Series: Isaiah
Title: The Fire
Text: Isaiah 33: 13-24
Date: November 21, 2010
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
Isaiah 33: 10: Now will I rise, saith the LORD; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself. 11 Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, [as] fire, shall devour you. 12 And the people shall be [as] the burnings of lime: [as] thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire. 13: The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. 14 Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
The Lord is the Fire that tries. Who shall abide with the devouring Fire of God Almighty
· Is 9: 5-6;
· Is 10: 15-23
· 1 Cor 2: 10-13
· 1 Pet 1: 5-7
· Rev 3: 18
· Malachi 3: 1-4
· Hebrews 12: 26-29
Now he has asks the question-- Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Next, he gives the answer. Isaiah 33: 15: He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; 16 He shall dwell on high: his place of defence [shall be] the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters [shall be] sure.
Are you thinking of yourself? I have walked righteously, spoken uprightly and so on. Remember who the LORD God began telling us to focus our attention on: (v13: Hear, ye [that are] far off, what I have done; and, ye [that are] near, acknowledge my might.) We are focusing our attention on what God has done in his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who at this time was yet to come, but who now has come.
He was tried in the fire under God's holy law.
· The only Man who walked righteously and spoke uprightly is Christ Jesus the Son of God.
· He was tried by Satan just as the king of Assyria tried Hezekiah, but Christ despised and continues to despise the gain of oppressions.
· Satan offered him a bribe--He would not and will not shake hands with those who offer bribes.
· He stoppeth his ears from hearing of bloods--from hearing schemes to shed innocent blood for gain
· He shutteth his eyes from seeing of evil
Isaiah 33: 16: Christ the Lord dwells on high.--Christ is "the place of defence" to his people,
- against avenging justice,
- the curse and condemnation of the law,
- the wrath of God,
- sin and all its consequences,
- Satan and all enemies:
- Christ is "the munitions of rocks"--"the Rock" himself
By faith in Christ this is true of all his saints! Established the whole law of God by faith. And this is the heart made new by the Spirit of God.
· Hezekiah did all these things one way:
· When God turned him from himself and every other refuge to the Lord who saved him.
· Hezekiah had his heart and the eye of faith lifted from this earth to above.
Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings
Only those who are in Christ by Father's drawing, keeping, predestinating hand of grace. Only those who rest in him by faith, trusting him to do as he says he will. When he turns us to look up to him: To such a believer God promises:
Isaiah 33: 16:….bread shall be given him; his waters [shall be] sure.
This bread and this water--is Christ our Life. Eternal life is sure life. Hezekiah had life restored to him when God the Father turned him from himself to the Lord.
Isaiah 33: 17: Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.
(Look back to v5) Did Hezekiah see King Jesus while his eyes were on earthly things? But when he was turned he saw. He saw what Abraham saw in his day. He saw a city whose maker and builder is God.
As the Lord delivered his remnant out of the midst of his wordly land--lifting there eyes in faith--he made them to look far beyond to that day when he would finally deliver them even as he had delivered them from all these nations in Hezekiah's day. So he directs our eyes.
I do not know exactly what the fire of hell will be--but when I see the enmity that blaze up in men who hear the gospel now, I have to think that it has to do with the full understanding of Christ along with man's unbridled enmity. Plus, a never ending remembrance that he has no one else to blame but himself for rejecting the Fire of God's Word! Christ receives the glory of being the Fire in all places.
But rejoice in this believer, because the Fire that hardens the clay is the Fire that melts your hearts, that warms your souls, that is the Life and desire of your hearts, that hedges you about from all your enemies….there is no Fire of hell for you--the enmity is gone, Christ is our Life. Where Christ the Fire dwells is glory divine!
Amen!