Isaiah 33:1-6 – Prayer the best remedy to threat

Let us pause here to recap: Isaiah 28-33 collectively is referred to as the book of woes. In this section, Isaiah pronounced a series of “woes” messages. In Isaiah 28, he decried both the reckless rulers of Ephraim and the scoffing leaders of Judah. Then moving to 29:1-14, he condemned worship that was valueless. Calling Jerusalem Ariel, he told them that instead of being the lion of God, that city would soon be an altar of sacrifice. He condemned both leaders and people. He told them how desperately out of touch they were with God for demonstrating the spirit of unbelief. In the second half of chapter 29, he rebuked the people who had craftily challenged the all-knowing God. In chapters 30-31, he pronounced misery on the people of Judah for trusting in Egypt and the world rather than in God. In Isaiah 32, the prophet took a pause to talk about the future of God’s people. In Isaiah 33, the woe he pronounced was reserved for the Assyrians, and where he brought his “woeful” message to an end.

 

In this final message of woe, Isaiah saw the destruction of Judah’s enemy, the Assyrians. The previous five woes were pronounced over God’s people but this one was for their enemy who had treacherously dealt with them. Isaiah wanted the people to know that the enemy’s oppression would not be ceaseless. God assured that they would receive their just dessert in the end. Interestingly in verse 2, we see prayer being offered following the pronouncement of woe upon the oppressors. This suggests that their prayer brought an end to the oppression of the enemy. It is true that when we, the people of God, do our due diligence to pray, the Lord will listen and come to our rescue.  

 

Notice how they prayed. The people came to God humbly and tarried before Him, pleading for His graciousness. There they presented their distress to Him even in the wake of threat against their salvation. They placed their confidence in God believing that the enemy would disperse when the Lord appeared to rescue them. They were even assured that whatever booty the Assyrians had gathered in the conquest prior to moving toward Jerusalem would be left for them to collect. They were certain that the exalted Lord they honored dwelt on high and had filled Zion with justice and righteousness. There is the assurance that when there is trust in the Lord, there will be stability. God will be “a wealth of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.” And He will be a treasure to those who fear Him.   

 

There is no secret that the source of all our overcoming rests in the Lord. No matter how serious the threat of life may be, we have a God whom we can trust and be confident in. He has a plan for us. When we rest in Him and take our problems to Him in prayer, He will act on our behalf. Our stability is found in Him for He is a wealth of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. God will be a treasure to us who fear Him. Let us take our plight to the Lord in prayer!