God Destroys Sennacherib

Isaiah 37:28-38

“But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me.  Because thy rage against me, and thy tumult, is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.” (Isaiah 37:28-29)

A person who knows where you live and your habits knows where you are most vulnerable to attack.    God knows where the Assyrians live and their routines and plans to attack him.  He knows what motivates them and how they respond to various situations.  When he is ready he can use that knowledge to put a hook in their nose and a bridle in their mouth so that they are forced to go where he wants them.  He will force them to go back where they came from.

“And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such as groweth of itself; and the second year that which springeth of the same: and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof.  And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward: For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.” (Isaiah 37:30-32)

When a prophet made a prophecy, saying it came from God, he was to give a short term sign to prove that it really was from god.  If the sign didn’t happen the prophecy did not come from God and they were not to worry about it.  The proof that the prophecy about Assyria came from God was that despite Rabshakeh’s threats, for the next three years Hezekiah and Judah would not be bothered by the Assyrians, but would be free to work their fields without interference.   They would be able to begin rebuilding what the Assyrians had destroyed. 

“Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it.  By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD.  For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.” (Isaiah 37:33-35)

God would see that the Assyrians never attacked Jerusalem or even set themselves in array against it.  God would defend the city, forcing them to return to their own land before they ever started the battle. 

”Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.  So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.” (Isaiah 37:36-37) 

That night, God sent an angel of death into the Assyrian camp and a hundred and eighty five thousand Assyrian soldiers died in their sleep.   The next morning the survivors were horrified to find so many of their fellows were dead.  Not knowing what had killed them and fearing it might infect the rest, Sennacherib and his generals withdrew to Nineveh to regroup without ever setting their forces in array or firing a single arrow, just as Isaiah had prophesied. 

“And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia: and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.” (Isaiah 37:38)

Sennacherib had mocked God, saying he could not stop him.  While he was worshipping the Assyrian god, Nisroch, two of his own sons murdered him.  To escape retribution by his other children and the military, they fled north into Armenia.  Assyria’s power began to decline and they would eventually be taken over by the Chaldean forces and Nineveh destroyed.  

God’s Answer

Isaiah 36:22-37:29

“Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, that was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.  And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD.” Isaiah (36:22-37:1)

After hearing Rabshakeh’s threats and warnings to the people and his disparaging comments about both Judah and God, Hezekiah’s representatives reported everything that had been said to the king.  Troubled that the people might fall for it and that the Assyrians believed what had been said, Hezekiah went to the Lord in prayer. 

“And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.  And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.  It may be the LORD thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left.  So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.” (Isaiah 37:2-5)

Hezekiah also sent to the prophet Isaiah to get his input on what God wanted.  They came to Isaiah in a spirit of humility recognizing that Judah would not be able to gain victory by themselves and embarrassed at the blasphemy against God.  They asked him to pray that God would help them, knowing what Rabshakeh had said about him. 

“And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.  Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” (Isaiah 37:6-7)

Isaiah told them that God said for them not to worry about what the Assyrians had said.  He would distract them with rumors and threats from other places and they would be forced to withdraw to protect their own land.  The king would be killed in his own land. 

“So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish.  And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to make war with thee.” (Isaiah 37:8-9a)

The Assyrians had taken the major cities in Judah, but when the people of Libnah heard that the Assyrian force had split, sending the main body against Jerusalem, they attacked the Assyrian forces at Lachish.  Rabshakeh was forced to go to the rescue of the king at Lachish.  While there he heard that the Ethiopian king was preparing to invade the Assyrian holdings.  Since Ethiopia had at one time controlled most of northern Africa and had invaded the middle east with an army of over a million men during Asa’s day, two hundred years before, it was considered a serious threat. 

And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.  Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered?

Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Telassar?  Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?” (Isaiah 37:9b-13)

Before he left, Rabshakeh warned Hezekiah not to think the withdrawal meant they had given up.  They didn’t need to think god could deliver them because none of the gods of the other nations had been able to defeat them.  He said they’d come back and finish what they had started. 

“And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.  And Hezekiah prayed unto the LORD, saying, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.

Incline thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God.  Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries.  And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.  Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD, even thou only.” (Isaiah 37:14-20)

When Hezekiah received Rabshakeh’s letter, he took into the temple and showed it to the Lord, acknowledging God as the only true God and creator of heaven and earth.  He reminds him that the claims are a reproach against god himself, and that the Assyrians have done just as Rabshakeh said to the other nations and the gods they worshipped which were in fact only manmade objects.  He asked the Lord to save them, demonstrating that he was truly God, and not just another idol.

“Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria: This is the word which the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.” (Isaiah 37:21-22)

God answered Hezekiah with a message through Isaiah.  He described it as being like a rich and powerful suitor trying to force a girl to go along, threatening her or her family if she doesn’t.  Instead of yielding to his demands, the girl spurns him even laughing at his threats, and not taking him seriously.    

“Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel.  By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the height of his border, and the forest of his Carmel.  I have digged, and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places.

Hast thou not heard long ago, how I have done it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste defenced cities into ruinous heaps.  Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded: they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up.” (Isaiah 37:23-27)

In making the threats, it is not just Jerusalem than has been insulted by the threats, but God.   Rabshakeh was making the threats on behalf of his king, Sennacherib, convinced they had won all those victories in their own power, and can overcome God the same way.  If Sennacherib had paid attention to history, he would know that his victories had been the result of God punishing those who would not serve him by making them weak and taking away their defenses, not because of Assyria’s power.  As a result they had just shriveled up like grass on a house top dries up at the first sign of a drought because there is no  reserve moisture to draw from.

Trying to Incite Mutiny

Isaiah 36:1-21

“Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them.  And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field. Then came forth unto him Eliakim, Hilkiah's son, which was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Asaph's son, the recorder” (Isaiah 36:1-3)

Under Ahaz, Judah had tried to hire Assyria to protect them from the alliance between Israel and Syria.  Instead the Assyrians raided Judah.   Later they had defeated both Syria and Israel, and relocated the people.  Foruteen years after Hezekiah became king, the Assyrian king decided to conquer Judah as well, and invaded it taking the major cities.  Hezekiah had dug a tunnel to carry water from the river to the upper pool near the city, saving the people a lot of walking to obtain it.  The Assyrian general, Rabshakeh brought a large army from Lachish, standing on the highway near where the tunnel emptied into the pool.   He was met by three of Hezekiah’s officials. 

“And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?  I say, sayest thou, (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?  Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.  But if thou say to me, We trust in the LORD our God: is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar?” (Isaiah 36:3-7)

Rabshakeh advised them to surrender without a fight because their army could not possibly defeat the Assyrian army.  If they called on Egypt for help as Israel had done, they needed to remember that Egypt had not been able to protect Israel, just taking the bribes and leaving without fighting, leaving Israekl worse off.  He predicted the same thing would happen to Judah if they hired Egypt. 

Hezekiah was a king who tried to turn Judah back to serving God.  In the process he had destroyed the altars and groves used for idolatry.  Rabshakeh assumed those altars were all for God and was sure God would be angry they had been destroyed, demanding the Jews worship only in Jerusalem.  He warned them it would be foolish to depend on God in such a case. 

“Now therefore give pledges, I pray thee, to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.  How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?  And am I now come up without the LORD against this land to destroy it? the LORD said unto me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.” (Isaiah 36:8-10)

In an effort to intimidate them, if they would put up a deposit, he offered to give them two thousand horses if they could get enough cavalrymen to fide them.  If they couldn’t even come up with that many cavalrymen, how could they expect to defeat even one unit of his army?  Even if they could get chariots and riders from Egypt?   After all, if God was going to protect them, the Assyrians would never even have been able to get that far. 

“Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it; and speak not to us in the Jews' language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall.

But Rabshakeh said, Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you? ” (Isaiah 36:11-12)

Hezekiah representatives asked him to speak privately so the people wouldn’t hear.  Instead Rabshakeh said they were the ones who needed to hear since they were the ones who would suffer if they fought, eventually having to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine to survive. 

“Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.  Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you.  Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me: and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern; Until I come and take you away unto a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The LORD will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?  Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?  Who are they among all the gods of these lands, that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?” (Isaiah 36:13-20)

Rabshakeh then did his best to dishearten the people and convince them to surrender, warning them that there was nothing Hezekiah could do to save them, and that they could not depend on God for help.    If they would surrender, he promised to let them live in peace until they were relocated to another land that would be like what they had. 

If Hezekiah tried to get them to trust the Lord, they needed to remember that none of the gods of the other nations had been able to stop the Assyrians.  Israel worshiped the same God as Judah did, as well as all the other gods, but all of them together had not been able to keep the Assyrians from taking Samaria.  Why should they think they were any different?

“But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not.” (Isaiah 36:21)

Hezekiah had given orders that no one was to respond to Rabshakeh’s demands, but to let him make the decision.  The people obeyed his command, and Rabshakeh was forced to wait for Hezekiah’s decision.  

A New Earth

Isaiah 34:1-35:10

“Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it.  For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.” (Isaiah 34:1-2)

At the end of the Tribulation period, Christ will set up his earthly kingdom and rule for a thousand years.  At the end of that time people will be given another chance to choose whether to serve God or Satan.  Revelation 20:7-9 describes what will happen.   “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.”  After a thousand years of peace, without crime or disease, people will again choose to follow Satan.    At the battle of Armageddon, most of the armies are slain in a battle with Christ, but people remain.  This time there is no battle.  God sends fire from heaven and destroys all the people.  They will not get any more chances to decide who they want to worship. 

“Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.  And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.  For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.” (Isaiah 34:3-5)

The armies of the world will make their attack in the area known as Idumea, sometimes referred to as the Levant including Israel Syria, part of Egypt and parts of Jordan and Saudi Arabia.  Revelation 6:12-14 describes some of these events.  “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.” 

The mountains will be shaken down, stars fall out of heaven like figs falling from a tree when the wind blows and millions will be killed, the heavens we know will disappear like the writhn on a scroll being rolled up.  II Peter 3:10 gives additional details.  “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”  Even the very elements of which the world is composed will melt and everything man has done will be burned away. 

“The 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 hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.  And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.” (Isaiah 34:6-7)

The wages of sin is death as Romans 6:23 tells us, and much of the world’s population will be sacrificed as a result to f their rebellion against God.  Those who survive will sacrifice lambs and goats instead.  The Land people inhabited will once again return to nature, with herds  of wild antelope and cape buffalo.  The land will once again be very productive.    

“For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion.  And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.  It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.” (Isaiah 34:8-10)

The land will be like it was before man’s sin, with tar pits and burning oil pits that never stop burning.  Much of the land will never again be occupied by humans.  Isa 34:11 But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness.

“They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing.  And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls.  The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest.  There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate.” (Isaiah 34:12-25)

The land will be once again occupied by wildlife instead of human beings.  There will be no people to live in the cities which will be occupied by bats and other animals.  Eagles, owls and vultures will not hesitate to occupy the land. 

“Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.  And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them by line: they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.  The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.  It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God. ” (Isaiah 34:16-35:2))

The wild animals will live in safety and the land benefit from their presence, producing abundantly like a rich forested area.  Everyone will see the glory and power of God in what he produces, as they look at the nature he has created.  The effect will be somewhat like what we experience when we go out into a national park or wildlife refuge. 

“Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.  Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you.   Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.  Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.  And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.” (Isaiah 35:3-7)

In that day, see God’s power and be encouraged and disease and injuries will disappear.  God’s people will be saved in a mighty way, and the land will become a rich and verdant area rather than desert. 

“And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.  No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (Isaiah 35:8-10)

God will open up the land with a highway or road for easy access for those who love God, but only those who choose to serve God will find or follow the highway.  There won’t be any casual tourists or criminals entering in.  The entire area is reserved for God’s people.  Revelation 21:3-8 describes the new city God will create.   “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.  And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Survivors of God’s Judgment

Isaiah 33:1-24

“Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled; and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.” (Isaiah 33:1)

Throughout history, groups have raided their neighbors and used the trust of others to take advantage of them, only stopping as they got powerful to discover that it was causing problems and limiting their own society.    As they attempt to outlaw raiding their victims lose their fear of them and begin to retaliate, gaining power themselves and doing the same things to them they once did to others.  It is just the other side of the Golden rule of doing to others as you want them to do to you.  By taking advantage of others, one places his approval on them doing the same to himself.

“O LORD, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.  At the noise of the tumult the people fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations were scattered.  And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpillar: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them.   The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness.  And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.” (Isaiah 33:2-6)

Isaiah prays that God would be gracious to Judah, not giving her the punishment she deserves.  He recognizes even world powers flee when god intervenes and that his efforts to destroy are as hard to stop as an infestation of caterpillars or locusts.   God is the almighty, who has protected and preserved Jerusalem.  Their stability as a nation for over a thousand years was the result of a knowledge of what he required if he were to protect them.  Their respect and obedience is what God values most.

“Behold, their valiant ones shall cry without: the ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.  The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.  The earth mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.” (Isaiah 33:7-9)

Because of their rejection of God, God has refused to perform his part of the covenant.  As a result, Judah and Israel’s attempts to negotiate peace have failed.  Their soldiers have no hope of victory, the ambassadors give up on their negotiations and people are afraid to leave the protection of their homes, even to try to conduct business.  God is no longer protecting the people and the entire eart suffers as a result.  Even other countries are affected by the loss of God’s protection.  Lebanon had largely been left as a buffer state between Israel and other countries, but as Israel lost power there was no longer any need for a buffer.  Areas of Israel that had always been save were raided and destroyed. 

“Now will I rise, saith the LORD; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself.  Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you.  And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.  Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.  The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” (Isaiah 33:10-14)

God is going to get the glory and respect he deserves.  The people’s efforts will produce worthless results, like grain crops that never got pollinated or drought or disease prevented from reaching maturity.  It would be like their own breath set everything they touched on fire.  The people would be dried up and crumble like lime or thorns in a fire.  People everywhere would hear what God had done and was doing and the people in Jerusalem who thought they were protected from such things would be upset, wondering who could survive what was happening.  God wastes no time answering the question.

 “He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.  Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.  Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?  Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand.” Isaiah 33:15-19)

Those who survive will be those who have lived in accordance with God’s law, telling the truth.  They are the ones who have refused to enrich themselves by taking advantage of other people, that refused to take or give bribes or compromise their standards for profit, and that refused to overlook murders or other wicked behavior.  They will experience the blessings of God, protected by their surroundings with adequate food and water in abundance.  They will see the Lord in his glory as king of Kings and the land he has promised.

Terror will be an abstract idea to these people because they have never experienced it.  Because there is a strict attitude of doing what is right, there will be no need for lawyers or receiving clerks or accountants to be sure they are not getting ripped off.  There will be no fear of attack or discrimination or being taken advantage of because of a language they can’t understand. 

“Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.  But there the glorious LORD will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.  For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.  Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not well strengthen their mast, they could not spread the sail: then is the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame take the prey.  And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.” (Isaiah 33:20-24)

In that day Jerusalem will be a place of quietness, no longer fearing destruction or even an attack.  They will be able to turn loose of their efforts to protect themselves, recognizing that their efforts were worthless.   When that happens, God will give them the rewards they have tried to get for themselves, so that even those who are seriously handicapped will have plenty, with no excuses for their state.  God will forgive all their past sins.

A Prophecy of the Present

Isaiah 32:1-20

“Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.  And a man 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.” (Isaiah 32:1-2)

When Christ sets up his earthly kingdom he will rule in total righteousness, and his administrators will be totally honest and fair in their decisions.  No favoritism or discrimination of any kind will be permitted, nor any coercion.  People will be as free from pressure and fear as they are from the effects of the wind when they are in place where the wind doesn’t blow and the rain doesn’t come.  It will be like coming to a river in the middle of the desert or finding a shadow of a huge rock after a long day of walking in the hot sun. 

“And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.  The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.” (Isaiah 32:3-4)

In that day people will see clearly,  While there will be no disease, the point here is that people’s minds will not be blinded by preconceptions or prejudices so they will understand fully.  Those who hear will understand the importance and act on God’s commands.  People who have lived without thinking about the consequences will actually think about them, and people will no longer fear to say what they think or believe. 

“The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.  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.  The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.  But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand. ” (Isaiah 32:5-8)

The word liberal used here as an adjective means generous or giving freely.  As a noun it means a grandee or important person.  Criminals such as the Dalton gang, the James gang, or the Dillon gang have earned a reputation for being liberal because they gave so much to people to get their assistance when in fact they were nothing more than thieves and murderers.  What they were giving away wasn’t even theirs, but had been stolen from other people.    Political figures earn a reputation for being liberal by forcibly taking from those who have earned what they have and giving it to those who haven’t.   They never volunteer to give their own wealth, always somebody else’s.   

The word churl means a person who is selfish and self-centered.  Anything he gives comes with a price tag.  Like a political donor, they are not just giving the money as a gift.  They are expecting something major in return for their donation.  The vile person will still rip people off, allowing those who are starving to go without and the churlish person ignores the needs of those who are hurting.  Truly liberal people give of their own to help others, and make sure they are actually helping. 

“Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech.  Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come.  Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins.  They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.” (Isaiah 32:9-12)

Israel had become like a wife who never considers how much she is spending or has to take any responsibility if their husband loses his job and they don’t have the money to keep on living the same way.  Suddenly they won’t have the things they have come to depend on.  Instead of the best gourmet food and wine they will be forced to eat the same old things day after day.  They will have to sell off their designer clothes and jewelry, trading it for the cheapest thing available to avoid being plumb naked.  They weep and consider the loss of the constant source of plenty very unfair. 

“Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city: Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks; Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.” (Isaiah 32:13-15)

Instead of rich crops, Israel will be unfarmed, producing only weeds and brush, even where nice homes once stood.  The mansions and palaces will be forsaken, and the military structures will become dens for wild animals.  The people will all be gone and populated cities will be places where wild animals graze.  It will stay that way until the time of the Lord’s return and establishment of his kingdom.   This is where Israel has been from the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD until 1948, when the nation of Israel was reestablished and they began the process of rebuilding.  They still haven’t seen the power of God turning the desert into fruitful fields and the fields they use today into a forest. They are still living in this prophecy.

“Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.  And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.  And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places; When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place.  Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.” (Isaiah 32:16-20)

When God sets up his kingdom and pours out his Spirit on Israel, justice and right will be available everywhere.  As a result their e will be peace, confidence and tranquility.  The people will not fear losing their homes, and storms will not bother them because they know they are protected, just as a city in a valley is protected from the worst of the wind.  They will be like a farmer whose field lies next to the river and is able to allow his animals to graze alongside it.  

Given a Choice

Isaiah 31:1-9

“Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!  Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity.

Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together.” (Isaiah 31:1-3)

In trusting Egypt to deliver them from the Assyrians, Israel had made a serious mistake they would regret.  Their faith was in the power of the Egyptian army and not in the power of God.   God is wise and powerful and would not change his plans or overlook the deliberate disobedience and insult to him.  He will punish those who help others get by with sin.  The Egyptians were not gods, despite the claims of some of their rulers.  When god took action against them they would be destroyed right along with the people they were trying to help. 

“For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.  As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.” (Isaiah 31:4-5)

A strong young lion, confident in his strength and with no experience of human weapons will have no fear of a group of shepherds when he attacks their sheep.  Their shouting will not affect him much more than the bleating of the sheep.  The Lord will defend Jerusalem with no more concern for people’s intervention than the young lion has, sweeping in like a flock of birds protecting their offspring.  He will deliver it from the enemies and make it permanent. 

“Turn ye unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.  For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin.  Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited.  And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 31:6-9)

When Israel truly turns back to God, instead of trusting all these other things, they will destroy the idols they have built and worshipped.  When that happens, God will destroy the group who is oppressing them.  They will not be destroyed with mere human means, but God himself will intervene, and they will flee in panic, trying to get back to safety.

Ezekiel 39:1-5 describes the Lords destruction of the enemies in the last day.  “Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.  Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.  Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.”

Though the prophecy refers to what will happen at the end of the Tribulation, god was telling Israel he would do the same thing for them against the Assyrians at that time if they would turn back to him.  Because they refused. They were destroyed instead.