Isaiah 32
Sunday Morning Bible Study
October 10, 1999
Introduction
There is a phenomena in prophecy called "prophetic telescoping" where a prophecy will be going along on a certain subject and time frame and then suddenly take a jump to a different time and place. We are now at one of those points in Isaiah. Isaiah has been talking about the coming Assyrian invasion, but now he takes a flip into the future to the time when Jesus comes back. When Jesus returns to the earth, He will set up His kingdom and rule planet earth from Jerusalem. We call this time of Jesus’ rule the "Millennial Kingdom".
:1-8 Jesus sets up a righteous kingdom
:1 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness
When Jesus returns, He will rule the earth in "righteousness". This means that everything His government will do will be correct. We live in a day and time where political leaders rule by what is popular in the polls. Jesus won’t have to take a poll to make His decisions. He will always do the right thing. He will rule in righteousness.
:1 and princes shall rule in judgment.
princes – a reference to us. We will be ruling with Christ on the earth (Rev. 2:26-27) and we will also serve as judges.
(1 Cor 6:2 KJV) Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
:2 a man shall be as an hiding place … as rivers of water …
This could be talking about Jesus as the "hiding place", but I think it’s talking about us:
(Isa 32:2 NIV) Each man will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.
Lesson
Be a water boy.
The water boy isn’t exactly the glamour spot on a football team, but without him, the stars would be hard pressed to keep playing. When you’re hot, tired, and thirsty, it’s the water boy you look for.
We don’t have to wait for Jesus to come back to be a place of shelter and refreshment to others. When Paul wrote to a man named Philemon, he said,
(Philemon 1:7 NASB) For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.
refreshed
– anapauo – to cause or permit one to cease from any movement or labour in order to recover and collect his strengthWe often see Jesus being the one who gives us rest (anapauo). He said,
Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
But God’s desire is that we too learn to give rest to others and refresh them. Paul writes,
1 Corinthians 16:17-18 I am glad of the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus: for that which was lacking on your part they have supplied. 18 For they have refreshed my spirit and yours: therefore acknowledge ye them that are such.
Illustration
If you go to the Library of Congress in Washington, there is a little blue box that contains one of the Library’s rarities. The label on the box reads "Contents of the President’s Pockets on the Night of April 14, 1865". That was the fateful night that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. There are five things in the box:
A handkerchief, embroidered "A. Lincoln"
A country boy’s pen knife
A spectacles case repaired with string
A purse containing a $5 bill—Confederate money (!)
Some old and worn newspaper clippings
The clippings were from articles that talked about the great deeds of Abraham Lincoln. One of them actually reports a speech by John Bright which says that Abraham Lincoln is "one of the greatest men of all times." That’s not a surprising statement for us, but in Lincoln’s day, millions shared a different opinion. The President’s critics were fierce and many. His was a lonely agony that reflected the suffering and turmoil of his country ripped to shreds by hatred and cruel, costly war.
What do you contribute to others? Are you one of the critics or one of the "refreshers"? Are you one who continually points out what is wrong with others, or are you one who recognizes and builds up the good things that God is doing in another’s life?
:3 And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim
Right now, we don’t always see or hear everything. But when Jesus comes back, that won’t be a problem.
:4 The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge
rash – mahar – to be hurried, be anxious; hasty
(Isa 32:4 NLT) Even the hotheads among them will be full of sense and understanding.
Sometimes we’re too much in a hurry to sit, listen, and understand the things of the Lord.
:4 and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.
stammerers – `illeg – speaking inarticulately, stammering. In that day everyone will be able to understand each other. Real communication. Won’t that be a miracle?
:5 The vile person shall be no more called liberal …
vile person – nabal – foolish, senseless, fool
liberal – nadiyb – noble, generous
(Isa 32:5 NLT) In that day ungodly fools will not be heroes. Wealthy cheaters will not be respected as outstanding citizens.
Our modern media has a lot of things turned around these days. There are plenty of people who would properly fall into the category of "fool", and yet the media considers these people to be heroes or "stars".
:6 For the vile person will speak villany …
(Isa 32:6 NLT) Everyone will recognize ungodly fools for what they are. They spread lies about the LORD; they deprive the hungry of food and give no water to the thirsty.
There will be "vile" people in the kingdom. When Jesus returns, all those who do not believe in Him will be put to death and only those who believe will enter into the kingdom. Yet some of those believers will be those who have survived the Tribulation in their natural bodies. These people will have children and grandchildren, many of whom will grow up and not choose to follow Jesus. When Satan is released briefly at the end of the Millennium, these "vile" people will try to rebel against Jesus (Rev. 20).
Right will be right, and wrong will be obvious.
:8 by liberal things shall he stand
(Isa 32:8 NKJV) But a generous man devises generous things, And by generosity he shall stand.
:9-14 Rebuking complacent women
Isaiah now backs up and talks to the people of his day.
:9 Rise up, ye women that are at ease …ye careless daughters
(Isa 32:9 NIV) You women who are so complacent, rise up and listen to me; you daughters who feel secure, hear what I have to say!
It’s not wrong to feel safe or confident, as long as your confidence is in the right things.
For these gals, they didn’t care about what their spiritual state was. They were just enjoying their life, but unaware of where their life was heading.
:10 Many days and years shall ye be troubled,
better, "Within a year and a few days"
:10 the gathering shall not come
gathering – harvest. The invading Assyrian army would be cutting the city of Jerusalem off from the surrounding fields and their produce.
:11-12 Tremble, ye women that are at ease … (just read NLT)
(Isa 32:11-12 NLT) Tremble, you women of ease; throw off your unconcern. Strip off your pretty clothes, and wear sackcloth in your grief. {12} Beat your breasts in sorrow for your bountiful farms that will soon be gone, and for those fruitful vines of other years.
:13-14 Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns …
A picture of a land that’s been deserted.
For Isaiah’s day, this is what the land would be like when Sennacherib invaded and controlled for awhile all the territory around Jerusalem.
But the ultimate fulfillment would be later on when Judah would be wiped out first by the Babylonians, and then most of all by the Roman army in 70 AD.
These gals in Isaiah’s day were very comfortable in their surroundings. They could care less to Isaiah’s "doom and gloom" prophecies. They had life wired. But they were in for a rude awakening.
Lesson
Are you ready for difficult times?
I’m not speaking prophetically here, as if we’re all going to go through difficult times within the next year. But what if we were? Would the difficult times blow you away? Would you be ready for them?
Jesus told a story about a farmer scattering seed out on his fields. The seed landed on different kinds of soil, producing different kinds of results. Jesus said that these different soils were a picture of different types of people and how they reacted to God’s Word being sown into their lives. One type of soil was the "stony" soil:
(Mat 13:20-21 NKJV) "But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; {21} "yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.
I pray we are not a church of "shallow" Christians. I long for us to be a church filled with people whose roots go down deep. It’s the trees and plants that have the deepest roots that are able to live through the harshest and driest times. The test is what happens during difficult times.
What will difficult times do to you?
How will you do if your household income suddenly stopped? What will you do if for some reason it seems as if those closest to you don’t like you anymore? I think that Satan must slip something into our coffee that makes it seem like everyone around us looks and talks like a big green monster.
Where are your confidence and trust placed?
Are you resolved to keep reading your Bible everyday, no matter how busy and crazy life gets?
Are you resolved to keep praying for the things that are worrisome to you, even when you don’t see anything like an answer on the horizon?
Are you resolved to keep coming to church, no matter how green and ugly the people begin to look like?
:15-20 The Outpouring of the Spirit
:15 the wilderness be a fruitful field … a forest
Everything’s upgraded. Deserts will become fertile fields. Fields will become forests.
:15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high
In verse 14 we talked of desolation. In verse 15 we see blessing. What happened? It’s the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that changes desolation to blessing. There will be a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit during the end times. We see this outpouring prophesied of in many places (Joel 2:28-32; Eze. 39:29; Zech 12:10). I believe we in this century have begun to see the very beginnings of this outpouring of God’s Spirit.
Lesson
The Spirit brings life.
You don’t have to wait for Jesus to come back for the life that the Spirit has to offer you. I am always amazed at the pictures of what happens to the Mojave Desert after a rainfall. The desert springs to life with all sorts of plants and flowers. All from a single rainfall. Jesus said,
(John 7:37-38 KJV) In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. {38} He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Are you thirsty?
:20 Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters …
The future Kingdom will be a place of prosperity. Everywhere they plant seed, it will be blessed. It will be a great place for the livestock.
:18-19 my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places; When it shall hail …
(Isa 32:18-19 NIV) My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest. {19} Though hail flattens the forest and the city is leveled completely,
Before Jesus comes back, there will be a time of unprecedented trouble on the earth. Yet God’s people will be living with a blanket of peace around them.
Lesson
Peace in the middle of the storm.
People have lots of funny ideas about what it takes to get peace in their lives.
An anonymous woman had in interesting idea for world peace. She writes,
"If women were in charge of all the world’s nations, there would be no war. I sincerely believe this - virtually no military conflicts, and if there were a military conflict, everyone involved would feel just awful and there would soon be a high-level exchange of thoughtful notes written on greeting cards with flowers on the front, followed by a Peace Luncheon (which would be salads, with the dressing on the side)."
Will Rogers said,
"If all politicians fished instead of spoke publicly, we would be at peace with the world"
Real lasting peace comes from your Creator.
:17 the work of righteousness shall be peace, quietness, assurance
peace – shalowm – completeness, soundness, welfare, peace
quietness – shaqat – to be quiet, be tranquil, be at peace, lie still, be undisturbed
assurance – betach – security, safety
Having this quality of "righteousness", of doing things according to God’s standards, will produce the qualities of peace, quietness, and assurance.
Lesson
Peace from being right with God.
Doing things according to God’s standards isn’t as easy as it sounds. In fact, for us, it’s downright impossible.
(Isa 64:6 KJV) all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags …
God knows that our righteousness isn’t good enough, so He’s made an offer to us, to swap our sin with Jesus’ righteousness:
(2 Cor 5:20-21 NIV) We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. {21} God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
This is what Jesus did on the cross. He took all the punishment for my sin, and in exchange, God gives me all the goodness of Jesus. God takes the beautiful life of Jesus and credits it to my account.
All I have to do to receive this right standing with God is to trust Him. This is called "faith". I trust Him that Jesus has paid for my sin. I trust Him that He has given the righteousness of Jesus to me.
(Rom 5:1 KJV) Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: