A King in Righteousness

A short study in the Millennial Visions of Isaiah
Part 1

Isaiah, the statesman‑prophet, lived in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah and Manasseh, five successive kings of Judah; his prophetic ministry covered a term of more than sixty years. A priest by descent and legal right, he was a close student of the political developments of his day and a constant adviser to the royal court—especially to Ahaz and Hezekiah. The first thirty‑five chapters of his prophecy record his utterances during the first thirty years or so of his ministry, up to the early years of Hezekiah. They comprise prophetic glimpses of the order of things in the Millennial Age set against the background of the evils of his own day. His understanding of the virtues and vices of kings, priests and peoples, and the principles upon which God will act to accomplish his purposes with them, fitted him very specially to be the prophet of the Millennial Age. More than anything else, therefore, his prophecies enshrine in symbol the principles that will govern that Age.

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The theme of Isaiah’s message in chapters 30 & 32 is kingship. This resolute, upstanding man of God had much experience of kings; he spent his life more or less in and out of the royal presence in the palace at Jerusalem, and he was by no means without knowledge of the kings of nations round about. Judah at this time was a flourishing state; its boundaries were extended almost as far as they had been in the days of Solomon, its armies were a power not to be ignored, and it was able to play off its two powerful neighbours, Assyria and Egypt, the one against the other in the best diplomatic tradition. A new power, Babylon, was coming into prominence—rather, an ancient power that had been eclipsed by Assyria for several centuries and was now coming into its own again—and Judah was flirting with that power too. Isaiah, the farsighted and astute statesman, warned the kings of Judah, one after another, of the risks they ran, but his warnings were very usually ignored and during his own life‑time the nation came perilously near to disaster, being saved only by Divine intervention in the destruction of Sennacherib’s host; and a century or so after his death it did suffer the inevitable consequence of its political mistakes and was taken captive into Babylon.

But Isaiah also knew of another king, one who would, in time to come, reign in righteousness and bring peace and prosperity to the people. He knew that it would not be in his own time; like Abraham of old, he had to look forward into the then far distant future, but look forward he did, and, again like Abraham, he "rejoiced to see" that day, "and was glad." (John 8:56) So, when the prophetic power was strong upon him, he thought first upon the kings he knew in his own experience, their weaknesses and their folly, and warned his hearers of the ruin that must surely come; then as the vision of the present dissolved into that of the future his mind took a great bound forward into the coming Age, and he told of the better King who would accomplish all the good for humanity that kings ought to accomplish now, but which the kings that men set up, or suffer to take the dominion, have never and will never accomplish.

The thirtieth chapter opens with a message of condemnation upon Israel for seeking alliance with Egypt instead of trusting in the Lord their God for protection from the menace of Assyria. "Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me...that walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!" "Woe to them that go down unto Egypt for help...but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel." (Isa.30:1‑2; 31:1). Israel had been delivered from this same Egypt seven centuries previously; now of their own volition they were becoming entangled with its fortunes again.

Not for nothing has Egypt been accepted as a symbol of the world. Many a time since the days of Isaiah have those who should have trusted in God chosen instead to entangle themselves with worldly policies, and methods and alliances; the result has always been what it was to Israel in that far‑off day—disastrous. Now in our own day the same determination is manifest in the world’s counsels and councils. "In...all his (their) thoughts are, ‘There is no God’" (Psa.10:4 RSV) is a true quotation when applied to the great men of the earth today. It is not so much that they do not believe in the existence of God; many of them are quite sincere in the profession of some orthodox form of the Christian faith. But they are persuaded that salvation can only come by the strong right arm of human power—reasoning and agreement, if possible, and if that fails, then by force. Under no circumstances will they risk either the "loss of face" or the—to them—appearance of weakness involved in casting their dependence upon God. Israel was like that too, here in this thirtieth chapter of Isaiah, and onward until faced with a crisis, when Egypt had manifestly failed to deliver, and Sennacherib’s army stood before the gates of Jerusalem...

But that great deliverance was still future. Here Isaiah is pronouncing Divine judgment upon this unbelieving generation and its king. "Go, write it before them...in a book, that it may be for the time to come…that this is a rebellious people...that will not hear the law (word) of the LORD." (vv.8‑9). From that he goes on to declare the utter destruction that will inevitably come, and that did in fact come in the days of Nebuchadnezzar. Even in this extreme the Father again appeals to his erring children. (v.15‑16) "For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; ‘In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength:’" and Isaiah adds, sadly but sternly, "and ye would not. But ye said 'No; for we will flee upon horses…’" So he passes sentence; they shall indeed flee, and be broken, and be scattered, until none be left in the land.

Now although this is the pass to which Judah’s kings have brought their subjects, and the people have been willing to have it so, God is by no means prepared to let matters rest there. True, the people must endure the judgment they have brought upon themselves. The weakness of Egypt will be made manifest; the Assyrian power in their own day, and the Babylonian power in their children’s day, must stalk through the land, burning, destroying and slaying, but God has a plan that extends beyond all this, and will yet reach out for their deliverance. So, at this point, Isaiah begins to see into the future. What he beholds is dim and shadowy at first, and he speaks only in general terms; later on in the thirty‑second chapter, he perceives more distinctly and speaks more clearly. But even now he apprehends the promise of deliverance. The Lord will wait "that he may be gracious unto you...for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him. For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when He shall hear it, He shall answer thee." (vv.18‑19).

Here again the one unalterable, indispensable principle is reiterated. The people have entered into the bitterness and retribution for their fault; they have spurned the word of the Lord and rejected his prophet, and have reaped the consequences. But there is to be another opportunity for them; for God is a God of a second chance and a third chance and as many chances, as may be necessary to teach his wandering ones their lesson, always provided that the proffered further chance is based upon some real possibility, some reasonable hope, that it will bring the wanderer somewhere nearer to God. So, once again, Israel may return and be delivered, if they believe, and trust no longer in Egypt. "He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry;" there must be the cry of faith and repentance before He can hear, and hearing, answer with his graciousness.

From that time forward, says Isaiah, peace and security will return. "The increase of the earth...shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures." (v.23). The images of gold and silver will be cast away and the curse of idolatry lifted from the land. (v.22). The true and sincere worship of God and absolute trust in him will go hand in hand with a restored and luxuriant earth that will meet man’s every need.

There will be discipline. In this coming golden age, man, who is still imperfect and weak, will need strict parental care and training before he can be trusted with full liberty in life. The old depraved tastes and desires, will shout to have their way and they must be restrained. The old impulses of selfishness and greed, mayhap even of hate and strife, will struggle for expression; and they must not be allowed to have free rein. There will be swift and certain retribution for every attempt to do evil. All of these disabilities will still afflict humanity, albeit in diminishing degree as the Age proceeds in its work of reconciliation, but there will be teachers at work, teachers who are no longer despised and rejected, but standing before men in the full light of day. "Though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction," as He must do, even in the day of light and gladness, cries Isaiah (v.20) "yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers; and thine ears shall hear a word behind thee saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand…(or) to the left." (v.21) That is the distinguishing characteristic of the Millennial Age; the presence of experienced and qualified teachers ever on the alert to perceive the slightest deviation from the path of true rectitude and uprightness, and to guide the traveller with unerring wisdom into the ways of peace.

Who are these teachers? They are, first, the faithful consecrated Christian disciples of this present Age, of this period between Pentecost and now, and, second, the "Ancient Worthies," faithful men of previous ages, before Pentecost. Both companies alike, by reason of their past lives’ experiences with man and his sinfulness, and of God and his power in their own lives, will be able to turn men from the power of sin to serve the living God. These will be the sure teachers of mankind "in that day."

Thus it is that in the words of verse 26, the "light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people..." In Scripture symbolism the sun is often put to represent the light of the Gospel, and the moon that of the Law of Sinai, which preceded the Gospel and yet is only truly illuminated by the Gospel. So, in that day, the light of those teachers who were of the days of the Law, and the light of these teachers who are of the days of the Gospel, will together shine resplendently "as the light of seven days" upon men being healed. If it is true that the history of humankind on earth can be said to cover seven days, seven prophetic periods of time, and if it is true—as we know it is true—that each of those historic "days" will contribute its share of "teachers," either earthly or heavenly teachers, to the work of the Millennial Day, then surely it may be said with truth, that the light of the moon and the sun will then be as the light of seven days; the accumulated wisdom and experience of the seven ages of human history will be laid under tribute in the teaching and training of all men in the Millennial Age.

These few fragments are fugitive glimpses of Millennial conditions, stray gleams of light, shooting as it were across the dark background of Isaiah’s present message of reproof and condemnation; the full glory of his vision has yet to come. There is a further message to be given first, a further aspect of the judgment that must precede the blessing. Israel’s chastisement has been foreseen and described, and that of humankind in general under the figure of Israel, and there is no concealment of the fact that the judgment is directly in consequence of unfaithfulness and unbelief. But what of the agent of judgment, the scourge of God to ready his hand for the purpose? What of the Assyrians who were so ready to ravage Judah and to carry out the Divine work of retribution? Are they themselves without guilt, and has the Lord no account to settle with them? By no means are they without guilt; and a very heavy account the Lord does have to settle with them. Even though they have, unwittingly, played a part in the execution of the Divine purpose, their own personal responsibility for the evil they have done remains; they did not undertake the invasion and ravaging of Judah from any consciousness of effecting God’s purpose or any desire to do him service. They entered the land completely and entirely from motives of greed and hate and lust and every other vicious attribute. They too were alien from God and fighting against him, and they too must enter into judgment, before in their turn they can stand before the Great White Throne and hear the terms of life, and turn to find those same teachers waiting to teach them also. So Isaiah has a word for the Assyrians, a word of fierce denunciation and ruthless determination. In reading that message let us not forget that those Assyrians pictured the forces of this world in this, the end of the old Age, that fight against the incoming Kingdom of Christ, that indeed stand as it were between us and the Kingdom. Every institution, every organised power, whether financial, political or religious, that sets itself up as instead of God, and leaves God out of its counsels, and suppresses the things of God in its domain, is of those to whom the prophet addresses these words; and the judgment is certain, and the end thereof sure.

"The name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger...His lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire: and his breath, as an overflowing stream...and the LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall show the lighting down of his arm...with the flame of a devouring fire...and tempest, and hailstones. For through the voice of the LORD shall the Assyrian be beaten down..." (vv.27‑31).

Here it is that the prophet’s understanding widens immeasurably and his field of vision takes in the broad sweep of colour that is the Millennial Age. The strife and confusion and shouting, the darkness and tempest and earthquake, of that Armageddon which marks the time of judgment humanity has brought upon itself at this end of the present Age dissolves and metamorphoses into the radiant glory of a great Throne set up upon earth, and the resplendent figure of a King, a king such as earth has never before known. Here it is that Isaiah embarks upon a detailed description of the kingship of the Millennial Age, of the Kingdom of Heaven upon earth. Raising his eyes to drink their fill of the resplendent scene, he cries out in tones of exultation. "Behold," he cries, "Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment." (Isa.32:1). The King is Jesus Christ, returned to earth in the glory of his Second Advent, in the exercise of that power which He could have wielded at his First Advent, but refused so to do because only in being led "as a lamb to the slaughter" and giving "his soul an offering for sin" (Isa.53:7,10) could He establish the transcendent truth that the only one who can be trusted with absolute power over mankind is the One Who has demonstrated his willingness to share the sufferings and the death that is the lot of all humanity. But now the time of suffering and death is past and the King comes forth in glory and power and takes his place upon the throne of earth, an absolute monarch indeed, but a monarch to whom all men can give unqualified loyalty and obedience, for He is a King Who will reign in righteousness. So, in another place, Isaiah cries rapturously "It shall be said in that day, ‘Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and He will save us’." (Isa.25:9). David, seeing the same thing, sang (Psa.72:2,7,13,17) "He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and the poor with judgment...in his days shall the righteous flourish...He shall spare the poor and needy...men shall be blessed in him: and all nations shall call him blessed."

Men have never known an absolutely righteous king and have no conception of the benefits such a monarch can bring to his people. It has been well said that "power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely" and power in the hand of fallible men, however well‑intentioned, has very generally been abused to a greater or lesser extent. Some of the most ruthless men known to ancient as well as modern history have commenced their conquering careers with the best of motives and have ended them to the accompaniment of tears and curses from those who have suffered under them. In our own day men of the people have risen to positions of power, loudly proclaiming that they will administer freedom and equality for all; too late, their hapless dupes have realised that the shackles of bondage have been riveted upon them more firmly than ever. Those rulers were sincere enough when they started out; the possession of power has been more than their integrity could withstand.

A king who will reign in righteousness, then, is a new thing to this world and the results of his reign will be new too. The first reaction of his people will be one of relief and growing confidence. A new hope will be born in the hearts of men, a hope that at last the long‑desired but ever elusive peace and prosperity may indeed be within reach.

This is the theme of the remainder of the thirty‑second chapter. Having passed from the reign of death and evil, and seen the last of earth’s evil powers perish in Armageddon, the prophet is free to devote himself to a detailed picture of the benefits which the king who reigns in righteousness brings to his subjects.

(To be continued)
AOH