Isaiah 2
b. Cleansing of Zion. 2:1-4:6.
[1] the word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
[2] And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
[3] And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
[4] And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
[5] O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.
Isa 2:1-5. The phrase "The word that Isaiah … saw" shows that this is a different prophecy from the one in chapter Isa 1. Micah 4:1–4 has these same verses, but in a slightly different way. We are now in the messianic age, when the Holy City will be the center of the earth and all nations will come to it to learn how to follow God. It is important to note that this universal focus will not happen during the time of Israel's earthly kingdom or the church, but in the last days. This brings to mind the future of Israel's kingdom, which will only become a reality when the Messiah rules after the church age. Mount Zion, which used to be called Mount Moriah, is the mountain where the LORD's house is. It is where the different temples of Israel were built. The Temple of Solomon was still there when Isaiah lived. This passage suggests that there will be a Temple in Jerusalem during the millennial kingdom, which will be the center of worship for Jesus Christ while He rules on earth. The hills, or the kingdoms of this world, are said to be higher than God's kingdom. All nations means the Gentile nations (Hebrew goyim). The law (torah) and the word (debar) are both shown as always (in the present tense) coming from the Lord's presence. Christ will be the one to judge the nations. During this time, He will rule the earth with a "rod of iron" (Rev. 2:27) and force all nations to be fair to each other. This will be a time of total peace and safety around the world, like no other time in history. It is silly to try to use this passage in the church age. Notice that Christ is shown as the judge (shaphat) who will decide and guide the affairs of all nations during His thousand-year reign. So, the weapons of war will be turned into tools for peace and making money.
[6] Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.
[7] Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots:
[8] Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:
[9] And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.
Isa 2:6-9. The phrase "replenished from the east" meant that they had become full of the pagan ideas that came from Assyria and Babylon in the east. Their Philistine neighbors misinformed them about soothsayers (Heb. "anan," meaning "to cloud or cover"). The Hebrew word itself suggests that the soothsayer obscured the truth instead of illuminating it. The claim that they do what they want means that they made deals with people who didn't know the Lord. Isaiah 2:7-8 talks about how well Judah did under Uzziah, but it also reminds us that this wealth led to an innate materialism. With prosperity came religious compromise, which is why there were so many idols in the land. The mean man is the lower class of society, and the great man is the upper class. Both were worshiping the idols of the pagan nations. So, the announcement of God's judgment and its severity is simple: do not forgive them.
[10] Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.
[11] The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
[12] For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:
[13] And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
[14] And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up,
[15] And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall,
[16] And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.
[17] And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
[18] And the idols he shall utterly abolish.
[19] And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
[20] In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
[21] To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
[22] Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?
Isaiah 2:10–22. Isaiah instructs his listeners to seek shelter, for those who have disregarded His Word will undoubtedly face God's judgment. The prophet says that God's judgment will cover the whole world on the day of the LORD. In prophecy, this means the end of all human government, which will happen before Christ comes as King (see II Thess 1:7-2:12; II Pet 3:12). The cedars, oaks, mountains, and hills are all symbols of human strength and power. The ships of Tarshish were the merchant ships that sailed from western Europe to the other end of the Mediterranean Sea, maybe even as far as Spain. Isaiah 2:19 mentions holes in the rocks as hiding places when God shakes the earth, which is similar to what Revelation 6:15 says. It seems that the destruction we're discussing will be massive, possibly even a nuclear apocalypse, when people can only find safety in caves. Cease ye from man means to stop trusting people whose very breath is in God's hand.
[1] the word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
[2] And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
[3] And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
[4] And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
[5] O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.
Isa 2:1-5. The phrase "The word that Isaiah … saw" shows that this is a different prophecy from the one in chapter Isa 1. Micah 4:1–4 has these same verses, but in a slightly different way. We are now in the messianic age, when the Holy City will be the center of the earth and all nations will come to it to learn how to follow God. It is important to note that this universal focus will not happen during the time of Israel's earthly kingdom or the church, but in the last days. This brings to mind the future of Israel's kingdom, which will only become a reality when the Messiah rules after the church age. Mount Zion, which used to be called Mount Moriah, is the mountain where the LORD's house is. It is where the different temples of Israel were built. The Temple of Solomon was still there when Isaiah lived. This passage suggests that there will be a Temple in Jerusalem during the millennial kingdom, which will be the center of worship for Jesus Christ while He rules on earth. The hills, or the kingdoms of this world, are said to be higher than God's kingdom. All nations means the Gentile nations (Hebrew goyim). The law (torah) and the word (debar) are both shown as always (in the present tense) coming from the Lord's presence. Christ will be the one to judge the nations. During this time, He will rule the earth with a "rod of iron" (Rev. 2:27) and force all nations to be fair to each other. This will be a time of total peace and safety around the world, like no other time in history. It is silly to try to use this passage in the church age. Notice that Christ is shown as the judge (shaphat) who will decide and guide the affairs of all nations during His thousand-year reign. So, the weapons of war will be turned into tools for peace and making money.
[6] Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.
[7] Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots:
[8] Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:
[9] And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.
Isa 2:6-9. The phrase "replenished from the east" meant that they had become full of the pagan ideas that came from Assyria and Babylon in the east. Their Philistine neighbors misinformed them about soothsayers (Heb. "anan," meaning "to cloud or cover"). The Hebrew word itself suggests that the soothsayer obscured the truth instead of illuminating it. The claim that they do what they want means that they made deals with people who didn't know the Lord. Isaiah 2:7-8 talks about how well Judah did under Uzziah, but it also reminds us that this wealth led to an innate materialism. With prosperity came religious compromise, which is why there were so many idols in the land. The mean man is the lower class of society, and the great man is the upper class. Both were worshiping the idols of the pagan nations. So, the announcement of God's judgment and its severity is simple: do not forgive them.
[10] Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.
[11] The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
[12] For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:
[13] And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
[14] And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up,
[15] And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall,
[16] And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.
[17] And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
[18] And the idols he shall utterly abolish.
[19] And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
[20] In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
[21] To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
[22] Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?
Isaiah 2:10–22. Isaiah instructs his listeners to seek shelter, for those who have disregarded His Word will undoubtedly face God's judgment. The prophet says that God's judgment will cover the whole world on the day of the LORD. In prophecy, this means the end of all human government, which will happen before Christ comes as King (see II Thess 1:7-2:12; II Pet 3:12). The cedars, oaks, mountains, and hills are all symbols of human strength and power. The ships of Tarshish were the merchant ships that sailed from western Europe to the other end of the Mediterranean Sea, maybe even as far as Spain. Isaiah 2:19 mentions holes in the rocks as hiding places when God shakes the earth, which is similar to what Revelation 6:15 says. It seems that the destruction we're discussing will be massive, possibly even a nuclear apocalypse, when people can only find safety in caves. Cease ye from man means to stop trusting people whose very breath is in God's hand.