Your ropes are slack; they cannot secure the mast or spread the sail. Then an abundance of spoils will be divided, and even the lame will carry off plunder. Your ropes hang slackThis phrase paints a vivid picture of a ship in disarray, with its ropes loose and ineffective. In the Hebrew context, the word for "ropes" (חֲבָלַיִךְ, chavalayikh) can also mean "cords" or "bonds," symbolizing strength and control. The slackness indicates a loss of power or preparedness, suggesting that the people have become complacent or weakened. Historically, this could reflect a time when Israel was vulnerable to its enemies due to spiritual or moral laxity. they cannot secure the mast
The mast is central to a ship's ability to navigate and maintain course. In Hebrew, the word for "mast" (תֹּרֶן, toren) signifies a standard or a banner, often used metaphorically for leadership or guidance. The inability to secure the mast implies a failure in leadership or direction, both spiritually and politically. This could be a call to the Israelites to return to God as their true leader and guide. or spread the sail
Sails are essential for harnessing the wind to propel a ship forward. The Hebrew word for "sail" (נֵס, nes) can also mean "banner" or "ensign," often representing God's presence and protection. The failure to spread the sail suggests a missed opportunity to move forward with God's power and blessing. It serves as a reminder of the importance of faith and reliance on God to advance and succeed. Then an abundance of spoils will be divided
The term "abundance of spoils" (שָׁלָל רַב, shalal rav) refers to the wealth and goods taken from a defeated enemy. In a biblical context, spoils often symbolize God's provision and victory over adversaries. The division of spoils indicates a time of blessing and prosperity following a period of struggle or conflict. It suggests that despite current weaknesses, God promises future restoration and reward for His people. even the lame will carry off plunder
This phrase is particularly striking, as it highlights the miraculous nature of God's deliverance. The "lame" (פִּסְחִים, pisechim) typically represent those who are weak or disadvantaged. In this context, their ability to carry off plunder underscores the idea that God's power can enable even the weakest to achieve victory. It serves as an encouragement that God's strength is made perfect in human weakness, and His grace is sufficient for all challenges. Persons / Places / Events 1. JerusalemThe city of God, often representing the people of Israel, who are under threat but will ultimately be delivered. 2. AssyriansThe oppressors and enemies of Israel during Isaiah's time, symbolizing the forces against God's people. 3. The LameRepresents those who are weak or disadvantaged, yet they will share in the victory and spoils. 4. SpoilsThe wealth and goods taken from the defeated enemy, symbolizing God's provision and victory for His people. 5. The Mast and SailMetaphors for strength and readiness, indicating the current weakness and vulnerability of the people. Teaching Points God's Deliverance in WeaknessDespite the apparent weakness ("Your ropes are slack"), God promises victory. Trust in God's strength, not your own. Inclusivity of God's BlessingsEven the lame will carry off plunder, showing that God's blessings are for all His people, regardless of their status or ability. Preparation and ReadinessThe imagery of the mast and sail reminds us to be spiritually prepared and ready for God's deliverance, even when circumstances seem dire. Faith in God's ProvisionThe division of spoils signifies God's provision. Have faith that God will provide abundantly, even in times of trial. Victory Over OppressionThe context of Assyrian oppression highlights God's ultimate victory over all forms of evil and oppression. Stand firm in faith, knowing God is in control. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the imagery of slack ropes and an unsecured mast relate to your current spiritual state? What steps can you take to strengthen your faith? 2. In what ways have you experienced God's strength in your own weaknesses, similar to the lame carrying off plunder? 3. How can you ensure that you are spiritually prepared and ready for God's deliverance in your life? 4. Reflect on a time when you felt oppressed or overwhelmed. How did you see God's provision and victory in that situation? 5. How can you apply the principle of inclusivity in God's blessings to your interactions with others in your community or church? Connections to Other Scriptures Exodus 14:14This verse speaks of the Lord fighting for His people, similar to how God promises deliverance in Isaiah 33:23. 2 Corinthians 12:9Paul's teaching on strength in weakness connects to the idea of the lame carrying off plunder, showing God's power in human frailty. Psalm 46:1-3This Psalm emphasizes God as a refuge and strength, a theme echoed in the deliverance promised in Isaiah 33:23. Zechariah 14:14Describes a future time when Judah will fight and gather spoils, paralleling the division of spoils in Isaiah 33:23. 1 Samuel 30:24David's equitable distribution of spoils reflects the inclusive nature of God's blessings, as even the lame share in the plunder in Isaiah 33:23. | Henry Fawcett, Postmaster-General | F. B. Meyer, B. A. | Isaiah 33:23 | | Ordinary Christian, May Accomplish Great Good | T. De Witt Talmage, D. D. | Isaiah 33:23 | | Physical Disability Attended by Spiritual Advantage | T. De Witt Talmage, D. D. | Isaiah 33:23 | | Poor, Yet Rich | T. De Witt Talmage, D. D. | Isaiah 33:23 | | Spiritual Compensation for Physical Blindness | T. De Will Talmage, D. D. | Isaiah 33:23 | | The Advantages of Invalidism | T. De Witt Talmage, D. D. | Isaiah 33:23 | | The Disabilities of Successful Men | T. De Witt Talmage, D. D. | Isaiah 33:23 | | The Lame Take the Prey | F. B. Meyer, B. A. | Isaiah 33:23 | | The Lowly are Enriched | F. B. Meyer, M. A. | Isaiah 33:23 | | The Prey of a Great Spoil | R. Macculloch. | Isaiah 33:23 | | The Prey-Taker | T. De Witt Talmage, D. D. | Isaiah 33:23 | | The Ship of State | Prof. J. Skinner, D. D., Prof. A. B. Davidson, LL. D. | Isaiah 33:23 | | The Weak Favoured | F. B. Meyer, B. A. | Isaiah 33:23 | | The Weak Specialty Cared For | F. B. Meyer, B. A. | Isaiah 33:23 | | They Could not Spread the Sail | R. Macculloch. | Isaiah 33:23 | | They Could not Well Strengthen Their Mast | R. Macculloch. | Isaiah 33:23 | | Thy Tacklings are Loosed | R. Macculloch. | Isaiah 33:23 | | The Reign of Hezekiah | E. Johnson | Isaiah 33:17-24 | | Happy Times | W. Clarkson | Isaiah 33:18-24 | | God's Promises to His Church | Archbishop Thomson. | Isaiah 33:20-24 | | Isaiah's Imagery | Sir E. Strachey, Bart. | Isaiah 33:20-24 | | Jerusalem Imperilled Yet Secure | | Isaiah 33:20-24 | | The Church of God | | Isaiah 33:20-24 | | The Privileges and Stability of the Church | T. Spencer. | Isaiah 33:20-24 |
People Ariel, IsaiahPlaces Bashan, Carmel, Jerusalem, Lebanon, Sharon, ZionTopics Able, Abundance, Abundant, Apportioned, Base, Blind, Carry, Cords, Couldn't, Divided, Division, Feeble-footed, Firm, Firmly, Foot, Goods, Hangs, Held, Hold, Lame, Loose, Loosed, Mast, Plunder, Prey, Property, Rigging, Rightly, Ropes, Sail, Sails, Secure, Slack, Socket, Spoil, Spoils, Spread, Stand, Strengthen, Stretched, Strong, Support, Tackle, Tacklings, Untied, WarDictionary of Bible Themes Isaiah 33:20-24 6703 peace, divine OT Isaiah 33:21-23 5517 seafaring Library April 2. "He Shall Dwell on High" (Isa. xxxiii. 16).
"He shall dwell on high" (Isa. xxxiii. 16). It is easier for a consecrated Christian to live an out and out life for God than to live a mixed life. A soul redeemed and sanctified by Christ is too large for the shoals and sands of a selfish, worldly, sinful life. The great steamship, St. Paul, could sail in deep water without an effort, but she could make no progress in the shallow pool, or on the Long Branch sands; the smallest tugboat is worth a dozen of her there; but out in mid-ocean she could …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth The Fortress of the Faithful
'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 xxxiii. 16. This glowing promise becomes even more striking if we mark its connection with the solemn question in the previous context. 'Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?' is the prophet's question; 'who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?' That question really means, Who is capable 'of communion with God'? The prophet sketches the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture The Rivers of God
'But there the glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.'--ISAIAH xxxiii. 21. One great peculiarity of Jerusalem, which distinguishes it from almost all other historical cities, is that it has no river. Babylon was on the Euphrates, Nineveh on the Tigris, Thebes on the Nile, Rome on the Tiber; but Jerusalem had nothing but a fountain or two, and a well or two, and a little trickle and an intermittent …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Judge, Lawgiver, King
'For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our King; He will save us.'--ISAIAH xxxiii. 22. There is reference here to the three forms of government in Israel: by Moses, by Judges, by Kings. In all, Israel was a Theocracy. Isaiah looks beyond the human representative to the true divine Reality. I. A truth for us, in both its more specific and its more general forms. (a) Specific. Christ is all these three for us--Authority; His will law; Defender. (b) More general. Everything …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture How to Dwell in the Fire of God
'Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? 15. 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 xxxiii. 14, 15. 'He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God'--1 JOHN iv. 16. I have put these two verses together because, striking as is at first sight the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture The Border of his Sanctuary
G. W. Is. xxxiii. 17 Glorious and solemn hour, Thus at last to stand, All behind us the great desert, All before, the land! Past the shadow of the valley, Past the weary plain; Past the rugged mountain pathway, Ne'er to be again. And before us, ever stretching In its golden sheen, Lies the fair, the blessed country Where our hearts have been-- Where our hearts have been whilst wandering Through the desert bare; For the soul's adored, beloved One, He abideth there. Clad in love and glory stands …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others April 3 Evening
Ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning.--AMOS 4:11. 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?--We had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us.--The wages of sin is death; but the gift …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path Question of the Contemplative Life
I. Is the Contemplative Life wholly confined to the Intellect, or does the Will enter into it? S. Thomas, On the Beatific Vision, I., xii. 7 ad 3m II. Do the Moral Virtues pertain to the Contemplative Life? S. Augustine, Of the City of God, xix. 19 III. Does the Contemplative Life comprise many Acts? S. Augustine, Of the Perfection of Human Righteousness, viii. 18 " Ep., cxxx. ad probam IV. Does the Contemplative Life consist solely in the Contemplation of God, or in the Consideration …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life Necessity of Contemplating the Judgment-Seat of God, in Order to be Seriously Convinced of the Doctrine of Gratuitous Justification.
1. Source of error on the subject of Justification. Sophists speak as if the question were to be discussed before some human tribunal. It relates to the majesty and justice of God. Hence nothing accepted without absolute perfection. Passages confirming this doctrine. If we descend to the righteousness of the Law, the curse immediately appears. 2. Source of hypocritical confidence. Illustrated by a simile. Exhortation. Testimony of Job, David, and Paul. 3. Confession of Augustine and Bernard. 4. Another …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion A vision of the King.
ONE of the most blessed occupations for the believer is the prayerful searching of God's holy Word to discover there new glories and fresh beauties of Him, who is altogether lovely. Shall we ever find out all which the written Word reveals of Himself and His worthiness? This wonderful theme can never be exhausted. The heart which is devoted to Him and longs through the presence and indwelling of the Holy Spirit to be closer to the Lord, to hear and know more of Himself, will always find something …
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory The Resemblance Between the Old Testament and the New.
1. Introduction, showing the necessity of proving the similarity of both dispensations in opposition to Servetus and the Anabaptists. 2. This similarity in general. Both covenants truly one, though differently administered. Three things in which they entirely agree. 3. First general similarity, or agreement--viz. that the Old Testament, equally with the New, extended its promises beyond the present life, and held out a sure hope of immortality. Reason for this resemblance. Objection answered. 4. …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion Seven Sanctified Thoughts and Mournful Sighs of a Sick Man Ready to Die.
Now, forasmuch as God of his infinite mercy doth so temper our pain and sickness, that we are not always oppressed with extremity, but gives us in the midst of our extremities some respite, to ease and refresh ourselves, thou must have an especial care, considering how short a time thou hast either for ever to lose or to obtain heaven, to make use of every breathing time which God affords thee; and during that little time of ease to gather strength against the fits of greater anguish. Therefore, …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety Three Things Briefly to be Regarded in Christ --viz. His Offices of Prophet, King, and Priest.
1. Among heretics and false Christians, Christ is found in name only; but by those who are truly and effectually called of God, he is acknowledged as a Prophet, King, and Priest. In regard to the Prophetical Office, the Redeemer of the Church is the same from whom believers under the Law hoped for the full light of understanding. 2. The unction of Christ, though it has respect chiefly to the Kingly Office, refers also to the Prophetical and Priestly Offices. The dignity, necessity, and use of this …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion The Angel of the Lord in the Pentateuch, and the Book of Joshua.
The New Testament distinguishes between the hidden God and the revealed God--the Son or Logos--who is connected with the former by oneness of nature, and who from everlasting, and even at the creation itself, filled up the immeasurable distance between the Creator and the creation;--who has been the Mediator in all God's relations to the world;--who at all times, and even before He became man in Christ, has been the light of [Pg 116] the world,--and to whom, specially, was committed the direction …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament The Blessed Privilege of Seeing God Explained
They shall see God. Matthew 5:8 These words are linked to the former and they are a great incentive to heart-purity. The pure heart shall see the pure God. There is a double sight which the saints have of God. 1 In this life; that is, spiritually by the eye of faith. Faith sees God's glorious attributes in the glass of his Word. Faith beholds him showing forth himself through the lattice of his ordinances. Thus Moses saw him who was invisible (Hebrews 11:27). Believers see God's glory as it were …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12 A Discourse of the House and Forest of Lebanon
OF THE HOUSE OF THE FOREST OF LEBANON. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. That part of Palestine in which the celebrated mountains of Lebanon are situated, is the border country adjoining Syria, having Sidon for its seaport, and Land, nearly adjoining the city of Damascus, on the north. This metropolitan city of Syria, and capital of the kingdom of Damascus, was strongly fortified; and during the border conflicts it served as a cover to the Assyrian army. Bunyan, with great reason, supposes that, to keep …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 "And the Life. " How Christ is the Life.
This, as the former, being spoken indefinitely, may be universally taken, as relating both to such as are yet in the state of nature, and to such as are in the state of grace, and so may be considered in reference to both, and ground three points of truth, both in reference to the one, and in reference to the other; to wit, 1. That our case is such as we stand in need of his help, as being the Life. 2. That no other way but by him, can we get that supply of life, which we stand in need of, for he …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life Isaiah
CHAPTERS I-XXXIX Isaiah is the most regal of the prophets. His words and thoughts are those of a man whose eyes had seen the King, vi. 5. The times in which he lived were big with political problems, which he met as a statesman who saw the large meaning of events, and as a prophet who read a divine purpose in history. Unlike his younger contemporary Micah, he was, in all probability, an aristocrat; and during his long ministry (740-701 B.C., possibly, but not probably later) he bore testimony, as …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Isaiah 33:23 NIVIsaiah 33:23 NLTIsaiah 33:23 ESVIsaiah 33:23 NASBIsaiah 33:23 KJV
Isaiah 33:23 Commentaries
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