Isaiah 33:5-6
In the days of Isaiah (ca. 700 B.C.), the kingdom of Judah was facing perilous times.... Assyria was advancing from the north, conquering kingdom after kingdom. Even the northern kingdom of Israel was taken into captivity. As Assyria drew new to Jerusalem, the people were undecided as to where to turn.... Some advocated they give themselves up to the Assyrians. Others looked to the south, believing an alliance with Egypt would save them. Isaiah was sent by God to warn the people to do neither.... The key to their salvation was to trust in the Lord, not men. The Lord would provide the stability they needed, when all seemed lost. In Isa 33:5-6 (“The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness, and he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is Zion's treasure.”) we find one such exhortation to put their trust in the Lord.... The NKJV speaks of wisdom and knowledge as “the stability of your times”; of course it is the wisdom and knowledge of the Lord spoken of here. Note other translations:
1) “He shall be the stability of your times” (NASB)
2) “He shall be the sure foundation of your times” (NIV)
Though removed from the days of Isaiah by thousands of years the counsel given by him still rings true! In troubled times, the Lord provides “the stability of your times”!
To illustrate how this is true even today, let’s begin by noticing the unstable condition of our times and the effect such instability can have on people... In the unstable conditions of today we face many disturbing things in life …. Many are common in every age - Job 14:1 ‘"Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble.” We still deal with sickness, death and natural disasters. Some may be peculiar to our day and age. Threats of Terrorism, nuclear holocaust, environmental pollution, inflation, recession, unemployment, AIDS, cancer, heart disease, road rage, drive-by shootings and the list could go on and on.
The affect of such things can create, for some, anxiety and fear. Others react with depression (our age has been called the “age of anxiety” and the “age of the neurosis”). Even Christians can be affected. They may murmur or complain or they may simply exist in a state of “joylessness”. Yet some are not disturbed by such things even though they experience the same things which devastate others. They face the same financial crises, diseases, uncertainties, etc. Somehow they still find cause for great joy and stability in their lives! Why the different reaction? Is there some source of strength that some have found that others have not? I believe there is; it is the LORD who provides stability for troubled times! From our text (Isa 33:6) we learn how the Lord provides stability...
The stability provided by the Lord comes through wisdom and knowledge. “Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times” (NKJV). Such wisdom and knowledge can help us face life by guiding and protecting one from the pitfalls of life - Pro 2:6-22 “For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you, delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech, who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil, men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways. So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words, who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God; for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the departed; none who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life. So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright will inhabit the land, and those with integrity will remain in it, but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.”; by providing comfort and confidence in times of turmoil - Pro 3:21-26 “My son, do not lose sight of these-- keep sound wisdom and discretion, and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck. Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble. If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.” -- God is willing to provide such wisdom to those willing to look to Him! - Ja 1:5-8 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
The stability provided by the Lord comes through salvation, “the strength of salvation” (NKJV). The salvation of the Lord can help us face death. If we know the Lord will save us in eternity, we can better face the adverse circumstances of this life. Consider the example of Paul:
1) He had a strong hope - 2 Co 5:1 “For we know that if the tent, which is our earthly home, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”, 5-8 “He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”
2) His attitude as a result of that hope - 2 Co 4:16-18 “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”; Ro 8:31-39 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Yes, the wisdom, knowledge, and salvation found only in the Lord provides the stability we need for our times! Wisdom and knowledge providing stability in facing life, salvation providing stability to face death. Together they provide great “wealth” (NASB), a “rich store” (NIV).
But what is the key to this treasure of wisdom, knowledge and salvation from the Lord which is “the stability of your times”? We will look into the answer to this question in next weeks continuation.
