Isaiah 33 - Bible Study in 5 Minutes

Isaiah 33 Short Summary:

In Isaiah 33, Isaiah prophesies that the “destroyer” (the Assyrian army) will be destroyed. God will rise up against them and exult Himself before all the nations by taking down Sennecherib and his powerful fighting force. Isaiah tells the people of Judah that those who will live righteous and upright lives will enjoy God as their king and will see their land established.

Isaiah 33 Bible Study

TIMELINE:

• The prophetic ministry of Isaiah spanned the reigns of King Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

• We do not have an exact date for this prophecy, but it must have been before 701 BC, which was the year of the siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrians.

KEY CHARACTERS:

• Isaiah – The son of Amoz (1:1). God commissioned Isaiah as His prophet to Judah.

• The Citizens of Judah – They hated hearing God’s instruction. They were sick of hearing Isaiah preaching about the Holy One of Israel (30:11).

• The Assyrian Army – Led by Sennacherib. They destroyed many of Judah’s foreign neighbors, but God planned to stop them short of conquering Jerusalem.  

DEFINITIONS:

• Lime (33:12) – A substance made from burning oyster shells or limestone in a kiln at 1000 C (1832 F).

• Chaff or Stubble (33:12) – The useless part of a harvested plant.

OUTLINE:

• THE PRAYER OF THE RIGHTEOUS (33:1-6):

  • Isaiah prophesied that the “destroyer” would be destroyed. This appears to be a reference to the Assyrian army. They pillaged many cities and nations, but God was going to destroy them in magnificent fashion.

  • In the face of the destroyer, the righteous of Jerusalem offered up a prayer to the Lord (verses 2-6). They knew that God was their only hope of salvation, that God could defeat any enemy for them, and that He would spoil the Assyrians.

  • They prayed, “The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness, and He will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure” (33:5-6).

  • If only the whole nation had shared these sentiments, Judah would have been a much different place.

• THE DESTROYER DESTROYED (33:7-13):

  • Before the Assyrians were destroyed, Judah would be humbled for their evil. Their heroes would be shamed, their highways empty, and their cities left in ruins.

  • When God had let Assyria do His work of judgement, He would destroy the destroyer. God would glorify Himself above the Assyrians and let all the nations of the earth know who possessed the real power. Assyria would burn like stubble at God’s command.

• WHO AMONG US CAN DWELL WITH THE CONSUMING FIRE? (33:14-24):

  • The fire of God’s judgement was hot. The people asked, “Who can dwell with the consuming fire?” In other words, who can live with a God like this?

  • Isaiah answered, “He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, who despises the gain of oppressions, who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from loving evil” (33:15).

  • He said that those who live uprightly would “behold the king in his beauty.”

  • They would see Jerusalem established, and the Lord would be their judge, lawgiver, and king (33:22).

APPLICATION:

• If your heroes aren’t men or women who honor God, they aren’t worth being your heroes.

• The heroes of Judah were scattered by the Assyrian threat because they were faithless men with no foundation in eternal things.

• Men and women who can really stand through adversity are those who stand with God.