Commentary - Isaiah 32:15-20

Bird's-eye view

In the preceding verses, Isaiah paints a grim picture of desolation and abandonment. The land is overgrown with thorns and briers, the palaces are forsaken, and the joyful city is a ruin. This is a picture of covenant curse. But this condition is not permanent. The hinge of this entire passage is the word "until." The curse has a terminus point. That point is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. What follows is a glorious description of gospel transformation, a picture of the kingdom of God advancing in the world. This is not a description of a far-off ethereal heaven, but rather the effect of the Spirit's work on the ground, in history. The desert becomes a garden, justice and righteousness take up residence in the land, and the result is a deep, abiding peace and security for the people of God. This transformation is set in sharp contrast to the judgment that will simultaneously befall the proud and arrogant, symbolized by the forest and the city. The passage concludes with a beatitude for those who faithfully labor in this new creation.

This is a profoundly Christological and pneumatological passage. The transformation promised here is impossible apart from the finished work of Christ and the subsequent outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost. Isaiah is describing the New Covenant age, the time in which we now live. The wilderness of the gentile world becomes a fruitful orchard, and the once-fruitful orchard of Israel is judged and becomes a forest. Justice, righteousness, peace, and security are the hallmarks of Christ's kingdom, established by His Spirit. This is a postmillennial vision in miniature; the Spirit is poured out, and the world is progressively renewed and filled with the knowledge and glory of God.

Outline

Context In Isaiah

Isaiah 32 is situated in a section of the book that contrasts true and false leadership, true and false security. In chapter 31, the prophet condemns those who trust in the horses and chariots of Egypt rather than in the Holy One of Israel. Chapter 32 opens with the promise of a righteous king and princes who will rule with justice, a clear Messianic prophecy. This righteous government will be a refuge for the people. However, before this glorious state is fully realized, there is a period of judgment and complacency that must be addressed, particularly aimed at the "complacent women" in verses 9-14. The desolation described is a direct result of turning away from God. Verses 15-20, therefore, serve as the divine answer to this self-inflicted ruin. It shows that the only hope for true restoration and the establishment of the promised kingdom is a divine initiative, the pouring out of God's own Spirit.

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 15 Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high, And the wilderness becomes a fruitful orchard, And the fruitful orchard is counted as a forest.

The word "Until" is the pivot upon which the entire chapter, and indeed the fate of God's people, turns. The desolation described in the previous verses is not the final word. It is a temporary, though severe, state of affairs. The remedy is not a new political program or a better military alliance. The remedy is supernatural, a gift from above. The Spirit must be "poured out upon us from on high." This is not a sprinkle; it is a deluge. This is the language of Pentecost (Acts 2:17-18, 33), where Joel's prophecy, which echoes this one, is fulfilled. The Spirit comes from God's throne, "from on high," signifying that this is a divine invasion, an act of pure grace. This is the inauguration of the New Covenant.

The result of this outpouring is a radical transformation of the created order. The "wilderness becomes a fruitful orchard." What was barren, lifeless, and hostile to God's purposes becomes productive and beautiful. This is a picture of the inclusion of the Gentiles into the people of God. The nations, once a spiritual desert, become a place where the fruit of the Spirit grows in abundance. But the transformation doesn't stop there. The "fruitful orchard is counted as a forest." This is a bit trickier. In the context of the next few verses, particularly verse 19 where the forest is judged, this likely refers to the old covenant people of Israel. The place that was once the center of God's cultivating work, the fruitful orchard, becomes overgrown and wild in comparison to the explosive growth of the gospel in the gentile wilderness. It has become a different kind of entity, one that will face a different kind of reckoning.

v. 16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, And righteousness will live in the fruitful orchard.

Following the outpouring of the Spirit, the moral character of the world is transformed. "Justice" and "righteousness" are not abstract concepts; they are active principles that come to take up residence in the land. Notice where they dwell. Justice sets up house in the "wilderness," the newly reclaimed territory of the Gentiles. The gospel brings with it a new social and moral order. The law of God is written on the hearts of new peoples, and they begin to live in conformity to His standards. At the same time, righteousness will "live in the fruitful orchard." This refers to the remnant of believers within Israel, the true Israel, who continue to walk in God's ways. The point is that the Spirit's work produces a comprehensive righteousness that permeates every part of the new creation, both in the formerly barren lands and in the cultivated ones.

v. 17 And the work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, quietness and security forever.

Here Isaiah defines the practical results of this new, Spirit-wrought righteousness. The "work of righteousness will be peace." The Hebrew word is shalom, which is far more than the mere absence of conflict. It is wholeness, completeness, flourishing. When people are in a right relationship with God, the result is a right relationship with one another. This is the peace that Christ purchased on the cross, reconciling us to God and, consequently, to each other (Eph. 2:14). The "service of righteousness", that is, the ongoing practice and outworking of this righteousness, produces "quietness and security forever." This is not the quietness of apathy, but the quiet confidence of those who know they are secure in God's hand. It is a settled rest, a freedom from the anxiety and turmoil that characterize life outside of Christ. This is a permanent state of affairs, "forever." The peace of Christ's kingdom is an enduring peace.

v. 18 Then my people will live in a peaceful abode, And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places;

This verse expands on the blessings of verse 17. God's people, the church of Jesus Christ, will inhabit a new kind of world. They will live in a "peaceful abode." Their homes, their communities, their churches are to be characterized by this shalom. They will be "secure dwellings." This is security not just from foreign armies, but from the spiritual forces of wickedness. The gates of Hell will not prevail against the church. And they will enjoy "undisturbed resting places." This is the Sabbath rest that we enter into by faith in Christ (Heb. 4:9-10). It is a rest from the wearying work of trying to earn our own salvation, a rest from the fear of condemnation. It is a profound spiritual and emotional tranquility that is the birthright of every believer.

v. 19 And it will hail when the forest comes down, And the city will be utterly laid low.

But this great peace for God's people exists alongside a great judgment for God's enemies. While the wilderness is blooming, the forest is being leveled. "Hail" is a common biblical symbol for God's destructive judgment (Ex. 9:24; Rev. 8:7). The "forest" here, as we noted in verse 15, likely represents the proud, overgrown, and unfaithful nation of Israel, particularly its corrupt leadership. It represents any human system that stands in proud opposition to God. This was fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, a hailstorm of Roman legions. Alongside the forest, the "city will be utterly laid low." This is the city of man, Babylon, the seat of worldly power and rebellion against God. Whether it is Jerusalem in the first century or any other hub of godless pride, it will be brought down. The gospel age is one of both salvation and judgment. As the kingdom of God advances, the kingdoms of this world are shaken and brought low.

v. 20 How blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters, Who let out freely the ox and the donkey.

The passage ends with a beatitude, a declaration of blessedness. In light of this great transformation and the corresponding judgment, what is the posture of God's people? They are to be sowers. They "sow beside all waters." The waters represent the life-giving power of the Spirit that is now flowing through the world. We are to be about the business of planting the seed of the gospel everywhere, without reservation. This is the Great Commission. We are not to be timid, sowing only in the well-tilled fields we are comfortable with. We sow beside all waters. And we are to "let out freely the ox and the donkey." These are the beasts of burden, the instruments of our labor. This is a picture of unstinting, generous, and confident work. We are to put our hands to the plow of kingdom work and not look back. The blessing is in the labor itself, a joyful participation in the Spirit's renewal of all things. The work is hard, but the harvest is glorious, and the sower is blessed.