The Prophet and His Day: Isaiah 1-39 - Free Bible Commentary

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTSA. Chapters 31-32 are the fifth of the six woes (28:1; 29:1,15; 30:1; 31:1; 33:1) which deal withHezekiah’s attempt to form a political military alliance with the Nubian Pharaoh of theTwenty-Fifth Dynasty of Egypt.B. Judah trusted in Egypt, but not YHWH, for protection. Isaiah saw this as a violation oftrust/faith in His covenant promises and presence.C. This chapter focuses on the future government of a Righteous King in Jerusalem (cf. v. 1; 9:6-7; 11:1-5; Micah 5:2-5a). This was what Hezekiah should have been. He came close in hisfaith, seen in 37:14-20,30.WORD AND PHRASE STUDYNASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 32:1-81Behold, a king will reign righteouslyAnd princes will rule justly.2Each will be like a refuge from the windAnd a shelter from the storm,Like streams of water in a dry country,Like the shade of a huge rock in a parched land.3Then the eyes of those who see will not be blinded,And the ears of those who hear will listen.4The mind of the hasty will discern the truth,And the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak clearly.5No longer will the fool be called noble,Or the rogue be spoken of as generous.6For a fool speaks nonsense,And his heart inclines toward wickedness:To practice ungodliness and to speak error against the LORD,To keep the hungry person unsatisfiedAnd to withhold drink from the thirsty.7As for a rogue, his weapons are evil;He devises wicked schemesTo destroy the afflicted with slander,Even though the needy one speaks what is right.8But the noble man devises noble plans;And by noble plans he stands.32:1 “a king. . .princes” Verses 1-8 reflect the reign of a godly king and his/His government (cf. 9:6-7;11:1-5; 16:5; Micah 5:2-5a). There seems to be a purposeful ambiguity so that Hezekiah (possibly theimmediate fulfillment of 7:14-15) and the coming Messiah (the ultimate fulfillment cf. 7:14, cf. Matt.1:23) are both reflected in this passage.313