Reading for June 4th

Read Isaiah 32.1-20. In 32.1-20: A king will reign in righteousness. In verses 1-8: The deiverance of the city in 701 BCE was a dangerous precedent: it implied that God's protection could be reled upon inconditionally. The warning to Hezekiah in ch. 39 on the occasion of the visit of Babylonian emissaries was aimed at countering such false expectations. The Davidic kingship could not survive unless it was founded on just goverment and compassionate administration. This oracle maybe a portrait of the great reforming king, Josiah, during whose long reign (639-609 BCE) Assyrian rule over Judah ended and the royal adminstration was reformed (see 2 Kings 22.1-23.25). During this period a substanial part of Isaiah'sprophecies was probbaly compiled. In verses 9-14: The brief respite of hope and renwal during Josiah's reign ended suddenly and disastrously. Babylonian rule swiftly replace Assyrian oppression. Israel would suffer devastation once again, as Isaiah had declared (see 6.11-12) and the rampant growth of thorns and briers (see 5.6) would return. In verses 15-20: The outpouring of God's spirit (v. 15) and the transformation of the ruined land into farmland once again anticipated the hope of the later chapters, espection 60-62. The forest (v. 19) indicates oppressing foreign powers (Assyria and Babylon, see 10.18-19), which will disappear completely. Comments or Questions..