Isaiah 2:6-22 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Isaiah 2:6-22. Let’s go!
Isaiah 2:6-22 (NIV)
6 You have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob. They are full of superstitions from the East; they practice divination like the Philistines and clasp hands with pagans.
7 Their land is full of silver and gold; there is no end to their treasures. Their land is full of horses; there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made.
9 So man will be brought low and mankind humbled— do not forgive them.
10 Go into the rocks, hide in the ground from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty!
11 The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
12 The LORD Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted (and they will be humbled),
13 for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty, and all the oaks of Bashan,
14 for all the towering mountains and all the high hills,
15 for every lofty tower and every fortified wall,
16 for every trading ship and every stately vessel.
17 The arrogance of man will be brought low and the pride of men humbled; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,
18 and the idols will totally disappear.
19 Men will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth.
20 In that day men will throw away to the rodents and bats their idols of silver and idols of gold, which they made to worship.
21 They will flee to caverns in the rocks and to the overhanging crags from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth.
22 Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?
On verses 6-22: When my sister and I were much younger, we would take a bunch of our favourite stuffed animals, put them on a large blanket, and with a hand on each corner of the blanket, we would shake the blanket up and down. The animals would bounce high in the air before coming down either back onto the blanket or onto the ground. We would keep shaking that blanket until only one animal was left on the blanket, and that surviving animal we called the winner of our “animal battle royal”.
Why do I mention this? It’s because here in Isaiah 2:6-22, Isaiah envisions God shaking the earth (v19, 21) in such a way that all the things that the people of Judah put their trust in – their superstitions (v6), their alliances with other nations (“clasp hands with pagans” – v6), their money (v7), their military might (v7), their idols (v8) – would be tossed and shown to be not worthy of their trust.
Ultimately all of these things in which the people of Judah trusted were different versions of the same sin: trusting in themselves rather than trusting in the Lord. So Isaiah writes that God will shake the people of Judah to show that in the end themselves that the people of Judah should trust in, but in God.
That is why we see a couple key phrases recurring (almost word for word, with only slight variations) in Isaiah 2:6-22:
– the arrogance of man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low (v9, 11, 12, 17)
– the Lord alone will be exalted in the end (v11, 17)
By the way, why would Isaiah say about his own people of Judah “do not forgive them” (v9)? Remember that God’s forgiveness is not a right we are entitled to. It’s an undeserved gift of God’s mercy. Here Isaiah expresses his frustration at his own people of Judah and bringing into focus how serious and unacceptable are the sins his people have committed.
Also, when Isaiah refers to “in that day” (v20), what day is Isaiah referring to? Some scholars think that this passage is describing the day that Jerusalem and Judah would fall to the Babylonians in 586 B.C. However, these same words will apply even more when Jesus Christ returns, for at that time those who refused to place their trust in Him will meet their final end.
What can we learn from all this?
– In pressure situations when our circumstances are shaken, we discover what we are really made of, what things we really trust in, and how much or how little those things we trust in can help us. So when your circumstances go through a shaking, remember that God has a purpose in it: to show you that it’s in God alone that we are to place our trust and hope.
– God opposes the proud and arrogant, those who place their hope in themselves.
– God alone is the only one who is truly worthy of our hope and trust. He alone will be exalted in the end.
Lord, when all the shaking is done, You alone will be exalted. You alone are worthy of my trust and hope. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
