Isaiah 33:17-24: Your Eyes Will See The King In All His Splendor
Isaiah 33:17-24
New Living Translation
17
Your eyes will see the king in all his splendor,
and you will see a land that stretches into the distance.
18
You will think back to this time of terror, asking,
“Where are the Assyrian officers
who counted our towers?
Where are the bookkeepers
who recorded the plunder taken from our fallen city?”
19
You will no longer see these fierce, violent people
with their strange, unknown language.
20
Instead, you will see Zion as a place of holy festivals.
You will see Jerusalem, a city quiet and secure.
It will be like a tent whose ropes are taut
and whose stakes are firmly fixed.
21
The Lord will be our Mighty One.
He will be like a wide river of protection
that no enemy can cross,
that no enemy ship can sail upon.
22
For the Lord is our judge,
our lawgiver, and our king.
He will care for us and save us.
23
The enemies’ sails hang loose
on broken masts with useless tackle.
Their treasure will be divided by the people of God.
Even the lame will take their share!
24
The people of Israel will no longer say,
“We are sick and helpless,”
for the Lord will forgive their sins.
17
Through the prophet of Isaiah the Lord moves back and forth speaking about what is taking place in the present time and what will take place in the future kingdom. Where hope was focused was in the coming rule and reign of the Messiah. A human king who would come, would conquer Israel’s enemies, and would rule perfectly over God’s people. This can only be fulfilled through Jesus. This is why Jesus had to fully become man when He came to the earth. He never stopped being God, but when He returns He will rule the earth as fully God and fully Man.
It says “your eyes will see the king in all His splendor”. This speaks about the coming rule and reign of the Messiah. At this moment in the history of Israel as Isaiah writes these words Hezekiah is king of Israel. Though Hezekiah was a good king and did things rightly in the eyes of the Lord, his rule and reign does not compare with the rule and reign of the Messiah that is coming.
It says you will see a land that stretches into the distance. This speaks of the rule and reign of the Messiah not only over Jerusalem and all of Israel, but the entire world. For when Jesus returns and establishes His kingdom, He will rule the earth with a rod of iron. Perfect justice and righteousness will be the mark of His kingdom. We currently are moving toward the rule and rise of the anti-Christ. He will be an individual who personifies Satan in all his wickedness. Satan will empower him and he will believe through him that he will rule the world. But a day shall come when the Son of God shall return to cast the anti-Christ and false prophet into the lake of fire and to cast Satan into the Abyss for one thousand years. Jesus shall establish His kingdom and it will be the fulfillment of all that God has spoken concerning Israel and the reign of the Messiah.
18
The Lord says that the people will think back when they were filled with terror. During the reign of the Messiah they will experience peace and protection on all sides. But they will remember back to when they were surrounded by the Assyrian enemy. How the enemy counted their towers and made great boast that they would bring Jerusalem to nothing. How they claim they would plunder the people and the city. But it will simply be a memory for when the Messiah rules they shall have perfect peace.
19
The enemies who threatened Israel who were marked by fierceness and violence and who spoke with a strange unknown language that Israel didn’t understand would be simply a memory. This is a word of hope for the nation of Israel. The Lord was continually speaking and calling the people to return fully to Him with all of their hearts. God’s desire was to watch over and protect them. Even though they often abandoned the Lord and His ways, the Lord never forsook them. He sent them into exile for a period of time and used Israel’s enemies to bring correction, but God never gave up on His people. He would be faithful to fulfill all that He has established in His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
20
During the reign of the Messiah, Jerusalem will be a secure city. Here the Lord speaks of Jerusalem as a place of God’s holy festivals, a city quiet and secure. They will be protected because God Himself will rule and reign with His people. Its stakes will be firmly established and secure. It will be a city that is protected on all sides. This is the case for all who place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Our lives are protected on all sides. No matter what we face the Lord is faithful to bring to pass His plans and purposes. Even when things seem like they are lost or that we are overwhelmed, we have nothing to fear, for God is firmly in control.
21
The Lord will be like a wide river of protection around the city of Jerusalem. His hand of protection will keep foreign nations from crossing the wide river and sailing on it. Over and over again the Lord uses language and words to communicate the safety and protection that would be found during the rule and reign of the Messiah. Israel for much of its history lived in fear at times because instead of trusting the Lord, they acted in unbelief. But the Lord speaks of the glorious and beautiful day when the Messiah shall reign. May our hearts and minds daily look to the Lord for help and strength. May our hearts be focused on His return and His second coming. Great and marvelous things await those who trust in the Lord and look to Him for strength.
22
Here it says the Lord is our judge, lawgiver, and king. He will save us and care for us. When our trust is in Almighty God we have nothing to fear. During the rule and reign of the Messiah Jesus will encompass all of these on the earth. His decisions will rule and reign over what takes place on the earth. His word will dictate what is acceptable and what is not. He will rule with an iron scepter and those who defy Him will be quickly dealt with. Often in this life we may allow fear and doubt to fill our hearts, but we need to ask ourselves why. If God is firmly in control, why do we fear? We often experience fear and doubt because we take our eyes off the Lord and His purposes. But God is truly faithful and there is coming a day when we shall truly rule and reign with Him.
23
There were times throughout Israel’s history in which they seemed helpless and unable to defend themselves. But here it says that God’s people will divide the treasure of their enemies, the lame will take their share. Even the weak and those who are helpless will be strengthened by the Lord. For God’s mighty hand will move against His enemies and He will bring them to nothing. We must trust in the Lord at all times and know in our hearts that God is faithful.
24
No inhabitant of Zion will say they are sick. God will fully forgive them of their sins and wickedness. Sin is what separates us from Almighty God. The only way we can be forgiven and restored in our relationship with God is through a relationship with Jesus Christ. When we give our lives over to God through faith in Jesus Christ, our sins are forgiven and we are restored in relationship with God. Isaiah speaks of a coming day when the Messiah would rule and reign. During his day the people still lived under the old covenant and would daily perform the prescribed animal sacrifices. But when the Messiah came the first time His sacrifice only had to be done once and for all. His precious blood atoned for sin for all time and those who trust in Him are forgiven and they are restored.