Isaiah 31
The LORD is wise and brings evil on the unfaithful
1 Cries of grief to them that go down to Egypt for help; and rely on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they do not look to the Holy One of Israel or seek the LORD! 2 Yet he is wise, and will bring evil, and will not nullify his words: but will rise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of those that work iniquity. 3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD stretches out his hand, both he that helps will fall, and he that is helped will fall down; they will all fail together.
- God always tells us why He does what He does.
- He wants us to understand.
- They were evil to trust in another nation instead of the Lord, their Maker.
- Trusting things other than God leads to disaster and death.
- I John 3:20 …God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.
- Psalm 94:8 Understand, you brutish among the people: and fools, when will you be wise?
He will not be deterred; He fights for His people
4 For the Lord has spoken this to me, Like a lion roars, a young lion roars on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called out against him, he will not fear their voice or humble himself for their noise: this is how the LORD of hosts will come down to fight for mount Zion, and for its hill. 5 As birds flying, so the LORD of hosts will defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it. 6 Turn to him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. 7 For in that day every man will cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made yourselves for a sin. 8 Then the Assyrian will fall with the sword, not of man; and the sword not of man, will devour him: but he will flee from the sword, and his young men will become forced labor. 9 And he will pass over to his stronghold for fear, and his princes will be afraid of the ensign (flag/banner) says the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.
- The Lord destroys the idolaters and protects those who trust in Him.
- Israel’s six days war shows God defending His people as birds flying.
- The aircraft defeated the enemy in six days, astounding the world. It will happen again in the end times.
- Isaiah 45:22 Look to me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
- Psalm 91:7 A thousand will fall at your side, 10,000 at your right hand; but it will not come near you. 8 Only with your eyes will you behold and see the reward of the wicked. 9 Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, even the most High, your dwelling; 10 There will no evil fall on you, neither will any plague come you’re your dwelling.
Isaiah 32
The LORD, our King, will reign in righteousness forever
1 Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in judgment. 2 And a man will be as a 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. 3 And the eyes of those that see will not be dim, and the ears of those that hear will listen. 4 The heart of the rash will understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers will be ready to speak elegantly.
- Earth has seen many bad rulers and few good rulers.
- None have ever seen the wonder of the Lord our God ruling in righteousness.
- No injustice will occur.
- He will gather all outcasts, heal all the sick, refresh all the weary, heal all the broken hearts, and lead people back to God.
- There will be no sorrow or sadness and very little death.
- Ezekiel 34:15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, says the Lord GOD. 16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick…
- Daniel 2:44 And in the days of these kings will the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which will never be destroyed: and the kingdom will not be left to other people, but it will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it will stand forever.
5 No longer will a fool be called noble or the miser said to be generous. 6 For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practice 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 devises wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaks right. 8 But the liberal devises liberal things; and by liberal things he will stand. 9 Rise up, you women that are at ease; hear my voice, you careless daughters; give ear unto my speech. 10 Many days and years you will be troubled, you careless women: for the vintage will fail, the gathering will not come. 11 Tremble, you women that are at ease; be troubled, you careless ones: strip, make yourselves bare, and gird sackcloth on your loins.12 They will mourn for the breasts, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. 13 Upon the land of my people will come up thorns and briers; yes, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city: 14 Because the palaces will be forsaken; the multitude of the city will be left; the forts and towers will be dens forever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;
- The Lord allows the loss of things so that we can learn to rejoice in the Source of all things.
- Romans 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
The Lord pours out His Spirit on us
15 Until the spirit is poured on us from on high, and the wilderness is a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is considered a forest.
- Acts 2:1-4 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like fire, and it sat on each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
- Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
16 Then judgment will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. 17 And the work of righteousness will be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever. 18 And my people will dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places; 19 When it will hail, coming down on the forest; and the city will be low in a low place. 20 Blessed are you that sow beside all waters that send out there the feet of the ox and the ass.
- It has always been God’s desire to bless. Scripture is full of blessings pronounced by God.
- In Genesis 1: 22, 28 He blessed the wildlife and man. “Be fruitful and fill…”Mankind blocks God’s blessing by disobedience.
- Isaiah 26:3 You will guard him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you: because he trusts in you.
- Matthew 12:15 … and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all.
Isaiah 33
1 Cries of grief to you destroyer who has not been destroyed; and deal treacherously, and they have not dealt treacherously with you! When you stop destroying, you will be destroyed; and when you stop to dealing treacherously, they will deal treacherously with you.
- God created and gave life to all mankind.
- We are accountable to Him.
- All life is before Him—Acts 17:25-28.
- So, more importantly, what we do to others, effects God.
- Jeremiah 32:19 Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for your eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
The Lord is exalted: He stands up and the nations scatter
2 O LORD, be gracious to us; we have waited for you: be their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble. 3 At the noise of the tumult the people fled; at the lifting up of yourself the nations were scattered. 4 And your spoil will be gathered like the gathering of the caterpiller: as the running to and fro of locusts he will run upon them. 5 The LORD is exalted; for he dwells on high: he has filled Zion with judgment and righteousness. 6 And wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.
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Exodus 34:6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
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Isaiah 26:9 With my soul have I desired you in the night; yes, with my spirit within me I will seek you early: for when yourjudgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
7 Behold, their warriors will cry outside: the ambassadors of peace will weep bitterly. 8 The highways lie waste, the traveler ceases: he has broken the covenant, he has despised the cities, he regards no man. 9 The earth mourns and languishes: Lebanon is ashamed and chopped down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits. 10 Now I will rise, says the LORD; now I will be exalted; now I will lift myself up. 11 You will conceive chaff, you will bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, will devour you. 12 And the people will be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up they will be burned in the fire. 13 Listen to what I have done, you that are far off; and, you that are near, acknowledge my power.
- The Lord is so strong that He spoke creation into being.
- Conceiving chaff and bringing forth stubble is works that have no value. Works without faith (Hebrews 11:6).
- Psalm 33:6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. 9 For he spoke, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
- 1Corinthians 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than what is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man build on this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man’s work will be shown: for the day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; fire will test every man’s work of what sort it is.
The Lord is a consuming fire
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness has surprised the hypocrites. Who among us will dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us will dwell with everlasting burnings? 15 He that walks righteously, and speaks uprightly; he that despises the gain of oppressions, that shakes his hands from holding of bribes, that stops his ears from hearing of blood, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil; 16 He will dwell on high: his place of defense will be the stronghold of rocks: food will be given to him; his waters will be sure.
- Hebrews 12:29 our God is a consuming fire.
- Ezekiel 1:26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, appearing like a sapphire stone: and on throne was the likeness of a man above upon it. 27 And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins upward, and from the appearance of his loins downward, I saw the appearance of fire, and it had brightness around it. 28 Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain was the appearance of the brightness around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.
Our Lord is infinitely beautiful
17 Your eyes will see the king in his beauty: they will behold the land that is very far off. 18 Your heart will meditate terror. Where is the scribe? Where is the weigher? Where is he that counted the towers? 19 You will not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than you can perceive; of a stammering tongue that you cannot understand. 20 Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts: your eyes will see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a dwelling that will not be taken down; not one of its stakes will ever be removed, neither will any of its cords be broken. 21 But there the glorious LORD will be to us a place of broad rivers and streams; no galley with oars will go there, nor majestic ships pass by.
- The weigher was the person who told you how much your goods were worth.
- They were dreaded because they cheated (Leviticus 19:36).
- Psalm 45:2 You are more beautiful than the children of men: grace is poured into your lips: therefore God has blessed you forever.
22 For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us. 23 Your tacklings are loosed; they could not strengthen their mast, they could not spread the sail: then the goods of a great plunder are divided; the lame take the prey. 24 And the inhabitant will not say, I am sick: the people that dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.
Isaiah 34
The fury of the LORD is on the armies of all nations
1 Come near, nations, to hear; and listen, people: let the earth hear, and all that is in it; the world, and all things that come out of it. 2 For the indignation of the LORD is on all nations, and his fury on all their armies: he has utterly destroyed them, he has delivered them to the slaughter. 3 Their slain will be cast out, and their stink will come up out of their carcasses, and the mountains will be melted with their blood.
- Armies that march to conquer and destroy will reap what they sow. What they do to others will be done to them.
The Lord is going to dissolve His original creation and make all things new
4 And all the host of heaven will be dissolved, and the heavens will be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host will fall down, as the leaf falls off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.
- 2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works in it will be burned up. 13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
- Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 5 And he that sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
5 For my sword will be bathed in heaven: behold, it will come down to judgment on Idumea/Edom, and on the people of my curse. 6The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea/Edom. 7 And the unicorns will come down with them, and the bull with the strong; and their land will be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness. 8 For it is the day of the LORD’s vengeance, and the year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
- “His sword bathed in heaven” speaks of Earth as only one small planet in the universe.
- Fallen angels have caused much destruction.
- God is going to put an end to it.
- “Sacrifice” brings into view His own blood shed for us.
- Revelation 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
9 And its streams will be turned into pitch, and its dust into brimstone, and its land will become burning pitch (the land of Idumea). 10 It will not be quenched night or day; its smoke will go up forever: from generation to generation it will lie waste; none will pass through it forever and ever. 11 But the pelican and the hedgehog will possess it; the owl and the raven will dwell in it: and he will stretch out on it the line of desolation, and the plumb line of emptiness. 12 They will call its nobles to the kingdom, but none will be there, and all her princes will be nothing. 13 And thorns will come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in its fortresses: and it will be a dwelling of dragons, and a court for the daughters of ostriches. 14 The wild beasts of the desert will meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the shaggy goat will cry to his fellow; the screech owl/night monster will rest there, and find for herself a place of rest.
- For the beasts of the desert and those from the islands to meet, the earth must become one land mass again.
- Every valley will be lifted up and the mountains made low. The land will be one mass as it was before Peleg’s day of Genesis 10:25.
- Isaiah 40:4 Every valley will be exalted, and every mountain and hill will be made low: and the crooked will be made straight, and the rough places plain:
- Revelation 16:20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
15 The great owl will make her nest there and lay and hatch and gather under her shadow: there the vultures also will be gathered, every one with her mate. 16 Seek out of the book of the LORD, and read: not one of these will fail, none will lack her mate: for my mouth it has commanded, and his spirit has gathered them. 17 And he has cast the lot for them, and his hand has divided it to them by line: they will possess it forever and dwell there from generation to generation.
- The Lord fulfills every bit of His word.
- His spirit gathers the wild beasts to the places where princes plotted evil.
- Matthew 5:18For truly I say to you, Until heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle will in no way pass from the law, until all is fulfilled.
Isaiah 35
The LORD’s glory and Excellency will be seen
1 The wilderness and the solitary place will be glad; and the desert will rejoice, and blossom like the crocus. 2 It will blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they will see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.
- Many flowers have just blossoms only at the top of the stem. The crocus stem is covered with blossoms.
- The Lord’s glory is beyond imagining.
- Ezekiel 1:26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, appearing like a sapphire stone: and on throne was the likeness of a man above upon it. 27 And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins upward, and from the appearance of his loins downward, I saw the appearance of fire, and it had brightness around it. 28 Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain was the appearance of the brightness around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.
The Lord is going to heal all
3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, do not fear: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you. 5 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. 6 Then the lame man will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing: in the wilderness waters will break out, and streams in the desert.
- Matthew 12:15 …great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all.
7 And the parched ground will become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the dwelling place of dragons, where each lays there will be grass with reeds and rushes. 8 And a highway will be there, and a roadway, and it will be called The way of holiness; the unclean will not travel on it; but it will be for the goer of the way (God’s way): and fools will not wander on it. 9 No lion will be there nor any ravenous beast will go up on it, it will not be found there; but the redeemed will walk there: 10 And the ransomed of the LORD will return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy on their heads: they will obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
- The Lord is going to end earth’s drought.
- He will make a safe highway for His people to travel to Him.
- 1Peter 1:18, 19 You have not been redeemed with corruptible things from your empty manner of life. But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
- Psalm 16:11 You will show me the path of life: in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
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SUMMARY: Isaiah 31-35
- The LORD is wise and brings evil on the unfaithful
- He will not be deterred; He fights for His people
- The LORD, our King, will reign in righteousness forever
- The Lord pours out His Spirit on us
- The Lord is exalted: He stands up and the nations scatter
- The Lord is a consuming fire
- The fury of the LORD is on the armies of all nations
- The Lord is going to dissolve His original creation and make all things new
- The LORD’s glory and Excellency will be seen
- The Lord is going to heal all