Isaiah 33:3
The peoples flee the thunder of Your voice; the nations scatter when You rise.
The peoples flee
This phrase captures the immediate reaction of the nations in the presence of God's power and judgment. The Hebrew root for "flee" is "נוס" (nus), which conveys a sense of urgency and fear. Historically, this reflects the common response of nations when confronted by overwhelming divine intervention, as seen throughout the Old Testament. The imagery here is reminiscent of the Exodus, where the Egyptians were struck with fear and the Israelites fled from bondage. This serves as a reminder of God's sovereignty and the futility of opposing His will.

the nations scatter
The scattering of nations is a recurring theme in the Bible, often symbolizing divine judgment and the breaking of human pride. The Hebrew word "פוץ" (puts) for "scatter" suggests a forceful dispersion, akin to the scattering at the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:8). This scattering is not just physical but also spiritual, indicating a loss of unity and purpose among those who defy God. It underscores the idea that human plans are ultimately subject to God's overarching plan.

at the uproar
The term "uproar" in Hebrew is "שאון" (sha'on), which can denote a tumultuous noise or commotion. This word paints a vivid picture of chaos and confusion, often associated with divine judgment. In the context of Isaiah, it reflects the overwhelming presence of God that causes fear and disarray among the nations. This uproar is not merely a physical sound but a manifestation of God's power that disrupts the status quo, reminding believers of the awe-inspiring nature of God's presence.

You lift Yourself up
This phrase highlights God's exaltation and the display of His majesty. The Hebrew root "נשא" (nasa) means to lift or carry, often used in the context of God elevating Himself above the earth and its inhabitants. This self-exaltation is not an act of pride but a rightful assertion of His authority and glory. In the biblical narrative, God's lifting up is often associated with deliverance and salvation for His people, as seen in the lifting of the bronze serpent in the wilderness (Numbers 21:9), which prefigures Christ's crucifixion.

the nations are scattered
Reiterating the earlier theme of scattering, this phrase emphasizes the inevitable outcome of God's intervention. The repetition serves to reinforce the certainty of divine judgment and the dispersal of those who oppose Him. It is a call to recognize the futility of resisting God's will and the ultimate triumph of His purposes. This scattering is both a warning and an invitation to align with God's plan, offering hope to those who seek refuge in Him.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The Peoples
Refers to the various groups or nations that are not part of Israel. In the context of Isaiah, these are often the surrounding nations that have been adversaries or oppressors of Israel.

2. The Nations
Similar to "the peoples," this term emphasizes the collective groups outside of Israel. It highlights the universal scope of God's power and judgment.

3. The Thunder of Your Voice
This phrase symbolizes God's powerful and authoritative word. In the Hebrew context, "voice" (qol) often signifies divine communication that commands attention and action.

4. You Rise
This refers to God taking action or intervening in human affairs. The imagery of God rising is often associated with His judgment and deliverance.

5. Isaiah
The prophet who conveyed God's messages to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, warning them of impending judgment and offering hope for future restoration.
Teaching Points
The Power of God's Word
God's voice is not just a sound but a force that commands the universe. His word is powerful and effective, capable of bringing about change and judgment.

God's Sovereignty Over Nations
No nation or power can stand against God when He decides to act. This should remind us of His ultimate control over world events and history.

The Fear of the Lord
The reaction of the nations to God's voice underscores the importance of reverence and awe towards God. We should cultivate a healthy fear of the Lord, recognizing His majesty and authority.

God's Intervention in Human Affairs
When God rises, it signifies His active involvement in the world. We can trust that He is not distant but is working out His purposes, even when we cannot see it.

Hope for the Righteous
While the nations scatter in fear, those who trust in God can find security and hope in His promises. This passage encourages believers to remain steadfast in faith.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the imagery of God's voice as thunder in Isaiah 33:3 enhance our understanding of His power and authority?

2. In what ways can we see God's sovereignty over nations in today's world, and how should this influence our prayers and actions?

3. Reflect on a time when you experienced the "rising" of God in your life. How did it change your perspective or situation?

4. How can we cultivate a healthy fear of the Lord in our daily lives, and why is it important?

5. Compare the scattering of nations in Isaiah 33:3 with the final judgment described in Revelation. What similarities and differences do you observe, and what do they teach us about God's ultimate plan?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 46
This psalm speaks of God as a refuge and strength, and it describes the earth melting at His voice, similar to the scattering of nations in Isaiah 33:3.

Exodus 19
At Mount Sinai, the voice of God is described as thunderous, causing fear and reverence among the people, paralleling the reaction of the nations in Isaiah.

Revelation 19
The imagery of God rising and the nations being judged is echoed in the depiction of Christ's return, where He defeats the nations with the sword of His mouth.
Jehovah a RefugeE. Johnson Isaiah 33:1-6
People
Ariel, Isaiah
Places
Bashan, Carmel, Jerusalem, Lebanon, Sharon, Zion
Topics
Directions, Disperse, Exaltation, Fled, Flee, Flight, Lift, Lifting, Loud, Multitude, Nations, Noise, Peoples, Rise, Scatter, Scattered, Thunder, Thunderous, Thyself, Tumult, Voice
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Isaiah 33:3

     4852   thunder
     5196   voice
     5548   speech, divine

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 33:3 NIV
Isaiah 33:3 NLT
Isaiah 33:3 ESV
Isaiah 33:3 NASB
Isaiah 33:3 KJV

Isaiah 33:3 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Isaiah 33:2
Top of Page
Top of Page