Woe to Those Trusting in Military Defense
October 6, 2022
Commentary
This chapter starts out with Isaiah prophesying a time of righteousness and justice. He talks about a king who will reign in this time (vv 1-4). No historical king ever fit this description. The prophet is speaking of a time when godly conditions that shall be “as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land” shall prevail. This is a time when the blind shall see, the deaf shall hear, and the ignorant shall understand knowledge. He sees a day when people will not only know the teaching about God, but when morality shall be based upon spiritual knowledge. In Isaiah’s day, as in our own day, the common people admired “the rich and famous,” even these, so-called, “celebrities” deserved no respect. In the kingdom age everyone will recognize an evil man when he sees him, and hypocrites will fool no one at all (vv 5-6).
People throw their idols away, recognizing that they are nothing but man-made objects (vv. 7-8). The prophet turns his attention to the careless women who are at ease in Judah (vv. 9-14). He issues a stern warning to the worldly-minded society of women in Jerusalem. These women should not complacently think that God’s judgment would not come, for devastation was soon to come. This possibly refers to Assyria’s final push into Judah in 701 B.C. The prophet returns to his description of the millennial kingdom and emphasizes the restoration of peace and prosperity (vv. 15-20). He sees a time of complete national conversion for Israel in the future.
Application
Prosperity and luxury often bring false security and will lull me into thinking all is well when disaster is around the corner. If I abandon God’s purpose for my life I will also abandon His help.
Isaiah 32:1– 20 (NET)
1 Look, a king will promote fairness; officials will promote justice.
2 Each of them will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from a rainstorm; like streams of water in a dry region and like the shade of a large cliff in a parched land.
3 Eyes will no longer be blind and ears will be attentive.
4 The mind that acts rashly will possess discernment, and the tongue that stutters will speak with ease and clarity.
5 A fool will no longer be called honorable; a deceiver will no longer be called principled.
6 For a fool speaks disgraceful things; his mind plans out sinful deeds. He commits godless deeds and says misleading things about the Lord; he gives the hungry nothing to satisfy their appetite and gives the thirsty nothing to drink.
7 A deceiver’s methods are evil; he dreams up evil plans to ruin the poor with lies, even when the needy are in the right.
8 An honorable man makes honorable plans; his honorable character gives him security.
9 You complacent women, get up and listen to me! You carefree daughters, pay attention to what I say!
10 In a year’s time you carefree ones will shake with fear, for the grape harvest will fail, and the fruit harvest will not arrive.
11 Tremble, you complacent ones! Shake with fear, you carefree ones! Strip off your clothes and expose yourselves— put sackcloth around your waists.
12 Mourn over the field, over the delightful fields and the fruitful vine.
13 Mourn over the land of my people, which is overgrown with thorns and briers, and over all the once-happy houses in the city filled with revelry.
14 For the fortress is neglected; the once-crowded city is abandoned. Hill and watchtower are permanently uninhabited. Wild donkeys love to go there, and flocks graze there.
15 This desolation will continue until new life is poured out on us from heaven. Then the wilderness will become an orchard and the orchard will be considered a forest.
16 Justice will settle down in the wilderness and fairness will live in the orchard.
17 Fairness will produce peace and result in lasting security.
18 My people will live in peaceful settlements, in secure homes, and in safe, quiet places.
19 Even if the forest is destroyed and the city is annihilated,
20 you will be blessed, you who plant seed by all the banks of the streams, you who let your ox and donkey graze.
Illustration: History Books Are Filled With Wealthy People
History books are filled with wealthy people who were practically destitute compared to me. I have triple-tracked storm windows; Croesus did not. Entire nations trembled before Alexander the Great, but he couldn’t buy cat food in bulk. Czar Nicholas II lacked a compound-miter saw. Given how much better off I am than so many famous dead people, you’d think I’d be content. The trouble is that, like most people, I compare my prosperity with that of living persons: neighbors, classmates, TV personalities. There is really no rising or falling standard of living. Over the centuries people simply find different stuff to feel grumpy about. (Reader’s Digest, July, 1996, p. 193).