The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. Isaiah 32:17
Chapters 32-35. Joy Follows Judgment
This first half of the book of Isaiah ends with a series of descriptions of the kingdom that will follow the judgments.
[Chapter 32-33]
Isaiah’s vision again moves beyond contemporary and future judgment to portray a “king” who will reign in righteousness.” This grand messianic vision picks up themes found in other prophecies, portraying first one who does away with life’s unfairness. His judgments will shake the complacent, but lead to a pouring out of God’s Spirit that brings personal and international peace. With the destroyer destroyed (33:1-4), the exalted Lord Himself is to be the foundation for better times. That coming will terrify sinners, but seem a refuge to the righteous. Jerusalem will become the capital of the kingdom, supplying and satisfying all.
Key verse. 32:17: Only God’s Spirit can restore.
Personal application. God’s best for you lies beyond tomorrow.
⇒ We dare to think of our “forever” state. We dare to hope for it. Fulfillment of this hope is promised and taught by the Holy Spirit. It is also backed by the fulfillment of many prophecies in the Bible. Those of us who see and understand this dare to hope. We already have the seed of fulfillment growing in us, the heartbeat and all.
Hymn: Blessed Assurance
The Righteous King
32 1 Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, And princes will rule with justice. 2 A man will be as a hiding place from the wind, And a cover from the tempest, As rivers of water in a dry place, As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. 3 The eyes of those who see will not be dim, And the ears of those who hear will listen. 4 Also the heart of the rash will understand knowledge, And the tongue of the stammerers will be ready to speak plainly. 5 The foolish person will no longer be called generous, Nor the miser said to be bountiful; 6 For the foolish person will speak foolishness, And his heart will work iniquity: To practice ungodliness, To utter error against the Lord, To keep the hungry unsatisfied, And he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. 7 Also the schemes of the schemer are evil; He devises wicked plans To destroy the poor with lying words, Even when the needy speaks justice. 8 But a generous man devises generous things, And by generosity he shall stand.
Women of Jerusalem Warned
9 Rise up, you women who are at ease, Hear my voice; You complacent daughters, Give ear to my speech. 10 In a year and some days You will be troubled, you complacent women; For the vintage will fail, The gathering will not come. 11 Tremble, you women who are at ease; Be troubled, you complacent ones; Strip yourselves, make yourselves bare, And gird sackcloth on your waists. 12 People shall mourn upon their breasts For the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. 13 On the land of my people will come up thorns and briers, Yes, on all the happy homes in the joyous city; 14 Because the palaces will be forsaken, The bustling city will be deserted. The forts and towers will become lairs forever, A joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks– 15 Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, And the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, And the fruitful field is counted as a forest. 16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, And righteousness remain in the fruitful field. 17 The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. 18 My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, In secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places, 19 Though hail comes down on the forest, And the city is brought low in humiliation. 20 Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, Who send out freely the feet of the ox and the donkey.
