Reflections on Isaiah 33

Isaiah 33 (Contemporary English Version)
1. You defeated my people. Now you're in for trouble! You've never been destroyed, but you will be destroyed; you've never been betrayed, but you will be betrayed. When you have finished destroying and betraying, you will be destroyed and betrayed in return.
   
2. Please, LORD, be kind to us! We depend on you. Make us strong each morning, and come to save us when we are in trouble.
   
3. Nations scatter when you roar and show your greatness.
   
4. We attack our enemies like swarms of locusts; we take everything that belongs to them.
   
5. You, LORD, are above all others, and you live in the heavens. You have brought justice and fairness to Jerusalem;
   
6. you are the foundation on which we stand today. You always save us and give true wisdom and knowledge. Nothing means more to us than obeying you.
   
7. Listen! Our bravest soldiers are running through the streets, screaming for help. Our messengers hoped for peace, but came home crying.
   
8. No one travels anymore; every road is empty. Treaties are broken, and no respect is shown to any who keep promises.
   
9. Fields are dry and barren; Mount Lebanon wilts with shame. Sharon Valley is a desert; the forests of Bashan and Carmel have lost their leaves.
   
10. But the LORD says, "Now I will do something and be greatly praised.
    
11. Your deeds are straw that will be set on fire by your very own breath.
    
12. You will be burned to ashes like thorns in a fire.
    
13. Everyone, both far and near, come look at what I have done. See my mighty power!"
    
14. Those terrible sinners on Mount Zion tremble as they ask in fear, "How can we possibly live where a raging fire never stops burning?"
    
15. But there will be rewards for those who live right and tell the truth, for those who refuse to take money by force or accept bribes, for all who hate murder and violent crimes.
    
16. They will live in a fortress high on a rocky cliff, where they will have food and plenty of water.
    
17. With your own eyes you will see the glorious King; you will see his kingdom reaching far and wide.
    
18. Then you will ask yourself, "Where are those officials who terrified us and forced us to pay such heavy taxes?"
    
19. You will never again have to see the proud people who spoke a strange and foreign language you could not understand.
    
20. Look to Mount Zion where we celebrate our religious festivals. You will see Jerusalem, secure as a tent with pegs that cannot be pulled up and fastened with ropes that can never be broken.
    
21. Our wonderful LORD will be with us! There will be deep rivers and wide streams safe from enemy ships.
    
22. The LORD is our judge and our ruler; the LORD is our king and will keep us safe.
    
23. But your nation is a ship with its rigging loose, its mast shaky, and its sail not spread. Someday even you that are lame will take everything you want from your enemies.
    
24. The LORD will forgive your sins, and none of you will say, "I feel sick."

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Only those who fear the Lord can expect a life of fulfillment in which they find their needs fulfilled. Thus Isaiah's counsel to Judah is that "the fear of the Lord is Zion's treasure." (33:6) But this is not what Judah's has chosen. Rather than fearing the Lord she has turned to others for her security. Chapter 31 tells of Judah's attempt to form an alliance with Egypt and 2 Kings 18:13-16 tells of an attempt to bribe the Assyrians to call off their attack against them. Which of these occasions is referred to here by Isaiah is uncertain, but whichever it was, Judah's effort to find security other than in the Lord failed. The agreement with Egypt or Assyria was broken (33:8) and Judah is overtaken. The result is that "The land mourns and withers; Lebanon is ashamed and decayed. Sharon is like a desert; Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves." (33:9) The Lord will move against them and they will become impotent. They will conceive chaff and give birth to stubble. Their breath will be a fire that consumes them. (33:11) Then the people of Judah would fear the Lord, but it would be a terrifying fear rather than one of respect and awe.

This is not the way things must be. There is another way. The people of Judah can choose to live righteously and speak rightly, refuse gain from extortion and not take bribes. They can choose to no longer listen to murderous plots or endorse evil. Its their choice. In so choosing, they can enjoy a life of peace and security and of beauty. Then the Lord would be for them rather than bringing judgment on them. Then the Lord would forgive their iniquity. All of this is the focus of verses 15-24. It contrasts the life that Judah was facing at the time of Isaiah's prophecy. It is an alternative for the nation if it so chooses.

We plot and scheme and strive and strain to pursue the desires that consume us only to find that they are unattainable, are unworth the pursuit, and that we have rejected the truly worthwhile pursuit which is the life of righteousness lived in obedience to God.