Righteous King, New Society (Isaiah 32)

In a day of national emergency, Judah looked to Egypt (Isa 30:1-2; 31:1-3).

But what about us? What do we look at? Whom do we look to? These are vital questions. What direction are we moving in? Where are our eyes fixed? Are we ever and always getting closer to Jesus, ever and always "seeing him more clearly, loving him more dearly," turning our eyes on Jesus, looking full in his wonderful face?

In Isaiah's day, Judah was in a serious, life and death, national crisis. The Assyrian invasion spelled the end of all they had and hoped. They were in a "big" crisis that could destroy them. But it may not be the "big" occasions that defeat us. Often, out of sheer desperation, it sends us fleeing to Jesus in a more determined way. But what more often leads to our downfall are the "small" daily decisions.

God Judges Men and Women (Isaiah 3); God Triumphs (Isaiah 4)

Isaiah 3:1-23, 4:1
God expresses his judgment on Judah and Jerusalem (Isa. 3:1,14) by striking both their men and their women. God deprived the nation of good male leadership (Isa. 3:1-15), and God chastised their women, who were oozing with their brazen indiscriminate sexuality (Isa. 3:16-4:1). Thus, their men were like wimps instead of men (Isa. 3:2-5), and their women were like noisy jingling ornaments (Isa. 3:18-23).

In the midst of rampant sin and God's devastating judgment on the nation, Isa. 3:10 says, "Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds." Though the righteous may suffer and the wicked prosper, it will only be in the short run.

Isaiah 4:2-6 (develops the bright hope of Isa. 2:2-4)
"The branch of the Lord" (Isa. 4:2) is the Messiah (Isa. 11:1-5, Jer. 23:5; 33:15; Zec. 3:8; 6:12; John 15:1-8). Though his beginnings are unimpressive (Isa. 53:2), his rule will spread over the world, and his triumph will be beautiful and glorious. God himself will preserve a remnant (Isa. 1:9), and they will be the "survivors" (Isa. 4:2), and "will be called holy" and "recorded among the living" (Isa. 4:3). Only Jesus, through the cross, is able to cleanse and wash away our filth "by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire" (Isa. 4:4; Matt. 3:11; Luke 3:17). Recalling Israel's glory days (Ex. 13:21,22; 40:34-38; Num. 9:15-23), God's presence will be wonderfully manifest (Isa. 4:5; Rev. 7:15), and God's people will be forever protected from all distress (Isa. 4:6).

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