32:1.
“Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in
judgment.”
While this may
be taken as a general statement concerning the integrity with which kings
are to rule, and leaders are to execute judgment, the reference is
specifically to the Millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, when all of
this will be literally fulfilled, He being the righteous King referred to
here.
32:2.
“And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the
tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in
a weary land.”
The “Man” is
the Lord Jesus Christ, the “hiding place” of all who trust Him as Savior,
see
John 3:8.
The wind is a
Biblical symbol of the Holy Spirit, see, e.g., “The wind bloweth where it
listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it
cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”
See also Acts 2:2-4, “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a
rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting
.... And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost ....” In the present
instance however, the wind portrays Him as the Executor of God’s judgment
against all who resist His striving, and who reject God’s pardon and gift of
eternal life.
The “rivers of
water in a dry place” describe the Lord Jesus Christ as presented in the
Scriptures, for the cleansing and refreshment of all who trust Him as
Savior, see John 4:10, “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that
saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he
would have given thee living water,” and John 4:14, and “Whosoever drinketh
of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I
shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into
everlasting life.”
He is also the
“great rock” in the “weary land” of this sin-sick world. All who trust Him
as Savior dwell under the shadow of His wings, sheltered from the burning
heat of life’s troubles and cares, knowing that “all things work together
for good to those who love God,” Romans 8:28, knowing that every event of
life is ordered or permitted by Him.
32:3.
“And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that
hear shall hearken.”
The fact that
the first application is to converted Israel in the Millennium doesn’t
preclude its application to all believers. Genuine converts are endowed
with the ability to see the deeper spiritual meaning lying beneath the
surface of the Bible’s literal language, and their response is to yield
obedience.
32:4.
“The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of
the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.”
“... rash”
means hasty, hurried, hotheaded, impulsive. Whatever a man may have
been in his unconverted state can be transformed by his obedience to the
written Word; and he who had at best been able to speak uncertainly about
spiritual things, will be able to bear an effective testimony to the saving
grace of God.
32:5.
“The vile person shall be no more called liberal (noble), nor the churl said
to be bountiful.”
“... vile” is
also translated base, decadent, impious, scoundrel, ungodly; and
“churl” is rendered crafty, knave, villain. These evil descriptions
fit many who hold high positions in business, politics and religion today,
but it will not be so in the Millennium.
32:6.
“For the vile person will speak villainy, and his heart will work iniquity,
to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the Lord, to make empty
the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.”
“... vile” is
also rendered base, decadent, impious, ungodly; and “villainy” means
that which is base, iniquitous, profane. Such a person will
continually plot evil, and speak lies about the Lord.
His
withholding food and drink from the hungry and thirsty may have a spiritual
significance as well as a literal, for Scripture is man’s spiritual food and
drink, so that the description fits the hordes of Christendom’s unconverted
hypocritical clerics who are guilty of this very sin. Professedly the
servants of God, they are in reality the slaves of Satan.
32:7.
“The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to
destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.”
“... churl” is
also translated knave, crafty one, villain, evil man. The
description is of men similar in character to the hypocritical Jewish
leaders whom the Lord denounced so scathingly in John 8:44, “Ye are of your
father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a
murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no
truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a
liar, and the father of it.”
The reference
is generally understood to be to the corruption of the law courts where the
poor were often condemned on the lying testimony of their rich antagonists;
nor has anything changed since that day: he who can afford the highest
priced lawyer is still the litigant most likely to win a favorable decision.
32:8.
“But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he
stand.”
“... liberal”
as used here means noble, another translation of this verse being, “But the
noble man’s plans are noble and nobly does he stand by them,” Phillips;
another rendering being, “But the man of noble mind forms noble designs and
stands firm in his nobility,” NEB
32:9.
“Rise up ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters;
give ear unto my speech.”
As to why the
word was addressed to the women, Jenning’s comment is that, “The
women are here addressed because of the peculiar sensitiveness of the
feminine temperament, quick to catch the first sight of coming danger and to
take alarm.”
Another is
that the women tend to mold the character of society, since the children
during their most formative years are under the influence of their mothers
more than of their fathers; and even husbands are influenced by their wives
to a greater extent than is generally acknowledged.
32:10.
“Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the
vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come.”
This verse is
also translated, “In little more than a year you will shudder, you
complacent women; for the vintage will fail, the fruit harvest will not
come,” RSV. God was going to lay His hand upon the nation in chastisement
because of their sinfulness.
32:11.
“Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip
you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins.”
This was the
prophet’s plea for them to heed his warning, and to evince genuine
repentance by replacing their costly raiment with sackcloth, but his plea
fell on deaf ears.
32:12.
“They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful
vine.”
A better
translation of “lament for the teats” is “beat upon your breasts,” an
extravagant but common way of expressing deep sorrow, the cause of that
sorrow being the coming famine - the barrenness of the fields and vines.
32:13.
“Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all
the houses of joy in the joyous city:”
Instead of
abundant crops the land would produce thorns and briars. The careless joy
of the city would give way to weeping and wailing.
32:14.
“Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be
left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses,
a pasture of flocks;”
This
anticipates conditions following the attack of the city by the Romans, but
“... for ever” is obviously not to he taken literally, but rather as meaning
a “long time.”
32:15.
“Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a
fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.”
The conversion
of the wilderness into a “fruitful field ... counted for a forest” means
that formerly barren land would become abundantly fruitful.
The partial
outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost foreshadows the fuller
outpouring that will occur in the Millennium when these conditions will
prevail.
32:16.
“Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in
the fruitful field.”
This means
that righteousness will then reign world-wide.
32:17.
“And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of
righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.”
When
righteousness reigns security and peace will abound.
32:18.
“And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings,
and in quiet resting places:”
All of this
will be fulfilled literally in the Millennium, but even today it can be the
experience of every obedient believer, for God’s assurance is that “All
things work together for good to those who love God,” Romans 8:28. The
ultimate application however, is to the believer’s experience in heaven
where the promised peace will be eternal.
32:19.
“When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in
a low place.”
This verse is
also translated, “But first the hail-storm must do its work, forest be laid
low, cities leveled with the ground,” Knox. The reference here seems
to be to the terrible Tribulation judgments that will precede the
Millennium, “the forest” being a metaphor for the people who are likened to
trees.
32:20.
“Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet
of the ox and the ass.”
The
Amplified
translation of this verse reads, “Happy and fortunate are you who cast your
seed upon all waters [when the river overflows its banks; for the seed will
sink into the mud and when the waters subside will spring up; you will find
it after many days in an abundant harvest], and can safely send forth the ox
and the donkey [to range freely].”
The spiritual
counterpart of literal sowing is the spreading of the good news of the
gospel, the overflowing water of the river representing earth’s burgeoning
billions, see Ecclesiastes 11:1, “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou
shalt find it after many days.” Our responsibility is to sow the good seed
of the Gospel, leaving to God the production of a harvest, i.e., souls
saved. After many days, i.e., when we are in heaven, we will see the result
of our sowing in the form of those we have led to Christ.
The literal
abundance of the millennial era is declared in that the animals will be
allowed to graze in the grain fields.
