Isaiah 30 begins with a woe to “the rebellious children.” These “children” were making plans that were not the Lord’s and developing alliances that were not a result of the leading of the Spirit of God. Instead of repenting of their sins, they sought refuge from the pharaoh in Egypt.
Surely this is a reference to the Israelites of 2 Kings 17 and 18. When Hoshea was the king of Israel in Samaria, he became a vassal of Shalmaneser, the king of Assyria and paid him tribute. Several years later, Hoshea send messengers to So, the king of Egypt and stopped paying tribute to the king of Assyria. This made the king of Assyria angry so he put Hoshea in prison. In the ninth year of Hoshea’s reign, the king of Assyria finally took Samaria and carried away Israel to Assyria because they abandoned the commandments of the Lord their god; committed idolatry, witchcraft, soothsaying; and did other evil in the sight of the Lord. Samaria was taken in the sixth year of Hezekiah’s reign in Judah.
These people were disappointed because the Egyptians left them disgraced. The prophecy found in Isaiah 30, describes Egypt as “Arrogance Doing Nothing.” The children of the Lord are described as lying children who refused to hear the Torah of the Lord. They did not want to hear about the visions of the seers. They desired to trust in extortion and rely on deceit as a way of life. They refused to return and rest in the Lord who could save them. If they had, He would have given them calmness and confidence which could have made them strong. Surely, they thought they could flee from their enemies.
Hezekiah, the king of Judah was not completely like Hoshea, the king of Israel. Hezekiah gave us a different example to follow. In the 14th year of Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib, the king of Assyria came against the cities of Judah. This resulted in Hezekiah paying the king of Assyria silver and gold. The king of Assyria sent an army against Jerusalem and accused them of having plans of war and said they were trusting Pharaoh, the king of Egypt for Egypt’s chariots and horsemen.
The Assyrians errantly believed that the Lord could not protect the Judeans because Hezekiah had removed the high places. They mistakenly believed that the high places belonged to the Lord when in reality, they really didn’t. These Assyrians intended to conquer Judah and receive tribute from Hezekiah. They threatened the Jews with exile if they did not comply. Sennacherib mocked the Lord’s ability to protect the Jews. First Kings 19 says that when Hezekiah heard about this, he demonstrated a heart of repentance, went into the house of the Lord, and prayed for deliverance. The Lord answered Hezekiah’s prayer by sending the angel of the Lord to kill those in the camp of the Assyrians.
Hezekiah experienced the truth of Isaiah 30:18-19: “Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him. 19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; You shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; When He hears it, He will answer you.”
This is the word for Israel today! The Lord wants to reveal Himself to His people. He wants them to hear the word of the Lord and walk in the ancient path. Israel needs to cast aside their idols no matter what form they take. Once they do so, He will send literal rain in its season so that nutritious food will grow abundantly. The water will flow in streams and brooks instead of their being dry, empty stream-beds.
At this point in Scripture, the prophecy of Isaiah begins shifting to a time in the future—the day of the Lord, the day of great slaughter.
Matthew 24:29-31 describes it like this: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
The coming of the glory of the Lord will cause the sun and moon to change. The moon will be as bright as the light of the sun and the light of the sun will be seven times stronger. Once he gathers His chosen ones together, He will heal them and bind up their wounds.
The vision seen of the Lord in Isaiah is one of the Lord coming to the earth. Note the physical description here:
- Anger, burning in thick rising smoke;
- Lips, full with fury;
- Tongue, a consuming fire;
- Breath like a racing torrent that rises up to the neck.
It is clear He has come to selectively destroy the wicked of the nations and lead them away.
Revelation 9:11-16 describes Jesus whose name is “Faithful and True”:
- Riding on a white horse;
- Passing judgment and going into battle in righteousness;
- Eyes like a fiery flame;
- Royal crowns on His head;
- A name written which no one knew but himself;
- Wearing a blood soaked robe;
- The name by which He is called, “The Word of God;”
- Accompanied by the armies of heaven on white horses;
- Sword coming out of His mouth with which to strike down the nations.”
- Ruling with a staff of iron;
- Treading the winepress from which flows the wine of the furious rage of the Lord, God of heaven’s armies.
- “King of kings and Lord of lords” written on his robe and thigh.
Isaiah 30:29 says the people will sing a song like that which is happily sung on a night when a holy feast is kept. Revelation 15:3-4 says this song is the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: “Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! 4 Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested.”
The Lord will come in furious anger, in a flaming firestorm, with cloudbursts, tempests, and hailstones. He will terrify the Assyrians as He strikes them down with His scepter. Who are the Assyrians? Are they only those the angel of the Lord killed in Hezekiah’s time? No, this is also referring to the nations who will come against Israel in the last day.
Isaiah 30:33 says the Tofet fire pit has long been ready for the king of Assyria. It has been set on fire by the breath of the Lord. The Tofet fire is a place of cremation. It is the everlasting fire repeatedly referred to in the New Testament. This is also the fire the Beast and False Prophet of Revelation will be thrown into. This fire is also known as the second death into which those from the second resurrection will be thrown into after they are judged according to what they had done during their lives.
What about present-day Israel?
They can no longer trust in Egypt or America. Israel must repent, realize the Yeshua is HaMashiyach, and rest in Him. They must remember that the angel of the Lord killed the Egyptians on the night of the first Passover and the angel of the Lord killed the Assyrians who came against Hezekiah. Since that is the case, “Faithful and True” will come to kill those who come against Israel on the day of the Lord.
Long ago, the Assyrians did not believe the Lord would rescue Jerusalem because Hezekiah had removed the high places of other gods. Today, Israel’s enemies do not believe in the power of the Lord God of Israel. They mock the King of kings and Lord of lords by saying their god is greater than all other gods. This will lead to their destruction.
All believers must know these prophecies, believe them, and count on them!
Remember, anyone who comes claiming he is Messiah before that day is not the Messiah so don’t be deceived or led astray!!
Highway to Holiness 