(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)
(Isaiah 2:1-22)
The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 Now it will come about that
In the last days
The mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established as the chief of the mountains,
And will be raised above the hills;
And all the nations will stream to it.
3 And many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
So that He may teach us about His ways,
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For the law will go out from Zion
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 And He will judge between the nations,
And will mediate for many peoples;
And they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning knives.
Nation will not lift up a sword against nation,
And never again will they learn war.
5 Come, house of Jacob, and let’s walk in the light of the Lord.
6 For You have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob,
Because they are filled with influences from the east,
And they are soothsayers like the Philistines.
They also strike bargains with the children of foreigners.
7 Their land has also been filled with silver and gold
And there is no end to their treasures;
Their land has also been filled with horses,
And there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land has also been filled with idols;
They worship the work of their hands,
That which their fingers have made.
9 So the common person has been humbled
And the person of importance has been brought low,
But do not forgive them.
10 Enter the rocky place and hide in the dust
From the terror of the Lord and from the splendor of His majesty.
11 The proud look of humanity will be brought low,
And the arrogance of people will be humbled;
And the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.
12 For the Lord of armies will have a day of reckoning
Against everyone who is arrogant and haughty,
And against everyone who is lifted up,
That he may be brought low.
13 And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up,
Against all the oaks of Bashan,
14 Against all the lofty mountains,
Against all the hills that are lifted up,
15 Against every high tower,
Against every fortified wall,
16 Against all the ships of Tarshish
And against all the delightful ships.
17 And the pride of humanity will be humbled
And the arrogance of people will be brought low;
And the Lord alone will be exalted on that day,
18 And the idols will completely vanish.
19 People will go into caves of the rocks
And into holes in the ground
Away from the terror of the Lord
And the splendor of His majesty,
When He arises to terrify the earth.
20 On that day people will throw away to the moles and the bats
Their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
Which they made for themselves to worship,
21 In order to go into the clefts of the rocks and the crannies of the cliffs
Before the terror of the Lord and the splendor of His majesty,
When He arises to terrify the earth.
22 Take no account of man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils;
For why should he be esteemed?
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
2 Now it will come about that
In the last days
The mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established as the chief of the mountains,
And will be raised above the hills;
And all the nations will stream to it.
3 And many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
So that He may teach us about His ways,
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For the law will go out from Zion
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 And He will judge between the nations,
And will mediate for many peoples;
And they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning knives.
Nation will not lift up a sword against nation,
And never again will they learn war.
5 Come, house of Jacob, and let’s walk in the light of the Lord.
6 For You have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob,
Because they are filled with influences from the east,
And they are soothsayers like the Philistines.
They also strike bargains with the children of foreigners.
7 Their land has also been filled with silver and gold
And there is no end to their treasures;
Their land has also been filled with horses,
And there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land has also been filled with idols;
They worship the work of their hands,
That which their fingers have made.
9 So the common person has been humbled
And the person of importance has been brought low,
But do not forgive them.
10 Enter the rocky place and hide in the dust
From the terror of the Lord and from the splendor of His majesty.
11 The proud look of humanity will be brought low,
And the arrogance of people will be humbled;
And the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.
12 For the Lord of armies will have a day of reckoning
Against everyone who is arrogant and haughty,
And against everyone who is lifted up,
That he may be brought low.
13 And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up,
Against all the oaks of Bashan,
14 Against all the lofty mountains,
Against all the hills that are lifted up,
15 Against every high tower,
Against every fortified wall,
16 Against all the ships of Tarshish
And against all the delightful ships.
17 And the pride of humanity will be humbled
And the arrogance of people will be brought low;
And the Lord alone will be exalted on that day,
18 And the idols will completely vanish.
19 People will go into caves of the rocks
And into holes in the ground
Away from the terror of the Lord
And the splendor of His majesty,
When He arises to terrify the earth.
20 On that day people will throw away to the moles and the bats
Their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
Which they made for themselves to worship,
21 In order to go into the clefts of the rocks and the crannies of the cliffs
Before the terror of the Lord and the splendor of His majesty,
When He arises to terrify the earth.
22 Take no account of man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils;
For why should he be esteemed?
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
During the Tribulation, God will judge the nations (of unbelievers). Because they will have chosen to deny God, they will be terrified of Him. At the same time, the Israelites will see the signs of Jesus' second coming, and they will believe that He was and is their Messiah. They will admit their sins and seek His forgiveness and believe in Him.
Anyone becoming a believer during the Tribulation will enter the Millennial kingdom with Jesus. This is when Jesus will establish His throne in Jerusalem. And for the thousand years that He is here on earth as King, He will establish peace on earth.
When Jesus came in flesh the first time, the Israelites were only interested in a King who would rid their land of the Romans and usher in physical peace. Most did not understand, and did not want to understand, that He came to offer spiritual peace to anyone who believed in Him, which was made possible through His work on the cross.
Isaiah is not just writing about what will happen in the future, he is writing to warn and encourage Israel to turn back to the Lord - before they go through more darkness. This message is also applicable to us right now. If we cling to our own way, which is sin, we will be terrified of God's light because it exposes us. Or we can seek salvation through Jesus who forgives our sins!
To avoid darkness, we must walk in the light of the Lord!
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