In Today's Email:
Isaiah 33 Notes
In this chapter the coming judgment of Assyria and End Time events are seen.
vs. 1 – The sixth woe is pronounced on Assyria for their attacks against Israel. They would reap what they had sowed and be defeated.
vs. 2-6 – The prayer of the faithful remnant praying for salvation from being overrun by their enemies. We have in vs. 5-6 an expression of hope beyond judgment, specifically in the Millennial Kingdom.
vs. 7-12 – The destruction of the Promised Land at the hands of her enemies is described. God is moved by the desolation to act. This is partially fulfilled in God’s judgment against Assyria, but its reach is prophetic to the Tribulation.
vs. 13-16 – The results of the God’s intervening judgment. The sinner is afraid and the saint is secured.
vs. 17-23 – We see here the return of Christ in His glory at the end of the Tribulation and the establishment of His Kingdom in Jerusalem.
vs. 24 – The blessedness of life in the Millennial Kingdom. It is not the fulness of the removed curse in Revelation 21:4, but that Eden-like state of the Kingdom.
Isaiah 34 Notes
In this chapter we see desolation after judgement at Armageddon.
vs. 1 – A call for all the world and the Jews (“ye people”) to hear the Lord’s proclamation.
vs. 2-8 – There is no historical parallel to what we see here. This is the judgment of God poured out at Armageddon. In vs. 6 Bozrah and Idumea (Greek form of Edom) are mentioned. Careful study will show that the remnant of the Jews has sought refuge here and this is where they turn to Christ for salvation. See also Isaiah 63:1-7, Habakkuk 3:3, Micah 2:12-13.
vs. 9-17 – The fierceness of God’s judgment is again displayed. The enemies are wiped out and their land left desolate. In vs. 15 the vulture is mentioned. This relates to Christ’s words in Matthew 24:28 and Luke 17:37. The scavenger birds feast on the slain enemies of the Lord.
Isaiah 35 Notes
In this chapter the blessing of the Kingdom is seen after Armageddon.
vs. 1-2 – This is one of my favorite portions of Scripture. It tells of the glories of the Millennial Kingdom as earth is returned to an Eden-like state. God may have judges the nations of this earth, but the earth itself is brought back to blossom as never before.
vs. 3-10 – The blessings of the Millennial Kingdom on mankind. The highway of vs. 8 speaks of the access men will have to come before Christ the King. You will find that vs. 10 is practically repeated in Isaiah 51:11.
Isaiah 36 Notes
In this chapter we begin the historical section of Isaiah with a record of the Sennacherib’s invasion in 702-701 B.C. These chapters cover the events we studied in II Kings 18-20 and II Chronicles 29-30. This narrative closely follows that of II Kings.
vs. 1 – Parallels to II Kings 18:13-16 and II Chronicles 32:1. Sennacherib leads the Assyrian campaign against Judah. Remember that the Northern Kingdom fell to Assyria in 721 B.C. so this threat was very real.
vs. 2-20 – Parallels to II Kings 18:17-35 and II Chronicles 32:9-16. Rabshakeh is sent to threaten Jerusalem into submission. He famously speaks in the language of the Jews so that the populace could understand him.
vs. 21-22 - Parallels to II Kings 18:36-19:1. King Hezekiah turns to the Lord for answers after hearing the Assyrian threats.
Closing Thoughts
Isaiah 35 is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. One of the reasons is because I love the beauty of God’s actions in it. Wilderness? That is now green pastures. Desert? That now overflows with water. God is great Giver of life. He takes our souls dead in sins and regenerates us to new life. Only God can turn death and destruction to life and prosperity.
Hymn for Today
Our hymn today appears under many titles. In some early appearances it has the heading “Restoration of Israel”. It was written by James Montgomery in 1825. It is a call for the Jews to accept Christ as they will do in the Tribulation and the blessings of the Kingdom that follows.
Daughter of Zion, from the dust
Exalt thy fallen head;
Again in thy Redeemer trust;
He calls thee from the dead.
Awake, awake, put on thy strength,
Thy beautiful array;
The day of freedom dawns at length
The Lord’s appointed day.
Rebuild thy walls, thy bounds enlarge,
And send thy heralds forth;
Say to the South, Give up thy charge!
And Keep not back, O North!
They come, they come; thine exiled bands,
Where’er they rest or roam,
Have heard thy voice in distant lands,
And hasten to their home.
Thus, though the universe shall burn,
And God His works destroy,
With songs thy ransomed shall return,
And everlasting joy.