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Isaiah 33:13-17,
"Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.
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?
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;
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.
Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off"
Smiths Bible Commentary:
"If the fire of God has wiped out the Assyrian army, this highly vaunted Assyrian army, who amongst us can dwell in that kind of fire? The sinners become fearful, afraid. The hypocrites filled with terror. When they see the effect of God's fire against the Assyrians.
In Hebrews we read, "Our God is a consuming fire" ( Hebrews 12:29 ). In Hebrews we read that, "If we sin wilfully after we come to the knowledge of truth, there remains no further sacrifice for our sins, only that fearful looking forward to the fiery indignation of God's wrath which will devour His adversaries" ( Hebrews 10:26-27 ). The fire of God.
Now the fire of God to us as children of God is not something that we fear. "Beloved, consider it not strange concerning the fiery trials which are to try you as though some strange thing has happened unto you" ( 1 Peter 4:12 ). God puts us through the fire but it is the refining fire whereby God is purging out from our lives the dross in order that we might be pure.
When we come to Jesus Christ we have all of our hang-ups. We have all kinds of impurities within our lives. And so God puts us through the fire in order that He might burn out these impurities. We go through the testing. We go through trials, but God has a purpose in the testings and trials of refining us and making us pure, even as He is pure. And so I am in the fire of God. But because I am a child of God, the fire of God is only refining me and taking away the impurity from my life. You are in the fire of God. Whoever you may be-sinner, Christian alike. If you are a sinner, the fire of God is devouring and destroying and will ultimately destroy you. Where if you are a child of God, then that same refining process of God's fire is bringing about the purity in your life.
"Who amongst us can dwell in the devouring fire?" The answer:
He that walks righteously, he that speaks uprightly; he that despises the profit off of other people's ills or oppressions, he that refuses to take bribes, who will not listen to evil, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil; For he shall dwell on high; his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty ( Isaiah 33:15-17 ):"
Now, the literal translation from Hebrew in verse 16 reads "He on high will dwell, the fortress of rocks his defence"
Exodus 24:17,
"And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel."
We see again this devouring fire. The place upon Mount Sinai is holy ground, as Yahweh speaks to Moses in Exodus 3:5, "Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." Moses is called up to a high mountain, a place on high, a munitions, or fortress of rocks, and there beholds the LORD. He is sustained upon the mountain for 40 days, and he comes down shining, and with the law of God engraved in stone.
The answer as to who can stand in God's holy presence is also found in other places in Scripture, most notably in Psalm 24 and 15.
Psalm 24:3-5,
"Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation."
Psalm 15,
"Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.
In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.
He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved."
Now some have speculated the "munitions of rocks" to be the fortress of Masada, where the Sicarii, a band of zealots overcame the Roman garrison there and took a stand against a siege by Rome, who finally defeated them, though some say most committed suicide and only 2 women and 5 children were found alive. To me, this doesn't fit with the Scripture which declares the munitions of rocks to be a place of safety and blessing. However, the fact that 7 people survived in that "munition of rocks" may tell us something, as those 7 were preserved. Since almost everything we know about that comes from Josephus the historian, the fate of those 7 afterwards is not known.
We see the final verse, that Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty. After coming through the fire, and being tried by fire, and being established in the high place, we shall see the King, and shall see "the land that is very far off" Psalm 27:4-5 speaks similar, "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock."
We know the Rock is Christ, and the high places of the mountain of defense is of rocks, which may be comparable to solid believers who are sound in the faith, pastors and teachers who preach the full gospel and do not compromise; these are lively stones, and hence they are rocks whose Father is the Rock of our Salvation, out of whom both living waters, and purifying fire flows. Judges 6:21, "Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes." You see the fire out of the Rock consume the flesh. Whereas in that time it was a sacrifice upon the Rock, we know are a living sacrifice, and the fire of the Spirit consumes the fleshy desires and sin, to purify us for service to Christ.
"Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.
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?
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;
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.
Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off"
Smiths Bible Commentary:
"If the fire of God has wiped out the Assyrian army, this highly vaunted Assyrian army, who amongst us can dwell in that kind of fire? The sinners become fearful, afraid. The hypocrites filled with terror. When they see the effect of God's fire against the Assyrians.
In Hebrews we read, "Our God is a consuming fire" ( Hebrews 12:29 ). In Hebrews we read that, "If we sin wilfully after we come to the knowledge of truth, there remains no further sacrifice for our sins, only that fearful looking forward to the fiery indignation of God's wrath which will devour His adversaries" ( Hebrews 10:26-27 ). The fire of God.
Now the fire of God to us as children of God is not something that we fear. "Beloved, consider it not strange concerning the fiery trials which are to try you as though some strange thing has happened unto you" ( 1 Peter 4:12 ). God puts us through the fire but it is the refining fire whereby God is purging out from our lives the dross in order that we might be pure.
When we come to Jesus Christ we have all of our hang-ups. We have all kinds of impurities within our lives. And so God puts us through the fire in order that He might burn out these impurities. We go through the testing. We go through trials, but God has a purpose in the testings and trials of refining us and making us pure, even as He is pure. And so I am in the fire of God. But because I am a child of God, the fire of God is only refining me and taking away the impurity from my life. You are in the fire of God. Whoever you may be-sinner, Christian alike. If you are a sinner, the fire of God is devouring and destroying and will ultimately destroy you. Where if you are a child of God, then that same refining process of God's fire is bringing about the purity in your life.
"Who amongst us can dwell in the devouring fire?" The answer:
He that walks righteously, he that speaks uprightly; he that despises the profit off of other people's ills or oppressions, he that refuses to take bribes, who will not listen to evil, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil; For he shall dwell on high; his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty ( Isaiah 33:15-17 ):"
Now, the literal translation from Hebrew in verse 16 reads "He on high will dwell, the fortress of rocks his defence"
Exodus 24:17,
"And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel."
We see again this devouring fire. The place upon Mount Sinai is holy ground, as Yahweh speaks to Moses in Exodus 3:5, "Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." Moses is called up to a high mountain, a place on high, a munitions, or fortress of rocks, and there beholds the LORD. He is sustained upon the mountain for 40 days, and he comes down shining, and with the law of God engraved in stone.
The answer as to who can stand in God's holy presence is also found in other places in Scripture, most notably in Psalm 24 and 15.
Psalm 24:3-5,
"Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation."
Psalm 15,
"Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.
In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.
He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved."
Now some have speculated the "munitions of rocks" to be the fortress of Masada, where the Sicarii, a band of zealots overcame the Roman garrison there and took a stand against a siege by Rome, who finally defeated them, though some say most committed suicide and only 2 women and 5 children were found alive. To me, this doesn't fit with the Scripture which declares the munitions of rocks to be a place of safety and blessing. However, the fact that 7 people survived in that "munition of rocks" may tell us something, as those 7 were preserved. Since almost everything we know about that comes from Josephus the historian, the fate of those 7 afterwards is not known.
We see the final verse, that Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty. After coming through the fire, and being tried by fire, and being established in the high place, we shall see the King, and shall see "the land that is very far off" Psalm 27:4-5 speaks similar, "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock."
We know the Rock is Christ, and the high places of the mountain of defense is of rocks, which may be comparable to solid believers who are sound in the faith, pastors and teachers who preach the full gospel and do not compromise; these are lively stones, and hence they are rocks whose Father is the Rock of our Salvation, out of whom both living waters, and purifying fire flows. Judges 6:21, "Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes." You see the fire out of the Rock consume the flesh. Whereas in that time it was a sacrifice upon the Rock, we know are a living sacrifice, and the fire of the Spirit consumes the fleshy desires and sin, to purify us for service to Christ.
