Archives for August 2024

OVERVIEW:

Israel’s deliverance through Messiah’s reign; woe against Assyria; destruction of the Gentile nations; blessings in the Millennial Kingdom; the invasion of the Babylonians under Sennacherib; Hezekiah’s consultation with Isaiah; Hezekiah’s dependence and trust in the Lord; Hezekiah’s illness and recovery; Hezekiah’s foolish reception of the Babylonian messengers; Israel’s captivity into Babylon foretold.

HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:

As we pick up in chapter 32 today, Isaiah points us to that glorious time in the Millennium when, “Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.” (32:1) This is the same time to which John was referring in the book of Revelation when he wrote in Revelation 5:10: “And [Thou] hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” and in Revelation 20:6: “…but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” Isaiah said that that time would be when “…the spirit [would] be poured upon us from on high…” (32:15) It is a prophecy concerning the “last days” which actually kicked in, and were partially fulfilled on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 (see Acts 2:16–17 specifically), but were put on hold after the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7. They will pick up again during the Tribulation Period after the “parenthesis” of the “Church Age”.  (Also see Isaiah 44:3; Ezekiel 36:25–27; Joel 2:28–32)

In chapter 33, we pick up the sixth and final “woe” which is pronounced on Assyria. Isaiah prophesies that the Assyrians, under Sennacherib, would bring Judah into subjection, forcing them to pay annual tribute (taxes) while demanding their total surrender. The Lord promises deliverance from the Assyrians, and uses the occasion, as we have consistently seen Him do, to point to the fact that there will come a time (in the Millennial Kingdom) when the nations of the world will never be a threat to Israel again. The righteous will then live in peace with their Messiah: “For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.” (33:22)

In chapters 34 and 35, just as we saw in chapters 24–27, the Lord goes from talking about the judgment of Assyria (chapter 33), to the universal judgment of the Gentile nations which will be fulfilled at Armageddon. (Revelation 19:11–21) Notice how God points to the universality of this judgment in 34:1 through the words “nations”, “people”, “earth”, and “world”. Isaiah points to the physical (35:3–6) and spiritual (35:7–10) changes that will take place on the earth when the Lord Jesus Christ returns, to this planet, at the Second Coming, and establishes His Millennial Kingdom on the earth. Verse 8 says, “And an highway shall be there”! And, you’ve gotta love it; it is called, “The way of holiness:” and only “the redeemed” (those who have been bought by the blood of the King of kings, the Lord Jesus Christ) “shall walk there”! (35:9)

Chapter 36, all the way to chapter 38 and verse 8, parallels what we saw in 2^nd Kings 18:17–20:11. When threatened by the Assyrians, King Hezekiah looks to Isaiah, God’s man (37:1–2), and to God Himself for help! (37:14–15) The proud Assyrians warned Hezekiah in a letter not to trust the Lord to deliver them. Pay real close attention to what Hezekiah did with the letter: “And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord…” (37:14–15) Wow! We all might need to ask ourselves, “how is the devil seeking to intimidate us today”, and carefully follow Hezekiah’s example! The New Testament equivalent is Philippians 4:6–7: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Because of Hezekiah’s dependence and trust in the Lord, the Lord promised to protect Jerusalem and deliver His believing remnant. That night, the Lord destroyed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers, and Sennacherib (the loudmouth, boastful “intimidator”) went back home with his tail between his legs! 

When Hezekiah got sick (38:1), he prayed that the Lord would spare his life. The Lord answered his prayer, granting him 15 more years. When the Babylonians heard that he had recovered from his sickness (39:1), they sent messengers and a present to him. Hezekiah foolishly received them and showed them all of the immensity and glory of the treasures in Solomon’s temple. As a result, Isaiah prophesied that they would return and carry away all of the treasures they had seen, along with all of God’s people, into Babylonian captivity.

Something to note about chapters 38 and 39 in today’s reading: they actually precede chapters 36 and 37 from a chronological standpoint. They are placed where they are, however, because they anticipate the Babylonian captivity, which is the subject matter in chapters 40–66. Also, be reminded, that with Isaiah being a microcosm of the Bible, chapter 39 ends the section representing the 39 books of the Old Testament.   

SPECIFIC REFERENCES TO “THE DAY OF THE LORD”:  

• 34:8 – “the day of the Lord’s vengeance”  
• 34:8 – “the year of recompense for the controversy of Zion”  
• 35:4 – “God will come with vengeance”  
• 35:4 – “God [will come] with a recompense”  
• 37:3 – “a day of trouble”  
• 38:1 – “In those days” (more specifically, the Tribulation Period)

CHRIST IS REVEALED:

As the ONE WHO WIELDS “THE SWORD OF THE LORD” IN JUDGMENT — Isaiah 34:6 (Revelation 19:15)

As the ANGEL OF THE LORD who smote the enemy – Isaiah 37:36 (Romans 12:19)

OVERVIEW:

Worship in the Millennial Kingdom; praise for the preservation of Israel; woe against the drunkards of Ephraim; woe against Jerusalem; woe against the schemers; woe against those who trust in Egypt; woe against those who trust in Egypt’s military defense.

HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:

Chapters 26 and 27 describe the worship that will be taking place in the Millennial Kingdom. Chapter 26 begins with the words, “In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah”, and then it goes on to give us the actual words of the song! The song is a song of praise to the Lord for His glorious protection. The godly will enter into the “strong city” of Jerusalem, but be aware, the strength of the city is not because of her physical walls; it is the spiritual walls of salvation imparted to its occupants by the Lord Himself! (26:1–2) Because of their trust in the Lord, and their meditation on the Lord, the Lord blesses them with “perfect peace”. (26:3) Don’t miss that verse 3 is also a biblical prescription for experiencing that kind of peace now! Oh, may our minds totally and passionately be “stayed on the Lord” causing us to totally and passionately “trust in the Lord”!

The song continues in chapter 26 with praise for the Lord’s judgment against His enemies. (26:5–11) In verses 12–15, the song declares praise for God’s permanent victory over His enemies; and verses 16-21 declare praise to the Lord for His deliverance from suffering. Isaiah is describing Israel’s suffering in the Tribulation, and is giving to them the glorious promise of resurrection! (26:19)

The song continues in chapter 27, praising God for the slaying of leviathan. Israel’s enemies are pictured here by this slithering creature that is described as a “piercing serpent”, “that crooked serpent” and as “the dragon” that the Lord shall slay. (27:1) As we discussed in our coverage of Job 41, leviathan is none other than that seven-headed, red dragon (Psalm 74:13-14; Revelation 12:3) that is specifically identified in Revelation 12:9 as “that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan”! Israel’s enemies in the Tribulation Period are the nations, but God identifies for us that the actual power that is working behind the scenes through these nations is none other than Satan himself! Revelation 12 lets us know that the “woman” who gave birth to the Christ-child was the nation of Israel. God declared that reality to Satan in Genesis 3:15, and until the birth of Christ some 4000 years later, he relentlessly persecuted the seed that would become (and did become!) the nation of Israel, because she would be the nation that would actually bring Him forth. For the past 2000 years since the birth of Christ, he has mercilessly and relentlessly persecuted the nation of Israel because she was the one that did bring forth the Lord Jesus Christ. Revelation 12 reveals that the persecution against the nation of Israel will only be heightened during the Tribulation Period, until, of course, as Isaiah 27 details, the Lord steps in to defeat Leviathan (Satan). (27:1)

Chapter 27 goes on to praise the Lord for His judgment against the Gentile nations that have been used by Satan to afflict Israel. The chapter ends with Israel worshipping “the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.” (27:12–13) Be aware, this is no small thing! This is exactly what the Father has always longed for His Son to receive. (Psalm 66:4; Philippians 2:9–11) Praise the Lord, it is going to happen sooner, as opposed to later!

In the remaining chapters in today’s reading (28–31), Isaiah pronounces five of six “woes” upon those who scoff at God’s word. (28:1; 29:1, 15; 30:1; 31:1) We will pick up the sixth “woe” in tomorrow’s reading. (33:1) For the most part, God is indicting Israel and Judah for trusting in their wealth, as well as trusting the help from their alliances with foreign nations, rather than trusting Him.

The first woe is directed against Ephraim, the large tribe that was representative of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. It anticipates the Assyrian invasion and subsequent fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722 B.C., but also looks ahead to the day of the Lord (“in that day” 28:5) when the remnant of Israel would repent and receive a “crown of glory” and a “diadem of beauty” which are actually descriptive terms referring to our very Lord Jesus Christ when He returns to the earth to establish His Millennial reign!

In chapter 29, the second woe is given against “Ariel, the city where David dwelt!” (29:1, i.e. Jerusalem). It prophesies the invasion of the Assyrian army under Sennacherib, and describes in an historic sense, as well as in a prophetic sense, how the nations that hunger and thirst for Israel’s destruction will themselves be destroyed.

The third woe appears in 29:15–24, and is directed against those who seek to scheme against the Lord; who foolishly think He doesn’t see them. That may just be the epitome of what we might call, “delusional”!

Chapter 30 opens with the fourth woe, which is directed against Judah for their rebellion against the Lord, and specifically, the rebellion they expressed by trusting in Egypt rather than the Lord Himself. The chapter continues on to describe how their alliance with Egypt would fail, and how Judah would be chastened of the Lord. In 30:18, God begins to point, once again, to that time when the chastening would be over, and He would destroy the nations of the world that set themselves against Israel, and He would bring Israel into the blessings of the Messiah when He rules in His Kingdom.

The fifth woe, revealed in chapter 31, continues the condemnation against Judah for looking to Egypt for help militarily against the Assyrians. The chapter ends with God’s declaration that Assyria would ultimately be defeated, not by MAN but by HIM(!!!) and that they would be defeated, not by MAN’S SWORD but by GOD’S! May I remind you, that you are holding that very sword, God’s word, in your hands at this very moment!  Allow it to defeat and destroy all of the worldliness that is afflicting your life today! 

 SPECIFIC REFERENCES TO “THE DAY OF THE LORD”: 

• 26:1 – “in that day”  
• 27:1 – “in that day”  
• 27:2 – “in that day” 
• 27:12 – “in that day” 
• 27:13 – “in that day” 
• 28:5 – “in that day” 
• 29:18 – “in that day” 
• 30:23 – “it is a day of trouble”  
• 30:25 – “in that day”  
• 30:25 – “in the day of the great slaughter”  
• 30:26 – “in the day”  
• 31:7 – “in that day” 

CHRIST IS REVEALED:

As the PRECIOUS (CHIEF) CORNER STONE, A SURE FOUNDATION — Isaiah 28:16 (Ephesians 2:20–21; Matthew 1:42; Acts 4:10–12; Romans 9:33; 1^st Peter 2:6–8)