Isaiah, Week 6, Day 4: Isaiah 31-32

Day Four: Read Isaiah 31-32 

 1. From 31:1-3, what does it mean to "rely on the flesh?" What happens to those who do? Give verses.

Disaster will come to them (v2).  Those who help and those who are helped (Egypt & Israel) will both fall (v3).  "They will all fall down and die together." (v3)

2. What will happen to:
a. Jerusalem?  The Lord will hover over Jerusalem, protect it, and deliver it (v5).

b. Assyria?  The Assyrians will be destroyed by the sword of God not men, they will panic and flee (v8).  The strong, young ones will eventually be taken away as captives (v 8)

3. From Chapter 32, describe the transformation that will occur when the "righteous king" reigns.

The King will rule justly, and his princes (v1). Those who follow him will be perceptive, no longer spiritually blind (v2-3)

Gorgeous image here:

Isa 32:2  And a man [alternately rendered "each one"] shall be as an 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.

KJ, CJB--a man

ESV, MSG, NLT, NRSV--each

BKC: "In the Millennium the King (cf. comments on Isa_33:17), that is, the Messiah, will reign in righteousness (Isa_11:1-5; cf. Jer_23:5), and rulers under Him (cf. 2Ti_2:2; Rev_5:10; Rev_20:6; Rev_22:5) will be just. In fact every person entering the Millennium will be a believer. Each one will be protective of others like a shelter from the wind and will refresh others like… water in the desert and a rock that gives shade from the desert heat."

There is scholarly debate over whether this was an immediately fulfilled prophecy via Hezekiah or a longer term Messianic one and over whether it refers to a single individual or to the people in the Millennial Kingdom in general.

"A man shall be as an hiding-place from the wind, etc. Modem critics mostly render, "each man"—i.e. the king, and each of his princes. But it is, to say the least, allowable—with Vitringa and Kay—to regard the word as referring to the king only (comp. Zec_6:12, where ish, a man, is used in the same vague way of One who is clearly the Messiah). There was never but one man who could be to other men all that is predicated in this verse of the "man" mentioned (comp. Isa_25:4, where nearly the same epithets are predicated of God). A covert; i.e. a protection against Divine wrath. Such is Messiah in his mediatorial character. Rivers of water; i.e. refreshing and invigorating (comp. Isa_55:1; Joh_4:14; Joh_7:37). The shadow of a great rook. At once refreshing and protecting (see Isa_25:4)."-Pulpit Commentary

If you approach the verses from the "each one" perspective, from the perspective of this being a collection of believers, this passage is affirming, refreshing and supporting.  Christians being a shelter for other Christians...protecting them, refreshing them, shading them--what a great and appropriate call to repentance and action.  Are believer's consistently this way currently?

There are two problems 1)man's current sin nature--Christian or no  2)Our ability to discern what is noble:

E.A. Lawrence: "But great characters can only exercise their full and proper influence when they move among those who are able to discern their greatness."

Isaiah 32:5  "The fool will no more be called noble, nor the scoundrel said to be honorable."

 "A third good fruit is CALLING AND TREATING EVERYONE ACCORDING TO HIS TRUE CHARACTER (Isa_32:5-8). Nobility of birth and riches will give place to nobility of disposition, so that the former will not be found, nor find recognition without the latter" (F. Delitzsch).

"The differences between good and evil, virtue and vice, shall be kept up and no more confounded by those who put darkness for light, and light, for darkness" (Isa_32:5). (Matthew Henry)

Isa 32:8  But the generous person devises generous things, and his generosity will keep him standing.

From the Believer's Bible: 32:1-8 The first five verses describe the Millennial reign of Christ. He is the king who reigns in righteousness; the princes may be the twelve apostles (see Mat_19:28). "A man will be as a hiding place from the wind . . ." —that Man is the Lord Jesus, providing shelter, protection, refreshment, and shade. No longer will judicial blindness afflict the people, nor will ears be closed to listening obediently. Those who now make rash decisions will have discernment, and those who now stammer will express themselves without hesitation. Moral distinctions will no longer be blurred. The senseless person will not be honored. The coming of Christ will reveal men in their true light. The fool and the knave will be exposed as such (and punished accordingly). The generous man also swill be manifested and blessed. Verses 6-8 describe life as Isaiah saw it in his day. -Believer's Bible

4. Define "complacent."

Per Strong's concordance--"at ease, secure (in a bad sense), haughty

 a. How many times does Isaiah use the word in vv 9-11?  2 times, plus also the adjectives "troubled" and "careless."

 b. In what ways are we Christians, complacent today?  We are complacent in the perception of our "goodness," with regard to our abundance of food, wealth, and leisure time.  We are complacent about the suffering of those in other areas of the world.  We are complacent with regard to our knowledge of the scriptures and of the condition of our own spirits.  We can be way too complacent about the state of our own souls while nit-picking others.

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This is a beautiful, restful image from the end of the chapter:

Isa 32:20  Happy are you who sow beside all waters, who let the feet of the ox and the donkey range free.

Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters.” Why? Not because the sowing is itself an absolute benediction. Oftentimes it is attended with a great deal of pain, and labour, and anxiety, and sacrifice. It is the casting away of that which is in itself of great value. The sowing is blessed because it is a prophecy of the increase of that which we sow, the promise of the reward of our labour and our sacrifice. -WJ Hocking

The skill of the farmer lies in his knowledge of the relation of his seed to the soil, to the season, and the atmosphere, and the conditions of the growth and development of the seed. The highest wisdom of life is the knowledge of the relation of conduct to character, and of character to destroy: the perception of the conditions under which h e s highest elements are perfected and its fruit-bearing qualities ripened. That is the mystic meaning Of the benediction of my text: there is the secret of the blessedness of every Sower.  WJ Hocking