The Hope of God Arising • 08.04.24
The Hope of God Arising
Isaiah 33
Allowing future hope to inform today’s struggles
- Take note of the outcome of wickedness
- Learn to wait on and trust in the Lord
- When God arises, all must hear and acknowledge him
- When God arises, his people will dwell securely
Good morning, church family! (Welcome guests + introduce self)
Ushers + Bibles (Isaiah 33; page 705)
We started our morning by singing a song called “God Is For Us”. If you recall, the first verse went like this:
We won’t fear the battle
We won’t fear the night
We will walk the valley
With You by our side
You will go before us
You will lead the way
We have found a refuge
Only You can save
It speaks to a trust in God that changes the way you face today’s struggles. Knowing that God is by your side, that he goes before you, and even leads the way has the power to completely change your perspective and response to the battles, the dark nights, and the valleys of life in this broken, sin-cursed world. When you know the true refuge, the only one who can save, you can have a deep abiding hope and peace, no matter what comes your way.
This song so eloquently gives voice to the very principles we’ve been learning in our study of Isaiah. These are the lessons the Judeans were learning the hard way! Unfortunately, like many of us, they chose to turn to all the wrong things looking for help and satisfaction in time of need. And, as we’ve heard week after week, this choice to turn to foreign nations and idols or even self-reliance rather than the One, True God has brought incredible disaster and destruction into their lives and nation. The King of Assyria has refused to be bought off and his army is marching their way towards Jerusalem. Their aim is clear – conquering the capital and ruling the people. From a human perspective, hope seems lost!
Consider that since chapter 28, we’ve heard God pronouncing woes against His people! Their choice to reject God has made Him their enemy. I hope you will agree that is not a good position to be in!
Yet, throughout these chapters, as God has foretold of the discipline he will bring upon them for their wicked ways, He has also continued to hold out hope for the future. In 30:18 we heard that God waited to be gracious and to show mercy to them. He spoke of a day when they would no longer defile themselves with idols but repent and come back to him. Just last week we heard in chapter 32 of the hope of Messiah’s reign. A day would come when they were spiritually renewed and no longer blind/deaf/dumb; when they recognized the difference between good and evil. Where the Spirit of God transforms both land and people resulting in righteousness and peace and trust forever. Certainly, these would have been welcome glimpses of hope amid such hard words of judgment and discipline for their sin.
And today, as we enter chapter 33, we find our sixth and final woe in this section of the book. However, in a surprising turn, it is not a woe directed at Judah, but their rapidly approaching enemy, Assyria. The prophet Isaiah seeks to lead the people to turn back to the Lord and to see the folly of their ways in comparison to the hope of God arising. So, let’s turn our attention to the first nine verses of the text today.
Isaiah 33:1–9 (ESV)
Ah, you destroyer,
who yourself have not been destroyed,
you traitor,
whom none has betrayed!
When you have ceased to destroy,
you will be destroyed;
and when you have finished betraying,
they will betray you.
2 O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you.
Be our arm every morning,
our salvation in the time of trouble.
3 At the tumultuous noise peoples flee;
when you lift yourself up, nations are scattered,
4 and your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;
as locusts leap, it is leapt upon.
5 The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;
he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness,
6 and he will be the stability of your times,
abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;
the fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure.
7 Behold, their heroes cry in the streets;
the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
8 The highways lie waste;
the traveler ceases.
Covenants are broken;
cities are despised;
there is no regard for man.
9 The land mourns and languishes;
Lebanon is confounded and withers away;
Sharon is like a desert,
and Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.
In this passage, we hear Isaiah telling the Assyrians off, leading his people to turn to God in prayer, and pointing out the disastrous results of trusting in their own ways. He is a godly man seeking to lead a lost people back to the Lord. In our study of this chapter today, our aim is the same as last week…
Allowing future hope to inform today’s struggles
This text continues to provide hope of what is to come, even as they face the bitter consequences of their own sinful ways. But before we get to the hope part, we have to face the bitter consequences of sin. Our first takeaway this morning is…
- Take note of the outcome of wickedness
Consider again verse 1, where Isaiah rebukes Assyria for their wicked ways. In a divine taste of irony, God will not let the destroyer and traitor get away with their behavior. A time is coming when they will face the same behavior at the hands of others. (God will oppose them and Babylon!)
Assyria was a proud nation that taunted those it conquered. When we get to chapter 36, you’ll hear firsthand their mocking of the Judeans and Yahweh. God would not let this wicked behavior continue unaddressed forever. This woe pronounced by Isaiah is the foreshadowing of what is to come (and what did happen in world history). When all is said and done, sin never prospers! God always has the final say.
But the Assyrians are not the only object lessons here. Look at verses 7-9 where Isaiah points out the outcome of Judah’s wicked ways. Recall that King Ahaz of Judah had first paid Assyria to come and conquer his enemies (Syria + Israel), but that backfired on them when the Assyrians came and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. (2 Chron. 28:16-21) Then when Assyria led another campaign against Judah, King Hezekiah sought to bribe them to leave them alone by sending a tribute of silver and gold (much of which came from the Lord’s temple!) (2 Kings 18:13-16) That also did not work out! Assyria still conquered the land up to the walls of Jerusalem! Neither of these man-made plans worked out for them! Both brought incredible destruction to the land. Hence Isaiah speaks of the crying in the streets and the “envoys of peace” weeping bitterly. Their man-made attempts to broker a peace deal had failed! This weeping is later recorded for us when Judah’s envoys heard the Assyrians mocking Judah/Yahweh from outside the city walls. They were quickly running out of hope!
And guess what happens when an enemy army is encamped in your land? The highways lie waste… the traveler ceases because it isn’t safe to be on the roads! The language in verses 7-9 depicts a land that is in ruins and distraught. Lebanon, Sharon, Bashan, and Carmel are identifying areas that were known for their fertility and riches throughout the land. Now they are barren wastelands… The point being that when men/women choose their own wicked ways the inevitable outcome is disaster and destruction… barrenness in the land…
Is it very hard to see how this ancient truth corresponds to our day? I don’t think so. Putting your trust in anything other than the Lord is foolish and will not end well for you! This is true on both the personal level, which I am certain that everyone here has had to learn at some point in their life, and on the corporate level, which our own nation is currently experiencing. On the personal level, each one of us has surely, at some point, chosen to go our own way and tried to order our lives around what we think is best. This is almost always in a manner that is at odds with what God says. “I’m going to live for _____.” (You fill in the blank… pleasure/approval/success/comfort) And how did that go for you when you lived that way? Poorly. Because idols make a very poor god. They cannot give you what they promise. Chasing after them only leads to more pain, more destruction, more heartache in your life. Our nation is learning the very same lesson on a larger scale. The consequences of the worship of self/power/influence are magnified when an entire nation is pursuing it. We see the devastation and barrenness it is producing all around us. Mental health crises. Economic crises. Destruction of the family. Devaluing of life. Abandonment of morals. The crumbling of an empire. It happened to Assyria. It happened to Babylon and the Greeks and the Romans. Will we learn our lesson before it is too late? Learn from those who have gone before you and do not repeat their folly. *pause*
Thankfully, Isaiah shows us a better way in verses 2-6. After pronouncing the woe upon Assyria, he turns their attention to the Lord. He cries out in a corporate prayer to God on behalf of the nation. “O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you.” It is in this prayer that we learn…
- Learn to wait on and trust in the Lord
In the face of present struggles, Judah must turn to the Lord! The same lesson is true for us today. The word translated wait conveys also the sense of hope or waiting expectantly. There is a trust that the thing hoped for will come to pass. In this case, they are waiting on and trusting in the LORD.
The prayer is a reminder of wonderful truths about God. He is the source of grace or unmerited favor. Even though they are unworthy, they are hopeful that God would work on their behalf. They confess that He alone is mighty to protect them, their salvation in time of trouble. “Be our arm every morning” is a cry to be their source of strength/power. It’s a confession of dependence rather than self-reliance.
Verses 3-4 declare that when God arises, the nations are scattered, the peoples flee. God is greater than everyone and none can successfully resist Him! Throughout the book of Isaiah, he labors to help the people have a BIG view of God. The reality of Yahweh is that there are NONE like Him. He is the INCOMPARABLY GREAT GOD. When God arises, the wicked cannot stand before him.
We see this on display when God later sends the angel to wipe out the Assyrian army as he foretold.
Isaiah 37:36 (ESV)
36 And the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.
(Main Points Slide) The wicked Assyrian army was nothing compared to God! We also see this on display in the book of Revelation when the Lamb stands up from His throne to open the scroll with the seven seals leading to incredible judgment upon the earth. The same One also mounts His white horse in Revelation 19 and comes in righteousness to judge and make war with those who oppose Him. If you’ve read that book of the Bible, you know how it ends… None who stands against Him remains standing. They are swiftly defeated, and the spoil is His. These are the very truths that Isaiah is declaring in His prayer.
Look again at the beautiful realities that Isaiah celebrates in verses 5-6. God is exalted and dwells on high. Because that is true, there is confidence for the future. He will fill Zion with justice, righteousness, and stability. As we’ve heard in previous weeks, Yahweh is the secure resting place! God is the source and provider of incredible blessings – salvation, wisdom, knowledge, and, ultimately, the fear of the Lord. At the end of verse 6, that would be better translated “The fear of the LORD is his treasure.” Meaning it is the Lord’s gift to give to those whom He blesses. True fear of the LORD is the gift of God in your life. It is a precious treasure for His people. That you see God rightly and respond to Him appropriately. *pause*
Can you imagine if this was your view of God? What if Isaiah’s prayer was yours? (Pray some of Isaiah’s prayer aloud)
I want you to see that turning to the Lord and waiting on him is wise. He is the true source of grace, strength, salvation, stability, and wisdom for holy living…. He alone is the one who can give you a holy fear of the Lord that leads you to live righteously.
Kids, have you learned to wait on and trust in the Lord? Perhaps you have a parent or grandparent who is doing this well. Think of a person you know who loves the Lord and lives a holy and peaceful life. I want to encourage you to ask them – “Mom/Dad/Gma/Gpa, how did you learn to wait on and trust in the Lord? What has God taught you over the years about trusting in Him vs. self?” This is a lesson you would do well to learn early in life. Because then you will know the gracious God who is your strength and salvation! Have you ever struggled with worry/fear in your life? Learning to wait on and trust in the Lord is a sure answer for this battle! “We won’t fear the battle; we won’t fear the night…” Remember what we sang earlier?! Our God is for us!
Adults, have you learned to wait on and trust in the Lord? As long as you draw breath, it’s not too late. The people of Judah in Isaiah’s day had Assyria knocking at their door. It seemed like they were about to be conquered and taken into exile, but Isaiah still called them to this response. This is what repentance looks like – turning from self-reliance to God-reliance. If you’re still going through life in proud self-reliance and tasting the bitter fruit that comes from it, please confess that and repent (turn from it). There is a better way – humbly following God’s way. You can seek out the wisdom of God’s way for your life right here in His Word!
As we have seen so far in Isaiah, man’s way leads to mourning/languishing/desolation… But, when man is broken and all seems lost, God arises! Let’s turn our attention back to the text, picking back up in verse 10.
Isaiah 33:10–16 (ESV)
10 “Now I will arise,” says the Lord,
“now I will lift myself up;
now I will be exalted.
11 You conceive chaff; you give birth to stubble;
your breath is a fire that will consume you.
12 And the peoples will be as if burned to lime,
like thorns cut down, that are burned in the fire.”
13 Hear, you who are far off, what I have done;
and you who are near, acknowledge my might.
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid;
trembling has seized the godless:
“Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire?
Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?”
15 He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,
who despises the gain of oppressions,
who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe,
who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed
and shuts his eyes from looking on evil,
16 he will dwell on the heights;
his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks;
his bread will be given him; his water will be sure.
Our observation from this text is…
- When God arises, all must hear and acknowledge him
I really wanted to come up with an awesome illustration to help us understand the intensity of this moment when God arises. Everything I could think of just seemed to fall flat. How can you possibly compare a worldly, created example with the literal God of the Universe standing up to accomplish His will? Every single example of a superhero showing up to save the day or the protagonist of the movie finding the strength/courage to defeat the bad guy was just too dull in comparison.
Hear the three-fold repetition of God’s declarations in verse 10 again.
10 “Now I will arise,” says the Lord,
“now I will lift myself up;
now I will be exalted.
Even as human efforts fail, God arises, does a great work, and commands an appropriate response. The commands in verse 13 are for those who are far off to hear what he has done and for those who are near to acknowledge his might. Both the Jews and Gentiles needed to hear and acknowledge God! Even those who were closest to Him (aka the Judeans) had taken Him for granted and treated Him with contempt. So, God calls the whole earth to listen up and to know firsthand His power!
And there are pressing questions presented in the second half of verse 14:
“Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire?
Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?”
These are the right questions to ask! Verses 11-14 reveal, the sinners and the defiled (translated ‘the godless’; meaning those who are spoiled by sin/idolatry) will not be able to dwell in God’s holy presence without judgment! God himself speaks to the Assyrians in verses 11-12 revealing that their sin will produce nothing and end in self-destruction. But verse 14 speaks of the sinners in Zion, the godless in Judah who have rejected God for their self-reliance and foreign nations. The holy judgment of God is the outcome for all who live in sin rather than faith in Him! The imagery of lime and thorns suggests a completeness of the destruction. Those who reject God will burn bright and hot.
I know these are not easy teachings to hear, but we need to hear them! They are in the Scriptures for a reason, so that we might heed them and live! God is graciously giving us the opportunity to be confronted in our own sin, so that we might repent (turn from it to him) and believe in Him.
The sinners and godless of Isaiah’s day were asking the right questions. They realized their dilemma. Do we? Do you? *pause* It is a dangerous position to be in if your faith is not in God and the righteous King/Messiah He has provided.
As verses 15-16 revealed, only the righteous will dwell secure with God. The character qualities and conduct that are listed in verse 15 are the exact opposite of what the Judeans were in that moment. If we are being honest in our evaluation of our own lives, apart from the work of God in us, we do not measure up to these qualities and conduct either. That’s really the point. Only the righteous will dwell secure with God, and the only way to be righteous is to be transformed by the Spirit of God through faith in the Son of God.
This is impossible in your own strength, but it is not impossible for God. Recall what we heard last week:
Isaiah 32:15–18 (ESV)
15 until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high,
and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,
and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.
16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
and righteousness abide in the fruitful field.
17 And the effect of righteousness will be peace,
and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.
18 My people will abide in a peaceful habitation,
in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.
As we heard last week, this Spirit has begun being poured out from on high through the completed work of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the One who sends the Spirit to transform His people to walk righteously, speak uprightly, despise ungodly gains, refute bribes, and turn away from evil. A passage in the New Testament that reveals this is:
Titus 3:3–8 (ESV)
3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.
Paul testifies to the reality of what Isaiah hinted at. Salvation and a complete transformation of your life is possible through faith in Jesus Christ.
But, outside of faith in Jesus Christ, we are unable to dwell with the holy God, the consuming fire and everlasting burnings… because we are still dead in our sins and living in a rebellious manner that invites God’s judgment. This is a condition that we CANNOT work our way out of… A spiritually dead man/woman cannot make themselves alive. But God can give you new life!
If ‘dead in sins’ describes your current state of life, then the next step for you is to repent and believe in Jesus Christ, God’s provision for your sins and salvation for your soul! Again, to repent is to have a change of mind that leads to a change of life. You realize that the way you are going is wrong and you are convicted that you need to turn to God and live for Him. If this is a desire of your heart, that is a gift from God, and you should joyfully embrace it!
And how sweet it is that God waits to show us grace and mercy! You do not need to fear that God will reject your cry for forgiveness. Listen to the Apostle Paul’s testimony:
1 Timothy 1:12–15 (ESV)
12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
Or the beautiful promise of the Apostle John’s writings:
1 John 1:9 (ESV)
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
God delights to rescue and redeem sinners like me and Paul and John to use them for His kingdom and glory! If wicked men like us can be saved, so can you! Repent and believe.
If your faith is already in Jesus Christ, then the call for you is to repent and put on righteousness! None of us is perfect in righteousness this side of heaven. We are constantly growing in holiness as we look to God and handle sin his way. And, God’s way, as we just heard, is to confess our sins and walk in the forgiveness that God provides. We studied John’s epistles in-depth earlier this year and we learned that faithful followers of Jesus are actively bearing the fruit of repentance. They continue to forsake sin and temptation in the pursuit of godly living.
If you are in Christ, how did you do at confessing and repenting this last week? Were you faithful to handle sin God’s way? Or did you go back to sweeping it under the rug, pretending it is no big deal, and moving on with your day? I would encourage you to keep current on addressing any outstanding sin and temptations in your life, so you are ready to give a good account when Christ returns!
Also, consider the incredible hope that is provided in verse 16 about the certainty of God’s provision for such a person. To do this I want to share a quote from commentator John Oswalt:
The person who has made God’s character the goal of his or her life dwells with God in the high places. What this means in practice is that circumstances no longer hold ultimate sway over that person. Now God has integrated their personality (he gives šālôm, “peace, wholeness”) in such a way that serenity is possible in trying circumstances.
Furthermore, this person has a source of supply of every need in God. Bread and water symbolize the most basic needs of human life. Many people today, as well as in Isaiah’s day, need something more basic than food and drink. They are starving spiritually because they have been attempting to meet their own needs without realizing that God has provided refuge and sustenance for everyone who will appropriate his grace. (NICOT)
Is that not a beautiful promise for those whose trust and pursuit is the LORD? Thank you, God, for supplying everything I need in you. May we continue to make God’s righteousness the aim of our lives and enjoy the peace/shalom that follows!
In fact, listen to the hope that Isaiah continues to hold out to those who are living righteously for the Lord.
Isaiah 33:17–24 (ESV)
17 Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty;
they will see a land that stretches afar.
18 Your heart will muse on the terror:
“Where is he who counted, where is he who weighed the tribute?
Where is he who counted the towers?”
19 You will see no more the insolent people,
the people of an obscure speech that you cannot comprehend,
stammering in a tongue that you cannot understand.
20 Behold Zion, the city of our appointed feasts!
Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
an untroubled habitation, an immovable tent,
whose stakes will never be plucked up,
nor will any of its cords be broken.
21 But there the Lord in majesty will be for us
a place of broad rivers and streams,
where no galley with oars can go,
nor majestic ship can pass.
22 For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver;
the Lord is our king; he will save us.
23 Your cords hang loose;
they cannot hold the mast firm in its place
or keep the sail spread out.
Then prey and spoil in abundance will be divided;
even the lame will take the prey.
24 And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”;
the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.
From this passage, we make our final observation to allow future hope to inform present struggles:
- When God arises, his people will dwell securely
Did you notice the shift in Isaiah’s language in verse 17? In verses 14-16 it was uncertain who could dwell in God’s presence, but now we have “your/us” pronouns revealing that this was a hope for them! Those who trust in the Lord will dwell securely and in peace/quiet (as we heard last week).
And what beautiful, hope-filled promises Isaiah holds out for them!
- V17 – You will behold the king in his beauty (speaking of the Messiah)
- V18 – You will muse on the former terror (it is a thing of the past!)
- Speaking of the Assyrians for the Judeans
- V19-21 – Instead of seeing your foreign enemies, you will behold Zion in splendor
- The city of appointed feasts (worship/meeting with God)
- An immovable tent (meaning it was fixed; God is not going anywhere)
- The place of God’s majesty and protection
- V22 – Your security is based on God
- He is our judge (think leader/deliverer like the book of Judges)
- He is our lawgiver (the One who enacts their laws; a fair/just guide!)
- He is our king (permanent in office; able to save!)
- He is the one who saves
- V23-24 – These benefits are yours, despite your inability/weakness
- Analogy of a crippled ship and the lame person
- Those who are insufficient will be well-provided for
- Sickness and sin will be a thing of the past
Isaiah holds out an idealized future for the people based upon the King who heals disease and forgives sin. He is speaking of Messiah, who we know is Jesus of Nazareth. This future includes provision for their physical and spiritual needs. And it is not of their own doing! Isaiah’s prophecy destroys any opportunity to be self-sufficient. It is a promised hope for those who recognize their inability and who trust in God for the forgiveness of their sin and daily bread. These are the people who will dwell securely!
So, as we wrap up our time together this morning, I want to encourage you to rejoice in the hope of God arising! He does not leave his people dead in their sin but makes a way of salvation/redemption available to them. He has a grand redemption plan that he is carrying through. The enemies of God will not prevail in the end. God is creating an immovable city where He will dwell with His people forever!
And joining Him there does not depend on our own abilities, but solely on His grace and mercy which He patiently waits to show us! So, turn to Him and believe in Him and walk with Him! Physical and spiritual renewal is entirely a gift of God. How appropriate it is to rejoice in His good gifts!
And that’s exactly how we’re going to close out our service today. By rejoicing in the One who is exalted overall and in the good gifts He has given to us. But first, let’s pray and prepare our hearts to praise Him.
Pray
Exalted Over All