Isaiah 24:1-23 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Isaiah 24:1-23. Let’s go!
Isaiah 24:1-23 (NIV)
1 See, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants–
2 it will be the same for priest as for people, for master as for servant, for mistress as for maid, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor.
3 The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The LORD has spoken this word.
4 The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the exalted of the earth languish.
5 The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left.
7 The new wine dries up and the vine withers; all the merrymakers groan.
8 The gaiety of the tambourines is stilled, the noise of the revelers has stopped, the joyful harp is silent.
9 No longer do they drink wine with a song; the beer is bitter to its drinkers.
10 The ruined city lies desolate; the entrance to every house is barred.
11 In the streets they cry out for wine; all joy turns to gloom, all gaiety is banished from the earth.
12 The city is left in ruins, its gate is battered to pieces.
13 So will it be on the earth and among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.
14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the LORD’s majesty.
15 Therefore in the east give glory to the LORD; exalt the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea.
16 From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.” But I said, “I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me! The treacherous betray! With treachery the treacherous betray!”
17 Terror and pit and snare await you, O people of the earth.
18 Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit; whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare. The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake.
19 The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is thoroughly shaken.
20 The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls–never to rise again.
21 In that day the LORD will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below.
22 They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days.
23 The moon will be abashed, the sun ashamed; for the LORD Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders, gloriously.
On verses 1-23: Just prior to this, in Isaiah’s book of burdens (Isaiah 13-23), Isaiah gave warnings to specific nations. Now we see in Isaiah 24 a message for the entire world about what will happen in the end times. Isaiah 24-27 are often seen as one group sometimes called “Isaiah’s Apocalypse” in that these chapters all deal with the end times on a global scale.
Verses 1-4 describe the devastation of the entire planet. Verses 5-6 explain the reason: it is because of people’s sins that the earth is now defiled, under a curse and must be destroyed. Verses 7-13 describe the effect that this destruction will have on human civilization: revelry stops (v7-9), a city lies desolate [What city? We’ll look at that tomorrow in Isaiah 25] (v10), joy turns to gloom (v11), and the earth resembles a Bruce Lee movie where Lee lays to waste his enemies (v12-13). At the same time, people are singing and shouting praises to God (v14-16), for in the midst of all this devastation, people see God’s righteous hand at work and worship Him. Meanwhile, Isaiah shudders at the vision of the earth opening up and breaking apart (v16b-20). Evil rulers both on earth and in the spiritual realms will be imprisoned (v21-22) while God the only true King will reign with such bright glory that it puts the sun and moon to shame (v23).
What can we learn from this?
– God is not only sovereign over all the nations but He is sovereign over the entire earth.
– God is worthy of praise even when He judges.
– Every person is subject to God’s judgment, whether priest or people, master or servant, mistress or maid, seller or buyer, borrower or lender, debtor or creditor (v2). Regardless of our situation, we are all accountable to God.
– Because of sin, the earth is under a curse and no longer operates in all the ways that God originally intended. Wanting a universe that reflects His glory perfectly, God will one day do away with this earth and create a new one.
Father, You alone are sovereign over all the earth. You are worthy to be praised even when You judge and not just when You spare. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
