A Message about Assyria
33 What sorrow awaits you Assyrians, who have destroyed others[a]
but have never been destroyed yourselves.
You betray others,
but you have never been betrayed.
When you are done destroying,
you will be destroyed.
When you are done betraying,
you will be betrayed.
2 But Lord, be merciful to us,
for we have waited for you.
Be our strong arm each day
and our salvation in times of trouble.
3 The enemy runs at the sound of your voice.
When you stand up, the nations flee!
4 Just as caterpillars and locusts strip the fields and vines,
so the fallen army of Assyria will be stripped!
5 Though the Lord is very great and lives in heaven,
he will make Jerusalem[b] his home of justice and righteousness.
6 In that day he will be your sure foundation,
providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.
The fear of the Lord will be your treasure.
7 But now your brave warriors weep in public.
Your ambassadors of peace cry in bitter disappointment.
8 Your roads are deserted;
no one travels them anymore.
The Assyrians have broken their peace treaty
and care nothing for the promises they made before witnesses.[c]
They have no respect for anyone.
9 The land of Israel wilts in mourning.
Lebanon withers with shame.
The plain of Sharon is now a wilderness.
Bashan and Carmel have been plundered.
10 But the Lord says: “Now I will stand up.
Now I will show my power and might.
11 You Assyrians produce nothing but dry grass and stubble.
Your own breath will turn to fire and consume you.
12 Your people will be burned up completely,
like thornbushes cut down and tossed in a fire.
13 Listen to what I have done, you nations far away!
And you that are near, acknowledge my might!”
14 The sinners in Jerusalem shake with fear.
Terror seizes the godless.
“Who can live with this devouring fire?” they cry.
“Who can survive this all-consuming fire?”
15 Those who are honest and fair,
who refuse to profit by fraud,
who stay far away from bribes,
who refuse to listen to those who plot murder,
who shut their eyes to all enticement to do wrong—
16 these are the ones who will dwell on high.
The rocks of the mountains will be their fortress.
Food will be supplied to them,
and they will have water in abundance.
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.
- 33:1 Hebrew What sorrow awaits you, O destroyer. The Hebrew text does not specifically name Assyria as the object of the prophecy in this chapter.
- 33:5 Hebrew Zion; also in 33:14.
- 33:8 As in Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text reads care nothing for the cities.
Isaiah 33 (New Living Translation)
Dear God, I think it’s important to point out this is from the New Living Translation because they gave a footnote for verse one that says they took the liberty of inserting “Assyrians” in place of destroyer. I’m sure they had a good reason for doing this, but it’s an important note because when I read it this morning, I immediately thought of Isaiah and Hezekiah in 2 Kings 19 when the Assyrians are threatening to attack and Isaiah tells Hezekiah, after Hezekiah has sought your help and favor, to not worry about it. It’s also important to remember that is was the Assyrians who conquered the other tribes of Israel and sent them into exile. And they were the Ninevites whom Jonah hated so much.
Going back to my desire to not believe in “Disney Princess Theology,” I want to look at myself and/or my country critically ask where I/we might be the bad guy in the story. What if I’m Assyria and not Israel? What if my country is Assyria and not Israel? Is there a warning for me in here? Obviously, there is. I think especially for our country. For the last 10 years a good number of us have been striving for greatness and power–both as individuals and as a nation. We want to exert influence and make people near us cower. I mean, for some reason we’ve made an enemy of Canada. How does that happen unless we’ve made an idol out of this greatness, power, and influence we seek? We’ve even stopped a lot of our foreign aid and benevolence, claiming we must serve ourselves first. We are learning firsthand how limited our great military power actually is in Iran and Ukraine. As a nation right now, are we really any different that Assyria here?
Okay, I’ve pointed fingers at others enough. What about me? Do I love more than I judge? Do I serve more than I expect others to serve me? Are your fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control growing in me, or are the thorns and weeds of this world choking them out?
Father, give me eyes to see today. Help me to recognize my Assyrian tendencies. And give our nation eyes to see. Help us to see that in our desire to enforce faith on our fellow citizens and even the world, we are actually doing it exactly the opposite way you called us to do it: through prayer, service, persuasion, and suffering. When we call for revival, let it start with our own self-examination and repentance.
I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,
Amen
Emails to God 