'The Lord, whose fire is in Zion, and His furnace in
Jerusalem.'--ISAIAH xxxi. 9.
This very remarkable characterisation of God stands here as a kind of
seal, set upon the preceding prophecy. It is the reason why that will
certainly be fulfilled. And what precedes is mainly a promise of a
deliverance for Israel, which was to be a destruction for Israel's
enemies. It is put in very graphic and remarkable metaphors: 'Like as a
lion roareth on his prey when a multitude of shepherds is called forth
against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself
for the noise of them: so shall the Lord of hosts come down to fight
for Mount Zion.' The enemies of Israel are picturesquely and poetically
represented as a crowd of shepherds vainly trying to scare a lion by
their shouts. He stands undaunted, with his strong paw on his prey, and
the boldest of them durst not venture to drag it from beneath his
claws. So, says Isaiah, with singularly daring imagery, God will put
all His strength into keeping fast hold of Israel, and no one can pluck
His people from His hands.
Then, with a sudden and striking change of metaphor, the prophet passes
from a picture of the extreme of fierceness to one of the extreme of
tenderness. 'As birds flying'--mother birds fluttering over their
nests--'so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem,' hovering over it
and going from side to side to defend with His broad pinions, 'passing
over, He will preserve it.' These figures are next translated into the
plain promise of utter discomfiture and destruction, panic and flight
as the portion of the enemies of Israel, and the whole has this broad
seal set to it, that He who promises is 'the Lord, whose fire is in
Zion, and His furnace in Jerusalem.'
We shall not understand these great words if we regard them as only a
revelation of destructive and terrible power. They are that indeed, but
they are far more than that. It is the very beauty and completeness of
this emblem that has a double aspect, and is no less rich in joy and
blessing than pregnant with warning and terror. As Isaiah says in
another place, Jerusalem is 'Ariel,' which probably means 'the hearth
of God.' His presence in the city is as a fire for the comfort and
defence of the happy inhabitants, and at the same time for the
destruction of all evil and enemies. Far more truly than He dwelt in
the city of David does God dwell in the Church, and His presence is its
security. What, then, of instruction and hope may we gather from this
wonderful emblem?