The grace that the Lord will show towards His people when they repent is depicted here under three images: the Lord the teacher (vv. 19-22), the Lord the healer (vv. 23-26), and the Lord the warrior (vv. 27-33).

It would way too easy to picture the Lord as the “waiting God” and see Him as purely passive up to the point where repentance is manifested. But the complementary picture which Isaiah now presents, of the Lord as the teacher, shows that this is not so. He disciplines His people (v. 20a), reveals Himself to them in their suffering (v. 20b), and gently shows them the way out of it (v. 21). That is, as teacher He actually encourages and makes possible the response for which He waits. His grace is at work before repentance as well as after it. Of course, the Lord had always been Israel’s teacher, but her people, and especially her leaders, had been too blind – willfully so – to recognize Him as such. Verses 20 and 21 of the passage indicate how this situation will be finally reversed. In the midst of the adversity and affliction which He will bring upon them, the Lord will reveal Himself afresh to them as their teacher, and this time they will recognize Him as such and be willing to be taught by Him. The ‘voice behind you’ of verse 21 points to the new, delightful intimacy which will then exist between God and His people and the casting away of idols, in verse 22, is the natural consequence of this. For idols speak of divided loyalties, and there can be no place for that among those who have returned wholeheartedly to the Lord as their teacher. His very first commandment is ‘You shall have no other gods besides me.’

Isaiah then goes on to speak of the restored fruitfulness of their land (vv. 23-26), and it is in this context that he speaks of the Lord as the healer, who binds up the bruises of His people and heals the wounds He inflicted (v. 26b). What is envisioned here is a complete reversal of the situation presented in the opening chapter of the book. There the Lord’s discipline had left Judah devastated, and her land devoured by aliens. Metaphorically she is described as bruised and bleeding, with her wounds unbandaged. Here, in chapter 30, the wounds are bound up and the land restored. Abundant, God-given rain ensures bumper crops and prosperous herds, and working animals that are strong because of their rich fair (vv. 23-24) through God’s grace. But there is something greater, of which the immediate recovery would be but a foretaste. For Isaiah goes on, in verses 25 and 26a, to speak of a transformed cosmos in which streams will flow on the tops of mountains and the sun will be seven times brighter! Clearly, at this point Isaiah leaves the plane of history and fires our imagination with images of paradise – a world too beautiful for words to describe or finite minds to grasp. The same long-range perspective is implied by the ominous reference in verse 25 to the day of great slaughter, when the towers fall. Something far more terrible that Sennacherib’s invasion must befall the world before the new, perfect age of God’s blessing can come – a truth which Isaiah constantly holds before us. The world must be purged of its evil by God’s judgment before, finally and forever, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.

The third picture, of the Lord as the warrior (vv. 27-33), has the same double focus that we have seen in the previous image. In the foreground stands the coming overthrow of Assyria (v. 31). But in the background stands the final, universal judgment, when the Lord’s wrath will fall on the nations (v. 28). The unit contains a mixture of metaphors but by far the dominant one is that of the warrior. Much of the imagery of water and fire in the present passage is drawn from the exodus background, and the general context here, as there, is the gracious action of God for His people. During their history, the Lord has from time to time had to fight against them in order to discipline them, but finally He will show them His grace again by fighting for them and overthrowing their enemies. The coming defeat of the Assyrians will be a foretaste of that final victory. And just as the Lord’s victory at the Red Sea was celebrated in song, so will His final victory be (v. 29). But is it proper to celebrate something as terrible as what is described here? The unhesitating reply of Isaiah and of the Bible as a whole is, ‘Yes!” The singing, joyful hearts which God’s people will have are, for God’s judgment will be seen to be the absolutely just and right thing that it is. The Lord’s action as warrior is the final expression of His grace to those who have cried out to Him for salvation (v.19). There can be no salvation, however, without judgment, and in the end the choice is ours. The Lord is the warrior, and we must all finally meet Him as either deliverer or destroyer.

Isaiah 30:19-33 Reflection Questions:

How has the Lord been a teacher to you? Did you listen to Him right away or did it take awhile?

Looking back in hind sight do you see how God’s grace has been active in your life?

How have you seen God as a healer in your life?

How do you see God as a warrior?

What idol or idols do you need to get rid of now?