Dwell in the Word: Isaiah 33:1-24

Consider these questions as you dwell in Isaiah 33:1-24:

1. How does the passage emphasize the importance of trusting in the Lord, especially in times of trouble and crisis?

2. What is the significance of the phrase "The fear of the Lord is Zion's treasure" in the context of the passage, and how does it relate to the theme of trust and salvation?

3. How does the passage contrast the people's previous reliance on human strength and idols with their acknowledgment of God as their true salvation, judge, lawgiver, and king? What lessons can be drawn from this for our own lives?

Transcript:

This word of judgment we have read today acknowledges deeply who is really in control. There are those who set themselves up against God. We see this in the first verse, Are you destroyed or who yourself have not been destroyed? You traitor whom none has betrayed. These are the ones who are in opposition to God. These are the ones who have come in and done these terrible things to the people of Israel and of Judah, but they now understand who they need to call out to. They understand that running away is not going to do anything. Instead, they need to trust in the Lord. They're seeing who the one is who will truly save them. We see this clearly in verse two. O Lord, be gracious to us. We wait for you. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble. They know that when trouble comes, they only have one hope. They know that those around them have turned away from God. They have chosen to follow after other gods, after idols. They have chosen other strengths that we've seen that they have chosen to trust in Egypt, the strength of kings, the strength of armies instead of God.

But here we see a heartfelt call to God. O Lord, be gracious to us. They want Him to be their strength. They know that only He can be their salvation in the time of trouble. Nothing can spare them. And Isaiah has been making this abundantly clear. You can run to Egypt, folks, but it isn't going to do you any good. The Lord of heaven and earth, He is going to do what He will. He is the one who is in control. So, we see here, as we get to verses five and six, beautiful words, beautiful words calling out to God. This is what should have been happening the whole time. This is an acknowledgment that if they would have had this from the beginning, there would not have been a need for judgment. These beautiful words, The Lord is exalted for dwells on high. He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness, and He will be the stability of our times, abundance of salvation, wisdom and knowledge. The fear of the Lord is Zion's treasure. That is where they find their strength. That is their true treasure. They try and find it in other places.

But this fear of the Lord, this trusting in Him alone and realizing that He is their salvation, He is all of their wisdom, He is all of their knowledge, that is their true treasure. Now, they think their treasures are in other things, and they look for other places to be protected, but really, truly God is the one. I love this language in this first line of verse six, and He will be the stability of our times. We'll come back to that as we look for an application for ourselves today. But we see here at the end, a further acknowledgment of how God is a stability to the people that he has chosen for himself, and the others do not have that. They do not have their rock like the Israelis do, like the people of Judah do. Verse 22, For the Lord is our judge. The Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our King. He will save us. They have been looking for human answers. They've been looking to other strengths for salvation. But here we have an acknowledgment that He's not only a judge, that we've seen that He is judging these people.

The Lord is our lawgiver. That's what they have been rebelling against. Finally, they acknowledge that our true king is the Lord. God is the one who is their King. What does this all come together to be? He will save us. They have decided to rest in God, to look to Him alone for their salvation. As I said, we're going back up here to verse 6, as we think about our application. All of this is so true for us. We need to remember who our true salvation is. As we've mentioned many times through our time in Isaiah here, we often so easily go running after other things. It is so easy to look down on these people and their idolatry in the way that they have tuned to something else other than God. But we do this in our lives all the time. Sometimes when we are in fear, we look for every other place that might be the place that gives us peace. But here we see in verse 6, And he will be the stability of your times. God is always our anchor. God is our cornerstone. God is always the one that we can stand on because whatever happens, He is sovereign, and He is in control.

So, may we consistently remember that as we walk around in God's world, as we desire to serve Him, may we remember that God is always the stability of our times. He will not change. He is always there. And what He has done for us in Christ gives us a sure foundation, and we can know that He is our God, He is our King, and He has saved us.