Isaiah 32:9-20 – Prescription for Complacency

A translation & sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ the Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 14 May 2007

TRANSLATION:

9 Arise, women who are at ease; hear my voice. Give ear to my speech, confident daughters. 10 In days upon a year, confident women will tremble, for the crop has ceased – the harvest will NOT come. 11 Shudder, women who are at ease; tremble, confident women. Strip, bare yourself, and put a belt upon your waists, 12 wailing over the breasts, over the pleasant fields, over the fruitful vine, 13 over the ground of my people - it has gone up in thorn and brier, even over all the delightful houses of a partying city, 14 because the palace has been flattened, the crowd of the city has been abandoned, hill and watchtower have instead become caves forever, a delight of wild donkeys, a pasture for herds. 15 Until the Spirit is emptied upon us from on high and the wilderness becomes like the fruitful field and the fruitful field is considered to be the forest. 16 Then justice will reside in the wilderness, and righteousness will sit in the fruitful field. 17 Then the work of the Righteous One will be peace, and the service of the Righteous One quietness and confidence forever. 18 Then My people will sit in a home of peace and in secure residences, and in resting places at ease. 19 And it will hail in the felling of the forest and the city will be utterly laid low. 20 You are blessed, sowing beside all waters, giving free range to the feet of the ox and the donkey.

The SYMPTOMS (9 reasons):

1) Trembling – in frustration (v.10)

2) Hunger – no grapes or wheat to harvest and eat (v.10)

3) Anxiety – over the loss of children, land, and crops (v.12)

4) Unkempt yard and house – all thorns & briars (v.13)

5) Homeless - Can’t go home (v.14)

THE PRESCRIPTION: 9 commands are given in v.9-14 to listen & mourn along with 9 reasons (prefaced by "‘l" or "ci" ) for mourning, all of which are particular griefs to women, having to do with food preparation & homemaking. Since it is Mother’s Day, I want to focus on how God meets the needs and anxieties of you who are mothers particularly, although it applies to all of us.

v. 9

Arise, women who are at ease; hear my voice. Give ear to my speech, confident daughters.

women-emphatic position at ease / complacent-NIV / quiet, secure, careless-BDB - 11a,18b, 2Ki. 19:28; Job 12:5; Ps. 123:4; Isa. 33:20 (Jerusalem); 37:29 (arrogance); Amos 6:1 (at ease in Zion); Zec. 1:15 (nations) Students, beware Senioritis, Spring Fever. “We ought not to sleep in the midst of prosperity… but be moderate.” (Calvin)

3:16 “daughters of Zion are proud & walk w. heads held high & seductive eyes, & go along w. mincing steps”

30:12 “you reject this word & you trust in what is twisted & crooked, and you rely upon it”
31:1; 36:6 – they trusted in Egypt. cf.12:2; 26:3-4 – trust in the Lord!
Similar to Amos’ “cows of Bashan” (Amos 6 & Jeremiah 9:19)

First 2 commands go against the grain of their current status:

a) instead of reclining at ease, rise up.
arise Q. Imptv. fp 8b - Rise to hear God’s word (Judg. 3:20)

b) Instead of selfish confidence, start listening to God.
hear my voice Q. Imptv. fp (v.3)
give ear Hi. Imptv. fp  to my speech
* 28:22-23 “do not scoff, lest your bonds be made strong; for I have heard a decree of destruction from Jehovah… Give ear & hear my voice; give attention, & hear my speech.
* Prov. 8:33-34 “Hear instruction and be wise… Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.”
* Luke 12:34-37 Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes...”
How do we get into a listening posture? (v.9)

v.10

In days upon a year, confident women will tremble, for the crop has ceased – the harvest will NOT come.

lit. “days” upon a year / little more than a year-NIV,ESV / many days-KJV / beyond a year-ASV / within a year-NAS/ By next year’s harvest-Slotki/ Long duration-Calvin / A little more than a year (1 Sam.27:7, Judg. 17:10; Isa. 29:1)-Young

These [over]confident women will shudder-ESV / tremble-NIV / be troubled-KJV / Q. Impf. 2fp 11a, 64:2 - anger/defiance in 28:21 & 37:28-29

Why? Because the vintage / grape harvest-NIV, ESV has failed along with the other crops so there will be no gathering (KJV) / fruit harvest-NIV,ESV (Ptc.) NMS - 16:10 (harvest); 17:5 (corn); 24:22 (people); 62:9 (grapes) Neg.-emphatic

We become afraid and frustrated when the thing that makes us confident is threatened. Notice next time you become angry or afraid and ask yourself, “What idol in my life was just threatened to provoke this reaction?” These women will tremble because their trusty food supply is cut off. What would be your response if you went to the grocery store and it was empty because of a crop failure or a trucking crisis? The things we depend upon are so fragile.

Not fulfilled within a year because Hezekiah repented and turned to God under the stress of Assyria’s threat (cf. Jonah 3:4). It was fulfilled later, however, when later kings of Judah did not repent and the Chaldeans conquered Jerusalem (Jer. 26). (Del.)

More commands follow:

v. 11

tremble-all Eng. /shudder/fear Q. Imptv. mp 10:29; 17:2; 19:16; 41:5  your at ease / complacent-NIV women – different word; this is trembling in fear rather than rage

shudder-NIV,ESV / be troubled Q. Imptv. you [over]confident / who feel secure-NIV / careless-KJV / complacent-NAS,ESV Adj. fp women

You will either tremble and mourn voluntarily before God or you will do it when He comes in judgment (22:12 & 3:24)

strip Q. Imptv. make bare / be naked / undress-NAS Q.Imptv.
Remember what all they were accustomed to wearing from 3:18-23 anklets, headbands, crescent ornaments, dangling earrings, bracelets, veils, headdresses, ankle chains, sashes, perfume boxes, amulets, finger rings, nose rings, festal robes, outer tunics, cloaks, money purses, hand mirrors, undergarments, turbans and veils.

gird / tie-ESV / put on-NAS / put around-NIV all Eng. & LXX add “sackcloth”, but not Slotki or Young Q. Imptv. or NFS-girdle upon the loins/waist
22:12 Jehovah called you to weeping, to wailing, to shaving the head and to wearing sackcloth. (13) Instead, there is gaiety … "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die."
3:25ff Instead of fine clothes, a donning of sackcloth; and branding instead of beauty. Your men will fall by the sword… her gates will lament and mourn, and deserted she will sit on the ground.

In other words, get rid of all the distractions of fashion and wear something simple.

v.12

wail-Own,BDB / beat-NAS,NIV,ESV / smite-Del.,Son. / lament-KJV Q. Act. Ptc. mp Jer. 4:8; 49:3, & Joel 1:13 combine mourning w. girding in sackcloth; Mic. 1:8 w. bare

over breasts NMP – emphatic Masculine form of the word “breasts” together with a masculine verb for “wail/beat” includes men as well as women-Del.,Yng.

over the pleasant fields Play on words-breasts is spelled like fields in Hebrew. In fact, Calvin says the former is figuratively denoting the latter, although “mourning over breasts” could indicate childlessness whereas mourning over field and vine and soil indicate famine.

over the fruitful vine - 24:6-9 “…the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, few men are left… the vine languishes… mirth of tambourines is stilled, the noise of the jubilant has ceased… The wasted city is broken down; every house shut up”

v.13

[wail] over the ground / land-KJV,NAS,NIV / soil-ESV NFS - emphatic of my people

lit. come up / overgrown w.-NIV / growing up in-ESV Q. Impf. 3fs briar & thorn both NMS-emphatic This is the curse for abandoning God described in 5:6 & 7:23-25;

Yes/even upon all the houses of joy/ merriment
The thorn of the curse (Gen. 3:18) even grows in their houses.-Young
a) Because they rejected God’s blessings and rejoiced in their foreign political alliances (8:6);
b) their mirth will be stripped away (24:8&11) & they will be instead a joy for wild animals (v.14)

These things sound like two things Aggies are concerned about in college: Agriculture and partying!

joyous-KJV / jubilant-NAS / revelry-NIV / exultant-ESV / partying city – this is Jerusalem:
22:1-3 "valley of vision… full of shoutings, tumultuous city, exultant town …”
29:1 Woe, Ariel the city where David camped;

v.14

palace / fortress-NIV / houses-LXX NMS-emphatic forsaken / abandoned-NIV / Pounded so as to be spread out on the ground-Str. Pual Pf. 3ms Jerusalem’s palaces stripped in 23:13

noisy-NIV / multitude-KJV / populous-ASV,ESV / populated-NAS city NMS-emphatic deserted-ASV,NIV,ESV / be left-KJV / forsaken-NAS Pual Pf. 3ms – no more partying!

hill and watchtower have instead become caves forever, a delight of wild donkeys, a pasture for herds.

a) They have forsaken the Lord (1:4&28; 65:11) so they will be forsaken (27:10; 32:14; 49:14; 54:7); 5:13-14 “my people go into exile for lack of knowledge… their multitude is parched w. thirst… the nobility of Jerusalem & her multitude will go down, her pomp & he who exults in her.”
b) Meanwhile while God calls the wicked to forsake His way (55:7; 58:2) 27:9-10 “…Jacob's iniquity will be forgiven & this will be the full price of the pardoning of his sin: when he makes all the altar stones like pulverized chalk stones; when Asherim & incense altars will not stand. For the fortified city is isolated, A homestead forlorn & forsaken like the desert; There the calf will graze, And there it will lie down and feed on its branches.”.
c) Then God will bless so they are no longer forsaken (Isa 54:7 "For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will gather you.” cf. 60:15; 62:4&12)

The fine homes will be destroyed and the city vacated by the Chaldean army so that the lookout posts at the tops of the hills surrounding Jerusalem will no longer be manned with sentries but rather be ordinary caves that wild animals will use for shelter, the hills will be used by herds of wild deer for pasture.

REVIEW: THE PRESCRIPTION: (9 commands)

1) Get into a listening posture (arise, give ear) and listen.

2) Then be afraid “tremble/shudder” v10

3) Strip bare of all the distractions, and gird simply (v.11 cf. Heb 12:1)

4) Mourn over sin–make it public (beating breast)

Mt. 5:4- blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted;
Lk. 18:13-14-parable of the Pharisee & the Publican praying in the temple

This will endure for a long time – 70 years of exile. forever / for time out of mind-Str / long duration-BDB Hyperbole -cf 1 Sam. 1:22; 1 Kings 1:31; Neh. 2:3; Dan. 2:4 (Yng) explanation “until the Spirit is poured” v. 15

The use of key words throughout Isaiah like thorns, city, joy, forsaken tell the story of reconciliation with God:
a) God’s people were seeking their pleasure apart from God, so in order to correct them,
b) He would remove all the things they thought would make them happy, including fields to grow food, houses to rest in, and people to have parties with. God destroys these things when they become idols.
c) Then, in our feelings of desolation and loss God calls us to look to Him for our happiness,
d) and when we do, He usually restores these blessings. (see cross-references)
 * Thorns & briars will be destroyed when God visits later 9:18; 10:17; 27:4; 33:12
 * God will re-create Jerusalem as a city of joy (60:15; 62:5; 66:10; 65:18)
 * 33:20 Look upon Zion the city of meeting

A series of contrasts begins here, using phrases from v.9-14 and turning them around as blessings.

v. 15

Turnaround #1: Until the Spirit is emptied upon us from on high

This is a contrast with 29:10 For the LORD has POURED (nasak) over you a spirit of deep sleep, He has shut your eyes

The first verb doesn’t mean “poured” anywhere else in the Bible, but rather “emptied out” “uncovered” or “exposed.” related to “strip bare” in v.11. These words are used of Jesus who “emptied” Himself (Philippians 2:7) and was “revealed” (John 12:38; I John 3:5-8) by becoming a man.

11:1-2 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse… The Spirit of the LORD REST on Him...

42:1 "Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have PUT My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.

61:1 The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me, Because the LORD has ANOINTED me to bring good news to the afflicted…

Fulfilled in Acts 2:17ff (cf. Ezek. 39:29; Joel 2:28; Hag. 2:5; Zec. 12:10; Acts 10:45; Rom. 5:5)

4:4 When the Lord has WASHED away the filth of the daughters of Zion… by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning,

44:1-6 "But now listen, O Jacob, My servant, And Israel, whom I have chosen: Thus says the LORD who made you & formed you from the womb, who will help you, 'Do not fear… for I will pour out water on the thirsty land… I will POUR out My Spirit on your offspring & My blessing on your descendants; and they will spring up among the grass like poplars by streams of water.' "This one will say, 'I am the LORD'S'; and that one will call on the name of Jacob… Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel & Redeemer”

30:18 For this reason the LORD longs to be gracious to you, and for this reason He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him.

The PROGNOSIS for this condition is good - if the PRESCRIPTION is followed!

Turnaround #2. wilderness/desert will become (lit)Carmel or a fruitful / fertile field- (cf. pleasant field 12,16b) and Carmel seems-NIV / is deemed-ESV / be counted-KJV /be esteemed-ASV /is considered-NAS Niph. Impf. 3ms forest -
Wilderness describes the fields that had grown thorns & briers in v. 13 and the abandoned city that was a haunt for wild animals in v.14. These will be transformed into the kind of fertile fields found around Mt. Carmel. And as for those fields which are already fertile, why they will start looking like forests they will be so prolific!
29:17-19 Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest? In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom & darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. The meek shall obtain fresh joy in Jehovah, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.
Calvin sees this as a parable of regeneration from our total depravity (wilderness, thorns and briars) by the Holy Spirit.

Turnaround #3 (v.16) – Justice will dwell/reside in the wilderness, and righteousness will remain/abide/live/sit in the fruitful field
a) Not only does the land become fruitful again, but justice is served as well because, (v.1) “a king is reigning for righteousness.”
b) The abandoned city of v.14 is inhabited; there’s something residing in it again!
c) The availability of food and wine was not the real problem. God’s justice & righteousness are of the greatest importance. (Calvin)

Turnaround #4 (v. 17) – Then the work of the Righteous One will be peace, - all the trembling anxiety of v.11 will become peace.

a) The way this is worded, there is the implication that God, the Righteous one had been at work before this point, but it was not to make His sin-sick people comfortable but rather to prompt them to repentance through punishment.
28:21 For the LORD will rise up…to do His task, His unusual task, and to work His work, His extraordinary work.
After He has purified the daughters of Zion, God will work to make things peaceful for them.

b) This righteousness that will take up residence in the fruitful field (v.16), this peace, and this quietness can only come from God.
v.1, 30:18;33:5-justice comes from Jehovah;
17, 9:7; 28:17; 33:5; 45:8-righteousness comes from Jehovah.
33:5 The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion w. justice & righteousness.
26:12 “You will establish peace for us, since You have also performed for us all our works.”
Jesus is the prince of peace (9:6) who gives peace to those who trust in Him (26:3; 27:5).
Human efforts at peace will fail (33:7)
This doctrine, in addition to the presence of the definite article “the” in this Hebrew text is why I have translated the word everyone else translates as “righteousness” as “the Righteous One” instead. The work of Jesus the Righteous one is to bring peace:
Eph 2:13-14 “But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace.”
Col 1:20 “through Him [Jesus] to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross…”

Turnaround #5 (v.17b) - and the service of the Righteous One quietness and confidence-NAS,NIV, Lit. / assurance-KJV / trust-Own,ESV / security forever – the self-confident women from v.9-11 who were bemoaning all their losses will be transformed into people who quietly trust in Jesus, the Righteous One!
30:15 "In repentance & rest you will be saved, In quietness & trust is your strength."
and this “forever” is a contrast with the “for a long time” that Israel was desolate in v.14

Turnaround #6 (v.18) - my people (i.e. God’s elect-Young) will dwell-KJV / abide-NAS,ESV / live-NAS,NIV/sit in a home of peace and in secure residences, and in resting places at ease.

The women whose palace had been demolished and who had been driven away from their homes so that their houses were overgrown with thorns and briars, will now find themselves sitting in peaceful homes, secure and untroubled by anxieties! They will find true eternal security.

a) Peaceful habitation/home/dwelling place: Related to “beautiful meadow” and “settle down.” This is in contrast to the settlement that would be desolated & abandoned in 27:10,
33:20 “Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an undisturbed (at ease) habitation… Its stakes will never be pulled up...”

b) secure / sure-KJV dwellings - contrast to “complacent” v.9-11

c) quiet-KJV,ESV / undisturbed-NAS,NIV resting-places contrast 33:20 to “at ease” v.9&11
11:10 Then in that day The nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious.
28:12 "Here is rest, give rest to the weary," and, "Here is repose," but they would not listen.

Blessings build on each other – this blessing is because the Righteous King is reigning and the once self-confident, at-ease women are now trusting and resting in Him, no longer in a false sense of security. This is how we find security also:

Justified by faith, we have peace with God-Rom.5:1
1 John 3:21b we have confidence with God
Heb 10:19  we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
Heb 6:18-19 we who have taken refuge [in Christ] have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast
1Pe 2:5  you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
2Co 5:1  For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Turnaround #7 - v.19 And it will hail when the forest (v.15b - i.e. Assyria cf.10:34-Del.) goes down/ falls down-ESV 28:17 I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies..."

And The City (cf. v.14 - Jerusalem-Del.) will be utterly/completely laid low-NAS,ESV / humiliated-Own / be low-KJV / leveled-NIV
Last instance of this word “fall” was describing the siege & fall of Jerusalem (29:3-4)
30:25-Jerusalem’s towers will fall
Fulfillment of God’s judgment on the haughty proud from 2:12-18 Jehovah of hosts will have a day of reckoning against everyone who is proud and lofty and against everyone who is lifted up, that he may be laid low. (13) And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up, Against all the oaks of Bashan, (14) Against all the lofty mountains, Against all the hills that are lifted up, (15) Against every high tower, Against every fortified wall.. The pride of man will be humbled and the loftiness of men will be abased; and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day, but the idols will completely vanish.

This turnaround is not as comfortable; it actually precedes the others as the punishment by which God gets His people to turn to Him and enjoy His blessings. The great city of Jerusalem they trusted in for security will be leveled and so will the army of Assyria. The idols will destroyed.

ALTERNATE INTERPRETATION: Septuagint, Calvin, Ibn Ezra, Kimchi, & Methusda David, and White think the words may be rendered, ‘He shall hail w. hail on the forest, & cities shall be built in low places;’ as if he had said, ‘God shall preserve the fruits of the earth from the injuries of unseasonable weather, and, when He sends a storm of hail, cause it to fall on the woods & deserts; and give them so great security, that for the future they shall build their cities in low grounds, to show that they are under no apprehension of being overrun any more by an enemy.’”

Part of the difficulty of understanding this verse is its Hebrew poetry. Isaiah chose words that seem strange when translated into English, but if you read it in Hebrew, it becomes obvious that he chose these words because of root play w. hail/go down and with forest/city

I believe Young and Delitzsch are right and that v.19 is a flashback to the time of judgment, promising that those who make it through this fearsome time with faith will enjoy the blessings from the verses above and v.20 below.

Turnaround #8&9 (v.20) “You are blessed…” – Instead of wailing in hunger because there are no grapes or wheat to harvest and eat, the land is good for growing food!

Two verbs which follow are not the means of getting blessing but a description of the blessing:

1) blessed/happy are you who sow (Q. Act. Ptc. mp) beside all waters contrast w. v.2&13 - Indicates abundant water supply for crops-Kimchi (Reclamation of marshland?-Calvin)
v.2; 30:25; 33:16 – these are the irrigation channels opened up by God on the tops of the hills.
30:23 After a time of hardship & jettisoning idols, God provides rain for sowing, and plenty of food.
30:18b “blessed are all who wait for Him”
56:1-2 blessed is he who keeps justice & does righteousness

2) lit. that send forth the feet of the ox and donkey -KJV / let them range freely-NI,ES (Piel Ptc. mp)

Such abundance that there is no need to keep the cattle out of the grainfield, and such peace that there is no fear of harm or robbery. cf. 30:23-25 & 7:21ff. (Del.)

“The wondrous changes to occur are the work of God alone;… His judgment will come, and with it the promised peace. What then is the responsibility of His people? It is to continue in their own work [sowing & sending] wisely living for Him, daily performing their proper duties. Such are blessed, yea, blessed indeed!”-Young

“We should be satisfied with enjoying the blessing of God according to the measure of regeneration, the full enjoyment of which we must not expect to obtain, till, freed from the pollution of the flesh, we shall bear the perfect image of God.”-Calvin

Summary: The PROGNOSIS (9 turnarounds):

1) Trembling – in frustration or fear (v.10) will change to sitting in quiet security (v.17-18)

2) Hunger – no grapes or wheat to harvest and eat (v.10) will turn into abundance of food (v.20)

3) Anxiety – over the loss of children, land, and crops (v.12) will become peace and confidence in the Righteous One (v.17)

4) Unkempt yard – all thorns and briars (v.13) will become a fruitful garden (v.15)

5) Can’t go home (v.14)-justice and righteousness will make it home (v.16) and establish your home (v.17)

This Mother’s Day, I want to encourage you that the prognosis is good for your condition. God’s prescription of listening to Him, fearing Him, stripping off all the distracting idols and mourning over sin works.

You will have security because you are trusting in Jesus instead of a false security.

You will have peace because He gives peace to those who trust Him.

His justice and righteousness will dwell with you and you will bear much fruit.

He will provide for your daily bread on earth and provide for you an eternal dwelling in heaven forever.