The Coming King (Isaiah 32:1-3).
The final result of Yahweh's activity will be the rise of the righteous king and the establishment of the perfect kingdom. This can be compared with Isaiah 11:1-9.
Analysis.
· Behold a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice (in wise and right judgment) (Isaiah 32:1).
· And a man will be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest (Isaiah 32:2 a).
· As rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land (Isaiah 32:2 b).
· And the eyes of those who see will not be dim, and the ears of those who hear will listen (Isaiah 32:3).
In ‘a' the king will reign in righteousness an his princes in justice, and in the parallel the eyes of all will be wide open, and the ears of all will listen. There will be perfect rule and perfect response. In ‘b' ‘a man' will be a hiding place from trouble, and in the parallel he will refresh men in a dry and hot land.
‘Behold a king will reign in righteousness,
And princes will rule with justice (in wise and right judgment),
And a man will be as a hiding place from the wind,
And a covert from the tempest,
As rivers of water in a dry place,
As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.'
Beyond God's judgments as expressed in His treatment of Assyria lies the coming of a King who will rule in righteousness, and Whose reign will epitomise true justice, (Isaiah 9:7; Isaiah 11:1-5) so that all who serve under Him will be just and fair. (See Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:30). It will introduce the coming Paradise. As always no time limit is laid down, only that it is ‘in the future'.
Then comes the even better news. ‘A man', someone unique and special but truly human, will be a hiding place, a covert, a river of water to the thirsty, the shadow of a great rock (note the contrast with Isaiah 31:9). Elsewhere such ideas are linked with God (see Isaiah 4:6; Isaiah 26:4; Isaiah 30:29; Isaiah 33:21 compare Psalms 46:4), but now they are applied to ‘a man'. And this can only be the One Who will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), for He must be a man and yet more than a man, or how could He do and be such things? He will be a shelter from wind, tempest and heat, and a provider of the water of life to those who thirst, the great Sustainer in the strength-sapping desert of life.
Some kings would partially fulfil the dream, kings such as Josiah, but none would make it a full actuality until the coming of Jesus, great David's greater son. He alone could represent the future king in all His aspects. He did so when He offered men entrance under the Kingly Rule of God, and was there for them to meet their deepest needs, and especially so when, having sacrificed Himself on their behalf (see chapter 53) He was raised and seated on the throne at the right hand of God to watch over them permanently. So whatever wind blows, whatever tempest arises, whatever great heat makes weary His people, He is their shelter, their Protector, their hiding place, and the provider of the water of life (compare Isaiah 55:1; John 4:10; John 4:13-14; John 7:37-38).
‘And the eyes of those who see will not be dim,
And the ears of those who hear will listen.'
And in response to the righteous king will be a responsive people. They will see clearly and will hear the words of righteousness. The sad state of the people as in Isaiah 6:10 will have been reversed. For when this king reigns those who see will understand, their eyes will not be dim, those who hear will listen. This is in direct contrast to Isaiah 6:10 where the people were described as heavy of ear, closed of eye and fat in heart and thus unwilling to respond to Yahweh.
While we may possibly include the literal opening of the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf in the thought (compare Isaiah 35:5-6), the main intention is to stress the response of men's hearts and lives to God. Jesus combined the two when He interpreted His healings as parables as well (Mark 7:32-36; Mark 8:22-26 with Isaiah 8:18).