and righteous in Zion
Then the Lord turns to
those “among us”. Zion may be a
moderate hill in the physical eyes of mankind, but it is the highest summit
that gets His closest attention on earth. Even there, however, are sinners and
hypocrites. Jesus taught us the imperfections of the Kingdom on earth in the
parables of the ten virgins, the wheat and the tares, the mustard seed, the
leaven, and the net that collects good fishes and bad. I want us to catch the
force of this statement: “The sinners in
Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the godless: Who among us can dwell with
the consuming fire? Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?” (v.14).
The very best thing that
can happen to the unconverted and hypocritical among the people of God is for
them to experience eye-opening reality that causes fear and trembling. They
have been finding comfort by extracting life and spiritual benefits from the
genuine people of God. They lay claim to the outward perimeters of the Kingdom.
They are Judeans, they think, and they dwell in Zion, the spiritual height of
Jerusalem. There is no more dangerous position than that in this world. It is
God’s mercy that awakens them to His wrath and judgment, as it falls upon the
Assyrian army. They see the wrath of God poured out upon the enemy during one
night, but these are people, who know the Hebrew doctrine of the eternal fires
of hell. How will they endure the everlasting burnings?
I notice that the good commentators,
true theologians that they are, are eloquent concerning this passage. It is no
wonder that hypocrites in the church hate theology and the truth that it
proclaims, as the Jews hated the true prophets. They are faithful to reveal to
us the God of wrath and the Lake of Fire, which He has created, in order that
those, who heed their warnings, might escape His wrath and the eternal flames.
The sinners and hypocrites are among us today, as they were among the Jews. Pay
attention, for a moment, to Matthew Henry:
“There
are sinners in Zion, hypocrites, that enjoy Zion's privileges and concur in
Zion's services, but their hearts are not right in the sight of God; they keep
up secret haunts of sin under the cloak of a visible profession, which convicts
them of hypocrisy. Sinners in Zion will have a great deal to answer for above
other sinners; and their place in Zion will be so far from being their security
that it will aggravate both their sin and their punishment.”
Then, the servant of God
turns to point to the faithful in Zion. “Whoever
practices righteousness is righteous,” declares the Apostol John, “whoever makes a practice of sinning is of
the devil…” (1 Jn.3:7,8) There is no true grace that does not produce
righteousness. Isaiah obviously sees the same principle: “He who walks righteously and
speaks uprightly, who despises the gain of oppressions, who shakes his hands,
lest they hold a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts
his eyes from looking on evil…” (v.15). His depiction of their destiny
is beautiful and I want to be sure that you read it right from The Book: “He will dwell on the heights; his
place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks; his bread will be given him;
his water will be sure. Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty; they
will see a land that stretches afar” (v.16-17).
There is always protection
at all times for the righteous. We read of their impenetrable position, the
rock and the heights throughout the Psalms, especially, but it is part of the total
Covenant, whether New or Old. The Bible promises sustenance, as well as
protection, all part of God’s provision in defense of His people. Benefits and
blessings follow, beyond anything that an earthling can expect.
The righteous will see the
King and His Kingdom, the greatest beauty found in the person of the King,
beyond that found in His land. Don’t make the mistake of becoming overawed by
the things of God and miss the greatest glory of Himself. Isaiah is speaking of
the circumstances of his day, but is obviously pointing to the Kingdom of God
in its millennial glory and, beyond that, He is speaking of the eternal inheritance
of the believer. “The path of the
righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until
full day” (Pr.4:18).
God’s strength in earthly weakness
“Where is
the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age?” asked the
apostle (1 Co.1:20). Looking back, after victory is won, all the important men
and their offices become small. The vicious intentions of the enemy, which once
seemed so frightening and real, have lost all their power. The captive sat in
the darkness under a strange, incomprehensible language, which was used by the
foe, and his terror was heightened by the unknown. These now only live in fading
memories, their reality erased by experiencing the lasting purpose of God.
(v.18,19).
The Jew has been brought up
from childhood under the tutorship of the Omniscient, whose festivals are a fixture
throughout his history and extend into a secure future. Mount Zion, the city of
Jerusalem, the habitation of peace, the tent pitched by immovable stakes, never
to be pulled up, and its unbreakable cords are fixed by the Omnipotent. The
unimpressive hill and the city surrounding it, the tents without foundation
stones, are stable and sure under the watchful eye of their Protector (v.20).
The God of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob is for them and who can be against them (Ro.8:31). That which seems
weak and small to the natural man has been provided for them, so that they
would not trust in their natural position, but in their supernatural God. They
must see things from His standpoint and learn of His surpassing regal majesty.
The lowly Jordan was the river of cleansing power for the Syrian general and heaven
broadens the water resources of the Promised Land and makes them impassible for
the greatest of ships (v.21).
What makes the Jew unique
among the nations of the world is the power and presence of his God. Their
final government is a pure theocracy with a judicial system consisting of one
Judge, their legislative branch of one Lawgiver, and their administration ruled
by one King: “The Lord is our judge; the
Lord is our lawgiver; the Lord is our king; he will save us” (v.22).
The lessons from the Holy
Spirit in this chapter are so clear to the sensitive spirit, enlightened by His
anointing. They culminate in verse 23, showing the worldly insecurity of the
people of God by using a ship to illustrate their plight: “Your cords hang loose; they cannot hold the mast firm in its place or
keep the sail spread out.” The words seem to describe a coming disaster,
but it is not so. Just the opposite, it is the depiction of a victor, who, in
his weakness, will divide an abundant spoil after the battle (v.23). “When I am weak, then am I strong” (2
Co.12:10)… that was the divine
principle, learned by the Apostle Paul.
The principle, which we
are contemplating, comes to its perfection, when a revived Zion becomes the
ruling center of a millennial kingdom. Behold this Zion, which Prophet Isaiah
is describing once again. It is the
place, where, in its time, the spirit of man will be strong. Sins will be
forgiven and the inner man will be whole, saved by the blood of the Messiah
(v.24).
Remember this, believer: The
doctrine of Paul teaches that the Jews are a natural olive tree and that we,
the Gentile believers in Christ, have been grafted into it (see Romans
11:11-27). Our God is the God of Israel. Therefore, the spiritual principle of His
strength through human weakness, given to Israel and exemplified through them,
also applies to us. The promises to the righteous in Zion are also promises to
the righteous in Christ Jesus. It must also be recognized that the sinners and
hypocrites, who dwell in Zion, also dwell in the church in this 21st
Century. We have become partakers of eternal truth. The spiritual sickness of
sin has been healed, because our sins are forgiven through the blood of the
Lamb. We will follow the Jew into the Millennium and experience Christ’s reign
in righteousness and peace.
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