A Strong Warning to the Destroyer: A Message to All Who Commit Acts of Violence
2But
to us, O Lord, be merciful, for we have waited for you. Be our strength each
day and our salvation in the time of trouble. 3The enemy runs at the
sound of your voice. When you stand up, the nations flee. 4Just as
locusts strip the fields and vines, so Jerusalem will strip the fallen army of
Assyria!b
5The
Lord is very great and lives in heaven. He will make Jerusalem the home of
justice and goodness and righteousness. 6An abundance of salvation
is stored up for Judah in a safe place, along with wisdom and knowledge and
reverence for God.
7But
now your ambassadors weep in bitter disappointment, for Assyria has refused
their cry for peace. 8Your roads lie in ruins; travelers detour on
back roads. The Assyrians have broken their peace pactc and care nothing
for the promises they made in the presence of witnesses—they have no respect
for anyone. 9All the land of Israel is in trouble; Lebanon has been
destroyed; Sharon has become a wilderness; Bashan and Carmel are plundered.
10But
the Lord says: I will stand up and show my power and might. 11You
Assyrians will gain nothing by all your efforts. Your own breath will turn to
fire and kill you. 12Your armies will be burned to lime, like thorns
cut down and tossed in the fire. 13Listen to what I have done, O
nations far away! And you that are near, acknowledge my might!
14The
sinners among my people shake with fear. “Which one of us,” they cry, “can live
here in the presence of this all-consuming, everlasting fire?” 15I
will tell you who can live here: All who are honest and fair, who reject making
profit by fraud, who hold back their hands from taking bribes, who refuse to
listen to those who plot murder, who shut their eyes to all enticement to do
wrong. 16Such as these shall dwell on high. The rocks of the
mountains will be their fortress of safety; food will be supplied to them, and
they will have all the water they need.
17Your
eyes will see the King in his beauty and the highlands of heaven far away. 18Your
mind will think back to this time of terror when the Assyrian officers outside
your walls are counting your towers and estimating how much they will get from
your fallen city. 19But soon they will all be gone. These fierce,
violent people with a strange, jabbering language you can’t understand will
disappear.
20Instead you will see Jerusalem at peace, a place where God is worshiped, a city quiet and unmoved. 21The glorious Lord will be to us as a wide river of protection, and no enemy can cross. 22For the Lord is our Judge, our Lawgiver and our King; he will care for us and save us. 23The enemies’ sails hang loose on broken masts with useless tackle. Their treasure will be divided by the people of God; even the lame will win their share. 24The people of Israel will no longer say, “We are sick and helpless,” for the Lord will forgive them their sins and bless them.[1]
A Strong Warning to the Destroyer: A Message to All Who Commit Acts of Violence
(33:1–24) Introduction: the earth is full of violent people, people who use extreme force to impose their wills and desires on others. Violence is always destructive, hurting people or property and causing pain. Violence attacks people, assaulting, abusing, or coercing them. Violence is malicious and cruel, an act of unrestrained, brutal behavior. And violence often results in serious injury or death.
This present Scripture is a strong warning to those who destroy and commit acts of violence. God’s hand of judgment will without question fall upon them. The particular destroyer being addressed in this Scripture was Assyria, the nation that was ruled by King Sennacherib. Seeking to build a world empire, the Assyrians had invaded nation after nation, subjecting them under the rule of Assyrian domination. The Assyrians were a cruel, brutal, savage, and vicious people with a reputation for violence and bloodshed. Using them as an example, the Lord describes the terrifying judgment that is to fall upon all the destroyers and the violent of earth. This is, Woe—A Strong Warning to the Destroyer: A Message to All Who Commit Acts of Violence, 33:1–24.
The surety of God’s judgment on the violent oppressors and betrayers of this earth (vv. 1–14).
God pronounces a strong warning—a woe—to those who deal treacherously with other people and nations, who are violent, and who betray God’s people. God’s judgment is sure to fall on all who commit acts of cruelty and brutality, assaulting and attacking others. His judgment will fall also on all who betray His people. This is the clear teaching of this Scripture:[2]
a. The pronouncement of God’s Word is unquestionable. Destroyers and betrayers will reap exactly what they sow: they will be destroyed and betrayed. Who is the particular adversary to whom this woe is directed? Assyria. But keep in mind that Assyria represents all the evil, cruel nations, and peoples of the earth. So the warning is directed equally to all who commit acts of violence and betrayal.
When the Assyrian ruler Sennacherib invaded Judah, King Hezekiah paid a huge ransom to buy off the Assyrians and secure peace with them. Sennacherib accepted the ransom and withdrew his forces, but only temporarily. He later betrayed Hezekiah, broke the peace agreement, and invaded Judah again. He destroyed all the cities and laid siege to Jerusalem (2 K. 18:13–37). This cruel tyrant betrayed those who had trusted his promise of peace, and for that he would suffer the retribution of God.
Sennacherib would reap exactly what he had sown. Isaiah announced that he would be betrayed and suffer a violent death. And he did. Soon after Sennacherib withdrew his army and returned to Nineveh, two of his own sons betrayed and assassinated him (Is. 37:37–38). The violent king who had betrayed and slaughtered so many reaped exactly what he had sown.
Despite the hopelessness of the situation, the true believers continued to seek the Lord for deliverance from their distress. Knowing that they were guilty of sin and undeserving of God’s mercy, they nevertheless asked the Lord to shower His grace—His undeserved favor—upon them. They needed special strength to bear up under the daily strain and terror of the threatening Assyrians: thus day after day they asked the Lord to be their strength and their salvation.
Isaiah listed three reasons why the small remnant of righteous believers should seek the Lord:
1) The remnant of righteous believers should pray because of the Lord’s power (v. 3). As the Lord God of the universe, He has the power to scatter any army who opposes Him or His people. All He has to do is speak, and the thunder of His voice will cause the enemy to flee for their lives. God’s omnipotent power is far greater than the power of any man or nation. No matter how powerful a nation’s military may be, the Lord can plunder, or strip it of its power as quickly as a swarm of locusts can strip a nation’s crops. And that was exactly what happened to the Assyrian army when it besieged Jerusalem. The Lord Himself struck them. Thousands of them died; the rest retreated in panic and returned home. As the soldiers fled in terror from the hand of God’s judgment, they abandoned all the wealth they had plundered. As a result, the surviving Jews swarmed down upon the Assyrian camp and recovered the wealth for themselves (2 K. 19:14–37; Is. 37:14–38).
2) The remnant of righteous believers should pray because of the Lord’s exaltation (vv. 5–6). The Lord is exalted in the splendor of His glory and majesty, in the blazing light of His holiness. He is exalted far beyond what humans can imagine, higher than any creatures in any world or dimension of being. He lives in the spiritual world of heaven itself. Because of who He is, the day is coming when He will rule as Lord of the earth.
First, the Lord will establish His throne in Zion, the New Jerusalem, and He will rule on earth with justice and righteousness. Oppression, discrimination, greed, immorality—all acts of lawlessness and violence—will be erased throughout the world. Only the righteous will live on earth, and they will live in a world governed by God’s laws. The Lord’s justice and righteousness will reign on earth, for He is the exalted Lord of the universe.
Second, in that day the Lord Himself will be the stability of His people, the foundation upon which they stand. He Himself will be their salvation and security, wisdom and knowledge day by day. No longer will people lack understanding or be indecisive. No longer will they be ignorant of how they should live or of what steps they should take. They will be filled with the wisdom of God Himself and will know how to live and exactly what to do when problems confront them.
3) The remnant of righteous believers should pray because of the source of God’s blessings: the fear of the Lord (v. 6b). When people truly seek the Lord in prayer, they demonstrate a fear of the Lord. The word fear means reverence, a deep-seated trust that acknowledges the Lord as the only living and true God who can answer prayer. When people truly fear the Lord, they possess a wonderful treasure, for the fear of the Lord assures them of the presence of God Himself. When God is present with His people, He blesses them and guides their every step. Thus prayer was the key to the Jews’ deliverance from the Assyrian threat.
d. Once
the Assyrians launched their invasion of Judah, the highways would be deserted.
Because of the danger, the people would be too afraid to travel. When Egypt
broke the treaty with Judah, the people would despise their leaders for
bringing this destruction upon them. The cruel Assyrians had no regard for
human life and would slaughter thousands. Furthermore, they would deliberately
ravage the land (v. 9). Once the Assyrian war machine struck,
no matter where people looked, they would see only the sad, tragic spectacle of
devastation. No longer would Lebanon be a land of beautiful mountains and
forests, or Sharon a fertile land, or the fields of Bashan and Carmel fruitful.
The Assyrian army would utterly devastate all these lands.
e. But the day of atrocities would come to an end, for the Lord Himself would execute judgment on the Assyrians (vv. 10–12). The violent destroyer and betrayer will be destroyed (see v. 1). Although Assyria had dreams of grandeur and plans for world conquest, their dreams and plans were nothing more than chaff. When the Lord rose against them, He would consume their dreams and plans as quickly as fire consumes straw. He would set the cruel Assyrians ablaze. Note this fact: God’s judgment would be like an intense fire that would burn them until there was nothing left but lime, or dust, and it would burn them as quickly as if He were burning cut, dried thornbushes. God’s judgment upon the Assyrian army was just as Isaiah predicted, thorough and quick. During one night’s time, probably within a few minutes, the angel of the Lord appeared in the Assyrian camp surrounding Jerusalem and slew 185,000 soldiers. When the surviving soldiers arose the next morning and saw all the dead bodies lying around, they fled for their lives, bewildered and terrified (37:36–37).
God’s judgment is to teach a lesson (vv. 13–14), one that all people—both far and near—must heed. Throughout history the Lord’s judgment has fallen upon the Assyrians, the Jews, and other nations of the world for a very specific purpose: so they would acknowledge His power. The Lord is the Creator and Sovereign of the universe; therefore, all must acknowledge Him as the Lord God, the only living and true God. Even the sinners in Zion—the hypocrites who profess the Lord but live wickedly—must tremble in fear before Him. The Lord is a consuming fire (Is. 10:17; He. 12:29); no person can stand in the presence of His blazing holiness. Therefore, God’s presence and His coming judgment should terrify all hypocrites.
Thought 1. God’s judgment is sure. It is definitely coming. Nothing can stop His hand of judgment from falling upon earth. His day of judgment is fixed, already determined and set. When that day and hour come, Christ will rend the skies above and strike this earth in judgment. Every one of us will face the wrath of God, and the Lord will be unwavering in executing judgment against us unless we have accepted His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and been forgiven our sins.
V “When the Son of man shall come in his glory,
and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his
glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them
one from another, as a shepherd divideth his
sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the
goats on the left.… Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his
angels” (Mt. 25:31–33, 41).
V “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in
the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with
perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear,
and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the
powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming
in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to
pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” (Lu. 21:25–28).
V “And to you who are troubled rest with us,
when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In
flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2
Th. 1:7–8).
V “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly
out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be
punished” (2 Pe. 2:9).
V “But the heavens and the earth, which are
now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of
judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this
one thing, that one day is with the
Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not
slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering
to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance. 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” (2 Pe. 3:7–10).
V “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam,
prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his
saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly
among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of
all their hard speeches which ungodly
sinners have spoken against him” (Jude
1:14–15).
V “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen” (Re. 1:7).[3]
a 33:1
Assyrians, implied.
b 33:4
fallen army of Assyria, see 2
Kings 19:35.
c 33:8
peace pact, see 2 Kings
18:14-17.
[1] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
[2] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2005. Isaiah (Chapters
1–35). Vol. I. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible.
Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
[3] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2005. Isaiah (Chapters 1–35). Vol. I. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
https://my.bible.com/bible/116/ISA.33.nlt
Pictures 1, 3, 4, & 5 courtesy of Steve Side
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