Title: Jehovah's Victory / Isaiah 30:27-33
The saints are fighting a spiritual war every moment every day. The enemy of the saints is Satan the devil, and God does the battle for us. When God destroyed Assyria, Israel was saved. In the final judgment day, the church will be victorious and the things of the world will be destroyed before the judgment seat of God. God shows His victory through the church.
1. God the Judge
Jehovah's name refers to Jehovah Himself. God appears with majesty and authority like an army rushing in smoke from far away. God's wrath is against Assyria, which oppressed God's people (verse 27).
To those who have ignored and turned away from God, Jehovah comes from as far as heaven. Fire symbolizes judgment. Assyrian general Rabshakeh mocked King Hezekiah by comparing the God of Israel with the gods of the nations (2 Kings 18). By blaspheming God, Rabshakeh provoked the wrath of God. The fact that there is God's judgment is truly a comforting word for us. Without God's judgment, believing in Jesus would be a loss.
In order to destroy the enemy that afflicts the chosen people, God will unleash his fiery wrath with lightning, heavy rain, and hail. The appearance of God who judges in this way is majestic, great, and wonderful.
2. God's wrath
① He will strike with his arm (verse 32).
Raising arms is a metaphor for the power of God. Those who resist and ignore God will be judged. God judges freely through natural phenomena (verse 30).
② He judges with the breath of God (Psalm 18:15).
God made man out of dust and breathed in his spirit, and this is breath. Until now, the Assyrian army has been like a great sewage that extends to the neck of Judah. But no matter how much the sewage overflows, if God breathes once, it will all go away.
③ He scatters and destroys with the key of destruction (verse 28).
It is said that the Assyrians were called nations because they were a mixture of various peoples, and they would shake them all away like a small particle. Assyria is only chaff to fly.
④ He puts a seductive gag on his mouth
God puts a bridle in the mouth of the Assyrians to prevent them from doing the evil they want, and to serve God's purpose against his own will. Their murmurings and murmurings lead them to destruction.
⑤ He is struck with a stick and a club (verse 31).
The voice of the LORD commands the staff and the staff to strike Assyria. This is an inescapable and irresistible stick, and this suffering will continue.
In the same way, God's wrath rests on those who oppose God.
3. Salvation to God's people
Assyria will be discouraged by God's voice, but Judah will rejoice. The day the devil is discouraged is the day the saints are victorious. But the devil will rejoice if we first discourage him before he becomes discouraged. Therefore, we should not use disrespectful words.
The holy feast, the eve of the Passover, is the day of the joy of liberation (verse 29). God commands the Israelites to sing with the joy of salvation like this.
What a joy it is to blow the flute at the feast and go out to the mountain of the Lord to the Rock of Israel, that is, to worship. This is spiritual joy, and it is exceedingly great joy not only for the prophets but also for all devout people.
The people of Judah will rejoice on the trumpet and on the harp when God adds the rod to Assyria with the club he has planned (v. 32). The people of Judah sing a song of victory as they see their enemies being dragged into the last abyss. The saints have the joy of being saved, the joy of worship, and the joy of victory.
Let me conclude.
God has already prepared the place of punishment for the wicked deep and wide (verse 33).
Topheth refers to the Valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem. Topheth was a place known for burning people and offering them to Molexin, and it is also known as an ugly place for burning living people. The crematorium for Molexin was now prepared for the king of Assyria. And the breath of the LORD is like a stream of sulfur, a strength and a constant burning.
Fire and many trees will be prepared in Topheth, which will burn like a punishment in hell. The end of the unrepentant sinner is so tragic.
According to the book of Revelation, whoever goes into the lake of fire, burning with fire and brimstone, is a liar and an adulteress. The standard of all judgment is Jesus Christ.
The destruction of Assyria is the victory of Jerusalem. At this time, the saints will sing a song of thanksgiving. Therefore, the song we will sing on Judgment Day is a song of thanksgiving for being saved through Jesus Christ.
On the last judgment day, I hope that we will all become saints who can sing a song of thanks.