Isaiah With Training Wheels: Ch. 33-35
These chapters end the current section (28-35) of the text.
The corresponding chapter (29:15-24) ends with the world turned upside down, as if Isaiah wanted to end with, “Cats and Dogs living together! Mass Hysteria!” And that is what we see here. But instead of cats and dogs, we see righteousness exalted and victorious, and the sinner sinking into destruction and ruin. The theme here and 29:15-24 is Transformation, both of Israel and of the World.
And like the previous chapters, we see a lot of connections with the corresponding chapter.
In this case, we see the Lebanon motif (29:17; 33:9; 35:2)
The Blind and Deaf (29:18; 35:5)
Joy in the Lord (29:19; 35:10)
Redemption (29:22; 35:9-10)
Holiness (29:23; 35:8)
Salvation as an act of God (29:23; 33:3-6; 35:4,9)
End of Oppression (29:20; 33:19)
Spiritual Transformation (29:24; 33:24; 35:8)
The Law established (29:20; 33:14-16)
The Future seen in terms of the Past (29:22; 34:5-15)
Salvation of Zion 33:1-6
Judgment of the World 33:7-12
Proclamation concerning Zion, Salvation 33:13-24
Proclamation concerning the World, Judgement ch. 34
Pilgrimage of Redeemed to Zion through a renewed world ch. 35
33:1-12 in greater detail is:
Destroyer shall be destroyed (1)
Plea for Salvation (2)
Assyria scatters and plunders all nations. (3-4)
Zion redeemed, abundant Salvation (5-6)
The World and sinners mourn (7-9)
Divine Decisions and Action (10-12)
33:1 [Woe to you Destroyer, who has not been destroyed; O Betrayer who has not been betrayed! When you stop destroying, you shall be destroyed; and when you stop betraying, you will be betrayed.]
2 O Lord, be gracious unto us; we have for thee: be thou [our] every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.
3 At the [tumultuous] noise, the people fled; When you rise up, nations were scatter.
4 And your spoil shall be gathered like the [swarming of locusts: as locusts leap, it is leapt upon].
5 The Lord is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with [justice] and righteousness.
6 [He will be the sure foundation of thy times, abundance of salvation, wisdom and knowledge. The fear of the Lord is the key to his treasure.]
7 Behold, their [warriors shall cry in the streets]: the ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.
8 The highways lie waste, [no travelers on the roads:, the cities are despised, human life is disregarded].
9 The earth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.
10 Now will I rise, saith the Lord; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself.
11 Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall [give birth to] stubble: [the fire of your own] breath shall devour you.
12 And the [nations shall be burned to ashes]: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.
13 ¶ Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.
14 The sinners in Zion are [terrified; trembling hath seized the godless]. “Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with ?”
15 He that righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth [money from extortion, whose hands refuse , that refuse to listen to those who plot murder, and who shut his eyes ;]
16 [They shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the mountain fortress:] bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.
17 Thine eyes shall see the king in his : they shall behold the [distant lands].
18 Thine heart shall [recount the earlier terror. Where is the ? where is the man who collects tribute? where is the officer in charge of the towers?]
19 [Thou shall no longer see this arrogant, a people of with an incomprehensible language of a babbling tongue that was unintelligible.]
20 Look upon , the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.
21 But there the glorious Lord will be of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.
22 For the Lord is our , the Lord is our , the Lord is our king; he will save us.
23 Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not well strengthen their mast, they could not spread the sail: then is the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame take the prey.
24 And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.
34:1 Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it.
2 For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.
3 Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be [eroded] with their blood.
4 And all the [stars] of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all [the stars] shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.
5 For my sword shall [drink its fill] in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.
6 The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is [drips] with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.
7 And the [wild cattle] shall come down with them, and the [steers with the great bulls]; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.
8 For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.
9 And [her streams shall be turned into lava], and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.
10 It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.
11 ¶ But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the [measuring] line of confusion, and the [plumb line of desolation].
12 They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing.
13 And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of [jackels], and a [roost]for owls.
14 The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with [hyenas, and the wild goat] shall cry to his fellow; the [night birds] also shall rest there, and find for [themselves] a place of rest.
15 There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the [hawks] also be gathered, every one with her mate.
16 ¶ Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.
17 And he [allots their inheritance] for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them by line: they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.
35:1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon,
they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.
3 ¶ Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.
4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing:
for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.
7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of [hyenas], where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:
10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Notes:
33:1 This is a reference to Assyria and their broken promises. Hezekiah had paid them off once with gold from the temple (2nd Kings 18:13-18), yet they marched on Jerusalem regardless.
33:1-12 Here, see verses describing the destruction caused by Assyria contrasted with the grace of God. Notice in particular, v. 10-12 where we see the Lord, who has been patiently waiting, suddenly spring into action and reverse the course of history.
33:2 the text actually says ‘their arm’
33:4 Assyria seizing on the plunder. But as things deteriorate, we see a reversal in v. 10 when the Lord takes action and says their actions will destroy them. Further, we see in v. 23, “the lame take the prey”.
33:7 Both those in favor of war and in favor of peace are equally bewildered. ‘in the streets’ means publicly, openly. Their own efforts have been entirely ineffective.
33:13 Opposites “near” and “far” encompass a totality – Everyone. What the Lord has done for his people has Worldwide significance.
33:21-23 Because of the Lord’s abundance, there is no shipping. Zion is an old busted ship, yet takes the spoil!
33:24 Sickness and sin, temporal and spiritual, are both healed.
34:4 “rolled up like a scroll” may suggest the story is over. This is a line of scripture I don’t fully understand. But the rest of the verse indicates the heavens are decaying. Destruction is universal.
34:5,6 We often think of the Savior as an infinitely forgiving hippie. But these verses convey the opposite, with the Lord’s sword covered and dripping with blood. In Animal Sacrifice, fat was specifically dedicated to the Lord, so here we see the destruction the Lord has brought is overwhelming. Highly relevant, D&C 1:13,36
And also the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment upon Idumea, or the world D&C 1:36
34:9 Edom is the subject here. Why did we suddenly shift from Assyria to Edom? Because none of the discussion was really about those countries. Edom, also called Idumea, represents “The World”. The imagery (9-10) is of Sodom and Gomorrah.
34:11 Now that the Wicked (the World) are utterly destroyed, we shift to the animals, their places of rest, and raising of families. These are unclean animals, according to the Law of Moses. We should understand these to be good people of all nations, the Terrestrial, honorable men and women who are not members of the church. They will be given their inheritance and they will each have a mate and somewhere they can raise their families.
34:14 This is the sole use of the word, Lilith, though here is a translated ‘night birds’. Precise identification is impossible for most of these animals.
chapter 35 continues the nature and animal theme -v. 1 “The wilderness and the place shall be for
35:8 This highway is mentioned in a number of prophecies including most explicitly D&C 133:27 “And an highway shall be cast up in the midst of the great deep.”
G.
October 12, 2023
As always, extremely interesting