Isaiah's unusual three-fold description of God as the sovereign (Lord) God of armies (hosts), who is the Mighty God of Israel, boded ill for Judah. The specter of God arising to judge His people for their sins just mentioned is a fearful prospect (cf. Heb. 12:29). God judges sin wherever He finds it, among pagans and among His own people.
"Any facile statement that God always hates the sin but loves the sinner needs to be countered by Isaiah's insistence that those who transgress are my foesand my enemies."27
God would subject His people to fires of adversity but to purify them, not destroy them. Just rulers would emerge and the city would once again enjoy a reputation for righteousness and faithfulness to God. This is the first allusion in Isaiah to a coming judge who will establish justice and create righteous conditions, about whom the prophet revealed much more later. The restoration described here will find fulfillment in the millennial reign of Christ.
