Let’s read Isaiah 33:5-6, “The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. And He will be the stability of your times, a wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is his treasure” (NASB). We believe these verses look on to the time when Jesus Christ shall return to earth as the King of kings and Lord of lords to establish His kingdom on earth. Zion (Jerusalem) shall be His capital and the Lord will fill “Zion with justice and righteousness.” This means God’s people themselves will exhibit “practical righteousness” (holiness), as we read in Isaiah 60:21, “Then all your people will be righteous.” Proverbs 14:34 tells us that “Righteousness exalts a nation” and Israel will indeed be exalted above all the nations of the earth. The Lord Himself will be to Israel “the stability of your times, a wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge.” One has said, “The stability of God’s people will not lie in human wisdom, commercial success, or military prowess, but in spiritual strength.” And that strength resides in the Lord Himself! The key to Israel experiencing all of this is found in the close of verse 6, “the fear of the LORD is his treasure”; in other words, the fear of the Lord is Israel’s true wealth. In that day they will give Him the respect and homage that He deserves and they will then reap “a wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge.”

It should be noted that before the Lord returns to set up His kingdom, Israel will need to turn to Him in true repentance and cry out to Him for deliverance from their enemies. This is foreshadowed in verses 1-2 with the destruction of their enemies in the days of King Hezekiah. Verse 1 describes the enemy, “Woe to you, O destroyer, While you were not destroyed, and he who is treacherous, while others did not deal treacherously with him. As soon as you finish destroying, you will be destroyed; as soon as you cease to deal treacherously, other will deal treacherously with you.” The “destroyer” refers to the Assyrian army who invaded Israel and God tells them “you will be destroyed.” You can read of God’s judgment upon them in Isaiah chapters 36 & 37. But before He destroyed them, Israel cried out for deliverance. Verse 2 reads, “O Lord, be gracious to us, we have waited for You. Be their strength every morning, our salvation also in the time of distress.” The Lord is ever ready to hear and to answer the earnest cry of a penitent heart and this cry resulted in a miraculous deliverance!

In a coming day Israel will once again be invaded by their neighboring enemies but in their “time of distress” they will cry out to the Lord and be delivered and blessed beyond measure. You can read of this in Joel chapter 2 and Zechariah chapter 14. Joel 2:32 declares, “And it will come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls.” Zechariah 14:3 states, “Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle.” He will be their strength, as He was to their forefathers in the days of Hezekiah. And they will learn the age-old lesson that “the fear of the LORD is his treasure.” A wealth of blessings will be given to them because they will give the Lord the respect and worship He deserves. (240.3) (DO)