The Righteous King and Outpoured Spirit Transform the World

In that beautiful new society “those who see” (prophets) will see true visions clearly, and the teachers of the Word of God will speak clearly and faithfully his truths to the people. The minds of those who listen to their words will grasp their truths and take them to heart (vv. 3-4). The people will recognize the difference between a godly leader and a scoundrel (v. 5). The wicked leaders of the past were ungodly fools whose corrupt minds resulted in corrupt plans and corrupt words (vv. 6-7). By stark contrast, the noble leaders of the new society yearn to use their positions for good, to bless those entrusted to their care. They make noble plans and carry them out (v. 8).

Isaiah 32:9-14

In order to make room for this new society, God must clear away the old corruption. Verses 9-14 focus on “complacent women” who end up beating their breasts because of the devastation that is coming on their delightful fields and crowded cities. These lovers of luxury are overconfident in their wealth, unconcerned for the poor and needy, and certain that their present lifestyle will continue indefinitely. But their judgment rushes on them “in a little more than a year” (v. 10). The judgment is devastating: the delightful fields and fruitful vines will produce thorns and briers (v. 13; see Gen 3:18); the palace and crowded city will be left desolate, a place for flocks to graze (v. 14). The now humbled women will beat their breasts, stripping off their rich clothes and donning sackcloth instead (vv. 11-12).

Isaiah 32:15-20

The new society described in this chapter can only come about by the Holy Spirit’s transforming power. Verse 15 shows this plainly: the desolation of the city and the thorns and briers in the fields will continue until the Spirit is poured out from heaven. The leveling of a formerly bad society does not necessarily give way to a godly one in its place. The piles of rubble in bombed-out Europe after World War II were grounds for all kinds of anarchistic acts: vigilante squads wreaked vengeance on Nazi collaborators in France; 20,000 people were summarily executed by their countrymen in northern Italy in the final weeks of the war; in eastern Poland and western Ukraine rival nationalist groups carried out an undeclared war of terrifying brutality resulting in the deaths of thousands more (Lowe, Savage Continent, xiii–xiv, 75ff). Only if the Spirit is poured out from on high will anything good rise up on the rubble of the past government.

In the Bible the Spirit is often likened to water, and the verb frequently used for the giving of the Spirit is “pour” (Isa 44:3; Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2:33; 10:45; Rom 5:5). The Spirit is “poured out” like water or “placed” on the hearts of the people, transforming them and moving them to obey God’s laws (Ezek 36:27); and that is the key to the changes in society predicted in this chapter. Why does God use the verb “pour” when speaking of the gift and influence of the Holy Spirit? Perhaps it has to do with an ongoing influence as time progresses, as life unfolds, so the Spirit’s activity is more like a river continuously flowing from heaven to earth rather than a lightning strike that makes a single, instantaneous impact. The Spirit flows into a ruler’s heart, and he continuously seeks to render judgments and provide for and protect the poor and needy as the holy King Jesus would have him do.

So, as the “Spirit from on high is poured out on us,” the desert will be transformed into an orchard that seems like a forest. Righteousness will be the direct result of the Spirit’s influence, and that righteousness will produce “quiet confidence forever” (Isa 32:16-17) and prosperity (v. 20). This vision for a new society starts with transformed leaders, imitating the king who reigns righteously (v. 1).

Jesus is the embodiment of the righteous king of verse 1. Under his perfect rule, other kings and lords do their ruling in imitation of him. Jesus is the perfect shelter from the storm, the only refuge from the coming wrath of God. He also is the final provision for our souls, the river of the water of life and the bread from heaven that supplies our deepest needs. In imitation of him, Christian rulers—whether kings or prime ministers or governors or town council members—can use their positions of power not to line their pockets by corruption but to provide for and protect the poor and needy and to render right judgments. The final images of rich harvest and peaceful security can be realized on earth to the degree that leaders as well as citizens are filled with Christ’s Spirit. They will find final consummation in the new heaven and new earth.