Isaiah 32:14-20 (ESV)
14 For the palace is forsaken,
the populous city deserted;
the hill and the watchtower
will become dens forever,
a joy of wild donkeys,
a pasture of flocks;
15 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.
16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
and righteousness abide in the fruitful field.
17 And the effect of righteousness will be peace,
and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.
18 My people will abide in a peaceful habitation,
in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.
19 And it will hail when the forest falls down,
and the city will be utterly laid low.
20 Happy are you who sow beside all waters,
who let the feet of the ox and the donkey range free.
Until the Spirit ...
In this section, Isaiah is prophesying about both the fall of Jerusalem and the salvation of the remnant of the people of Israel. Like two cords being wrapped into one, the prophecy unfolds doom and deliverance. The above passage is pulled out of a paragraph of that doom and speaks toward that deliverance. Isaiah is outlining the doom and then in verse 15 we read, “... until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high ...”. This is a transition from the doom to the deliverance of the remnant. Isaiah speaks of a time when the Spirit of God will be poured out on a remnant of Jews, to bring about the blessings of God (which he outlines in the remaining verses, above). The word “Spirit,” although capitalized, is probably better understood as the “breath of God.” It is the moving of God in the midst of the people. What the prophet is saying is that the natural and moral world that Jerusalem (and the Jewish people) were seeing was completely in disarray. God would breath on them ... His Spirt moving in their midst ... and things would change. Justice will be restored. Along with justice there will be peace, righteousness and quietness and trust “forever.” The “forever” in verse 17 is significant. It refers to God restoring His kingdom and His kingdom will be everlasting. But, the doom he spoke about, will also be forever:
14 For the palace is forsaken,
the populous city deserted;
the hill and the watchtower
will become dens forever,
a joy of wild donkeys,
a pasture of flocks;
The doom will be forever for some. But, the righteousness, peace, quietness and trust will also be forever for the remnant of those of faith. Today, we are caught in the middle. We have the “now, but not yet” world we live in. We have, through faith, God’s peace, righteousness, and quiet “inwardly.” The prophet speaks of a time when mankind (believers) will also see that outwardly in the world. Isaiah will end his prophecy with a similar prophetic statement:
Isaiah 65:25 (ESV)
25 The wolf and the lamb shall graze together;
the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
and dust shall be the serpent's food.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain,”
says the LORD.
What a time that will be. That is where our faith goes us endurance and perseverance. There will be a day. There will be doom and destruction until the Spirit ...
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