9 Rise up, you women who are at ease,
And hear my voice;
Give ear to my word,
You complacent daughters.
10 Within a year and a few days
You will be troubled, O complacent daughters;
For the vintage is ended. Isaiah 32:9-10
It’s quite hard to read these words in the context of the decline we’re seeing in our country and world today. We have the same problem these women had. The majority of us are complacent (betah in the Hebrew, meaning secure, unsuspecting). This means we are at ease when we should be on edge, and unsuspecting when we should be suspicious. Truth is, the vintage, the “seasonal yield of grapes,” has all but been gathered in our nation, as it was in Judea in Isaiah’s day. Dare I say, in both cases, only grapes of wrath remain.
Certainly, Isaiah had his eye on his own situation, but as in all prophecy, what is foretold can be applicable in both the present and the future, with history tending to repeat itself in future times and places, or when the grand scheme foretold finally comes to fruition. Isaiah was likely alluding to the imminent final push of the Assyrians to invade Jerusalem, finished off by the Babylonians some 100 years later. But Isaiah was in the fraternity of “holy prophets” cited by Peter in his swan’s song (2 Peter 3:2), from whom we should anticipate a periscopic view in their writings.
If you believe what is revealed here is also a picture of what has its ultimate fulfillment in the establishment of Christ’s kingdom on earth, which is commonly called the Millennium, which is mentioned either indirectly or directly throughout scripture, if you’re looking for it (e.g., Revelation 20:2-7, six times), the horrific conditions present prior to its establishment should be similar to what would cause the women referenced below to exchange their fine clothes for sackcloth.
11 Tremble, you women who are at ease;
Be troubled, you complacent daughters;
Strip, undress and put sackcloth on your waist,
12 Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine,
13 For the land of my people in which thorns and briars shall come up;
Yea, for all the joyful houses and for the jubilant city.
14 Because the palace has been abandoned, the populated city forsaken.
Hill and watch-tower have become caves forever,
A delight for wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks. Isaiah 32:11-14
We may still have a ways to go perhaps (“a year and a few days”), but there is a foreboding sense this is a train wreck in progress. The proverbial frog is in the kettle, slowly coming to a boil. Some of us, having read the tea leaves and extracted our heads from the sand, shudder to contemplate what is coming. If history does repeat itself, and who would contest this who has studied it, the final version of what is laid out in this chapter can be expected to occur in full color, or more suitably, black and white. Soberly, no amount of “prepping” can account for or protect from what’s in store. Yet, there’s a happy ending for the faithful.
15 Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high,
And the wilderness becomes a fertile field,
And the fertile field is considered as a forest.
16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness
And righteousness will abide in the fertile field.
17 And the work of righteousness will be peace,
And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.
18 Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation,
And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places;
19 And it will hail when the forest comes down,
And the city will be utterly laid low.
20 How blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters,
Who let out freely the ox and the donkey. Isaiah 32:15–20
Be comforted by the word “until,” as this logically suggests that there is a future and a hope, and by the other descriptive words in this portion, like “fertile,” “justice,” “righteousness,” “quietness,” “confidence,” “peaceful,” “secure,” “undisturbed,” and “resting places.” These paint a tranquil scene, where the crops will be so bountiful that the ox and donkey can simultaneously graze in the fields to their hearts’ content. By the way, verse 19 does not seem to fit, but appears to have meaning if contrasted with the blissful and blessed state described in verse 20.
A topic for another day is whether the Church will even be around for the fireworks, that is, where does the harpazo, colloquially known as the “rapture” described in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, fit in. For now, with the potential for the trumpet to sound at any moment, if there is any prepping to be done, it may be good to start first with your soul!
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