Destruction of Assyria
July 5, 2022
Commentary
Isaiah’s sixth and final pronouncement of “woe” upon the kingdoms of Israel and Judah dealt with the devastation that would come upon the land (v. 1). It was directed against Sennacherib because of his treachery against Judah. When Jerusalem was surrounded by the Assyrians, there was a godly remnant who prayed (vv. 2-4). God spared Jerusalem because of them. The righteous praised God for filling Jerusalem with justice and righteousness, with wisdom and knowledge (vv. 5-6). In the present, there was lamentation (vv. 7-9). Judah’s bravest soldiers wept to see city after city fall to the enemy. Commerce and travel were still disrupted (v. 10). Assyria stood by ready to burn Jerusalem, like a wildfire through a brush pill (vv. 11-12). When the Jews in Jerusalem saw 185,000 Assyrian soldiers slain by God in one night, they realized that the God of Israel was “a consuming fire” (Isa. 10:17). The deliverance of Jerusalem brought glory to God among the Gentiles, and it brought fear and conviction to the Jews (vv. 13-16). Isaiah hoped that this would bring his people to a place of true devotion to the Lord. The people asked who can endure God’s great judgment and the prophet responded that those who walk righteously and speak what is right (v. 15). In fact, these people will enjoy God’s blessings (v. 16).
The prophet shifts his thoughts to the end times and envisions Jerusalem ruled by King Messiah (vv. 17-24). The Jews during the millennium will experience no terror, see no arrogant military officers and hear no foreign speech (vv. 17-19). Righteousness and peace will flourish in the land. Never again will Jerusalem be destroyed (v. 20). He will rescue Israel (v. 22). Jerusalem was like a ship that almost sank, but the Lord brought it through the storm (v. 23). The nation will be whole physically and spiritually because they are forgiven (v. 24).
Application
I am like a ship that almost sank, but the Lord brought me through the storm. I will one day be whole physically and spiritually because I am forgiven.
Isaiah 33:1–24 (NET)
1 The destroyer is as good as dead, you who have not been destroyed! The deceitful one is as good as dead, the one whom others have not deceived! When you are through destroying, you will be destroyed; when you finish deceiving, others will deceive you!
2 Lord, be merciful to us! We wait for you. Give us strength each morning. Deliver us when distress comes.
3 The nations run away when they hear a loud noise; the nations scatter when you spring into action!
4 Your plunder disappears as if locusts were eating it; they swarm over it like locusts.
5 The Lord is exalted, indeed, he lives in heaven; he fills Zion with justice and fairness.
6 He is your constant source of stability; he abundantly provides safety and great wisdom; he gives all this to those who fear him.
7 Look, ambassadors cry out in the streets; messengers sent to make peace weep bitterly.
8 Highways are empty, there are no travelers. Treaties are broken, witnesses are despised, human life is treated with disrespect.
9 The land dries up and withers away; the forest of Lebanon shrivels up and decays. Sharon is like the arid rift valley; Bashan and Carmel are parched.
10 “Now I will rise up,” says the Lord. “Now I will exalt myself; now I will magnify myself.
11 You conceive straw, you give birth to chaff; your breath is a fire that destroys you.
12 The nations will be burned to ashes; like thorn bushes that have been cut down, they will be set on fire.
13 You who are far away, listen to what I have done! You who are close by, recognize my strength.”
14 Sinners are afraid in Zion; panic grips the godless. They say, “Who among us can coexist with destructive fire? Who among us can coexist with unquenchable fire?”
15 The one who lives uprightly and speaks honestly; the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures and rejects a bribe; the one who does not plot violent crimes and does not seek to harm others —
16 this is the person who will live in a secure place; he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds; he will have food and a constant supply of water.
17 You will see a king in his splendor; you will see a wide land.
18 Your mind will recall the terror you experienced, and you will ask yourselves, “Where is the scribe? Where is the one who weighs the money? Where is the one who counts the towers?”
19 You will no longer see a defiant people whose language you do not comprehend, whose derisive speech you do not understand.
20 Look at Zion, the city where we hold religious festivals! You will see Jerusalem, a peaceful settlement, a tent that stays put; its stakes will never be pulled up; none of its ropes will snap in two.
21 Instead the Lord will rule there as our mighty king. Rivers and wide streams will flow through it; no war galley will enter; no large ships will sail through.
22 For the Lord, our ruler, the Lord, our commander, the Lord, our king— he will deliver us.
23 Though at this time your ropes are slack, the mast is not secured, and the sail is not unfurled, at that time you will divide up a great quantity of loot; even the lame will drag off plunder.
24 No resident of Zion will say, “I am ill”; the people who live there will have their sin forgiven.
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