God is all powerful and long suffering and righteous and gracious. He waits for the fullness of time before bringing judgement, but he also waits for our request “to be gracious to you”. But in this world there are those, the destroyers, the treacherous ones that gather spoil by taking from others. They will come to a time of judgement but we, well, those of us that are not destroyers and treacherous, live through these same times and depend on the Lord who promises to “be the security of your times”. He, the Lord, will bring his day of vengeance and we will see it.
Yahweh Waits to be Gracious to You
Isaiah 30:18–26
We know that God is all powerful and that God is everywhere so why does Isaiah 30:18 say “Yahweh waits to be gracious to you”? God is the ultimate gentleman, he made us with free will. We have the will to choose and he will never override our choices. So why does God wait to be gracious? He is waiting for you to give him an invitation. Have you ever heard someone in a crisis say “God help me!” They have just opened the way “and therefore he will rise up to show you mercy”.
Isaiah 30:19b–20a Surely he will be gracious to you; when he hears the sound of your cry, he will answer you. 20 And the Lord will give you the bread of distress and the water of oppression”.
But we don’t need to wait until we are in a crisis. How much better if we could seek the Lord now and come to this place where in
Isaiah 30:21 And your ears shall hear a word from behind you, saying, “this is the way; walk in it,” when you go to your right and when you go to your left.
Go to the Mountain of Yahweh (the Lord)
Isaiah 30:27–33
The Egyptians are Human and Not God
Isaiah 31:1–9
The Nobleman Plans Noble Things
Isaiah 32:1–8
Until a Spirit is Poured Out on Us
He Will be the Security of Your Times
Isaiah 33:1–12
There is an army of people, the “destroyer” and “treacherous ones” in Isaiah 33:1 and the Lord says to them “When you cease destroying, you will be destroyed. When you stop dealing treacherously, one will deal treacherously with you”. These will have their fill, they will think they have won and done exploits. In Isaiah 33:3-4 “peoples fled … nations scattered … your spoil is gathered”. But now, even in the midst of seeming destruction the Lord extends his promise in
Isaiah 33: 5 Yahweh is exalted, for he dwells on high; he filled Zion with justice and righteousness, 6 and he will be the security of your times, an abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of Yahweh is his treasure.
The Lord says, “he will be the security of your times” as “Isaiah moves from the defeated world (3–4) to the coming Zion … First (5b), he will act to make Zion what he promised it would be (1:26–27), just in practice, righteous in principle. Secondly (6a), he will himself be Zion’s stability … they will enter upon their true times (‘ēt) of security. Thirdly (6b), the Lord will be his people’s resource. Store (from √ḥāsan, ‘to be strong’) is practical resource for life”.1
Come Near, Nations, to Hear
Isaiah 34:1–7
After this salvation of the Lords people, there is coming a time of judgement and it includes everyone else, nations and peoples in Isaiah 34:1 “Let the earth hear, and that which fills it; the world and all its offspring”. No one is left out, no one excluded, all will be judged in
Isaiah 34:2 For the anger of Yahweh is against all the nations, and his wrath is against all their armies; he has put them under a ban, he has given them up for slaughter.
Yahweh (the Lord) Has a Day of Vengeance
Isaiah 34:8–17
This “day of vengeance” in Isaiah 34:8 is directed here at Edom from Isaiah 34:5-6 and there is a specific pronouncement on this land, “a year of retribution for the strife of Zion”. And this is not just a passing judgement, but in Isaiah 34:10 “From generation to generation it shall be in ruins; forever and ever there will be no one who passes through her. And this is not just that it will be a barren land, in Isaiah 34:11 “he shall stretch the measuring line of confusion out over it, and the plumb line of emptiness”. But these things are not just a whim, they are not just random acts or thoughts by the Lord, they are considered and written judgments that the Lord has “commanded” as it says in Isaiah 34:16 “Seek from the book of Yahweh and read”.
These judgments sound very much like the judgments found in the scroll in
Revelation 5:4–5 And I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 And one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.
And this ends with the great harvest of the Church in
Revelation 14:16 And the one seated on the cloud swung his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
This is followed by the final harvest for the cleansing of the earth in
Revelation 14:19 And the angel swung his sickle into the earth and harvested the vine of the earth, and threw the grapes into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Study Verses
- Isaiah 30:18–26 Yahweh Waits to be Gracious to You
- Isaiah 33:1–12 He Will be the Security of Your Times
- Isaiah 34:8–17 Yahweh (the Lord) Has a Day of Vengeance
Today’s Reading
- Isaiah 30:18-33
- Isaiah 31:1-9
- Isaiah 32:1-20
- Isaiah 33:1-24
- Isaiah 34:1-17
References
- 1. Motyer, J. A. (1999). Isaiah: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 20, p. 235). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.