Isaiah 32

Read Isaiah 32

Helpful Background Information: 

• Isaiah lived during the decline of Israel’s kingdom period, speaking the word of God to Israel and Judah’s leaders. At this time, most of the people refused to listen to Isaiah’s warnings about the consequences of their sin. Isaiah consistently warned the people that, if they would not repent, their sin would bring God’s judgment in the form of exile. 

• With the warnings, however, also came a message of hope. Isaiah believed that things would get worse before they got better, but that there would come a day when God would fulfill all of His covenant promises. In chapter 32, Isaiah describes what will characterize the days when a king reigns on the LORD’s behalf with righteousness and justice (v.1). He says that it will be a time when the Spirit is poured out from on high, with peace as “the fruit of righteousness” (vv.15-17). 

• In Philippians 1, Paul prays that the people would be filled with “the fruit of righteousness” that comes through Jesus Christ (v.11). This is a fitting prayer, as it echoes Isaiah’s description of a community blessed by the peace of living under the rule of a truly righteous king. What Paul makes clear is that Jesus Himself is that king who rules on God’s behalf with justice, providing His people the kind of fellowship that is spoken of in this passage.
  

Reflection Questions: 

• The peace Isaiah describes is the fruit of living under God's righteous rule. How does submitting to Jesus as King bring a deeper kind of peace than circumstances alone can provide?

• Isaiah's promise ultimately points beyond temporary peace to the restoration of God's people. How does Jesus' present reign and future return give you hope when righteousness and justice seem absent from the world?