O Lord, Be Gracious to Us
Isa 33:1 Woe to you, destroyer, you who have not been destroyed! Woe to you, betrayer, you who have not been betrayed! When you stop destroying, you will be destroyed; when you stop betraying, you will be betrayed.
Isa 33:2 LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.
Isa 33:3 At the uproar of your army, the peoples flee; when you rise up, the nations scatter.
Isa 33:4 Your plunder, O nations, is harvested as by young locusts; like a swarm of locusts people pounce on it.
Isa 33:5 The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness.
Isa 33:6 He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.
Isa 33:7 Look, their brave men cry aloud in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
Isa 33:8 The highways are deserted, no travelers are on the roads. The treaty is broken, its witnesses are despised, no one is respected.
Isa 33:9 The land dries up and wastes away, Lebanon is ashamed and withers; Sharon is like the Arabah, and Bashan and Carmel drop their leaves.
Isa 33:10 “Now will I arise,” says the LORD. “Now will I be exalted; now will I be lifted up.
Isa 33:11 You conceive chaff, you give birth to straw; your breath is a fire that consumes you.
Isa 33:12 The peoples will be burned to ashes; like cut thornbushes they will be set ablaze.”
Isa 33:13 You who are far away, hear what I have done; you who are near, acknowledge my power!
Isa 33:14 The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: “Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?”
Isa 33:15 Those who walk righteously and speak what is right, who reject gain from extortion and keep their hands from accepting bribes, who stop their ears against plots of murder and shut their eyes against contemplating evil—
Isa 33:16 they are the ones who will dwell on the heights, whose refuge will be the mountain fortress. Their bread will be supplied, and water will not fail them.
Isa 33:17 Your eyes will see the king in his beauty and view a land that stretches afar.
Isa 33:18 In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror: “Where is that chief officer? Where is the one who took the revenue? Where is the officer in charge of the towers?”
Isa 33:19 You will see those arrogant people no more, people whose speech is obscure, whose language is strange and incomprehensible.
Isa 33:20 Look on Zion, the city of our festivals; your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved; its stakes will never be pulled up, nor any of its ropes broken.
Isa 33:21 There the LORD will be our Mighty One. It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams. No galley with oars will ride them, no mighty ship will sail them.
Isa 33:22 For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; it is he who will save us.
Isa 33:23 Your rigging hangs loose: The mast is not held secure, the sail is not spread. Then an abundance of spoils will be divided and even the lame will carry off plunder.
Isa 33:24 No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”; and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.
1 God’s judgments against the enemies of the church. 13 The privileges of the godly.
O Lord, Be Gracious to Us
Isa 33:1 Woe to you, destroyer, you who have not been destroyed! Woe to you, betrayer, you who have not been betrayed! When you stop destroying, you will be destroyed; when you stop betraying, you will be betrayed.
This chapter was doubtless inspired by the judgment that befell the hosts of Sennacherib (ch. 37:36). The invaders had ravaged Judah, but the Lord would deliver her from the might of her oppressors. The chapter alternates between strong consolation for the faithful and severe rebukes for the wicked. Isaiah’s prophetic vision beholds also the glorious Messianic age (see on ch. 32:1).
Assyria’s wars of aggression against her neighbors had been extensive. She was interested primarily in loot, and sent her armies forth for purposes of plunder. But eventually Assyria would receive payment in kind (see Matt. 7:2; cf. Jer. 50:15, 29; 51:24; Rev. 13:10).
Isa 33:2 LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.
Many ancient Hebrew manuscripts, the Targums, and the Syriac read “our arm.” Isaiah here asks help for his own people—perhaps especially the defenders of the city. The next phrase, “our salvation,” clearly refers to those with him in Jerusalem.
Isa 33:3 At the uproar of your army, the peoples flee; when you rise up, the nations scatter.
This refers to the destruction of the hosts of Sennacherib (see ch. 37:36, 37). On that occasion a great “tumult” (ch. 37:29) struck terror to the hearts of the Assyrians.
Isa 33:4 Your plunder, O nations, is harvested as by young locusts; like a swarm of locusts people pounce on it.
This refers to the plundering of the Assyrian camp after the annihilation of the invaders and the precipitate flight of the few survivors. As caterpillars and locusts devour everything green, so the Hebrews would, in due time, strip the haughty Assyrians bare.
Isa 33:5 The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness.
The spectacular annihilation of the Assyrian hosts (ch. 37:36) brought honor and renown to the true God.
The lesson of Sennacherib’s invasion would, presumably, result in a revival throughout the city of Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah.
Isa 33:6 He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.
Judah would find its strength and stability, not in armed might, but in God and in loyalty to His revealed will (see Job 28:28; Ps. 111:10; Prov. 1:7).
Isa 33:7 Look, their brave men cry aloud in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
Hezekiah’s envoys were given such hard terms (2 Kings 18:14–16) as to cause them to “weep bitterly.” When the Hebrew deputies met with the Rabshakeh sent to Jerusalem, they found his terms of surrender so harsh that they returned with “their clothes rent” (2 Kings 18:37).
Isa 33:8 The highways are deserted, no travelers are on the roads. The treaty is broken, its witnesses are despised, no one is respected.
The roads of Judah were no longer open for travel. The army of Sennacherib had reduced the country to such straits that men no longer dared travel by the highways.
Isa 33:9 The land dries up and wastes away, Lebanon is ashamed and withers; Sharon is like the Arabah, and Bashan and Carmel drop their leaves.
The entire countryside of Judah was devastated during the course of Assyrian invasion. Other districts of Palestine shared the same sad fate.
Isa 33:10 “Now will I arise,” says the LORD. “Now will I be exalted; now will I be lifted up.
The hour of man’s extremity is the hour of God’s opportunity. When it seemed that the situation was hopeless, and that the last vestige of Judean resistance would soon be crushed out by the cruel conqueror, the Lord arose to deliver the remnant in Jerusalem.
Isa 33:11 You conceive chaff, you give birth to straw; your breath is a fire that consumes you.
This verse stresses the emptiness and vanity of Assyrian pretensions. For all their effort they would produce only chaff. Their bold schemes would turn to devour the very ones who had given them birth.
Isa 33:12 The peoples will be burned to ashes; like cut thornbushes they will be set ablaze.”
They would be destroyed, as when limestone is reduced to lime, or when thorns are consumed in the fire.
Isa 33:13 You who are far away, hear what I have done; you who are near, acknowledge my power
In bringing judgment upon Assyria, God taught men everywhere the futility of human wisdom and strength. He frequently permits a situation to reach a point of crisis, that when He intervenes, men may recognize His authority and power.
Isa 33:14 The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: “Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning
God is as a consuming fire to the wicked (Heb. 12:29). Only “the pure in heart” shall “see God” (Matt. 5:8) and live. The questions here asked are like those of Ps. 15:1; 24:3. Isaiah gives his answer in the following verse.
Isa 33:15 Those who walk righteously and speak what is right, who reject gain from extortion and keep their hands from accepting bribes, who stop their ears against plots of murder and shut their eyes against contemplating evil—
Compare the answers given here with those of the psalmist in Ps. 15:2–5; 24:4. To be sure, righteousness is fundamentally a matter of the heart and the mind, but a man must also “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7). Right attitudes will be reflected in right words and deeds.
Assyria had secured its wealth by oppressing weaker nations. But many in Jerusalem and Judah had amassed their fortunes in much the same manner (see on ch. 5:7).
The Lord is of “purer eyes than to behold evil” (Hab. 1:13). Those who serve Him will not countenance evil in any form.
Isa 33:16 they are the ones who will dwell on the heights, whose refuge will be the mountain fortress. Their bread will be supplied, and water will not fail them.
That is, in a place of safety. Ancient cities were built “on high” for protection against invasion. High ground is always advantageous in warfare.
To those who love and serve Him, the Lord offers protection and care during every time of trouble. The promise here given will prove of special comfort to God’s people during the great crisis of the last days, when places of safety will be provided for them out of reach of those bent on their destruction (see Ps. 61:2, 3; 91:1, 2). While the wicked suffer for lack of food and water (see Rev. 16:4–9; cf. GC 626, 628) the saints will have life’s necessities provided them.
Isa 33:17 Your eyes will see the king in his beauty and view a land that stretches afar.
During the trials and tribulations of the last days the people of God find comfort in the thought that soon Christ will come. They will see Him in His glory (see on ch. 25:8, 9), and the land of promise that they had seen with the eye of faith, as it were “far off” (ch. 33:17), will then become a reality.
Isa 33:18 In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror: “Where is that chief officer? Where is the one who took the revenue? Where is the officer in charge of the towers?”
Delivered from their enemies, God’s people reflect on the fearful scenes through which they have passed. The trials of the past seem as but a dream. This was true when Jerusalem had been delivered from Sennacherib’s hosts and will again be true of the saints at Christ’s second coming.
Where were the Assyrian scribes, fixing the amount of tribute to be exacted from each unfortunate victim? Where were the receivers of tribute and the masters of the siege? Now all were gone, and everything was at peace. Similarly, at Christ’s second coming, the faithful will rejoice in deliverance from the hands of those who have so recently sought to slay them.
Isa 33:19 You will see those arrogant people no more, people whose speech is obscure, whose language is strange and incomprehensible
The insolent Assyrian invaders, with their strange tongue and fierce ways, are to be no more. Instead of seeing the Assyrians they would “see the king in his beauty” (v. 17). Compare Ex. 14:13.
Isa 33:20 Look on Zion, the city of our festivals; your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved; its stakes will never be pulled up, nor any of its ropes broken.
The hostile invaders have gone; every danger has disappeared. The Holy City is now at peace. Compare the description of Joel 3:16–20.
Isa 33:21 There the LORD will be our Mighty One. It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams. No galley with oars will ride them, no mighty ship will sail them.
A description of the fertility and beauty of the restored Land of Promise. Here are the “river” and “streams” that “make glad the city of God” (Ps. 46:4). Compare Ezekiel’s river (Eze. 47).
Isa 33:22 For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; it is he who will save us
Isa 33:22 For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; it is he who will save us.
Isa 33:23 Your rigging hangs loose: The mast is not held secure, the sail is not spread. Then an abundance of spoils will be divided and even the lame will carry off plunder
The figure of v. 21 is continued. The enemy is like a ship whose tackle hangs loose, whose mast totters, and whose sail is useless—a derelict. The hour of victory for the saints is the hour of shame and defeat for their enemies. The “lame,” who usually have no part in military service, become the victors and spoil their enemies.
Isa 33:24 No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”; and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.
There will be no sickness in the earth made new, either of the body or of the soul (see Jer. 31:34). The healing of disease and the forgiveness of sin are mentioned together again in Ps. 103:3; Matt. 9:2, 6. Christ is the healer of man’s physical and spiritual maladies.