Isaiah on Tuesday - A Sure Foundation for Our Times

I think that Isaiah returns to that moment in Isaiah 6 where he sees the Lord high and lifted up and is in His presence. It must have been a defining moment and when he gets to prophesying, Isaiah reaches up and sees God and knows who He is and what that means for His people. Isaiah 33 starts out like that:

1 Woe to you, O destroyer,
you who have not been destroyed!
Woe to you, O traitor,
you who have not been betrayed!
When you stop destroying,
you will be destroyed;
when you stop betraying,
you will be betrayed.

2 O LORD, be gracious to us;
we long for you.
Be our strength every morning,
our salvation in time of distress.

3 At the thunder of your voice, the peoples flee;
when you rise up, the nations scatter.

4 Your plunder, O nations, is harvested as by young locusts;
like a swarm of locusts men pounce on it.

5 The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high;
he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness.

6 He will be the sure foundation for your times,
a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;
the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure. ^[a]

We can hear Isaiah's cry for justice in verse 1 as he envisions the destroyer and betrayer falling under their own devices. Immediately he turns and utters a prayer to the God he met face to face in the temple: " O LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress."

I am impressed by Isaiah's hope God despite what is going on around him, whether it be famine, war, injustice or idolatry. Isaiah is grounded in the truth: "He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.^{" I think that's a mantra worth repeating.}