This week we
will continue the study of the Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament.
The “book of woes” that begins with chapter 28 ends with this chapter. While the woe is directed to the nations (the destroyer), the foci are on Jerusalem’s repentance and the Lord’s Exaltation. The language of this oracle is such that the destruction of the nations and the restoration of Zion appear to be eschatological, using the current invasion of Assyria and its result to speak to the eschatological restoration of Zion.
33:1-6—Woe to the Destroyer, Blessing to Zion
(1) While the nations (as represented or symbolized by Assyria) would come to destroy Zion, what will be their fate and why? (v. 1)
(2) In spite of the present distress and the fleeing of the people, how does the prophet plead on behalf of the people? (v. 2)
(3) The prophet expects the Lord to answer their plea in two aspects:
a. What is the first aspect according to v. 4?
b. What is the second aspect according to v. 5?
(4) What is the key to their salvation? (v. 6)
33:7-9—Desolation before Restoration
(5) What will happen to the people’s effort to seek help?
33:10-16—The Key to Restoration explained
(6) How does the Lord ridicule their dependence on men (Egypt) instead of on Him? (vv. 10-12)
(7) To what does the Lord liken Himself in His judgment against Zion? (v. 14)
(8) In spite of Him being the “consuming fire”, there are those who can dwell with Him:
a. In describing who they are, how does the Lord speak about the following?
- Their walk
- Their speech
- Their attitude towards injustice
- Their ears
- Their eyes
b. Why are these so important for being able to dwell with Him?
c. Instead of dwelling in fire, what will become of them?
33:17-24—The Beautiful Vision of the King and the City
(9) While v. 17 is one short verse, what does it portray?
a. How is the beauty of the king elaborated in v. 22?
b. What will the land (the city) become in vv. 20-21?
(10) The past will be but a memory (vv. 18-19)
a. What are being highlighted as their “former terror”?
b. What might be your “former terror” as you look back one day in heaven?
(11) This future vision features:
a. The reign of the Mighty King
b. The cessation of oppression by unjust rulers
c. A city of permanency
d. The cessation of wars (the victory over the nations — see Note below)
e. No more sickness
f. Sin forgiven
What might be the word you would use to describe this future city of Jerusalem?
Which of the above will you cherish most? Why?
(12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
V. 23 likely echoes v. 21 in describing the cessation of invasion by the powerful fleet of the nations.
The eschatological nature of the oracle becomes even clearer in this and the next chapters, revealing here the judgment of God on the nations on the Day of the Lord's Vengeance:
34:1-4—A Message for all Nations and Peoples
(1) What will God’s anger translate into? (34:2-3)
(2) What will happen even to the heavenly bodies? (34:4; see also Matt. 24:29)
34:5-7—Edom is Used to Represent All Nations
(3) What kind of a metaphor or picture does the Lord use for His judgment against Edom (i.e. the nations of the earth) by referring to His sword which is drenched in the blood and fats of animals?
(4) How horrific is this picture?
34:8-17—Judgment Resulting in Total Devastation
(5) What kind of devastation is depicted in vv. 8-10?
(6) Vv. 11-15 depicts another kind of devastation — that of a prosperous and fortified city turned into a desert:
a. What might be the most prosperous city that you know of?
b. What will it be like on the Day of God’s Vengeance according to these verses?
(7) It is interesting to note that the two words used to denote the world in Genesis 1:2 (formless and empty) are now used to describe Edom or the nations (as in chaos and desolation): What might the message be in using these two words to denote God’s judgment in the Last Day?
(8) In signifying the permanency of this destruction, what is being repeated in v. 10 and in v. 17?
(9) How do we know that this will definitely occur? (vv. 16-17)
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
In assuring the hearers of the certainty of this judgment, the Lord challenges us to read “the scroll of the Lord” (likely referring to the Scriptures), and the metaphor of the desert birds and animals continues in vv. 16-17 in that these animals will take over the ruins and “none of these (the owls, the wild goats, the falcons etc.) will be missing, not one will lack her mate” — a sign of permanency!
35:1-10—The Eschatological Joy of the Redeemed
(1) While the nations will turn into a desert, the Redeemed will rejoice:
a. How will the glory and splendor of God be revealed? (vv. 1-2)
b. Who are the feeble hands and the fearful hearts? (vv. 3-4) How are they like the “desert” and the “parched land”?
c. Where does their hope lie?
(2) The timing of this salvation is denoted by the word “then” in v. 5:
a. What will happen at that time, according to vv. 5-6?
b. How is it being fulfilled in Jesus Christ? (See Lk. 7:22)
(3) While vv.6-7 seem to talk about miraculous reversal of fortune in the physical realm, it concludes with the promise of a “highway” (v. 8):
a. What is this highway called?
b. Who cannot walk on it?
c. Who can? Why?
d. Where will this highway lead to?
e. What are the blessings for those who enter this city?
36:1-10—The Besiege of Jerusalem
The words spoken by the Lord through Isaiah in the preceding 35 chapters (since the times of Uzziah, Jotham and Ahaz) now culminate in the time of the invasion by Assyria of Hezekiah’s Judah. Read also the parallel account of this incident in 2 Kings 18:13-16 to gain more understanding of the situation:
(4) With the loss of all the fortified
cities except Jerusalem, and the humiliation of having to pay tribute by stripping
the gold off the temple structure, consider the following:
a. How would the people of Judah feel toward their king and their God?
b. If you were Hezekiah, how would you feel toward the situation?
c. How would he react to the many oracles and rebukes by Isaiah, especially those that point to the mistake of seeking help from Egypt? (e.g. in 30:1-7)
(5) The challenge by the field commander of Sennacherib: He mocks Hezekiah on two counts — His reliance on Egypt (v. 6) and his reliance on God (v. 7):
a. How should Hezekiah respond to the first part of the challenge?
b. What does the commander seek to do with his ridicule of Hezekiah’s devotion to the Lord? (See 2 Ki. 18:4)
c. How destructive to the confidence of the king and his people is the second part of the challenge? (v. 7)
(6) In his further ridicule (in vv. 8-10), how does the commander seek to shake the confidence of the people and the king? How true might his last statement be? (v. 10)
(7) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
36:11-22—The Insult by the Field Commander
(1) What do you think of the response of the king’s officials to the challenge of the Assyrian commander? (v. 11)
(2) How then should they have responded? (36:21)
(3) The reply of the commander:
a. How did he respond to their request? (vv. 12-13)
b. In speaking to the people in their own Hebrew language, the commander tried to persuade the people in these ways:
- Not to trust Hezekiah and God;
- By promising the sparing of their lives and prosperity, but in the foreign land;
- By citing the fall of Hamath, Arpad (both in northern Syria) Sepharvaim (the southernmost city of Mesopotamia) and Samaria to prove that their gods could not save them;
- By concluding, “How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my [Assyria's] hand?” (36:20).
What do you think the likely impact these words would have on the people of Jerusalem? Why?
(4) Why did the king’s official tear their clothes at this point of time?
37:1-13—Hezekiah’s Response
(5) Hezekiah’s immediate response included the following:
a. Tearing his clothes too: Why did he do that?
b. He sent the officials to see Isaiah. Why?
c. Why did he not go to Isaiah himself? What did he do instead? (v. 1) Why?
(6) Consider carefully the words related by these official say to Isaiah (vv. 3-4):
a. How did Hezekiah describe their present plight in v. 3? Why?
b. What did he call the Lord in v. 4? Why?
c. What did he rest their final hope on? (v. 4)
d. How did he call themselves at the end of v. 4?
e. What did he request of Isaiah?
(7) Consider the reply of the Lord in vv. 5-7.
a. The Lord confirmed that those words by the commander were indeed blasphemous words.
b. The Assyrian king will withdraw because of a report or rumor.
c. But God will cut him down with the sword back in his own country.
Do you think this was the answer Hezekiah expected? Why or why not?
(8) How was the reply of the Lord fulfilled in according to vv. 8-9?
(9) Although the king of Assyria had to retreat, what was the core of the message he sent to Hezekiah?
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
37:14-20—The Prayer of Hezekiah
(1) What did Hezekiah do upon receipt of the letter of insult from Sennacherib?
(2) How did Hezekiah address the Lord? What was the significance of this address? (v. 16)
(3) How did Sennacherib ridicule God in his letter?
(4) What reality did Hezekiah recognize that he was facing? (vv. 18-19)
(5) How did these gods differ from the Lord? (vv. 18-19 versus v. 16)
(6) On what basis did Hezekiah use for his appeal for God’s deliverance?
(7) What might you have learned from Hezekiah’s prayer?
37:21-35—God’s Answer to Hezekiah’s prayer
(8) Why did the Lord refer to the virgin and daughter of Zion and Jerusalem? (v. 22)
(9) Whom had Sennacherib ridiculed and blasphemed? (vv. 23-24)
(10) Did he know who the God of Israel was?
(11) Assyria under Sennacherib was indeed very powerful and his bragging was not too exaggerated; even the Lord seemed to affirm his success (v. 27). However, he had overlooked something very significant. What was it according to v. 26?
(12) How did the Lord describe His omniscience? How does this echo the words of David in Psalm 139:1-6? (vv. 28-29)
(13) What metaphor did the Lord use in describing the fate of Sennacherib? (v. 29)
(14) What will be the sign of God’s deliverance? (v. 30)
(15) Although secular history does confirm the retreat of the Assyrian army and the subsequent death of Sennacherib, what have they failed to recognize? (37:36)
(16) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
38:1-8—Hezekiah’s Prayer for Healing:
(1) It is perhaps helpful to note the following concerning Hezekiah’s time of illness:
a. He reigned at age of 25. (2 Kings 18:2)
b. And he reigned for 29 years, making his year of death at 54.
c. The Lord added 15 years to his life after this illness.
d. At the time of his illness, he should be at age 39.
(2) In visiting a dying man, what normally would one say and do? What did Isaiah say to the king? Why? (Note that from the promise in v. 6, it is obvious that Judah was still under the threat of Assyria.)
(3) While Hezekiah might sense that his illness was terminal, what impact did the confirmation of his death by Isaiah have on him?
(4) How should one who belongs to God and loves God face death?
a. Why didn’t Hezekiah want to die to the point of weeping bitterly?
b. He indeed walked faithfully and whole-heartedly before the Lord and had done good in His eyes. Consider then these questions:
- Should he not accept his lot from the Lord submissively?
- Could he truly use this as his merit to ask God to spare his life? (64:6)
(5) From
the reply of God through Isaiah, respond to the following:
a. Did God chastise him for his self-righteousness? Why not?
b. What does it mean that God had seen his tears?
c. Apart from giving him 15 more years, what did God promise Hezekiah?
d. Would this be part of the reason for his desire to live a bit longer?
(6) V. 22 indicates that it was Hezekiah who asked for a sign:
a. Contrast his attitude toward a sign with that of Ahaz (7:10-13). What was the difference?
b. How fitting was the sign given by the Lord to His promise of giving him more years in life?
38:9-20—Hezekiah’s Song of Praise (in writing)
(7) Given the fact that Hezekiah was only 39, do you sympathize with his desire to be healed?
(8) What images did he use to describe his physical condition under sickness? (vv. 12-13)
(9) How did he describe his emotional condition under sickness? (v. 14)
(10) Have you gone through a similar struggle as Hezekiah did?
(11) In praising God for His healing
a. What did Hezekiah promise the Lord? (v. 15, but see 2 Chr. 32:24-26 for biblical comments of his life after healing)
b. How did he view his sickness now? (v. 17)
c. What other promises did he make to the Lord? (vv. 18-20)
(12) Overall, how you feel about Hezekiah’s desperate desire to live on?
(13) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Chapter 39 marks the end of the historical portion of Isaiah, showing that in spite of all the oracles spoken through Isaiah during the successive reigns of the kings of Judah (1:1), even a relatively good king (Hezekiah) failed to remain humble and trust only in the Lord:
(1) Why did the king of Babylon send his son to visit Hezekiah? (Note that it was a time the Babylonians gradually rose in power, threatening to overtake Assyria as the dominant world power.)
(2) Why was Hezekiah so glad that he even showed off all his palace’s treasures to the envoys, to the point that “There was nothing in his palace…that (he) did not show them” (39:2)?
(3) What do you think was the purpose of Isaiah’s visit to the king?
(4) In giving his reply to Isaiah, based on the words that he said, do you think Hezekiah felt that he had done anything wrong? Why or why not? (v. 4)
(5) What was the result of his pride according to Isaiah? (vv. 5-7)
(6) What was the reply of Hezekiah to this horrible judgment? (v. 8)
(7) What did Hezekiah’s reply reveal about his heart?
(8) What should have been his reply?
Chapter 40 onwards provides the glorious answer to the question posted by the preceding 39 chapters, and that is “How can sinful and rebellious Israel be saved and become holy?” As we shall find out, the answer miraculously points to a salvation that goes far beyond the land and people of Israel, but to the whole world.
40:1-2—A People Who Need to be Comforted
(9) While Jerusalem has yet to suffer at this point, how is her suffering being portrayed?
(10) Why does the Lord see her suffering as being “double for her sins”?
(11) How will God deal with her after her suffering?
40:3-5—The Forerunner of the Messiah — This comfort will arrive through the coming of God Himself (v. 4).
(12) Why does His coming require a forerunner? What is his task?
(13) Who is this forerunner? (See Mk. 1:3-4; Lk. 3:4-6; Jn. 1:23)
(14) What did John the Baptist do to fulfill his role? (See Jn. 1:19-34)
40:6-11—The Coming of God
(15) What does this voice say (vv. 6-8) and how does it sum up the message of the previous 39 chapters?
(16) What will the coming of God accomplish according to the voice in v. 10?
(17) However, how will this Sovereign Lord of power treat His own? (v. 11)
(18) What is this good news? Who is this God?
(19) How does the Apostle Paul respond to this call of the bringing of the good tidings? (See Rom. 10:9-15)
(20) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?