Isaiah 33 : Distress and Help

      This chapter deals God's judgement against the enemies of His church in verses 1-14, and the happiness of God's people in the remainder of the chapter. The 'destroyer' referred to is Assyria, which continually broke its promises, yet demanded that others keep theirs. Our God is a righteous God, and He will often pay others with the same coinage that they use themselves. When you humbly await God in patient hope and faith, you will find Him gracious towards you. It is so easy for people today to place themselves in a similar position to the one that Assyria adopted, demanding their rights whilst denying or ignoring the rights of others. The most important aspect of any relationship is trust, and when trust is shattered, as it is by constantly breaking promises, then the relationship suffers, often to a point of complete breakdown. Our lesson from this passage is that we should seek god's forgiveness for promise that have been given and broken in the past, and at the same time ensure that when we give promises in the future they will be kept. We should always treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves.
      Once Jerusalem, the Holy City (Zion), is established under the rule of Jesus Christ it will be the home of justice, peace and righteousness. 
      The true believer is always on guard against sin, and ever watchful of the temptations that come along. In maintaining the faith that we have been blessed with we are able to guard against sin because the Divine power will keep us safe, and our faith in that power will be our watchword. The prophet warns the sinners of what is to come, for they realised that they could not live in the presence of the holy God, for He is likened to an all-consuming fire that consumes evil. Only those people who live righteous lives can live with God, and Isaiah explains how we can live such lives, turning away from all manner of evil such as extortion and bribery. 
      We have everything that we could ever need in God, and He will supply all that we desire. We will live under the complete protection of our loving God when, by faith, we take Christ as our Saviour and Lord, and acknowledge Him as the King of Kings. In the new Jerusalem there will be no sickness or trouble , and no sin, and the sins of all who live there in the presence of God will be forgiven for their past sins.
¹ Woe to you, destroyer, 
   you who have not been destroyed! 
Woe to you, betrayer, 
   you who have not been betrayed! 
When you stop destroying, 
   you will be destroyed; 
when you stop betraying, 
   you will be betrayed.

² Lord, be gracious to us;
   we long for you.
Be our strength every morning,
   our salvation in time of distress.
³ At the uproar of your army, the peoples flee;
   when you rise up, the nations scatter.
⁴ Your plunder, O nations, is harvested as by young locusts;
   like a swarm of locusts people pounce on it.

⁵ The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;
   he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness.
⁶ He will be the sure foundation for your times,
   a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;
   the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.

⁷ Look, their brave men cry aloud in the streets;
   the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
⁸ The highways are deserted,
   no travelers are on the roads.
The treaty is broken,
   its witnesses are despised,
   no one is respected.
⁹ The land dries up and wastes away,
   Lebanon is ashamed and withers;
Sharon is like the Arabah,
   and Bashan and Carmel drop their leaves.

¹⁰ “Now will I arise,” says the LORD.
   “Now will I be exalted;
   now will I be lifted up.
¹¹ You conceive chaff,
   you give birth to straw;
   your breath is a fire that consumes you.
¹² The peoples will be burned to ashes;
   like cut thornbushes they will be set ablaze.”

¹³ You who are far away, hear what I have done;
   you who are near, acknowledge my power!
¹⁴ The sinners in Zion are terrified;
   trembling grips the godless:
“Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?
   Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?”
¹⁵ Those who walk righteously
   and speak what is right,
who reject gain from extortion
   and keep their hands from accepting bribes,
who stop their ears against plots of murder
   and shut their eyes against contemplating evil—
¹⁶ they are the ones who will dwell on the heights,
   whose refuge will be the mountain fortress.
Their bread will be supplied,
   and water will not fail them.

¹⁷ Your eyes will see the king in his beauty
   and view a land that stretches afar.
¹⁸ In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror:
   “Where is that chief officer?
Where is the one who took the revenue?
   Where is the officer in charge of the towers?”
¹⁹ You will see those arrogant people no more,
   people whose speech is obscure,
   whose language is strange and incomprehensible.

²⁰ Look on Zion, the city of our festivals;
   your eyes will see Jerusalem,
   a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved;
its stakes will never be pulled up,
   nor any of its ropes broken.
²¹ There the Lord will be our Mighty One.
   It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams.
No galley with oars will ride them,
   no mighty ship will sail them.
²² For the Lord is our judge,
   the Lord is our lawgiver,
the Lord is our king;
   it is he who will save us.

²³ Your rigging hangs loose:
   The mast is not held secure,
   the sail is not spread.
Then an abundance of spoils will be divided
   and even the lame will carry off plunder.
²⁴ No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”;
   and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.