Woe and a King
Isaiah 33
24 verses≈ 4 minBSB
Images are artistic interpretations.
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Where we are
- 1–5Zion on trialJudah’s sin, the mountain raised, the vineyard’s song
- 6Holy, holy, holyIsaiah’s call, in the year King Uzziah died (about 740 BC)
- 7–12ImmanuelAhaz’s fear, the sign, the Child, the shoot of Jesse
- 13–23The nations judgedBabylon to Tyre: the LORD is Judge of all the earth
- 24–27The whole earthThe earth laid waste, and death swallowed up
- 28–35Woe and a KingEgypt’s help or the LORD’s, and the King in His beautyChapter 33
- 36–39Hezekiah’s crisisSennacherib, 701 BC: the prayer, the sickness, the envoys
- 40–48Comfort My peopleTo the exiles ahead: Cyrus, the idols, the Servant
- 49–55The Servant and ZionPierced for our transgressions; Zion restored
- 56–66New heavens and earthA house of prayer, the Anointed One, all things new
The LORD Is Exalted
Woe to you, O destroyer never destroyed,
O traitor never betrayed!
When you have finished destroying,
you will be destroyed.
When you have finished betraying,
you will be betrayed.
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Isaiah
The peoples flee the thunder of Your voice;
the nations scatter when You rise.
Your spoil, O nations, is gathered as by locusts;
like a swarm of locusts men sweep over it.
The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high;
He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
He will be the sure foundation for your times,
a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.
The fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure.
Question
Quick question
Isaiah names what makes Zion rich, and it is not what you might expect. Look at 33:6.
What is Zion’s treasure (33:6)?
The land mourns and languishes;
Lebanon is ashamed and decayed.
Sharon is like a desert;
Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.
“Now I will arise,” says the LORD. “Now I will lift Myself up. Now I will be exalted.
You who are far off, hear what I have done;
you who are near, acknowledge My might.”
The sinners in Zion are afraid;
trembling grips the ungodly:
“Who of us can dwell with a consuming fire?
Who of us can dwell with everlasting flames?”
He who walks righteously
and speaks with sincerity,
who refuses gain from extortion,
whose hand never takes a bribe,
who stops his ears against murderous plots
and shuts his eyes tightly against evil—
he will dwell on the heights;
the mountain fortress will be his refuge;
his food will be provided
and his water assured.
Your mind will ponder the former terror:
“Where is he who tallies? Where is he who weighs?
Where is he who counts the towers?”
You will no longer see the insolent,
a people whose speech is unintelligible,
who stammer in a language you cannot understand.
Isaiah
Look upon Zion,
the city of our appointed feasts.
Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
a peaceful pasture, a tent that does not wander;
its tent pegs will not be pulled up,
nor will any of its cords be broken.
But there the Majestic One, our LORD,
will be for us a place of rivers and wide canals,
where no galley with oars will row,
and no majestic vessel will pass.
For the LORD is our Judge,
the LORD is our lawgiver,
the LORD is our King.
It is He who will save us.
Isaiah 33:22
Isaiah
Your ropes are slack;
they cannot secure the mast or spread the sail.
Then an abundance of spoils will be divided,
and even the lame will carry off plunder.
And no resident of Zion will say, “I am sick.”
The people who dwell there
will be forgiven of iniquity.
Pray
Pray
O LORD, be gracious to me; I wait for You. Be my strength every morning. You are my Judge, my lawgiver and my King; save me, and let me see You in Your beauty. Amen.
Who can dwell with the fire?
Whiteboard
When God rises, His enemies are chaff. His people are the ones He has forgiven, and they see the King.
You’ve experienced
Isaiah 33
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A verse to carry with you
For the LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our King. It is He who will save us.
Isaiah 33:22
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