Isaiah 33:10

Isaiah 33:10 says, Now will I rise, saith the Lord; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself.  God said that He was now going to be lifted up and exalted, but He always should be.  Even if our world seems to be coming apart, as followers of Jesus Christ, we should always lift up and exalt God.  We may at times wonder where God is if life is going terribly wrong, but He is always with us as Christians.  We need to always remember that. 

Verse eleven adds, Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you.  God said that the Assyrian army, who felt unbeatable, would be as no more than chaff against Him and would be blown away.  No matter how big and powerful our enemies may seem today, they are no more than chaff before God.  He is our spiritual protector, and we should never stop praising Him no matter what is going on in life. 

Verse twelve continues, And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.  God said the Assyrian army would be like chaff burned up in the fire or totally destroyed in other words.  As Christians, our enemies may seem too powerful for us to defeat, but God will one day send them away to everlasting destruction, so we just need to continue to put our faith in Him. 

Verse thirteen concludes, Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.  God called on those near and far to hear what He had done.  Everyone will one day acknowledge the power of God.  Those who are far off spiritually will even one day acknowledge the power and authority of God.  As followers of Christ, we are spiritually close to God, and we should already acknowledge His power and authority.   I realize this verse may have been referring just to how near to or far away from Judah people were physically, but I believe we can apply a spiritual understanding to it.  

Verse fourteen states, The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?  This message was to the people of Zion, those who were called God’s people, but who were hypocritical in their actions. They had looked to Egypt for protection instead of looking to God, and that had failed.  Now that the Assyrian army was closing in on them, they asked who could save them from the fires of destruction that the Assyrians had suffered.  Just as there was no one who could save the people of Judah other than God, there is no one who can save us from the fires of hell but Jesus Christ.  A hypocritical faith will never be enough. 

Verse fifteen adds, He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;  Isaiah then begins to list the actions of those who are faithful to God.  They refuse to act like those around them.  They walk righteously and speak the truth, not benefitting from the oppression of others, taking bribes, hearing about benefitting from the death of others, and not looking on evil as something that is acceptable.  As followers of Christ, we should be guided by these same actions today. 

Verse sixteen continues, He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.  Isaiah said that those who did live by faith in God could be defended by Him and have their needs met.  We have this same assurance spiritually today, even if we suffer loss in the world.  We are protected by God and have an everlasting victory through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.  All we need to do is remain faithful to Him no matter what.