A Righteous King
“Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice. Each will be like a shelter from the wind, a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in a dry land, like the shadow of a great rock in an arid land.
Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. The mind of the rash will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will speak clearly and fluently. No longer will a fool be called noble, nor a scoundrel said to be important. For a fool speaks foolishness; his mind plots iniquity. He practices ungodliness and speaks falsely about the LORD; he leaves the hungry empty and deprives the thirsty of drink. The weapons of the scoundrel are destructive; he hatches plots to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just. But a noble man makes honorable plans; he stands up for worthy causes.
The Women of Jerusalem
Stand up, you complacent women; listen to me. Give ear to my word, you overconfident daughters. In a little more than a year you will tremble, O secure ones. For the grape harvest will fail and the fruit harvest will not arrive. Shudder, you ladies of leisure; tremble, you daughters of complacency. Strip yourselves bare and put sackcloth around your waists. Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vines, and for the land of my people, overgrown with thorns and briers—even for every house of merriment in this city of revelry. For the palace will be forsaken, the busy city abandoned. The hill and the watchtower will become caves forever—the delight of wild donkeys and a pasture for flocks—until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high.
Then the desert will be an orchard, and the orchard will seem like a forest. Then justice will inhabit the wilderness, and righteousness will dwell in the fertile field. The work of righteousness will be peace; the service of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever. Then my people will dwell in a peaceful place, in safe and secure places of rest. But hail will level the forest, and the city will sink to the depths. Blessed are those who sow beside abundant waters, who let the ox and donkey range freely.”
One of the confusing things about the Book of Isaiah is the perpetual question: are these predictions supposed to take place in Isaiah’s time, or are they for the future? Part of Isaiah’s ministry took place during the reign of righteous King Hezekiah, who really was an excellent king. Some commentators feel that these predictions refer to King Hezekiah. At the same time, there are parts of these predictions that can only refer to the eventual return of the Messiah. While Hezekiah was far more righteous than the kings that preceded or followed him, he also was plagued with shortcomings.
While it is important to have a righteous king, no king can rule without princes who support him. “Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice. Each will be like a shelter from the wind, a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in a dry land, like the shadow of a great rock in an arid land.” Amazing! Who wouldn’t want leaders of that caliber?
“Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. The mind of the rash will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will speak clearly and fluently.” If these ideas sound familiar, it’s because George Handel quoted this in his oratorio The Messiah. They serve as the opening recitative immediately preceding the solo “O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion.”
“No longer will a fool be called noble, nor a scoundrel said to be important. For a fool speaks foolishness; his mind plots iniquity. He practices ungodliness and speaks falsely about the LORD; he leaves the hungry empty and deprives the thirsty of drink. The weapons of the scoundrel are destructive; he hatches plots to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just. But a noble man makes honorable plans; he stands up for worthy causes. “” Hmm! Sounds like a number of political parties in various countries around the world, doesn’t it? Then as now, righteous leadership was a rare commodity. But when Messiah comes, all unrighteousness will be swept away.
“ Stand up, you complacent women; listen to me. Give ear to my word, you overconfident daughters. In a little more than a year you will tremble, O secure ones.” Isaiah is warning the society ladies of Jerusalem and Judah that all their pleasures are about to be swept away. Why? The Assyrians led by Sennacherib are at the gates of Jerusalem, threatening to destroy the city. Assyrian armies have never left anything in their wake; they destroy everything. These verses refer to the loss of farms and vineyards due to the depredations of the Assyrian army. Some commentators think that Isaiah gave this prophecy at a public gathering where society ladies might have been standing in a group, waiting to have fun at his expense. This particular prophecy did come true in 701 when Sennacherib’s army nearly captured Jerusalem.
The final verses of this prophecy refer to the time of Messiah, when peace will reign and those who herd animals will be safe to lead their animals out to pasture. By that time, forests that once covered the land will have disappeared, while orchards may abound.
APPLICATION: Around the world, people are longing for righteous peaceful governments, governments that will give them shelter from hardships. While we can argue about the timing of these prophecies, the fact remains that many of them can only be fulfilled if Messiah comes.
Regarding the promise of righteous world leadership, we realize that promise has yet to be fulfilled. We once worked for an organization that sent us into a very difficult situation despite warnings from several knowledgeable people. When we reported the irregularities, we were encountering, our parent group blamed us, rather than admitting that they had made major mistakes. At one point, we returned to the group where we had received missionary orientation and spoke with the man who had been our counselor during our training. At that point, this group was training missionaries from more than 180 different sending agencies each year, and our counselor was a man of extensive missionary experience himself. We were shocked when our counselor told us that in all his experience, he had never witnessed a church or para-church organization that ran on Christian principles but that every group he had seen functioned just like a secular business. Our friend concluded by saying that only if upper echelon leadership was committed to such principles and enforced their application would any group work along Christian lines. Since then, we have seen these truths proved repeatedly.
What encouragement can we take away from this chapter? “The work of righteousness will be peace; the service of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever. Then my people will dwell in a peaceful place, in safe and secure places of rest.” We all need peace, rest, and quiet confidence. If we trust in God, He can give us those things, even when the world around us is falling apart.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to trust You, the Source of all light and life and peace and goodness. Thank You that those who trust in You will never be put to shame. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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