Isaiah 33:1 - Meaning and Application

Here we see the proud and false Assyrian justly judged for his fraud and violence, and placed under a woe, Isaiah 33:1. First, consider the sin he had committed. He had spoiled God’s people and made prey of them. In doing so, he broke his peace agreement with them and dealt treacherously. Truth and mercy are sacred things, and they carry so much of God’s character that those who have no regard for either must come under God’s wrath.

The enemy had also sinned more deeply because he harmed people who had done him no wrong and had no cause for quarrel. He dealt treacherously with those who had always dealt faithfully with him. The less reason we have from people to do wrong, the more we offend God when we do it. Bloody and deceitful people are the worst sort of people.

Now consider the punishment he would receive for this sin. He had spoiled the cities of Judah, but his own army would be destroyed by an angel, and his camp would be plundered by those he had treated as prey. The Chaldeans would deal treacherously with the Assyrians and turn against them. Even two of Sennacherib’s own sons would betray him and murder him while he was worshiping. The righteous God often pays sinners back in their own coin. He who leads others into captivity will go into captivity himself (Revelation 13:10; Revelation 18:6).

Notice also the time when this judgment would come. It would be “when he shall make an end to spoil, and to deal treacherously,” not when he repented, which could have spared him, as in Daniel 4:27, but when he had done his worst and gone as far as God allowed him to go. When he had reached the full height of his wickedness and filled up the measure of his guilt, then his account would be settled. When he has finished, God will begin, for his day is coming.

Next we see God’s praying people earnestly coming to the throne of grace for mercy in their distress, Isaiah 33:2. “Lord, be merciful to us. Men are cruel, so be gracious to us. We deserve your anger, but we ask for your favor. If you are favorable to us, we are safe. Our trouble cannot hurt us or ruin us.” It is useless to look for help from human strength. They had no confidence in Egypt, but they had waited on God alone, ready to submit to him whatever happened, and trusting that the outcome would be good.

Those who humbly wait for God by faith will surely find him gracious. They prayed, first, for those who served in war for them. “Be their arm every morning.” Hezekiah, his princes, and all the soldiers needed fresh strength and courage each day from God. They needed him to supply their need and to be all they lacked. Every morning they went out to new work and new trouble, so they needed new help from God. As the day came, so their strength had to come.

This is true in our spiritual warfare as well. Our own hands are not enough, and we can do nothing unless God strengthens our arms, and even more, becomes our arm himself (Genesis 49:24). We depend on him every morning, just as we depend on his power and his mercies, which are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23). If God leaves us to ourselves for even one morning, we are undone. So each morning we must commit ourselves to him and go out in his strength to do the day’s work.

They also prayed for the whole people: “Be our salvation also in time of trouble.” They were people who stayed in place and did not go out to the fight, yet they still depended on God, not only as one who would save them, but as their very salvation. Whatever happened to their earthly interests, they would count themselves safe if they had God as their God. If he undertook to be their Savior, he would truly be their salvation, for God’s work is complete. Some understand the words this way: “You who were their arm every morning, the constant strength and help of our fathers before us, be our salvation also in time of trouble.” Help us as you helped them. They looked to you and were made bright and cheerful (Psalm 34:5), so let us not walk in darkness.

Then we see the Assyrian army ruined and its camp made an easy and rich prey for Judah and Jerusalem. No sooner is the prayer made in Isaiah 33:2 than it is answered in Isaiah 33:3, and even more than answered. They asked God to save them from their enemies, but he did more. He gave them victory over their enemies and a strong cause for joy.

First, the strength of the Assyrian camp was broken, Isaiah 33:3. The destroying angel struck down so many thousands that the rest fled in panic when they heard the uproar and the cries of the dying men. We may suppose those men did not die quietly. When God rose up, the nations and clans that made up the army were scattered. It was time to run when such an unheard-of plague broke out among them. When God rises, his enemies are scattered (Psalm 68:1).

Second, the spoil of the Assyrian camp was taken as repayment for all the ruin they had brought on Judah’s fortified cities, Isaiah 33:4. “Your spoil shall be gathered by the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” It would be gathered as quickly and easily as caterpillars gather, or as locusts run to and fro. In other words, the victors would take the riches of the Assyrians as easily as swarms of locusts strip a field bare. So the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous, and Israel is enriched with the spoil of Egypt.

Some understand the Assyrians themselves as the caterpillars and locusts. When such pests are killed, they are gathered into heaps, like the frogs of Egypt, and trodden into the dirt. Either way, the image shows how easily God overturns the spoiling power of the wicked.

Finally, God and his people are glorified and lifted up by this deliverance. When the enemy’s spoil is gathered, God gets the praise for it, Isaiah 33:5. “The Lord is exalted.” It is his honor to bring proud people low and hide them in the dust. In this way he makes his own name great, and his people give him the glory for it, just as Israel did when the Egyptians were drowned (Exodus 15:1, Exodus 15:2). He is exalted as the One who dwells on high, beyond their insults and blasphemies, and who rules over them with power. In the very things where they act proudly, he shows himself above them, doing as he pleases, while they cannot resist him. His people also receive blessing from it.

When God rises up to scatter the nations gathered against Jerusalem (Isaiah 33:3), he has already filled Zion with justice and righteousness. This means more than a sense of right and wrong, it means a strong zeal for justice and a careful effort to see it done. Then Jerusalem will again be called “the city of righteousness” (Isaiah 1:26). In this, God’s grace is shown as clearly as his power was shown in destroying the Assyrian army.

We may expect mercy from God when he fills a people with justice and righteousness. When these things shape all their dealings, in public and private life, nothing else can easily push them aside. Hezekiah and his people were encouraged by the promise that God would stand by them in their trouble (Isaiah 33:6). God gives them something solid to trust in: “Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, and strength of salvation.”

The result God aims at is steady times, times not shaken apart at home, and strong rescue from enemies abroad. The salvation God gives has strength in it, like a strong horn of salvation. The means to this end are wisdom and knowledge, not only devotion, but also good judgment. Wisdom that is first pure, then peaceable, and willing to put public good ahead of private gain will help establish truth and peace, and strengthen the city’s defenses.

Hezekiah and his people are also given a sound rule for government: “The fear of the Lord is his treasure.” This is God’s treasure in the world, the tribute he receives from it, or, more likely here, the king’s treasure. A good ruler counts that treasure to be wisdom, better than gold, and he will find it is so. True religion is the real wealth of any prince or people. Places with many Bibles, ministers, and sincere believers are truly rich, and they also become more prosperous in this world. For that reason, a nation should support religion and guard against anything that would weaken it.

The prophet then describes the great distress Jerusalem would face, so that believers would know beforehand what was coming and prepare for it. When God’s promise of rescue came true, the memory of their misery would make his help seem even greater and make them more thankful (Isaiah 33:7-9). The enemy would be arrogant and cruel, and there would be no dealing with him by peace talks or by war. He had broken the covenant without shame, as if he were above keeping his word, and he despised the cities. He took them so easily, even the fortified ones, that he scorned them and showed no mercy in putting people to death. He had no regard for God or for man, and no compassion, even for those under his own obligations.

Because of that, he would not be brought to peace. The brave men of Jerusalem, unable to stand against him, would have to endure his loud threats and proud cruelty. They would cry out in distress, since they could not serve their country as they wished against such an enemy. The ambassadors sent by Hezekiah to ask for peace would weep bitterly when their efforts failed. They would weep like children, unable to find any way to soften his heart.

The land itself would be left desolate for a time by his army. No one would dare travel the roads, so trade and travel would stop, and worse still, no one could safely go up to Jerusalem for the appointed feasts. “The highways lie waste.” The fields would be trampled like roads, and the roads would be empty like fields, because travelers had stopped moving altogether. No one would gain anything from the land (Isaiah 33:9). The earth had once rejoiced in its fruit for the use of God’s people, but now the enemies of Israel would eat it up or trample it down. The land would mourn and waste away, and the people would look miserable, lacking enough food for themselves and their families. Harvest joy would turn into sorrow, showing how uncertain all earthly joys are.

The desolation would be widespread. The parts of the land once known for their abundance would be laid waste too. Lebanon, known for cedars, Sharon for roses, Bashan for cattle, and Carmel for grain, all rich and fruitful places, would look like wilderness. They would be ashamed of their former names, because they were now so unlike what they had been. Their fruit would fall before it could be gathered, into the hand of the spoiler.

At last God would appear in his glory against this proud enemy (Isaiah 33:10-12). When things reached their lowest point, God would magnify himself. He had seemed to sit back like a quiet observer, but then he says, “Now I will arise.” He would step forward, act, and show his greatness in the act. He would not only prove that there is a God who judges on the earth, but that he is God over all and greater than the greatest. He would lift himself up, prepare for action, and act powerfully, and in that he would be glorified.

God’s time to show himself for his people is often when their situation is at its worst, when their strength is gone and there is no help left from any other source (Deuteronomy 32:36). When every other helper fails, that is the time for God to help.

He will bring down the Assyrian. The Assyrians were eager for Jerusalem’s wealth, as if they could not wait to take it all. But their plans would come to nothing. They would conceive chaff and bring forth stubble, meaning their efforts would be empty and useless, and fit only for burning.

Their own breath would become the fire that destroyed them. That is, the breath of God’s wrath would rise against them because of their sins. Their evil speech, their threats, and the slaughter they planned against God’s people would come back on them. Their blasphemous words against God and his name would also bring judgment. God would make their own tongues fall on them, and their own breath would light the fire that consumed them.

So it was no wonder that they became like the burnings of lime in a lime-kiln, all blazing together, or like cut thorns, dry and withered, and easy to burn. That was the destruction of the Assyrian army. It was like burning thorns, which can be spared, or burning lime, which serves a useful purpose. Their destruction also made God’s power known to the world and caused his name to shine brightly.