Chapter 32 looks forward to the millennium. I don’t know about you, but I, for one, grow weary of all the corruption in government. Chapter 32 tells us this will not always be so. Ultimately, King JESUS will reign in righteousness.
Father, give us understanding as we read thy word, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Isaiah 32
1 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.
Although I do grow weary of the way they run things, verse 1 tells me I may get a chance to prove I can do it better. Not only will the Lord Jesus Christ reign in righteousness, but princes (another word for kings) will rule along with Him. Revelation 1:6 says He hath made us kings… If I do receive a crown, of course I will cast it down at his feet, but nevertheless, these verses tell me there will be some administrating for us to do in his kingdom. (See Lk 19:12-27)
2 And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
Jesus is the Hiding Place, the Covert, the River of Water… but we can also serve in these capacities as his ambassadors. Jesus is the Great Rock, so we must be the shadow. Through our prayers and biblical counsel we can be like an oasis in the desert to the weary travelers of this world when we share Christ with them. Sometimes when people have nowhere else to turn, they ask a Christian they know for help. Oftentimes we can see our prayers helping people who did not even ask. Some say Jesus is a crutch. I say He is a full-blown Emergency ICU.
3 And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.
In that day you will not have any trouble getting friends and relatives to see the truths of the gospel. Everyone will get it. The ones who don’t will be in for a rude awakening. (Zech 13:3)
4 The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.
In that day there will no longer be any hotheads who always lose their temper. Nobody will stutter. Everyone is going to be well adjusted and easy to get along with.
5 The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.
6 For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
7 The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.
Verses 6 and 7 indicate how things are today, but it will not be so in that day, because hypocrites will not be allowed in God’s kingdom.
8 But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.
In other words, there is more security in being generous than there is in being stingy. (Pr 13:7)
9 Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech.
10 Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come.
11 Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins.
12 They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.
Paul said if a woman lives in pleasure she is dead while she lives. (1 Tim 5:6) Ever since the nineties, they have tried to tell us that women should have sex with anyone and everyone they want to (Sex in the City, Friends, etc). Since that time, things have only gotten worse. Teen Vogue recently had an article advocating prostitution as a legitimate career. Isaiah is telling women who have bought into these lies to repent in sackcloth. That may sound extreme but considering the alternative, I do not think it is.
13 Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city:
14 Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;
15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.
16 Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.
18 And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;
19 When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place.
20 Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.
Isaiah 32
The chapter ends with the promise of an expectant end. For hundreds of years these promises that the forsaken land of Israel would be fruitful again probably seemed hard to believe. Now however, the barren land is blossoming again. Yet, this is merely a sneak preview of coming attractions. Isaiah says in that day, the farmers who sow and have livestock—or in other words, the common people—are going to be blessed. They will be blessed because a King will rule in righteousness. (v 1) This King is going to look out for the little guy. The limousine liberals of our day like to say they are for the little guy, but their actions prove otherwise. They have been steering us towards socialism for decades now, a system which has failed everywhere else it has ever been tried. The truth is, no system of government can solve all our problems because each system of government needs to be administered by people—people who have a fallen nature. The governed have a fallen nature as well, which complicates the matter further. The system that worked the best for Israel was theocracy. When Samuel judged Israel, he led the people based on his relationship with God. Although he never used his position to enrich himself in any way, the people rebelled and demanded a king. Monarchy proved to be a stronger form of government that the people could not rebel against so easily, but the power affected the heart of the king. It was Lord Acton who said power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Today, there are a plethora of different systems of government in place on planet earth. The public discourse on the merits of these various forms of government is in actuality a war of ideas and information, which is part of the larger spiritual war for the soul of mankind. It is a war between God and Satan and we are what they are fighting over—you and me—human beings. Socialism posits that man can solve all his problems and create a utopia without God’s help. In fact, socialism posits that God is a myth that only foolish people believe in. In socialist countries, the state is the religion of the people. Marx called religion ‘the opiate of the people’. However, Christian countries have always had the most freedom and the highest standard of living. Communist, or socialist countries, on the other hand, always have the least amount of freedom and the weakest economies. The problem, however, is not so much the form of government as the people doing the governing (in addition to those who are governed). Collectivism would work fine if godly people were administrating it and the proletariat was made up of hard-working godly people as well. IF. The problem is, the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. (Jer 17:9) Jesus has a solution for this problem. When our King rules in righteousness, we will have both a theocracy and a monarchy rolled into one; the vile person will no longer be called liberal (v 5), and the father of lies will be locked up. (Rev 20) When Christianity is the worldwide religion, the citizenry will be responsible and well behaved. It will be like Camelot, only better—it will be like heaven on earth. Those who put their trust in Christ today will rule beside Him tomorrow when He returns. If you want to be part of his kingdom, pray this prayer:
Father, I realize that I have sinned against You. Thank You for sending your Son to die for me and pay the price for the sins that I have committed. I receive Him as my personal Saviour. I repent and ask You to take control of my life. Lord Jesus please come into my heart. Thank You for the precious blood You shed for me at Calvary. I believe You rose again. I believe You are coming back to reign in righteousness. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit and write my name in your Book of Life. Help me to love others the way You do and give me the wisdom to make good decisions. I pray all this in your holy and precious name. Amen.
Come quickly Lord Jesus. Amen.
