Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Isaiah 32:15-20
The Great Turn-Around (Isaiah 32:15).
Analysis.
a Until the Spirit is poured on us from above, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest (Isaiah 32:15).
b Then ‘judgment' (justice and fair-play) will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness will abound in the fruitful field (Isaiah 32:16).
c And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and confidence for ever (Isaiah 32:17).
c And my people will live in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places (Isaiah 32:18).
b But it will hail in the downfall of the forest, and the city will be utterly laid low (Isaiah 32:19).
a Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, who send forth the feet of the ox and the ass (Isaiah 32:20).
In ‘a' the Spirit will be poured forth from above, and the land will blossom, and in the parallel those who ‘sow beside all waters' and plod on through the times of trouble and patiently watch over their ox and ass can be sure that they will be blessed. In ‘b' justice will dwell in the wilderness and in the fruitful field, but in the parallel hail will be poured out on the forest and the city. In ‘c' righteousness will prevail, and will bring peace and quiet confidence, and in the parallel the people will live in peaceable habitation in security and quietness.
The Pouring Out Of The Spirit (Isaiah 32:15).
As ever Isaiah sees beyond the gloom. God will finally work on behalf of His remnant (Isaiah 6:12). After the destruction and the coming exile will also come the time when God acts again on behalf of His true people. Isaiah does not know how long after but he knows that it will happen. The picture is put in terms of both a transformed land and a transformed people, the result of the Spirit being poured forth. Then the land will blossom and so will the people.
‘Until the Spirit is poured on us from above,
And the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field be counted for a forest.
Then judgment will dwell in the wilderness,
And righteousness will abound in the fruitful field,
And the work of righteousness will be peace,
And the effect of righteousness quietness and confidence for ever.'
God will act on behalf of His people through His Spirit. The verb ‘poured out' demonstrates that rain is in mind in the description, thus the Spirit is seen as active in producing rain on the land resulting in fruitful fields where there was wilderness, and the land which was once fruitful field becoming so luxurious that they will appear like a forest (compare Isaiah 29:17). It is the picture of a redeemed earth, another Eden, a new creation, an agriculturalist's heaven (compare Psalms 104:30), but as Isaiah 44:1 makes clear it will also result in the transformation of the people.. To Israel it is finally a picture of the new heaven and the new earth (Isaiah 65:17; Isaiah 66:22; Revelation 21:1) when evil has been done away.
But we are here dealing with God, And the commencement of the pouring out of the rain producing the heavenly fruitfulness need not mean that we limit this to happening within a man-period. The time between the commencement of the pouring out of the ‘rain' of the Spirit, and the final Paradise could be ‘a thousand years' or even ‘a thousand generations' (a long period designated by God), for this is the heavenly harvest.
So the Spirit Who initially hovered over creation ready to act (Genesis 1:2), will now act in full measure in the restoration of God's purposes, directly intervening to restore what has been spoiled.
But stress is also laid on true judgment and righteousness which will result in peace, quietness and confidence (compare Isaiah 30:15), and while to some extent the fruitfulness will be a vindication to Israel, that can only be so because the nation has itself become just and righteous in the sight of God. There could be no vindication otherwise, as previous Chapter s have made clear. Like Abraham they will have believed God and it is counted to them for righteousness (Genesis 15:6; Genesis 50:11).
Thus the working of the Spirit must be seen as also producing righteousness in men's hearts through faith, resulting in right judgments and righteous living (compare Isaiah 44:1). And the result of that righteousness will be peace, and its continual effect everlasting quietness and confidence. So the overall picture of the Spirit's outpouring is of heaven-like fruitfulness and heavenly righteousness in men's hearts, resulting in perfect spiritual rest and joy, the result of their new trust in Yahweh (contrast Isaiah 30:15).
This pouring out of the Spirit has already been indicated in Isaiah 11:2 where it makes the coming king righteous and successful, and in Isaiah 28:6 where it gives true judgment to the one who judges and strength to the people of God who defend against the enemy. It is therefore seen as powerfully effective through men's lives. We will come across more of this in a short while (Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 44:1), and it is also taken up even later by Joel 2:28, and in a slightly different way in Ezekiel 36:25.
That is why John the Baptiser will drench men and women (baptise) in expectancy of this promised pouring out of the Spirit, of which he sees himself the forerunner (that is what his baptism pictured as coming), and will preach in terms of a harvest of men and destruction of the unfruitful (Matthew 3:7). He considered rightly that he was introducing the end days. He just did not know how long they would be.
And Jesus Himself was drenched in the Holy Spirit at His baptism as the One Who would finally drench with the Holy Spirit all Who are His. Indeed the New Testament sees Him as the One Who brings about this outpouring of the Spirit, both through His life, when the working of the Spirit was already apparent (Luke 4:1; John 3:1), then in those who responded to Him (Luke 11:13), and then in the Upper Room and at Pentecost (John 16:7; John 20:22; Acts 2:1).
There would be a partial fulfilment in the inter-testamental period when ‘Israel' once again began to flourish, and their fields became abundantly fruitful, and there would also be a spiritual fulfilment in the coming of the king in His humility, the king Who would reign in righteousness, and in the coming of the Holy Spirit. But the final fulfilment undoubtedly awaits His second coming, and the new heaven and the new earth, the eternal realm. This distinction was not, however, specifically known to Isaiah. He knew that full deliverance would come about, what he did not know was how, and on what time-scale. He saw the future as one whole. What he did not know was the intermediate process, what he did know was the final result. For the prophets were not predicting events as such, (although they did also do that). Rather they were predicting the triumph of God as He acted in His own way to bring about His will.
‘And my people will live in a peaceable habitation,
And in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.'
The result of the Spirit's work will be that God's true people, refined and purified (Isaiah 4:4), will have peace and security and wherever they dwell, peace, security and rest will be all-prevailing (compare Isaiah 11:1; John 14:1). It is a picture of Heaven on earth for them in their spiritual lives (as citizens of Heaven - Philippians 3:20) followed by Heaven above, an eternal Paradise.
‘But it will hail in the downfall of the forest,
And the city will be utterly laid low.'
In contrast with the pouring out of the Spirit on the righteous will be the hail, which results in the downfall of the forest. The forest has in past Chapter s been symbolic of Israel's enemies (Isaiah 10:18; Isaiah 10:34), and the city is ever symbolic of corrupt and rebellious man (Isaiah 24:10; Isaiah 24:12; Isaiah 25:2; Isaiah 26:5), while hail is symbolic of judgment (Isaiah 28:2; Isaiah 28:17), and the result of this downfall will be that the world cities with all their pretensions and arrogance will be laid low (Isaiah 25:10; Isaiah 26:5). As ever mercy and glory is paralleled with judgment and destruction (Isaiah 30:25).
Note the contrast between righteousness coming in the wilderness and in the fruitful field (Isaiah 32:16), whereas judgment comes on the forest and the city (Isaiah 32:19). The one represents living freely and openly away from evil influences, the other those who cause harm and danger (both man and wild beast) and those who live in sin and corruption.
This contrast can be interestingly compared with the laws of uncleanness. The ‘clean' animals were those who lived in the fields and partook of what was ‘clean'. The ‘unclean' lived in the bare mountains and the forests, and scrabbled after what was ‘unclean', and connected with the dust of death.
‘Blessed are you who sow beside all waters,
Who send forth the feet of the ox and the ass.'
Finally Isaiah ends on an encouraging note for the present believers. Blessed are those who sow beside all waters, both when times are hard, and when times are promising. They make use of all God's provision. They never fail to send forth the feet of the ox and ass to do their work, they never slacken in the service of Yahweh. They will be truly blessed, because God has blessed them for their faithfulness. In the analysis this parallels with the pouring out of the Spirit. These already enjoy the work of the Spirit, which is available through all ages (Psalms 51:10; Psalms 139:7; Psalms 143:10), even before His pouring out at Pentecost.