In The Word
Read: Isaiah 2-4
God’s Universal Reign
2 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.
A Day of Reckoning Coming
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?
God Will Remove the Leaders
3 For behold, the Lord God of armies is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah
Both supply and support, the entire supply of bread
And the entire supply of water;
2 The mighty man and the warrior,
The judge and the prophet,
The diviner and the elder,
3 The captain of fifty and the esteemed person,
The counselor and the expert artisan,
And the skillful enchanter.
4 And I will make mere boys their leaders,
And mischievous children will rule over them,
5 And the people will be oppressed,
Each one by another, and each one by his neighbor;
The youth will assault the elder,
And the contemptible person will assault the one honored.
6 When a man lays hold of his brother in his father’s house, saying,
“You have a cloak, you shall be our ruler!
And these ruins will be under your authority,”
7 He will protest on that day, saying,
“I will not be your healer,
For in my house there is neither bread nor cloak;
You should not appoint me ruler of the people.”
8 For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen,
Because their speech and their actions are against the Lord,
To rebel against His glorious presence.
9 The expression of their faces testifies against them,
And they display their sin like Sodom;
They do not even conceal it.
Woe to them!
For they have done evil to themselves.
10 Say to the righteous that it will go well for them,
For they will eat the fruit of their actions.
11 Woe to the wicked! It will go badly for him,
For what he deserves will be done to him.
12 My people! Their oppressors treat them violently,
And women rule over them.
My people! Those who guide you lead you astray
And confuse the direction of your paths.
God Will Judge
13 The Lord arises to contend,
And stands to judge the people.
14 The Lord enters into judgment with the elders and leaders of His people,
“It is you who have devoured the vineyard;
The goods stolen from the poor are in your houses.
15 What do you mean by crushing My people
And oppressing the face of the poor?”
Declares the Lord God of armies.
Judah’s Women Denounced
16 Moreover, the Lord said, “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty
And walk with heads held high and seductive eyes,
And go along with mincing steps
And jingle the anklets on their feet,
17 The Lord will afflict the scalp of the daughters of Zion with scabs,
And the Lord will make their foreheads bare.”
18 On that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, headbands, crescent ornaments, 19 dangling earrings, bracelets, veils, 20 headdresses, ankle chains, sashes, perfume boxes, amulets, 21 finger rings, nose rings, 22 festive robes, outer garments, shawls, purses, 23 papyrus garments, undergarments, headbands, and veils.
24 Now it will come about that instead of balsam oil there will be a stench;
Instead of a belt, a rope;
Instead of well-set hair, a plucked-out scalp;
Instead of fine clothes, a robe of sackcloth;
And branding instead of beauty.
25 Your men will fall by the sword
And your mighty ones in battle.
26 And her gates will lament and mourn,
And she will sit deserted on the ground.
A Remnant Prepared
4 For seven women will take hold of one man on that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our disgrace!”
2 On that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the beauty of the survivors of Israel. 3 And it will come about that the one who is left in Zion and remains behind in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem. 4 When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, 5 then the Lord will create over the entire area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy. 6 And there will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
The Israelite nation was not satisfied with the blessings and structure provided to them by God. They became proud and coveted more. They no longer trusted God, but depended upon their wealth and power. God’s warning was that everything the people had counted on would be taken away and destroyed: food, water, health, government and religious leaders, military strength, idols of worship, even outward beauty. The people would discover the worthlessness of human possessions and power, and reap the consequences of sinful behavior. With everything taken away, they would have only God to depend upon and worship.
We have many things in our world that can make life easier and more comfortable. But if we are not careful, we can place our hope and dependence upon these things instead of God. We can even strive for more, instead of simply pursuing God, being content, and trusting Him to give us the things we need. Just like the trusted and external things of the tribe of Judah, all of these may fail and depart from us as well. And in some circumstances, God may allow these things to be taken from us so that we put our dependence and worship on Him alone.
Take a moment to ask God if there is anything in your life in which you have put your dependence upon other than him. It could be health, beauty, strength, wisdom, money, job, home, people, etc. All these things could disappear, but God will always be there for you. So, declare your dependence solely upon God today.