Isaiah 32:1-20 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Isaiah 32:1-20. Let’s go!
Isaiah 32:1-8 (NIV)
1 See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice.
2 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.
3 Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.
4 The mind of the rash will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear.
5 No longer will the fool be called noble nor the scoundrel be highly respected.
6 For the fool speaks folly, his mind is busy with evil: He practices ungodliness and spreads error concerning the LORD; the hungry he leaves empty and from the thirsty he withholds water.
7 The scoundrel’s methods are wicked, he makes up evil schemes to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just.
8 But the noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands.
On verses 1-8: Isaiah predicts the day when a king will reign in righteousness and his princes will reign with him in justice (v1). Because of their righteous, just rule, they will provide refuge and refreshing for the people (v2), the simple and stuttering will find understanding and clarity (v3-4), while scoundrels will be found out (v5). Whereas people suffer under the rule of a fool (v6-7), people will prosper under the rule of this noble king (v8).
What time is Isaiah referring to here? Isaiah is talking about the time when the Messiah will reign in righteousness and justice. This will finally be fulfilled when Jesus comes again and establishes His kingdom. But in the meantime, the New Testament describes Jesus as the king who reigns and that we, as His people, get to reign with Him as co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17), as princes and princesses in God’s kingdom. Jesus is our shelter from the wind and our refuge from the storm. When we allow Jesus to reign in and through our lives, we too become shelters from the wind and refuges from the storm for others.
In fact, whenever a person, a family, a church, a team, a company, a city, or a nation allows Jesus to reign in and through them, the result is that they become a refreshing refuge for others, the simple find understanding, and justice reigns.
Isaiah 32:9-20 (NIV)
9 You women who are so complacent, rise up and listen to me; you daughters who feel secure, hear what I have to say!
10 In little more than a year you who feel secure will tremble; the grape harvest will fail, and the harvest of fruit will not come.
11 Tremble, you complacent women; shudder, you daughters who feel secure! Strip off your clothes, put sackcloth around your waists.
12 Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vines
13 and for the land of my people, a land overgrown with thorns and briers– yes, mourn for all houses of merriment and for this city of revelry.
14 The fortress will be abandoned, the noisy city deserted; citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland forever, the delight of donkeys, a pasture for flocks,
15 till the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest.
16 Justice will dwell in the desert and righteousness live in the fertile field.
17 The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.
18 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,
20 how blessed you will be, sowing your seed by every stream, and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.
On verses 9-20: Once again, as Isaiah did in chapter 29, Isaiah describes this strange picture where the people of Judah at first suffer and are laid to waste (v9-14) but then by an act of God’s power they begin to thrive again (v15-18). Verses 19-20 give a summary of that picture: a city that is leveled completely will become blessed. Isaiah is pointing to the time when “in little more than a year” (v10) Jerusalem will be surrounded by Assyrian soldiers, but God will miraculously come to Jerusalem’s rescue and cause Jerusalem to be blessed once again.
What can we learn from this? God often breaks things down so that He can build something greater. He does that with you and me too.
Father, thank You that You break things down so that You can build something greater. Thank You that with Your Son Jesus we are co-heirs in Your kingdom. I pray that my life would be a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm for many people, because You reign over me. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
