Read Isaiah 32
Highlights:
Be wary of nations which can't be trusted, for they shall be destroyed. Hear the threats of God against nations (Is. 33:1,7-9; 34:1-17). The Lord promises victory (33:22; 34:8; 35:4,10; 37:5-7,22-38); just do as Hezekiah did (37:14-20).
Just eight years after he invaded and destroyed the Northern Kingdom, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, attacked Judah. Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them. . . . Thus saith the king (of Assyria), Let not Hezekiah deceive you . . . Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria (Is. 36:1,14-15; II Kin. 18:13-17; II Chr. 32:1-8). It was during this crisis that King Hezekiah expressed his trust in God and confidently told his nation: With us is the Lord our God (32:8); the Lord . . . will save us (Is. 33:22); Thus saith the Lord. . . . I will defend this city (37:33-35).
Hezekiah sought to influence and lead his people to trust in God as their only hope of survival against Assyria. When he read the letter which the Assyrian ambassador had brought from Sennacherib, Hezekiah went up into the House of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord (II Kin. 19:14-15).
The desperate prayer was short but sincere, and God answered this godly man with an amazing victory. In one night, the angel of the Lord destroyed 185,000 soldiers in Sennacherib's army (19:35).
Be careful for (worry about) nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God (Phil. 4:6).
Three promises are implied in the prophecy in Isaiah 32:1-2 that deal with stressful circumstances such as Hezekiah faced. The covert and the hiding place imply the necessity of protection from fierce desert winds and storms. The water is desperately needed to sustain life in a dry place. The shadow of a great rock in a weary land depicts the desert traveler in the heat of day seeking shade from a great rock and, as the day comes to a close, hopeful for rest in a place of security and protection. You can depend on the promises of God; they cannot fail.
Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto Him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen (Eph. 3:20).
The Word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword (Heb. 4:12).
Thought for Today:
Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not (Jer. 33:3).
Christ Revealed:
As the One who, in judgment, wields the sword of the Lord (Is. 34:6). Out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations (Rev. 19:15).
Word Studies:
32:2 covert shelter; tempest storm; 32:5 liberal noble; churl deceitful; 32:7 instruments schemes; 32:19 low in a low place completely destroyed; 33:9 hewn down destroyed.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Staff: Clarence Rathbone • Country: Singapore (4 million) in Southeast Asia • Major languages: Chinese and Malay • Religious freedom • 54% Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Chinese Traditional Religion; 15% Muslim; 9% Protestant; 4% Catholic; 3% Hindu; .5% Sikh; .2% Baha'i; 14.3% None/Other • Prayer Suggestion: Seek the Lord in times of trouble; He will shelter you (Ps. 27:5).
Optional Reading:
Memory Verse for the Week:
2 Timothy 3
