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Isaiah 33 Commentary

Our Eyes Will See The King In His Beauty

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KEY THOUGHT: But there the majestic Lord will be for us a place of broad rivers and streams [Isaiah 33:21a NKJV]

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Isaiah 33 NKJV
A Prayer in Deep Distress

33 Woe to you who plunder, though you have not been plundered;
And you who deal treacherously, though they have not dealt treacherously with you!
When you cease plundering,
You will be plundered;
When you make an end of dealing treacherously,
They will deal treacherously with you.

2 O Lord, be gracious to us;
We have waited for You.
Be [a]their arm every morning,
Our salvation also in the time of trouble.
3 At the noise of the tumult the people shall flee;
When You lift Yourself up, the nations shall be scattered;
4 And Your plunder shall be gathered
Like the gathering of the caterpillar;
As the running to and fro of locusts,
He shall run upon them.

5 The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high;
He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times,
And the strength of salvation;
The fear of the Lord is His treasure.

7 Surely their valiant ones shall cry outside,
The ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.
8 The highways lie waste,
The traveling man ceases.
He has broken the covenant,
[b]He has despised the [c]cities,
He regards no man.
9 The earth mourns and languishes,
Lebanon is shamed and shriveled;
Sharon is like a wilderness,
And Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.

Impending Judgment on Zion

10 “Now I will rise,” says the Lord;
“Now I will be exalted,
Now I will lift Myself up.
11 You shall conceive chaff,
You shall bring forth stubble;
Your breath, as fire, shall devour you.
12 And the people shall be like the burnings of lime;
Like thorns cut up they shall be burned in the fire.
13 Hear, you who are afar off, what I have done;
And you who are near, acknowledge My might.”

14 The sinners in Zion are afraid;
Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites:
“Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?
Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?”
15 He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,
He who despises the gain of oppressions,
Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes,
Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed,
And shuts his eyes from seeing evil:
16 He will dwell on [d]high;
His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks;
Bread will be given him,
His water will be sure.

The Land of the Majestic King

17 Your eyes will see the King in His beauty;
They will see the land that is very far off.
18 Your heart will meditate on terror:
“Where is the scribe?
Where is he who weighs?
Where is he who counts the towers?”
19 You will not see a fierce people,
A people of obscure speech, beyond perception,
Of a [e]stammering tongue that you cannot understand.

20 Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts;
Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet home,
A tabernacle that will not be taken down;
Not one of its stakes will ever be removed,
Nor will any of its cords be broken.
21 But there the majestic Lord will be for us
A place of broad rivers and streams,
In which no [f]galley with oars will sail,
Nor majestic ships pass by
22 (For the Lord is our Judge,
The Lord is our Lawgiver,
The Lord is our King;
He will save us);
23 Your tackle is loosed,
They could not strengthen their mast,
They could not spread the sail.

Then the prey of great plunder is divided;
The lame take the prey.
24 And the inhabitant will not say, “I am sick”;
The people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity.

Footnotes

a. Isaiah 33:2 LXX omits their; Syr., Tg., Vg. our
b. Isaiah 33:8 Tg. They have been removed from their cities
c. Isaiah 33:8 So with MT, Vg.; DSS witnesses; LXX omits cities
d. Isaiah 33:16 Lit. heights
e. Isaiah 33:19 Unintelligible speech
f. Isaiah 33:21 ship

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Isaiah 33 Commentary

Not all of Isaiah’s visions are a cent for tomorrow’s shopping. Many of them could be picked up and applied immediately in Isaiah’s own times.

The wicked nations that destroyed others stood tall and hot in their wickedness. They betrayed others and had nothing to fear.

The saint may look at today’s powerful men and women who constantly violate God’s law with impunity. They appear secure against any form of destruction. They may even live long and have the respect of many.

Individuals, not nations. Underline it. The LORD God addresses an individual. When there are two or more, they could be called a nation. But the LORD God isn’t addressing an abstract concept or construct called a nation.

Organizations don’t have objectives. Individuals do. It’s all about individuals within the organization.

“And the inhabitant will not say, “I am sick; the people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity.” When the forgiven people number more than one, they could be called a nation (redeemed Zion, Jerusalem, Jacob, Israel…). But it’s all about individuals.

Isaiah’s prayer isn’t strange at all. LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength in the morning, our salvation in times of distress.

Then the LORD answers immediately. He will fill Zion with His justice and righteousness. This promise hangs on the condition of the “Fear of the LORD”. It is the saint’s treasure – of course, the saint’s greatest treasure.

Within the community of God’s people are sinners. They can save themselves from God’s wrath by living right, speaking the truth, despising exploitation, refusing bribes, rejecting violence, and avoiding evil amusements.

The chapter closes with Isaiah focusing on the future – a time when the LORD God rules. There will be abundance, healing, and forgiveness of sin. Of course, Isaiah announced it; the LORD Jesus Christ lived it.

“Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” Matthew 4:23.

He told His followers to continue announcing the news of the kingdom – the rule of the Son, Immanuel. So the LORD is still calling men and women to Himself. The door remains wide open. The invitation goes out to all.

Loving Scripture….

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25 thoughts on “Home”

  1. It has been exciting learning how God can make things happen to his choosen one, God workout something wonderful and fulfils the promises he made to the father of Joseph.

    God’s words remains true so are his promises and indeed it has been God working out the salvation of man Kind by Grace through Faith alone.

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  11. Profound. My life needs a new introduction to God. Not that I have been right, but because God desires to help me… I see an amazing Grace here. Having broken the first commandment, still God looks for me and helps me to build up with him… And live for him. A littles knowledge of the Lord will ignite my passion and desire to serve him. This morning I pledge to seek, live and serve the Lord Jesus Christ and His purposes everyday of my life.
    Beautiful lesson

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  12. The Lord reintroduces himself and shows Israel, He is all they need. Some boast in horses and others in chariots but we’ll boast in the Lord. He is able and the only one worthy of our trust. Lord teach me how to always look up to you at all times and not focus on my strength or capabilities. This is my prayer

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  14. This far too common today. Just do something that seems like true worship yet it’s intent and actual practice is not even close to the set standard by the Lord. I personally feel challenged of some things we do in our personal lives, the focus of many churches and ministries today. We’ll need to realize the Lord must be worship as he has personally guided. Provides a good start of my reflection today

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  15. In those days when there was no King everyone did as they pleased. This is a good reminder to us that we are on own when the King of Kings isn’t leading our lives we’ll be doing what is not right and the results will show clearly how life without Christ looks like. We thank God that even when it looks like he’s not there, he’s behind the scenes working. I have learnt to trust in the Lord always.

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  16. Iam seeing this being stressed… There was no King in Israel… So lawlessness is the order of the day. This shows how heartless and wicked man can be with out the right King in his life. He can do anything. May the Lord help us to allow Christ in our lives that every aspect of our lives is changed and we yield ourselves to him alone.

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  17. I’m sure as the two daughters in-law stayed in Naomi’s home they learned about the God of Israel and appreciated His works among his people. Ruth’s determination and what she says moves my heart. She’s convinced she must go with Naomi and wants to spend her life with her, this relationship was strong especially between a mother inlaw and a daughter in-law. Yet Ruth stays and how she puts it shows the depth of her heart, I’ll go with with you, your people will be my people, your God will be my God…

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