Beholding Their King

Isaiah next gives this glowing glimpse of the future:  "A king in his handsomeness is what your eyes will behold; they will see a land far away.  Your own heart will comment in low tones on a frightful thing:  'Where is the secretary?  Where is the one that does the paying out? Where is the one counting the towers?' No insolent people will you see, a people too deep in language to listen to, of a stammering tongue without your understanding."   (Isaiah 33:17-19)  The promise of the future Messianic King and his Kingdom will sustain faithful Jews during the long decades of exile in Babylon, even though they can see that Kingdom only from afar.  (Hebrews 11:13)  When Messiah's rule final becomes reality, the Babylonian tyranny will be a distant memory.  Survivors of the attack of the Assyrian will happily ask: "Where are the tyrant's officers, who taxed us, charged us, took our tribute?" -Isaiah 33:18, Moffatt.

Although Isaiah's words guarantee a restoration from Babylonian captivity, individual Jewish exiles will have to await the resurrection  to enjoy the complete fulfillment of this part of the prophecy.  What about God's servants today?  Since 1914, Jehovah's people have been able to "behold," or discern, the Messianic King, Jesus Christ, in all his spiritual beauty.  (Psalm 45:2; 118:22-26)  As a result, they have experienced deliverance from the oppression and control of Satan's wicked system.  Under Zion, the seat of God's Kingdom, they enjoy true spiritual security. 

Isaiah continues:  "Behold Zion, the town of our festal occasions! Your own eyes will see Jerusalem an undisturbed abiding place, a tent that no one will pack up. Never will its tent pins be pulled out, and none of its ropes will be torn in two.  But there the Majestic One, Jehovah, will be for us a place of rivers, of wide canals. On it not galley fleet will go, and no majestic ship will pass over it." (Isaiah 33:20, 21)  Isaiah assures us that God's Messianic Kingdom cannot be uprooted or destroyed.  Moreover, such protection clearly extends to faithful Kingdom supporters one earth today.  Even if many individuals are put to severe tests, subjects of God's Kingdom are assured that no effort to destroy them as a congregation can possibly succeed. (Isaiah 54:17) Jehovah will protect his people in the way that a moat or canal protects a city.  Any enemy coming up against them-even one as powerful as a "galley fleet" or a "majestic  ship"-will face destruction! 

Why, though, can lovers of God's Kingdom feel so confident of divine protection? Explains Isaiah:  ""Jehovah is our judge, Jehovah is our Statute -giver, Jehovah is our King; he himself will save us."  (Isaiah 33:22)  Jehovah accepts the responsibility of protecting and directing his people, who recognize his position as Supreme Sovereign.  These willingly submit to his rule through his Messianic King, recognizing that Jehovah has the authority no only to make laws but also enforce them.  However, because Jehovah is a lover of righteousness and justice, his rule, through his Son, is not a burden to his worshipers.  Rather, they 'benefit themselves' by submitting to his authority.  (Isaiah 48:17) He will never abandon his loyal ones. -Psalm  37:28.

Isaiah tells enemies of Jehovah's faithful people:  "Your ropes must hang loose; they mast they will hold firmly erect; they have not spread a sail. At that time even spoil in abundance will have to be divided up; the lame ones themselves will actually take a big plunder."  (Isaiah 33:23)  Any approaching enemy will prove to be as ineffective and helpless against Jehovah as a warship with loose rigging, a wobbling mast, and no sail.  The destruction of God's enemies will result in so much spoil that even disabled ones will share in  taking plunder.  We can therefore be confident that through the King Jesus Christ, Jehovah will triumph over his enemies in the coming "great tribulation." -Revelation 7:14.

Next time: A Healing

From the Book Isaiah's Prophecy Light for all Mankind, 2000