Isaiah 32:9

The Bible says in Isaiah 32:9-12, “Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech. Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come. Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins. They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.” In this passage of Isaiah chapter 32, God is once again telling the people of Israel about the judgments that will come upon them. The women who have failed are addressed specifically in this passage. The word “careless” is used three times to describe them, and the phrase “at ease” is used twice to describe them. They are called “careless daughters,” “careless women,” and “careless ones.” It is interesting that the Hebrew word that is translated “careless” comes from a word that means “to trust” or “to feel safe.” In this context it means to feel safe for the wrong reasons, and therefore to be careless. You are careless if you think that your sins will not find you out. You are careless if you are trusting in the wrong thing to keep you safe. Of course, this is exactly what happened to the Israelites, both men and women. They were trusting that the Egyptians would keep them safe instead of trusting in the Lord.

Twice in these verses the women of Israel were called “women that are at ease.” The primary will of God for all human beings is to work: to create, to build, to accomplish. Life is not meant to be “easy.” God made that requirement for mankind when Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden. Referring to what God said to Adam, the Bible says in Genesis 3:17-19, “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Even Jesus said in John 9:4, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” No human being will ever be satisfied with his life unless he or she fulfills the work that he or she has been put on this earth to accomplish. Of course, one of the bad consequences of not working is what happened to the women of Israel: falling into a life-style of being “at ease.” The Bible says in Proverbs 18:9, “He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.” Some of the old sayings that we have in our culture have a lot of truth to them. For example, most people have heard: “Idleness is the devil’s workshop.” One reason this is consistent with biblical teaching is because we should not be idle. We should be busy about the Master’s business, and then we would have less opportunity to fall into temptation.

The Bible says in Isaiah 32:13-20, “Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city: Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks; Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places; When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place. Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.” It is always good to notice that even though the bad times came, and even though the bad times were because of the judgment of God, still the Lord had wonderful purposes in mind for the future. Nothing will ruin the great future that is planned for the believers, not even God’s own judgment. How long will the judgment last? Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 32:15, “Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high.” Isaiah knew that there would be an out-pouring of God’s Spirit, and that this out-pouring of God’s Spirit would be related to the end of God’s judgment. Of course, we understand a little bit more about this event because we know Jesus Christ as Savior. God’s Spirit is poured out into the heart of each person who truly believes in Jesus. Jesus said to His disciples in Acts 1:5, “For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” And it says in Acts 2:3-4, “And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Of course, these “other tongues” were other languages.

We live in what some have called the age of grace. It can also be called the age of the out-pouring of God’s Spirit. Once a person comes to know Jesus Christ by faith, the Spirit is poured into that person’s heart. That is why it says in Romans 8:9, “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” That is why it says in Romans 8:14-15, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” Since the days of the New Testament, we have now reached the age of the out-pouring of God’s Spirit of which Isaiah prophesied. One of the things to remember about this truth is the fact that it means that the judgment is past. We do not have to fear God’s judgment in the way that His judgment was brought down upon the children of Israel. We are not under law, but we are under grace. We are not in danger of the wrath of God, because His mercy is shed upon us so abundantly. This is so wonderfully true because Jesus Christ bore the wrath of God upon the cross of Calvary. It says in Second Corinthians 5:21, “He was made to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”

Once we have the Spirit poured into us, there is one very important result that will take place. It says in Isaiah 32:20, “Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.” Believers sow the gospel of Christ. Notice that it says to sow “beside all waters.” That is because God loves everyone and wants everyone to have a chance to be saved. It says in Second Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

The Bible says in Isaiah 33:1, “Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled; and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.” This is the immutable law of just retribution. In other words, judgment is coming. You will reap what you sow. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, I will repay. Jesus said in Luke 6:38, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” Be careful what you do to others, because what you do to others is what will eventually happen to you.

Understanding the truth of this principle should motivate us all to turn to the Lord for His mercy and grace. It certainly motivated the prophet Isaiah. He wrote in Isaiah 33:2, “O LORD, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.” It is interesting to notice the differences between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Of course, there are differences because there are differences between law and grace; but there are also similarities. The same principles of salvation by grace through faith were just as real in the Old Testament as they are today. That is why the Spirit of God had the Apostle Paul use the Old Testament to explain in detail the meaning of justification by faith in Romans chapter 4 and elsewhere in the New Testament. The Apostle Paul used both Abraham and David from the Old Testament to prove that once we put our faith in Christ, we are justified by faith. The Bible says in Romans 4:2-8, “For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”

The prophet Isaiah wrote, “we have waited for thee.” This is talking about waiting for the Lord to help in some situation in life. It is interesting that the word that is translated “waited” at its root means to be bound to something. A believer who continually trusts in the Lord is tied up with the Lord, and is bound to the Lord. Of course, we are bound up with Him. He is our Savior. We have no choice but to wait on Him, nor do we want any other choice. We know that it is just as Isaiah said in Isaiah 33:2: Jesus is “our salvation also in the time of trouble.”

The Bible says in Isaiah 33:3-9, “At the noise of the tumult the people fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations were scattered. And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpiller: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them. The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness. And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure. Behold, their valiant ones shall cry without: the ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly. The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man. The earth mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.” The main theme of these verses is once again the judgment of God that came upon the nation of Israel. God decides what happens to nations, and He brings His judgment when He decides that it is time for that judgment. Hebrews 9:27 says, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Jesus is the Judge, and He will do the work of a Judge both in this life and in the next. Therefore, blessed are those who find His mercy. It is infinitely better to experience His mercy than to experience His judgment. Thank God that Jesus is merciful. He loves to show His mercy. His plans are to be merciful and kind and compassionate to people on this earth. One purpose for bringing His judgments is to wake people up to their need to turn to Him. Even in the midst of this passage about judgment we are reminded of God’s salvation. The Bible says in Isaiah 33:5-6, “The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness. And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.” Turn to the Lord Jesus Christ while you have time, and instead of being judged by Him, you will be forgiven.

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