Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.
Isaiah 31 ends with God Himself coming down to defend Jerusalem and crush the Assyrian invader. Chapter 32 opens with what comes next: a throne, and a king who reigns in righteousness.
With the rescue of Jerusalem complete, one writer identifies this King as Jehovah Himself:
The whole work at Jerusalem is now finished, and Jehovah is then shown to us reigning. He and no other is the person spoken of here… It is no longer a question of Christianity but of the kingdom. He is the One all believers wait for, and all the prophets spoke of Him. When He reigns, the righteous will no longer be called to suffer, but will dwell at ease.
Power often corrupts the man who inherits it. This King is different:
"Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice" (Isa. 32:1). Many a rightful heir has come to a throne only to abuse the power given him. But Jesus Christ, of David's line, raised from the dead, will reign in righteousness. Under Him all the nations of the earth will be blessed, for He is Abraham's seed as well as David's.
God did strike down Sennacherib's army in Isaiah's own day. One writer asks whether the promised reign ever followed:
No one disputes that this came true in part when Sennacherib's army fell. But the salvation here is far larger, and brings far more blessing, than that partial and temporary rescue… Has this time come? Has Israel ever known such a King? His reign here follows the Lord of Hosts' intervention on Israel's behalf. Has such an intervention yet taken place?
Righteousness on the throne is not a mood. The King acts on wrong at once:
A king will reign in righteousness, and then transgression will cease. If there is the least outbreak of man's will, it will be dealt with on the spot. The black and dark night will then have passed away. Gone with it are the transgressions that marked all its weary hours. The day will have come in, for the Sun of Righteousness will then be shining in a cloudless sky.
This is not a picture of the present age:
This is a completely different state of things from the present. Now grace reigns through righteousness to eternal life. It is not (so to speak) righteousness reigning through glory in the government of the world. In the day this chapter has in view, the Lord Jesus will take up the sceptre of the earth in righteousness, and especially of the land of Israel.
The King does not rule alone. The verse puts princes under Him:
Justice will be given without partiality. "Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice" (Isa. 32:1). This tells us of those lesser rulers who act as ministers of Christ in the affairs of this world.
There is a further stage beyond this reign, and the difference turns on a single verb:
During the thousand years of the kingdom, we read that "a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice" (Isa. 32:1). In the eternal state, righteousness will dwell. Ruling assumes there is evil to hold down. In the eternal state there will be no sin to spoil the new heavens and the new earth. Everyone will be in right relations with God and with one another, so we can truly say that righteousness dwells there.
This is prophecy, but it asks something of you today:
In the age to come all the world will be brought under His gracious rule. But the one who confesses Him now enjoys the benefit of His salvation before the day arrives when He is openly displayed… You cannot count on His protection if you are rebellious. You must submit to Him. He uses all His power on behalf of the one who submits to Him.
- The King. The One who comes down to rescue Jerusalem is the One who then takes the throne. He is Jesus Christ, of David's line and Abraham's seed, the rightful heir who will never abuse His power.
- Not yet. Sennacherib's defeat was real but partial. Israel has never known such a King, so this reign is still ahead.
- Righteousness enforced. The King deals with wrong on the spot, and transgression ceases. The long night ends and the Sun of Righteousness shines in a cloudless sky.
- Not this age. Right now grace reigns through righteousness to eternal life. Then righteousness itself will govern the world, with princes ruling under Christ as His ministers.
- Beyond the reign. Ruling means there is still evil to hold down. In the eternal state righteousness no longer rules; it simply dwells. Until that day, whoever submits to this King comes under His protection early.
And a man shall be as a hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the storm; as brooks of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.
This promise sits inside a picture of government: a King rules in righteousness, and under Him a Man becomes shelter, water and shade for people who have none. Who is this Man, when does He come, and can anyone shelter in Him today? (Older translations read "a man" here, and the writers below follow that reading; the ESV reads "each will be like a hiding place.")
The previous chapter promised that the Lord would come to rescue His people. This one shows who arrives.
The connection with the previous chapter is obvious. Chapter 31:4-9 predicts the coming of the Lord to deliver His people and punish their enemies... And now the start of chapter 32 reveals the coming King and His righteous reign. The King is the Man Christ Jesus, "a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm."
One writer measures this King against Israel's past kings, and names who the Man is:
A King will reign in righteousness, far beyond David or Solomon, who were only faint pictures of Him. And the Man who is God, Jehovah's companion, will be like a hiding place from the wind and a shelter from the storm.
One writer weighs what it means that the shelter is a Man and not an angel.
"A MAN." Not an angel or fiery seraph. We would be afraid of such beings, and they could not help us in our need. But He has drawn us with "the cords of a man," with "the bands of love" (Hosea 11:4).
Two of the four pictures deal with danger. The first is about pressure we feel now:
"A HIDING PLACE." Strong temptations to sin would sweep us off our feet like the wind. Trouble threatens to overwhelm us. But in Him we have peace and are perfectly secure.
The second points to a judgment still ahead, and one writer turns it into a direct offer:
There is wrath coming upon the world, but God has made a hiding-place for you. Isaiah spoke of it: "A man will be like a hiding place from the wind." Do you want shelter from the wrath to come? You will find it in Christ. You will find Him an ark of refuge... God has prepared a covert from that tempest. Where is it? It is Christ at the right hand of God. There is salvation in Him, and nowhere else.
The other two pictures deal with emptiness, not danger. One writer holds them up against the world we live in:
Storms of Satan's power have swept this world, since he is "the prince of the power of the air." Despite all man's cleverness, the world has proved to be "a dry place," with no real refreshment. It is also "a weary land," where men spend their lives chasing what turns out to be emptiness. Man's failure shows itself daily, and we can sum up the cry from many as "Wanted a man!" Satan's man will appear first and bring evil to a climax. But the Man of God's purpose will destroy him and fulfil this word. He will bring in the three things named — salvation, satisfaction, and new strength in a land no longer weary but restful.
The last picture puts a Man in the place of God Himself.
"THE SHADOW OF A GREAT ROCK in a weary land." The Old Testament calls God "the Rock" of Israel. Like Israel, we have proved that this world is "a weary land." How full of meaning, then, and how blessed, that Christ, "a Man," appears as the rest-giving "shadow" of the "great rock," the ETERNAL GOD. His wonderful love for us came out at the cross, when Christ died for us... A MAN AS THE SHADOW OF THE ALMIGHTY!
Running to Christ in trouble is right, but stopping there carries a danger.
Christ is indeed "a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm… the shade of a great rock in a weary land" (Isaiah 32:2)... But remember this: if we only run to Christ as a shelter in the time of storm, we shall be in danger of leaving Him once the storm has passed. Sadly, this is what happens too often with each one of us. We turn to Him in the storm; we neglect Him in the calm.
- King. The promise sits inside a coming reign of righteousness, far beyond David or Solomon.
- Man. The shelter is a Man, not an angel. An angel would frighten us and could not meet our need.
- Shelter. Wind and storm cover both present temptation and coming wrath. Christ is the answer to both, and there is no other.
- Supply. A dry place and a weary land describe a world that cannot refresh, so the same Man is also water and shade.
- Home. Running to Him in the storm is only the start. The danger is leaving Him once the weather clears.
And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken;
Isaiah 32 opens with a King who reigns in righteousness, and verse 3 turns to the people He rules. God changes them so they see and hear at last — but when does this happen, and who does the work?
The verse describes conditions under a reign that has not yet started. One writer contrasts it with the present time, when the righteous suffer instead of ruling.
Verses 1, 2. The first thing is a king who is to reign on earth in righteousness. The church, on the other hand, ought to follow Jesus in the present order. He was righteous, yet He suffered, and a judge who admitted He was innocent put Him to death. The righteous man suffers, and people commit the worst injustice against him. That is the position of the Christian and the church. It is not yet a king reigning in righteousness. In the age to come righteousness will reign.
The verse lands on a tired world. One writer names what people are weary of — and what they are not.
The world had long been weary of the effects of sin, if not of sin itself. Now the blessing has come: "Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will give attention."
Dull eyes and deaf ears are the normal state now. One writer shows what God still does while that lasts, and how little high standing counts against Him.
Think of a world of deception, before the king reigns in righteousness. Eyes are dim and ears are dull. The worthless man is called generous, and the miser is called open-handed. Even there, the eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, which otherwise would perish from the earth. And He overthrows the words of the treacherous, even if they stood as high as Haman stood with King Ahasuerus.
Verse 2 shows what the King will be; verse 3 shows what happens in those who live under Him. One commentator traces the order, and sees the same order in believers now.
Verse 2 gives a lovely picture of what Christ in royal power will be. Verses 3 and 4 reveal a work done in the souls of those who will enter these scenes and enjoy the blessedness of the reign of Christ. They will have become a people of clear vision, of opened ears, of understanding hearts, and of plain and forceful speech. Notice the order. It is just the same today. First you grasp the truth. Then the heart understands. Last comes the plain expression of what you believe, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
Good government does not by itself produce this seeing and hearing. One writer names what does, and it is the same thing the gospel calls for now.
The LORD will reign in righteousness, and all through His day He will govern with strength and kindness. Yet it will be proved once more that this changes the heart no more than the gospel does now, unless the power of the Spirit renews it in conscience. There must be the possession of a new nature. A man must be born again to see or enter the kingdom of God. It will then be clear that the new birth is needed not only for the heavenly glory, but even for the earthly side of that kingdom (John 3).
Open eyes change how people are judged. One writer contrasts today's polished appearances with what that day will expose.
It is not as you see now. Today men appear to have every good natural quality. Yet put them to the test, and they have no heart for divine things. They do not love the name of the Lord Jesus, and they do not care for His glory. Here it will not be so. Blessing will flow, evil will be judged, shame will vanish away. Things and persons will be plain to see and will bear their true character. Man will then do what he was made for, for the first time on earth... We know how uncertain human judgment is, and yet how men cling to appearances and keep them up. There will be no empty show then.
- Now: dim. Eyes are dim and ears are dull in a world of deception. Even now God preserves knowledge in it.
- Then: the King. Righteousness does not reign yet; the righteous suffer. This verse belongs to the age when Christ rules and the long weariness caused by sin ends.
- The gift: sight. The promise is not just a better ruler. God changes the people: clear vision, opened ears, understanding hearts, plain speech — in that order.
- The condition: new birth. Glory alone does not change hearts. A new nature is needed to see or enter the kingdom, even in its earthly form.
- The result: nothing false. When sight returns, appearances stop deceiving. People and things bear their true character, and empty show is over.
and the heart of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.
Isaiah 32 opens with a King reigning in righteousness. Verse 4 shows what that reign does inside people. Is this a picture of better schooling and better manners, or of a work God does in the soul?
This scene belongs to a coming reign, not to the present calling of believers:
It is no longer a question of Christianity but of the kingdom. When He reigns for Whom all believers wait, as all the prophets spoke of Him, the righteous shall no longer be called to suffer, but to dwell at ease. We are now called to do well, suffer for it, and take it patiently, in view of heavenly glory, and as followers of Him who passed through sufferings. This indeed is grace. But in the coming day God will display righteousness by divine power here below, when Satan is set aside and Christ reigns.
Verse 3 speaks of eyes and ears. Verse 4 moves inward to the heart, then outward to the tongue. One writer says that order still holds today:
Verse 2 gives a lovely picture of what Christ will be when He reigns as King. Verses 3 and 4 reveal that a work will be done in the souls of those who will enter that coming thousand-year kingdom and enjoy the blessedness of Christ's reign. They will have become a people of clear vision, of opened ears, of understanding hearts, and of plain and forceful speech. Notice the order. It is just the same today. First you grasp the truth; then the heart understands; and last comes plain speech about what you believe. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
Good government by itself changes no one. The understanding heart of verse 4 has a deeper source than the King's rule:
Jehovah will reign in righteousness, and it will be His to exercise strong and generous government all through His day. But once more it will be clear that this changes the heart no more than the gospel changes it now, unless the power of the Spirit renews it in conscience. There must be the possession of a new nature. Man must be born again to see or enter the kingdom of God. It will then be clear that the new birth is needed not merely for the heavenly glory, but even for the earthly things of that kingdom.
For Israel this is a reversal. The nation had once used its own speech against its Messiah. One writer sets the two moments side by side, quoting the older wording "the rash" where the ESV has "the hasty":
Then they were conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood and of hate. "Away with Him!" "He has a demon, and is insane." "Not this man, but Barabbas." "We have no king but Caesar." … Their language will not be like that when, with unveiled hearts, they look on Him whom they have pierced. … In that day the heart of the rash will understand knowledge, and will move the once stammering tongue to skilful praise.
The Gospels show the same thing happening. Jesus healed a deaf man who could hardly speak. One writer takes that man as a picture of the nation:
The afflicted man was only a symbol of the state of Israel. Through unbelief the nation was unwilling and unable to hear God, or to speak out their own misery and His praise. But as brought to Him he pictured the remnant on whom light dawned in a region and shadow of death. And "straightway"… his ears were opened, and the tie of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke rightly.
Later in the same chapter, one writer traces the whole change back to a single moment:
The reference is to what comes before Jehovah takes His place and reigns in the land. And all the sorrow is to continue until the Spirit is poured down upon them. Then comes the great change in Israel… But there will be a fitting and large outpouring of the Spirit in that day, as we have already seen.
- King first. The chapter opens with a King who reigns in righteousness. Every change in verse 4 flows from His rule, not from human progress.
- Spirit as cause. The sorrow lasts until God pours out His Spirit on Israel. That outpouring brings the great change.
- New birth as gift. Even the earthly blessings of that kingdom need a new nature. Glory alone leaves the heart where it was.
- Order as pattern. Sight first, then an understanding heart, then plain speech. The same order holds today: the mouth speaks out of what fills the heart.
- Praise as result. The tongue that once cried "Away with Him!" now speaks clearly, and stammering turns into skilful praise.
The vile man shall be no more called noble, nor the churl said to be bountiful
Isaiah 32 opens with a King reigning in righteousness. Verse 5 gives one plain sign of that reign: worthless men will no longer carry honourable names.
The writers quoted here use an older translation. Where the ESV says "fool" and "scoundrel", it has "the vile person" and "the churl".
The verse belongs to a chapter about a coming reign. One writer sums up where the chapter is heading:
Then, in Isaiah 32, the Messiah will reign in righteousness and set everything morally in order... Righteousness will be established everywhere, and peace, the fruit of righteousness.
The two words are not vague insults. One commentator ties the first to Nabal, and the second to the crafty man. He also gives the reason such men keep their good names now:
The prophet Isaiah looks on to the King's reign in righteousness. He lets us know that it will not be so in that future day of bliss for the earth. The vile person or fool, like Nabal, shall no more be called liberal, nor the churl or crafty be said to be bountiful. The wicked now strive to appear what they are not, and not to show what they are. For at heart men are ashamed of what they know themselves to be.
Pretence survives because even the worst men want the credit of goodness.
Under that reign, character and name will match. The same writer sets that day against what we meet now:
It is not as you see now. Men appear to have every good natural quality, and yet when tested they have no heart for divine things. They do not love the name of the Lord Jesus, and they do not care for His glory. Here it will not be so. Blessing will flow, evil will be judged, shame will vanish away. Things and persons will be shown for what they are and bear their true character. Man will then do, for the first time on earth, what he was made for. All this stands in contrast with the deceit of unrighteousness that has gone on, and still goes on, here below. We know how uncertain human judgement is, and yet how men cling to and keep up appearances. There will be no vain show then.
This describes the kingdom, not the present. That difference decides what believers should expect now:
It is no longer a question of Christianity but of the kingdom. All believers wait for Him, and all the prophets spoke of Him. When He reigns, the righteous will no longer be called to suffer, but to dwell at ease. We follow Him who passed through sufferings, with heavenly glory in view. So we are now called to do well, suffer for it, and take it patiently. This indeed is grace. But in the day that is coming, righteousness will be displayed by divine power here below, when Satan is set aside and Christ reigns.
Until then, false labels stick — but only among men:
We live in a world of deception. The king has not yet begun to reign in righteousness, eyes are dim and ears are dull, and the vile man is called generous while the miser is called open-handed. Even here, the eyes of Jehovah preserve knowledge, which would otherwise perish from the earth. And He overthrows the words of the treacherous, even if they stand as high in a king's favour as Haman stood with Ahasuerus.
The habit Isaiah names is alive in everyday speech. Another writer lists today's versions of it:
What the truth would do now, the judgement seat will do then. The light that shines from the judgement seat of Christ will unmask every kind of hypocrisy... Everything will get its proper name then, though it is misnamed now. Worldly-mindedness is called prudence. A grasping, covetous spirit is called foresight. Self-indulgence and personal advancement are called wise management and admirable diligence in business. So it is now; but then it will be quite the reverse. All things will be seen in their true colours, and called by their true names.
- King — Right names wait for the right King. Messiah will reign in righteousness and set everything morally in order.
- Fool — "Vile person" means the fool, a Nabal; "churl" means the crafty, tight-fisted man. Both borrow names they have not earned.
- Shame — Pretence works because men are ashamed at heart of what they know themselves to be. So they strive to look like what they are not.
- Reality — In that day persons and things bear their true character. There will be no vain show, and no reputation that survives the test.
- Meanwhile — We are called to do well, suffer for it, and take it patiently. God preserves knowledge now, and the judgement seat will give everything its right name.
for the vile man will speak villainy, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against Jehovah, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and to cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
Isaiah 32 looks ahead to a King who reigns in righteousness. In that day the flattering titles men hand out will collapse, and no one will call the fool generous. Verse 6 gives the reason. It lists what this man says, what he plans, and what he does to hungry people.
The verse sits in a scene where appearance and reality line up at last. One writer sets that day against the world we know now:
It is not as you see now. Men appear to have every good natural quality, yet when tested they have no heart for divine things, no love for the name of the Lord Jesus, no care for His glory. Here it will not be so. Blessing will flow, evil will meet judgement, shame will vanish away. Things and persons will be seen as they are and bear their true character... There will be no vain show then.
Older translations call this man "the vile person," and set him beside "the churl," the tight-fisted man. The same writer names both, and says what keeps their disguise going:
The prophet Isaiah looks on to the King's reign in righteousness. He tells us it will not be so in that future day of blessing for the earth. No one will call the vile person, or fool, like Nabal, generous. No one will call the churl, the crafty man, open-handed. The wicked now strive to appear what they are not, and not to show what they are. For at heart men are ashamed of what they know themselves to be.
Nabal was a rich man in the Old Testament who refused to share his food. His name means "fool."
The verse says he practices ungodliness. An older translation reads "hypocrisy." The words people use are corrupt too: a fine title is stuck on a man whose conduct contradicts it. Another writer shows the same trick in everyday speech, and where it ends:
The light shining out from the judgement seat of Christ will unmask every grade and shade of hypocrisy. Nothing will escape. All will be reality then, though there is so much falseness now. What is more, everything will get its proper name then, though it is misnamed now. People call worldly-mindedness prudence. They call a grasping, covetous spirit foresight. They call self-indulgence and personal advancement sound management and praiseworthy diligence in business.
The verse ties the mouth to the heart: he speaks folly, and his heart is busy with iniquity. One writer draws the practical test from that link:
What is really filling my heart will come off my tongue. And so you can always tell what my heart is occupied with, because I have a tongue. I cannot deceive you for long.
Isaiah names the target of that speech: the man utters error about the LORD Himself. A comment on a similar figure in the Psalms goes further back, to what the heart does before the mouth opens:
His heart is a magnet. By a terrible principle of natural selection, it attracts wickedness to itself — wickedness it has forged first. Then he goes out and proclaims what he has gained; but in fact he only shows himself for what he is.
The verse ends with an empty stomach and a dry throat. The test of claimed generosity is what happens to people with nothing. Against this man stands the giving God:
God is revealed to us as the giving God. He gave His Son (John 3:16). Christ gave Himself (Eph. 5:25). God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7)... We are in a world of need, both material and spiritual. The heart that knows the grace of Christ will be a heart that has learned the secret and the joy of giving. "The liberal devises liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand" (Isa. 32:8).
That last line comes from an older translation. The ESV reads, "But he who is noble plans noble things, and on noble things he stands."
- Heart — The heart forges the evil first, and draws more wickedness to itself before a word is spoken.
- Mouth — What fills the heart comes off the tongue, so no one can hide behind fine speech for long.
- Hands — He claims charity, but he leaves the hungry empty and the thirsty dry.
- Titles — Men twist words. They praise the churl as open-handed, just as they call greed foresight today.
- The King — When He reigns, persons and things bear their true character. The man who plans noble things is the one who stands.
The instruments also of the churl are evil he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the meek with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.
Isaiah 32 describes a King who reigns in righteousness. So why does verse 7 stop to sketch one schemer, the man older translations call "the churl", in a chapter about blessing?
The earlier chapters raise a problem. Isaiah 32 answers it with a Person, not a policy.
But how would all this happen? Isaiah 32 gives the answer. God's King would appear, reigning in righteousness, and would set up a new order of things.
The word behind "churl" points to a crafty man. Today he goes by a kinder name. One writer links him to Nabal, a rich man who refused to feed David's men.
Isaiah looks on to the King's reign in righteousness. He tells us it will not be so in that future day of joy for the earth. The vile person or fool, like Nabal, will no more be called generous, nor the churl or crafty man said to be bountiful. The wicked now strive to appear what they are not, and not to show what they are. For at heart men are ashamed of what they know themselves to be.
He does not attack the strong. He picks the person who cannot fight back, and he does it in the very place that should give justice.
It may seem strange to say, "Do not rob the poor," and especially "because he is poor." But we need the warning, because human nature is now so low, selfish, and cruel. An unscrupulous man might see the rich as the more tempting prey. But the rich can look after themselves in ways the poor would not or could not try. So bad men flatter the rich for profit, while they also rob or oppress those who ought to be objects of pity. But the LORD has His eye on such villainy, at the very gate where justice should flow. He pleads the cause of the poor and the afflicted, and He makes those who plunder them pay dearly.
The poor man's plea can be completely right and still lose under a pile of lies. But someone else is keeping the record.
This is still a world of deception. The king does not yet reign in righteousness. Eyes are dim and ears dull, and the vile man is called generous, the churl bountiful. Even so, the eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, which would otherwise perish from the earth. And He overthrows the words of the treacherous, even if they stood as high as Haman in the eyes of Ahasuerus.
Haman was the court favourite in Persia whose plot against the Jews collapsed on his own head.
Isaiah draws this portrait in detail because the churl's disguise is about to come off. Under the reign of the King, appearances stop working.
It is not as you see now. Today men appear to have every good natural quality. Yet when tested they have no heart for divine things. They do not love the name of the Lord Jesus, nor care for His glory. Here it will not be so. Blessing will flow, evil will be judged, shame will vanish away. Things and persons will be seen as they are and will bear their true character. … We know how uncertain human judgement is, and yet how men cling to appearances and keep them up. There will be no empty show then.
The churl survives on a flattering label. So check the labels in use now, including the ones we give ourselves.
Everything will get its proper name then, though it is misnamed now. People call worldly-mindedness prudence. They call a grasping, covetous spirit foresight. They call self-indulgence and personal ambition sensible management and admirable diligence in business. So it is now; but then it will be quite the reverse. All things will be seen in their true colours, and called by their true names, before the judgement seat of Christ.
- Disguise. The churl trades on a name he has not earned. Men try to look like what they are not, because at heart they are ashamed of what they are.
- Weapon. He uses lying words against the person least able to answer. He robs the poor because he is poor.
- Witness. Even while the lie stands, God preserves knowledge. He overturns the words of the treacherous, however high the liar has climbed.
- Unmasking. When God's King reigns in righteousness, appearances stop working. Persons and things will bear their true character, and empty show will end.
- Test. Everything will get its true name one day. So weigh the names we use now: covetousness renamed foresight is still covetousness.
But the noble deviseth noble things; and to noble things doth he stand.
This verse closes a portrait of a coming King, who changes what people are called once He reigns. It raises two questions: who is the "noble" man, and what does it mean that he stands on the very things he plans? (Older translations, which the commentators use, read "liberal" where the ESV reads "noble.")
The verse is not a general proverb about generosity. It belongs to a scene where a King rules and the suffering of the righteous ends.
This is no longer a question of Christianity but of the kingdom. He is the One all believers wait for, and all the prophets spoke of Him. When He reigns, the righteous will no longer be called to suffer, but to live at ease. It is because we look for heavenly glory, and because we follow Him Who passed through suffering, that we are now called to do good, suffer for it, and take it patiently.
That reign reaches the earth itself. It puts things in moral order and brings human pride down.
In Isaiah 32 the Messiah will reign in righteousness and set everything morally in order… Righteousness will be established everywhere, and peace with it, since peace is the fruit of righteousness. The hail will fall on the proud who bear no fruit. The city, which is human pride organised, will be brought completely low.
The word behind "liberal" is not mainly about money. It is the word for a willing heart, and the same root gives the title "prince."
The word "prince" means liberality. "My people shall be willing." (Psalm 110; the ESV reads, "Your people will offer themselves freely.") "Willing" and "liberal" are the same word… Again, in 2 Corinthians 8:5, Gentiles had been made willing — "They gave themselves first to the Lord." First the Lord recognizes and owns them; then comes the generosity. Grace produced it in them, and God calls it their own free choice.
So the noble man of this verse has an open, willing heart — a heart grace produced, which God still calls his own free choice.
The noble man stands out against the fraud earlier in the chapter, who loses the flattering name of generosity. Today the fraud keeps that name, because people work hard to look like what they are not.
Isaiah, looking ahead to the King's reign in righteousness, tells us that it will not be so in that coming day of blessing for the earth. No one will call the worthless man or the fool generous, or the mean and crafty man open-handed. The wicked today work hard to look like what they are not, and to hide what they are. Deep down, men are ashamed of what they know themselves to be.
The same light that strips the false also brings out what is real.
Blessing will flow, evil will be judged, shame will vanish. Things and people will show up as they are and bear their true character. Then, for the first time on earth, man will do what he was made for… There will be no empty show then. Good fruit will spring out of the rich resources of divine mercy. And in the light of God shining then, everything false will be exposed.
The verse says the noble man is established on his noble plans. One writer applies that to how a believer holds his heavenly blessings now.
We are in a world of need, both material and spiritual. The heart that knows the grace of Christ is a heart that has learned the secret and the joy of giving. "But he who is noble plans noble things, and on noble things he stands" (Isa. 32:8). There is always the danger that by being unfaithful with "that which is another's" (Luke 16) we lose "that which is our own." In other words, we lose the enjoyment of the heavenly blessings that really belong to us, as far as we are unfaithful stewards of what God has entrusted to us here.
Another writer traces this generosity back to faith, and says the giver loses nothing by it.
A generous spirit is simply the normal product of faith: the Lord cares for the poor, and faith in Him will show the same attitude. What is more, the Lord will make sure that giving does not leave the giver poor: he will not lack.
- Willing — the word behind "noble" is the word for a willing heart. Generosity starts by giving yourself to the Lord.
- Worked — grace produces that willingness, yet God calls it the man's own free choice.
- Weighed — under the coming King, flattering titles fall away. No one calls a worthless man generous, because each person bears his true character.
- Witnessed — good fruit will spring from divine mercy in full daylight, and God's light will expose everything false.
- Well-founded — the noble man stands on what he plans. Be faithful with what God entrusts to you, and you keep the enjoyment of what is your own.
Rise up, ye women that are at ease, hear my voice; ye careless daughters, give ear unto my speech.
Isaiah 32 opens with a King who reigns in righteousness. Then the prophet turns and calls out to women who feel completely safe. Why break off a promise of the kingdom to disturb people who sense no danger?
The call is not a change of subject. The blessing Isaiah has just described does not arrive all at once. What comes first will test the nation.
The Spirit of God therefore gives a warning, and it will be needed. God will not bring the blessing of Israel about in a single day. A time of sifting is coming. As we know, there will be one for Israel in the wilderness, and in Jerusalem too God will deal with the Jews themselves in another way. Even when Jehovah appears to deliver them, it is a mistake to think that everything is complete at once.
Isaiah speaks here to those who carry less of the blame. The sorrow that is coming will fall on them too.
Because of these predictions, the prophet now appeals to the people of his own day, and he speaks to those who carry the lesser responsibility. The men of the nation were chiefly to blame. But the women were careless and fond of ease as well, and the sorrows would fall on them too, until God stepped in — not only through Christ, the King reigning in righteousness, but also by pouring out the Spirit from on high, which Joel speaks about more fully in his prophecy.
The ease Isaiah names is not rest. Amos brings the same charge, and he calls it false confidence.
Amos 6 condemns those who are at ease in Zion. They live in luxury and pleasure, in a false self-confidence, despite all the warnings God had given them.
These women had heard God's warnings and still felt safe.
The verses after this call describe failed harvests and fields full of thorns. One writer ties this to the long barrenness of the land God had promised.
And while God has kept the people for the land by a miracle, He has kept the land for the people by a miracle too. By holding back rain, He has reduced the land flowing with milk and honey to near barrenness. Isaiah 32:9-15 prophesies this.
Their comfort rested on the harvest. God was about to hold back the rain that harvest needed.
The passage does not stop at ruin. It runs on to a fixed point.
This points back to what comes just before: Jehovah taking His place and reigning in the land. All the sorrow lasts until God pours the Spirit down on them. Then comes the great change in Israel… there will be a fitting and wide outpouring of the Spirit in that day.
So the trouble has a limit. It lasts until God pours out His Spirit on them.
The King who reigns in righteousness has not yet come. Until He does, it is the righteous who suffer.
The first thing is a king who will reign on earth in righteousness. The church, by contrast, should follow Jesus in the present age — righteous, yet suffering, and put to death by a judge who admitted He was innocent. The righteous man suffers, and people commit the most outrageous injustice against him. That is where the Christian and the church stand now. There is not yet a king reigning in righteousness.
- Ease — what Isaiah rebukes is not rest. It is a "false self-confidence" that holds on even after God has given His warnings.
- Awakening — the call goes to those who carry the lesser blame, because the sorrow will fall on them too.
- Loss — their comfort rested on the harvest, and God was about to hold back the rain that fed it.
- Limit — the trouble is not endless. It lasts until God pours out His Spirit, and then comes the great change in Israel.
- Timing — the King who reigns in righteousness has not yet come. Until He does, the righteous suffer, and settled comfort belongs to an age that is not here yet.
In a year and [some] days shall ye be troubled, ye careless women; for the vintage shall fail, the ingathering shall not come.
Isaiah 32 opens with a King reigning in righteousness. Then it turns to women living at ease and sets a date: in little more than a year their harvest fails, and so does their ease.
The bright opening of the chapter still stands. One writer explains why a warning comes with it.
This leads the Spirit of God to give a warning. That warning is needed, especially since the blessing of Israel will not come in a single day. There is a coming time of sifting... Even when Jehovah appears for their deliverance, it is a mistake to suppose that all is complete at once.
The prophet turns from the men to the women. One commentator notes who carried the greater blame, and who still shared the sorrow.
The men of the nation were mainly responsible. But the women too were careless and ease-loving, and the sorrows would fall on them as well. This would last until God stepped in — not only by Christ, the King reigning in righteousness, but also by the outpouring of the Spirit from on high.
The threat is concrete: no grapes, no fruit gathered in. One writer sees it fulfilled in the land itself, and reads a purpose of God in the ruin.
And this is just what has marked Palestine for years. The vintage failed. Land went out of cultivation. Thorns spread over the whole land. There were almost no roads... In this way God has preserved the land for the people.
Why would a harvest fail at all? Writing on a later prophet, one commentator names the hand behind it.
"Therefore" (so He begins with them) "the heaven over you withholds its dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. And I called for a drought on the land, on the grain, on the new wine, and on the oil"... It was Jehovah who blighted their selfish efforts... He did it not because He did not love them, but because He did. "Whom He loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives."
One writer points to Esau, who felt safe until his father Isaac spoke God's word to him. Esau becomes a picture of a wider false peace.
Esau was at his ease till Isaac spoke from God. In the same way, the careless world builds its hopes on human confidence, and not on faith. It sleeps safely now on a false profession. Before long it must be woken to a dreadful awareness of its mistake.
The verse gives a time limit for the ease. The desolation that follows has a limit too, and one commentator points to the word later in the chapter that sets it.
Verses 13-14 describe once more the judgment which rested on the land and the city. But it is not permanent. "Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high." This great outpouring of the Spirit is connected with the restoration of Israel's land. It has not yet taken place. It comes in that day.
Commentators differ on how much of the chapter describes Isaiah's own day and how much still waits. They agree on the limit: the ruin lasts until the Spirit comes.
- Ease. The verse speaks to people who feel settled and safe. That ease lasts only until God speaks, as Esau's did.
- Warning. It stands inside a chapter about the reigning King, because the promised blessing does not arrive in a single day.
- Loss. The blow falls on the grape harvest and the fruit harvest. The land stops yielding, and thorns take what the vineyards held.
- Chastening. A failed harvest is God's government, not bad luck. He chastens the son He loves and receives.
- Until. The desolation is not permanent. It runs until the Spirit is poured out from on high, and then the change comes.
Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones; strip you, and make you bare, and gird [sackcloth] on your loins!
Isaiah 32 opens with a King who will reign in righteousness. So why does the prophet break off to tell women living in comfort to tremble and put on sackcloth?
The call to tremble is not a break in the good news about the coming King. It is part of how His rule arrives. One commentator hears an alarm sounded before God settles accounts:
This leads the Spirit of God to give a warning. Israel will need it, especially since their blessing will not come in a single day. A time of sifting is coming... Even when Jehovah appears to deliver them, it is a mistake to think that everything is complete at once.
Blessing does not fall on an unsifted people.
The prophet turns from the men of the nation to the women. He speaks to the people least likely to think the trouble concerns them.
Because of these predictions, the prophet now appeals to the people of his own day. He speaks to those who carry the lesser responsibility. The men of the nation were mainly responsible. But the women were careless and ease-loving too, and the sorrows would fall on them as well, until God stepped in.
Lesser responsibility is still responsibility.
Scripture describes this same condition elsewhere:
Amos 6 condemns those who are at ease in Zion. They live in luxury and pleasure, in a false self-confidence, despite all the warnings they had received.
That is the posture Isaiah attacks. These women have heard the warnings. They have not moved.
The chapter goes on to describe a land that stops producing. One writer describes how that happened:
The grape harvest failed. Land went out of cultivation. Thorns spread over the whole land, and roads were almost nonexistent... In this way God has preserved the land for the people.
Even in the ruin God had a purpose: He was keeping the land for its people.
Sackcloth is coarse, uncomfortable cloth. Scripture uses it in a consistent way:
These passages show that sackcloth was the badge of mourning. People wore it when someone died, when disaster struck, or when a person or a whole nation repented. The prophets wore it too, no doubt in keeping with their own mourning and with their call to the people to repent.
So God is not just predicting misery. He tells these women to dress now for the grief that is coming — to mourn before judgment arrives.
Sackcloth is not only for ancient Judah. One writer turns it into a question for the reader:
Have you been brought down? Has there ever come a moment in your soul's history when you have put on moral sackcloth?
The trembling is not the last word of the chapter. One commentator names what brings in the change that ends the desolation:
The great change on earth follows the pouring out of the Spirit from on high. Isaiah speaks of thorns and briars until the Spirit is poured out on Israel... So, besides the removal of Satan, two things are needed to bring in this time of blessing: the King reigning in righteousness, and the outpouring of spiritual power, especially among the Jews, but also on the Gentiles. In nothing will God fail.
The sackcloth is temporary. The kingdom it prepares for is not.
- Ease — Being "at ease" is not innocent rest. It is false self-confidence, held on to despite every warning.
- Warning — God sounds the alarm before He settles accounts, because blessing comes only after a time of sifting.
- Reach — The appeal goes to those with the lesser responsibility, because the sorrows would fall on them too.
- Sackcloth — Coarse cloth was the badge of mourning and repentance. God tells them to grieve now, before judgment comes.
- Ending — Thorns and desolation last only until the King reigns in righteousness and God pours out His Spirit. In this God will not fail.
They shall smite on the breasts [in lamentation] for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vineyards.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
Upon the land of my people shall come up thistles [and] briars, yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city.
Isaiah 32 opens with a King reigning in righteousness. Then it turns to farmland lost under thorns and happy houses left in ruin. Verse 13 is the low point of that turn. Why does a chapter about the coming King dwell on ruin, and how long is the ruin meant to last?
The blessing described earlier in the chapter does not arrive all at once, and the people are told so in advance.
This leads the Spirit of God to give a warning. The warning is needed, because God will not bring Israel's blessing about in a single day. A time of sifting is coming... Israel will need a warning before this time of judgment.
The prophet does not speak only to those most to blame.
In view of these predictions the prophet now appeals to the people of his own day. He speaks to those who carry the smaller share of the blame. The men of the nation were chiefly responsible. But the women too were careless and fond of comfort, and the sorrows would fall on them as well. This would last until God stepped in — not only by Christ, the King reigning in righteousness, but also by pouring out the Spirit from on high.
Thorns and briers are not a random image. They belong to a larger story that takes in the whole creation.
The whole creation has been made subject to frustration, and it groans and suffers pain as it waits for deliverance. Rom. 8:20-22. Deliverance is certain. Thorns and briers were the proof of a curse, Isa. 32:13. But a time is coming when the fir tree will come up instead of the thorn, and the myrtle tree instead of the brier. Isa. 55:13.
The barren ground has a history. God's promise of rich harvests came with a condition attached.
So the curse of barrenness continued in large measure, though it was partly removed at the time of the flood. The rich harvests God promised Israel depended on their obedience. The nation's unfaithfulness lost them, as it lost every other blessing held on those terms. The ground would bring forth thorns and briers — the fruits of sin.
One writer points to the long-running state of the land itself.
And this is just what has marked Palestine for years. The grape harvest failed. Farmland went out of use. Thorns spread over the whole land. There were almost no roads... In this way God has preserved the land for the people.
The ruin has a limit. One small word later in the passage marks where it ends.
First comes an announcement about the judgment that is to fall on Israel's land. Thorns and briers will come up on the soil of God's people, and on all the joyous houses in the exultant city. But this is not to last forever. An "until" follows: "until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high."
The desolation ends when the Spirit is poured out, not when farming improves. Carmel, in the lines below, stands for rich, fertile ground.
Zion would in fact be a wilderness until the Spirit was poured out from on high. Then it would become a Carmel, and what had passed for a Carmel before would count as little more than a wilderness beside it. Righteousness would be set up everywhere, and peace, the fruit of righteousness. This comes when the hail falls on the lofty ones who bear no fruit, and the city, the organisation of human pride, is brought completely low.
How much of this was answered at Pentecost? Kelly allows some application there, but sees the full answer still ahead.
Christians may apply the spirit of this passage to the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost... But few readers of these remarks will dispute that both predictions are to have a far fuller and more exact fulfilment. It comes when judgment falls on the nations, and God's favour, no longer hidden from the children of Abraham, shines out after long hours of thick darkness.
- Cause. Thorns and briers are the proof of a curse. The land went barren because the nation was unfaithful.
- Target. The prophet speaks to the careless and comfortable too, not only to those most to blame.
- Limit. The ruin is bounded by one word: until. It is a sentence with an end written into it.
- Cure. The curse lifts when the Spirit is poured out from on high, not when people recover on their own. Then the wilderness becomes a Carmel.
- Result. Where thorns stood, the fir and the myrtle come up. Righteousness fills the land, and peace is its fruit.
For the palace shall be deserted, the multitude of the city shall be forsaken; hill and watchtower shall be caves for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;
Isaiah 32 opens with a King who will reign in righteousness, then turns to a picture of Jerusalem emptied out and left to wild animals. How long does that ruin last, and what could ever reverse it?
This is not general gloom about the world. Commentators read it as a sentence on one city. The next verse marks the turn:
In Isaiah 32:15, "the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest," means the total change of the whole thing. Verse 14 is judgment on Jerusalem.
The ruin also has a place in God's timetable. One writer marks where it sits:
This refers to what comes before Jehovah takes His place and reigns in the land… Then comes the great change in Israel.
"The hill and the watchtower" is not vague scenery. The Hebrew word behind "hill" is Ophel, a real ridge in Jerusalem. One writer notes what stood next to it:
Ophel… was connected to one of the gates of the temple. This place is also mentioned in Isaiah 32:14: "[Ophel] and watchtower."
So the ruin runs right up to the temple's doorstep.
The verse says "forever," and the next word in the passage is "until." That tension is the hinge of the whole prophecy:
Verses 13-14 describe once more the judgment which rested upon the land and the city. But it is not permanent. "Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high." This great outpouring of the Spirit is tied to the restoration of Israel's land, and it has not yet taken place. It comes in that day. Read Joel 2.
Commentators differ on how far this reaches. Some allow a partial fulfilment at Pentecost. They hold that the full sense is still ahead:
Christians may apply the spirit of this passage to the outpouring at Pentecost… But few readers of these remarks will dispute that both predictions are to have a far more detailed and complete fulfilment. That will be when judgment falls on the Gentiles, and when God's favour, hidden no longer from Abraham's descendants after long hours of thick darkness, shines out. Then God will pour out His Spirit on all flesh, with literal wonders in the heavens and on the earth, and a mighty deliverance in Mount Zion and Jerusalem.
The pasture and the wild donkeys are not only loss. One writer sees two things kept at the same time:
And while God has been miraculously preserving the people for the land, He has been miraculously preserving the land for the people. By withholding rain, He has reduced the land flowing with milk and honey to near barrenness.
Another writer ties the land's condition to the covenant behind it:
As long as the king continued, that was a testimony that the covenant between God and Israel was not yet wholly gone. The land itself was another sign of this. It was Jehovah's land, and they enjoyed it as temporary residents with Him, as His guests. It could not pass wholly into other hands, and in this way it even still remains, until the people of God are brought back to enjoy it. So, in one way or another, the curse of barrenness must be upon it.
One writer said his own grasp of God's future dealings started here — not with the chapter's opening promises, but with what follows the ruin:
It was in this chapter that the Lord was pleased, without man's teaching, first to open my eyes on this subject, so that I might learn His whole will about it. It was not the first blessed truths stated here that opened my eyes, but the latter part, where there is a complete change in God's dealings. The wilderness becomes the fruitful field of God's fruit and glory, and what had been the fruitful field is counted a forest. Then the Lord's judgments come down, even great hail, on this forest, and the city of pride is brought utterly low.
- Sentence. Verse 14 is judgment on one city — Jerusalem — not a general lament over the world.
- Scope. The ruin reaches Ophel, the ridge by the temple gates. Even that ground is left to animals.
- Limit. "Until" answers "forever." The ruin is real, but it lasts only until the Spirit is poured out from on high.
- Gift. When the Spirit comes, the wilderness becomes a fruitful field — "the total change of the whole thing."
- Waiting. Even the barren land serves: God keeps it for its people, until He brings them back to enjoy it.
until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.
The verse before this one leaves Jerusalem abandoned. Palaces stand empty, and the watchtower has become pasture for wild animals. Then comes one small word: until. With it comes a promise of the Spirit poured out from on high, turning desert into farmland. When does that happen, and to whom? Has it happened already?
Everything from verse 9 onward is loss: failed harvest, briars, a forsaken city. One writer marks the point where the sorrow stops, and what changes after it.
All the sorrow is to last until the Spirit is poured down upon them. Then comes the great change in Israel. Of course the Spirit will not dwell in the believer then in the same way as now. Today He plainly has a special dwelling in the church as well. But there will be a fitting and large outpouring of the Spirit in that day. It is a mistake to think that the Lord's reigning leaves no room for the Spirit to be poured out like this. He will be poured out very richly then. His work now goes deeper rather than wider; then will come the day of a wide spread over all people.
One writer names the change with a place: Carmel, the land people took as the measure of fruitfulness. The wilderness does not just improve. It trades places with Carmel.
In Isaiah 32 the Messiah reigns in righteousness and sets everything morally in order. Zion would in fact be a wilderness until the Spirit was poured out from on high. Then it would become a Carmel. And what had passed for a Carmel before would now count as little more than a wilderness.
Another writer looks at the same swap and calls it a change in how the world looks.
That is the change in the outward appearance of the world at that moment. The wilderness becomes a fruitful field. And what people had counted a fruitful field until then will in that day be thought a forest. The character of things will be so changed.
Commentators differ here. Pentecost was the day the Spirit came on the first believers, in Acts 2. Some rule it out as the fulfilment here, because of what this outpouring is meant to do.
Isaiah foretells national desolation "until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest." This is not the baptism of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The reason is that it ends the desolation of Jerusalem, and the blessings of the thousand-year reign follow it.
Others allow a real but partial link to Pentecost. They still hold that the words wait for something fuller.
Christians may apply the spirit of this passage to the outpouring at Pentecost. For an undeniable use of a similar prophecy, they can appeal to the apostle Peter in Acts 2. But few will dispute that both predictions are to have a far more detailed and complete fulfilment. That will come when judgment falls on the nations, and when God's favour, hidden from Abraham's descendants through long hours of thick darkness, shines out at last.
The blessing here is not Israel's concern alone.
The nations have always wanted the peace and fruitfulness, the prosperity, the quietness and assurance for ever, that Isaiah 32:15-18 predicts. These very desirable things will only come, and only be enjoyed, when the Lord Jesus comes again. When He comes, He will bring these blessings to men, and glory to the house of God.
The verse does not end the thought. Verses 16 to 18 name what grows in the watered ground: righteousness, and out of righteousness, peace.
After the Lord returns in power and glory, the Spirit is poured out afresh, like the late-season rain. The world starts again as something quite new. "Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places."
- Until — the desolation of verse 14 is real, but it has an end date. The sorrow lasts only until the Spirit comes, and then the great change begins.
- Poured — the gift comes down from on high. The ruined ground cannot mend itself. The change waits on an outpouring only God can give.
- Carmel — the wilderness does not just recover. It becomes a Carmel, and yesterday's Carmel drops a rank. The whole standard of fruitfulness changes.
- Debated — writers differ on Pentecost. Some deny any link, because this outpouring ends Jerusalem's desolation. Others allow a real first application, but still wait for a fuller one.
- Peace — the outpouring is not the end but the root. Righteousness dwells in the watered land, and its fruit is quietness and trust forever. That is what the nations have always wanted, and only the returning King brings it.
And judgment shall inhabit the wilderness, and righteousness dwell in the fruitful field.
This verse marks the turn in Isaiah 32. God pours out His Spirit, the barren land turns fruitful, and then justice and righteousness settle down to stay. Commentators ask when this happens, why the two landscapes trade places, and how righteousness reigning differs from righteousness fully at home.
The timing comes from the verses just before. God pours out His Spirit from on high, and that changes what the land itself is.
Then, in Isaiah 32, the Messiah would reign in righteousness and set everything morally in order. Zion would in fact be a wilderness until the Spirit was poured out from on high, and then it would become a Carmel; and what had before passed for a Carmel would be counted, by comparison, only a wilderness. Righteousness would be established everywhere, and peace, the fruit of righteousness…
Carmel here stands for the fruitful field.
Something must move out before justice and righteousness move in. Each place named here had an earlier tenant. The older wording below reads "judgement shall inhabit the wilderness" where the ESV has "justice will dwell".
"Then judgement will inhabit the wilderness": instead of being the haunt of robbers, judgement will live there. Instead of covetousness grasping after the fruitful field, righteousness is to remain there… Ends and ways alike will be righteous; everything is governed with blessing.
The wilderness gains what the fruitful field loses. One writer traced his own understanding of this change back to these verses.
I must direct attention to chapter 32 of the same prophet. It was in this chapter that the Lord was pleased, without any man's teaching, first to open my eyes on this subject. Not by the first blessed truths stated in it, but by the latter part. There will be a complete change in the way God deals with the world. The wilderness will become the fruitful field of God's fruit and glory, and what had been so will be counted a forest. This comes at a time when the Lord's judgments come down, even great hail, upon this forest, and the city of pride is utterly abased.
Commentators differ over how far the day of Pentecost answers to this promise. Some keep the two apart, because of what this outpouring is meant to end.
Isaiah foretells national desolation "until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest" (Isa. 32:15). This is not the baptism of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The reason is that it is to put an end to the desolation of Jerusalem, and millennial blessings are to follow it.
Others allow Christians a share in the spirit of the passage, while still placing its full weight later.
Christians may perhaps apply the spirit of this passage to the outpouring at Pentecost… But few will dispute that both predictions are to have a far fuller and more detailed fulfilment later. That will be when judgment falls on the Gentiles, and when God's favour, no longer hidden from the seed of Abraham, shines out after long hours of thick darkness.
Righteousness settling in the land is a real change, but not the last one. One writer names three settings for righteousness: today, the millennial day when the King reigns on earth, and eternity.
There are three spheres where righteousness is found. At the present moment I look at God's dealings with men, and I learn this: grace reigns through righteousness. It is divine grace on a righteous basis that saves men today. But from another point of view, now is the day when righteousness suffers… In the millennial day righteousness reigns. As for eternity, we read of "new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells" (2 Peter 3:13). There it is perfectly at home.
A righteous world needs more than a righteous ruler; it needs power at work inside the people.
All that concerns the earth and the Jews is now in confusion and misrule; but the Spirit will be poured on them from on high, and then what a change! So, besides the removal of Satan, two things are needed to bring in this time of blessing. One is the King reigning in righteousness. The other is the outpouring of spiritual power, especially among the Jews but also on the Gentiles. In nothing will God fail.
- Until — the land lies desolate until God pours out His Spirit from on high. Nothing earlier lifts it.
- Poured — that gift is what makes the wilderness fruitful. Commentators differ on how far Pentecost answers to it, but agree the full change is still ahead.
- Reversed — the two landscapes swap. The barren place gains God's fruit and glory, and the old fruitful ground counts only as a forest, with judgment falling on it.
- Dwells — robbers once roamed the wilderness; now justice lives there. Greed once grabbed at the fruitful field; now righteousness stays.
- Reigns — even so, righteousness only reigns in that day. It is fully at home later, in the new heavens and new earth.
And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance for ever.
Isaiah 32 shows a King reigning in righteousness and the Spirit poured out from on high. This verse names the link between them: righteousness produces peace — which is why the world's search for calm keeps failing.
Peace here is not a separate blessing standing beside righteousness. The verse calls it the effect and result of righteousness. One writer finds the same order in Melchizedek, both priest and king:
He was King of righteousness (compare Isaiah 32); for where righteousness is, there is blessing. He was king of Salem, which is king of Peace; for the fruit of righteousness is peace; the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance for ever.
Two things work together in this chapter: Christ ruling outside, and the Spirit working inside.
So this chapter brings two things together. One is what Christ as King and Saviour will set up on the outside. The other is what the poured-out Spirit will work on the inside. Then peace, quietness and assurance for ever will indeed come as the work and effect of righteousness. People are seeking these things today, but they have no secure basis for them. They will come in the future age. While we wait, we who believe enjoy them in a spiritual and individual way, through faith in the work of Christ and by the power of the indwelling Spirit of God.
The scene that results is not a softened world but a governed one. One commentator points out what happens to proud human power in that day:
Both the aims and the ways will be righteous: all is governed with blessing… In that day the proud structure of human order, cleverness, and power will be brought completely low. It is not the peaceful influence of grace that will do it, but solemn judgement by the Righteous One.
Older translations end the verse with the word "assurance." A Bible dictionary explains what it means here:
In the Old Testament this word means something different from what it means in the New Testament. In the Old Testament it means 'confidence or trust.' It matches the hopes of God's earthly people. It points to the security in which Israel will dwell when God restores them to their land and puts down all their enemies by His power. Then the effect of righteousness will be "quietness and assurance for ever" (Isaiah 32:17). In their disobedience, though, they would fear day and night and have no assurance of their life (Deuteronomy 28:66).
So the promise stands against its opposite: fear day and night, with nothing certain.
Every generation tries to build peace on its own terms. One writer shows why those plans fail:
Men talk of a new order, by which they hope to end war and bring about a universal peace. But the peace of which men dream ignores both the holiness of God and the wickedness of men. It is a peace without righteousness. All the efforts of men will be in vain, for it is the LORD who "makes wars to cease."
The word "forever" rests on the same foundation. Nothing lasts where God has no rights:
One more remark: the stability of the universe will depend on the establishment of righteousness. Nothing could be secure where God had not His rights.
The verse looks on to Christ's kingdom. But the same principle is at work in the gospel today:
This will be fulfilled in the day of Christ's kingdom, yet the Gospel today brings us peace on exactly the same principle. Romans 3 speaks of righteousness manifested, and established in the death of Christ. Romans 4 speaks of righteousness imputed, or reckoned, to the believer. So Romans 5 opens with, "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
So this peace does not rise and fall with our feelings:
It is not a question of our feeling at peace, I hardly need to say. It is the blessed result of Christ's finished work: "Having made peace by the blood of His cross." So, "Righteousness and peace have kissed each other." That is the order.
- Order — Peace is never the starting point. It is the work and effect of righteousness, and reversing the order produces nothing.
- Source — Righteousness comes two ways at once: Christ reigning as King outside, the Spirit poured out inside.
- Meaning — "Assurance" here means confidence and trust: safety in place of fear day and night, with nothing certain.
- Failure — Human peace plans ignore God's holiness and man's wickedness, so they collapse. Only what rests on God's rights lasts forever.
- Now — The gospel works the same way: righteousness set up at the cross, reckoned to the believer, then peace with God. It rests on Christ's finished work, not on how we feel.
And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting-places.
This promise closes a long chapter of upheaval: a righteous King reigns, God pours out His Spirit, and His people finally live where no enemy disturbs them. Two questions follow: when does this rest come, and can anyone taste it now?
Verse 18 is the last link in a chain. It starts with a righteous King and ends with a settled people. The same day that brings the peaceful home brings hail on the forest.
"The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and confidence for ever" (v. 17). Both the ends and the ways will be righteous: everything is governed with blessing. "My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places. And it will hail, coming down on the forest; and the city will be laid low" (vv. 18, 19). The proud structure of human order, cleverness and power will be brought down completely in that day. It is not the peaceful influence of grace that will do this, but solemn judgement by the Righteous One… God's people will be sheltered and will prosper in peace, whatever happens to His enemies. For them, assured blessing takes the place of fear and evil.
Safety here means the end of every threat, from people and from wild animals.
Every cause of fear, whether from man or beast, will be gone. People will live in wonderful confidence, security and peace. "And I will make a covenant of peace with them, and I will rid the land of wild animals. They will live safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods." (Ezek. 34:25)
The word carries a different weight in the Old Testament from the one many readers expect. Here it means outward safety. The opposite is a life of fear that never lets up.
This word is used differently in the Old Testament from the way it is used in the New. In the Old Testament it means 'confidence or trust.' It fits the hopes of God's earthly people, and the security Israel will enjoy when God restores them to their land and His power has put down all their enemies. The effect of righteousness will be "quietness and assurance for ever" (Isa. 32:17). In their disobedience, by contrast, they would fear day and night and have no assurance of their life (Deut. 28:66).
This rest waits on God acting from heaven. Only when He pours out His Spirit does the whole scene change.
When the church is caught up to meet the Lord, the Holy Spirit goes with it. But after the Lord returns in power and glory, God pours out the Spirit again like the rain of the late season, and the world starts over as something entirely new. "Then judgment will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field… My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places," and so on (vv. 16-18). But it is the moment of the world's judgment (v. 19), followed by the blessedness of peace on earth (v. 20).
Israel once tasted this. Under Solomon the nation lived in safety, and that short season pictures what the greater King will bring.
Just as Solomon built cities and fortified them with walls and bars, so that "all Judah and Israel lived in safety, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon," so the King says through His prophet, "My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places." (1 Kings 4:25; 2 Chron. 8:4; Isa. 32:18.)
Commentators agree this points to a future age on earth. Several also draw a line to the present.
This chapter brings two things together: what Christ as King and Saviour will set up outwardly, and what the poured-out Spirit will work inwardly. People are looking for these things today, but they have no secure basis to build them on. They will come in the future age. While we wait, we who believe enjoy them in a spiritual and personal way, through faith in the work of Christ and by the power of the Spirit of God living in us.
This peace rests on something outside the believer.
It is not a question of whether we feel at peace. It is the blessed result of Christ's finished work: "Having made peace by the blood of His cross." So, "Righteousness and peace have kissed each other." That is the order.
- Cause — Righteousness comes first. The peaceful home is the effect of a righteous King's rule.
- Gift — This righteousness comes when God pours out His Spirit from on high. People cannot work it up.
- Reach — The same day that settles God's people brings hail on the forest and lays the proud city low. One act of God does both.
- Result — "Assurance" here means safety, not feelings. A people who once feared day and night now sleep unafraid, as they briefly did under Solomon.
- Now — The world hunts for this peace and cannot hold it. Believers already taste it, resting not on their feelings but on peace made by the blood of His cross.