Summary Notes on Isaiah.

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes:

(PRT) Isaiah 32:1-8

vv. 1-2 Pay attention! A King shall reign righteously! His leaders shall judge justly. Each will be like a place of safety from the wind and a shelter from the storm; like streams of water in the desert and like the shade of an immense rock in a thirsty land.

vv. 3-4 Eyes that are dim will see; ears that need to hear will listen. The heart of the reckless will see wisdom; the stuttering voice will be quick to speak clearly.

v. 5 Do not hand out nobility on the foolish nor wealth on the swindler.

v. 6 For the foolish will speak foolishness and his soul will be busy practicing wickedness and muttering mockery against the Lord; willfully, he withholds food from the hungry and drink from the thirsty.

v. 7 And for the swindler, the tools of the trade are evil and he designs plans for harm to derail the humble with slander and lies, even when the cause of the humble is fair.

v. 8 But the unselfish and the generous make bighearted plans and live generously.

vv. 1-2 Pay attention! A King shall reign righteously! His leaders shall judge justly. Each will be like a place of safety from the wind and a shelter from the storm; like streams of water in the desert and like the shade of an immense rock in a thirsty land.

Because the King reigns in righteousness (unlike the kings people have to endure and have come to expect in their whims and selfishness) and his governors and leaders are fair and just, the people will find them to be a safe place when storms come and a refreshing source when times are dry. This is a picture of the King who, just like the Shepherd, leads his people to places of safety and plenty, even when the world deals us the opposite.

vv. 3-4 Eyes that are dim will see; ears that need to hear will listen. The heart of the reckless will see wisdom; the stuttering voice will be quick to speak clearly.

If it is unexpected and “upside-down” that the King would rule with righteousness and his leaders would be fair, it would be just as unexpected that eyes once dim would see the King’s good rule clearly, ears stopped up hear truth, the rash and impetuous see wisdom and the one who cannot speak, bring truth clearly. The heart is the soul in this passage. The very ones who are weak and unexpected are the ones who see and  hear and speak truth and wisdom.

v. 5 Do not hand out nobility on the foolish nor wealth on the swindler.

Wisdom and caution are still in order. The foolish and the cheats are still around; don’t bestow wealth and power on either. Noble character instead of noble blood.  This is the beauty of the Kingdom, when the King rules. No longer will the culture honor the wicked or the foolish. The deceptive and the swindler, the foolish, will no longer be lifted up as examples of heroes or noble.

v. 6 For the foolish will speak foolishness and his soul will be busy practicing wickedness and muttering mockery against the Lord; willfully, he withholds food from the hungry and drink from the thirsty.

Unlike the life of those under the rule of the King, the fool will choose to practice what harms, will scoff against the Father and find pleasure in depriving the basics of life from others in order to meet his own needs. Illustration: the child of the King demonstrates and proclaims Good News – Jesus is our model in this; the fool demonstrates wickedness and mutters vanity and vitriol against the things of the Kingdom.

v. 7 And for the swindler, the tools of the trade are evil and he designs plans for harm to derail the humble with slander and lies, even when the cause of the humble is fair.

The deceiver is bent on evil to gain benefits. The tools of the trade, the craft he chooses in deception and duplicity. When the King comes, he continues to undermine the good in the culture for selfish gain. At times, he causes harm just to watch the pain others experience.

He delights in derailing the work of the righteous and the humble.

v. 8 But the unselfish and generous make bighearted plans and lives generously.

When the King in here, we can aim high on what we ask God, aim big in our plans for the Kingdom, and live generously.

Small Group Questions:

1. Read this passage. How would you define “Living generously?”
2. This passage says that, when the King comes, he will rule with righteousness. How does His rule in your own life bring refreshing and security to your life?
3. Isaiah notes four kinds of people: the Reckless (Hotheads), the Thoughtless (Stammerer & Stutterers) are two of them. How does God rescue the Reckless and the Thoughtless? Has He ever rescued you because of this?
4. The other two kinds of people are the Foolish and the Deceiver (Scoundrels and Swindlers). What dangers do they bring if they are in your life?
5. When the King comes, we can “make big-hearted plans” and live generously. What can you do this week that is big enough to need God’s help and what can you do to live generously?