May 26
Reading: Isaiah 2
1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the LORD
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
3 and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.
5 O house of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the LORD.
6 For you have rejected your people, the house of Jacob,
because they are full of things from the east
and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines,
and they strike hands with the children of foreigners.
7 Their land is filled with silver and gold,
and there is no end to their treasures;
their land is filled with horses,
and there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land is filled with idols;
they bow down to the work of their hands,
to what their own fingers have made.
9 So man is humbled,
and each one is brought low—
do not forgive them!
10 Enter into the rock and hide in the dust
from before the terror of the LORD,
and from the splendor of his majesty.
11 The haughty looks of man shall be brought low,
and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled,
and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
12 For the LORD of hosts has a day
against all that is proud and lofty,
against all that is lifted up—
and it shall be brought low;
13 against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up;
and against all the oaks of Bashan;
14 against all the lofty mountains,
and against all the uplifted hills;
15 against every high tower,
and against every fortified wall;
16 against all the ships of Tarshish,
and against all the beautiful craft.
17 And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled,
and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low,
and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
18 And the idols shall utterly pass away.
19 And people shall enter the caves of the rocks
and the holes of the ground,
from before the terror of the LORD,
and from the splendor of his majesty,
when he rises to terrify the earth.
20 In that day mankind will cast away to the moles and to the bats,
their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
which they made for themselves to worship,
21 to enter the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs,
from before the terror of the LORD,
and from the splendor of his majesty,
when he rises to terrify the earth.
22 Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath,
for of what account is he?
The first five chapters of Isaiah comprise an introduction to the prophesy of the entire book. The major themes of Isaiah begin in these first five chapters.
Isaiah 2 begins with a promise, building upon the one at the end of chapter 1. The focus now shifts to the last days. (vs. 2) The sinful city, Jerusalem, in chapter one called Sodom and Gomorrah, will be transformed into a shining city on a mountain. From this New Jerusalem will go forth the Word of the Lord and peace for all the nations.
But, how? How will the sinful city become the shining city? This really is the question that the entire prophesy of Isaiah answers. How will God’s rebellious, sinful, corrupt people be made holy?
Verse 5 begins with an invitation that the people of God cannot and will not respond to. “Come, walk in the light of the Lord.” But no. We read in the subsequent verses that God’s people, the house of Jacob, are filled with idolatry, the love of money, worldliness, and shame.
So, there is coming “a day.” (vs. 12) This introduces another important prophetic theme and an important theme in Isaiah. A Day of the Lord is coming. What is “A Day of the Lord?” We will discover that there is a “Day of the Lord” and then there will be a final “Day of the Lord.” The term refers to a time when the Lord shows up in judgment.
The Day of the Lord will be when Assyria comes and lays waste to the Kingdom of Israel and Judah all the way to the gates of Jerusalem. That day is coming for the readers of Isaiah 2. The Day of the Lord will be when Babylon comes and destroys Jerusalem and carries all the people off into captivity. The great Day of the Lord is coming when Jesus returns, and all the nations of the world will be brought to heel and judged.
This day will be a day of humbling for the proud. (vs. 12, 17) This day will be a day of destruction for the works of man. (vss. 13-16) this day will be a day of destruction for the idols and those who worship them. (vs. 18, 22) This day will be a day of terror for all who are not ready to meet the Lord. (vss. 19-21)
Are you ready to meet the Lord? It might be the most important question you think about.