Scholars are in disagreement over which king is in view here. Some believe Isaiah's words are a reference to King Hezekiah, who reigned over the nation of Judah during much of Isaiah's ministry. Hezekiah rejected the idolatry of his father and instituted religious reforms throughout the kingdom, serving the Lord alone and not idols. Scholars point out that we don't know at what point during Isaiah's ministry this prophecy was given and many of them think it was given either before Hezekiah ascended to the throne or that it was given before the Lord miraculously saved Jerusalem from the Assyrian army, which was a subject we discussed in the preceding chapter.
Others feel that these verses indicate a future king, not Hezekiah, and state that this may be King Josiah who was the great-grandson of Hezekiah. The Bible says of Josiah that he did what was right in the sight of the Lord and that he walked after the ways of his ancestor David. He was responsible for major religious reforms during his reign, so this may be a reference to him, although I am doubtful of it since the material we have been studying in Isaiah regards the imminent threat of Assyria during Hezekiah's reign. It seems odd to me that Isaiah would suddenly jump ahead to several generations down the line.
The third opinion is that the king in view here is Christ and that the eternal kingdom is being spoken about in our passage today. While Christ is the only King who will truly reign "in righteousness", as verse 1 will state about this king, this verse does not necessarily have to mean perfect righteousness. The word "righteous" or "righteousness" is often used in the Bible to denote those whose hearts are committed to the Lord. This is the righteousness that is by faith, such as when the Bible told us that Abraham's faith was accounted to him as righteousness. This is an imputed righteousness, not one gained by perfectly keeping the commandments and the law.
So although we can certainly say that the King of kings will reign in righteousness, I am not certain that the Messiah is who Isaiah has in mind. At this point in time I am leaning toward the opinion of the scholars who think that Isaiah is talking about events taking place in his own lifetime and that it is likely Hezekiah he is speaking of, especially since the miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem took place during his reign. This doesn't mean that the conduct of Hezekiah and other godly kings doesn't point toward the perfect King though; I think we could call them a "type" of Christ, in a sense, because they give us an idea of what it would be like to live under the reign of a king who always rules according to the will of God.
"See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice. Each one will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water from the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land." (Isaiah 32:1-2) Here we see a king who wants to live according to the laws of a holy God. He will be a godly example to all the officials under him, so that people can safely and confidently come to them for help and to have their cases heard.
When a godly king is on the throne, the people don't live in the "dark ages" where they don't hear the word of God. Some of the kings either blended idolatry with their worship of the Lord or forsook the Lord in favor of pagan gods. During those times the people could not properly hear the word of God and did not have easy access to wise advice. But when a king who loves the Lord is on the throne, everyone has free access to the house of God and everyone is welcome to hear the word of God read aloud and everyone is welcome to consult the priests and elders about godly living. Injustice will no longer be tolerated. We take a look at examples of this below.
"Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. The fearful heart will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear. No longer will the fool be called noble nor the scoundrel be highly respected. For fools speak folly, their hearts are bent on evil: They practice ungodliness and spread error concerning the Lord; the hungry they leave empty and from the thirsty they withhold water. Scoundrels use wicked methods, they make up evil schemes to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just. But the noble make noble plans, and by noble deeds they stand." (Isaiah 32:3-8)
Although there will be perfect justice in the eternal reign of the Messiah, and although our text today may point forward toward His kingdom, I still believe that it primarily speaks of events of Isaiah's day. The text we just quoted above mentions fools and scoundrels, the hungry and the thirsty and the poor, which we will not find on earth during the reign of the Messiah. There will be no fools or scoundrels on earth in the eternal kingdom. No one will be hungry or poor or thirsty. When Christ comes to reign He will make all things new, eradicating all the problems the human race has experienced ever since mankind first fell from grace.
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