Isaiah 2:4 - The Peace of the Lord

1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, 3 and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. 5 O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

Target Date: Sunday, 17 September 2023

Word Study/ Translation Notes:

4 – learn - The word למד (lāmad) signifies either to be accustomed to, or to learn. But the meaning of the Prophet is plain enough, that they will not train themselves in destructive arts, and will not strive with each other in acts of cruelty and injustice, as they were formerly accustomed to do.

Thoughts on the Passage:

This passage reveals the future, the end result, from Isaiah’s day, but it is our past, present, and future:

It speaks of the advent of the Messiah (the mountain) – past.

It speaks of the peace of the church – present.

It speaks of the final judgment and the abolition of strife – future.

The fact that these are presented in the same passage does not guarantee that they will all happen simultaneously.

Their relationship here is simply that the last events will flow inevitably from the first.

2 – Latter days – We are in the latter days now. The description of the “latter days” describes the days of the Messiah.

Many peoples will come – not just the Jews

The nations will be held to account.

The good news of God’s salvation will go forth.

This will lead ultimately to peace, first within the church, then in all creation.

4 - From whence comes peace? From the recognition that God is the source of all good, that our needs and our destiny can be submitted to his judgment, and from the knowledge that he does all things well

Until persons and nations have come to God to learn his ways and walk in them, peace is an illusion. This does not mean that the Church merely waits for the second coming to look for peace. But neither does it mean that the Church should promote peace talks before it seeks to bring the parties to a point where they will submit their needs to God.

4 – The point of this verse is not that nations will be divinely PREVENTED from war, but that they shall not DESIRE to violate the peace of their fellow man.

God is not seen breaking the swords and spears, but removing the need and desire for these implements of war.

4 - The fulfilment of this prophecy, therefore, in its full extent, must not be looked for on earth. It is enough, if we experience the beginning, and if, being reconciled to God through Christ, we cultivate mutual friendship, and abstain from doing harm to any one.

4 - He has a dominion, indeed, far more extensive than that of the Church; He has “all power given Him in heaven and earth.” But the passage before us does not refer to this universal dominion, which He exercises in providence, but it speaks of the dominion of grace, His dominion limited to His Church—because it is a dominion that was to result from the promulgation of His Word out of Zion, and a dominion to be co-extensive with the exaltation of His Church of Zion. “Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among the nations.”

his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7  Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. - Isaiah 9:6-7

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. – Matthew 5:9-12

If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. 19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. – Romans 12:18-21

For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might cmake the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. – Ephesians 2:14-16

5 – Let us walk in the light of the Lord – The call is to be on the Lord’s side, not to maintain the arrogance to think He is on yours.

Teachings:

This passage has been extensively used to advocate pacifism and conciliation to evil dictators. The message, rather, is the necessity of the gospel of peace to penetrate the entire world. Peace is made by those who hear the commands of our Lord.

Applications:

For the Christian:

It does not matter your eschatology, this time has not come yet. Everyone sees it in the future.

It remains for us to become fitted for this type of kingdom, particularly since we have already acknowledged the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

For the Backslidden:

For the Unconverted:

Sermon Text:

Last week, when we began to look at this passage, you may remember that we understand this passage to be nothing less than a prophecy of the coming Messiah, even though He is not named in the passage.

We can see specifically that no other event in history past or future would match the description of these days except the coming of Jesus Christ.

And that should not come as a surprise to any of us since Isaiah, in particular, makes the most direct prophecies about the Messiah in the Old Testament.

In his prophecies, among other things,

he foretells the virgin birth,

The advent of the Messiah as the Son of God,

The message of redemption preached by Jesus,

The trial and suffering of the Christ (the Messiah),

The substitutionary atonement God gives through Jesus Christ,

And the triumphant reign of the Lord.

Now before we move on to verse 4, I want to take a quick step back to ask the question: Why is Isaiah telling this to the people of Judah?

Sure, it’s sometimes nice to know what the future has in store,

But why does Isaiah include this prophecy of the “latter days” as the starting point for his message?

This book is not haphazard in its construction, but highly organized in the sections, so much so that modern skeptics speak of two or three authors of Isaiah citing the difference in the subject matter.

We looked at those spurious accusations of multiple authors a few weeks ago in the introduction to this series, so I won’t review them now.

Suffice it to say, with no evidence at all, people are simply trying to remove or explain away the supernatural accuracy of Isaiah’s predictions.

But back to the question: why start with the “latter days”?

Why not begin with something else:

Israel’s history?

The current state of affairs in Isaiah’s time?

A recital of the Law?

These would have been more familiar to the people he preached to:

They were taught from childhood the faithfulness of God through their history.

Obviously that history would have been skewed by parents who practice wickedness to show themselves and their generation in the best light.

And even if their history, like the history taught in our nation today, had become thoroughly secularized, you still had events like the parting of the Red Sea and the Jordan River, the collapse of Jericho’s walls, and the manna in the wilderness that could only be denied by atheists, but not refuted.

Why would God’s prophet not begin by setting the record straight and reminding the people of God’s work in the past?

I would argue that the Holy Spirit, through Isaiah, wanted to announce the POINT of God’s history with the Jews.

He wanted them to know there was a greater purpose for His grace than simply sticking with the team He had chosen;

There was a purpose in His choice and calling of them.

So, why not start, as many of the other prophets did, with the current dismal state of affairs?

To be sure, he is coming to that in the next section of his sermon.

But I suggest that this would have fallen on many deaf ears.

People know the ills and sins of their own day.

They can recite the transgressions of society with the best of them.

If you want to get an easy “amen”, simply preach about how evil the current generation is.

But the problem is that people will shake their heads about the evils of the society “out there”,

And at the same time stiffen their necks if someone suggests they are part of the problem.

So while starting with the sins of the nation might have gathered a lot of nodding hearers,

It would not have necessarily been effective in helping the people hearing his message to bow their hearts in repentance.

Even for us reading Isaiah now, we do the same thing:

We shake our heads over the sins of Judah and Israel,

But we do not as often see the same sins in ourselves that he condemns.

Take for example the commands from God in the introduction (chapter 1) to “defend the orphan and plead for the widow”.

Are we doing that?

I mean – really doing that today?

Are we SEEKING OUT those in need, or are we just “available” if God sends them out way?

Do we consider how to bless other people, even when those other people are the rude people working for minimum wage at the grocery store, restaurant, or the courthouse?

Do we really CARE for them, or do we care only for our convenience, our time, or our comfort?

So, if repentance was his goal, why did he not start out with a restatement of the Law?

After all, we know it worked for Josiah, Ezra, and Nehemiah.

But all these happened AFTER the time of Isaiah –

They had Isaiah’s prophecy to show them how to teach the Law.

They had Isaiah’s promises to urge the people to obedience.

For Ezra and Nehemiah, some of the prophecies of the end of Isaiah had already been fulfilled.

The problem with willful and rebellious people is that the more laws you give them, the more they rebel.

It is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4).

That is why Isaiah begins with the vision of the “latter days” – he is shining a great, glorious spotlight on the grace and kindness of God.

Everything he discusses in the first four verses in the chapter lead to verse 5, which both ends this thought and begins the next.

come, let us walk in the light of the Lord

O people of God, you see where God’s mercy will lead – walk in that light.

O house of Jacob, God will bring all the nations to join with you – walk in that light.

O called of God, He will never forsake you. He loves you – walk in that light.

The word of the Law, the description of what is pleasing to God, has already gone forth and will continue to go forth through God’s people.

And note the promise in verse 4: He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

Now, let us consider the end of that promise first, because that is the part that may have us scratching our heads a bit.

The prophet Micah says exactly the same thing in 4:3.

they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

If the “latter days” begin with the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh, it is a legitimate question as to what this verse means.

We certainly know that war has not been eradicated from the earth.

We know that wars aren’t even getting smaller.

In a couple of commentaries, written in the early 1700’s, they considered that wars were diminishing, and so this prophecy was being fulfilled in their day.

I think the Revolutions of the United States and France,

The Napoleonic Wars,

The American Civil War,

The two World Wars,

Just to name a few, prove that wars in our time are not getting smaller.

But rather than enumerating all the things this passage doesn’t mean, let’s look at what it IS pointing to.

It is, with no doubt, pointing to the Day of the Lord.

It is pointing to the eternal reign of Christ over all His people, and the judgment and destruction of all those found outside Him.

It is eschatological – it is what will happen at the end of the current world.

It doesn’t matter which school of eschatology you hold to, the result is the same.

It is, quite simply, still in our future.

But we must be careful not to place ALL this paragraph into OUR future, because verses 1-3 have already occurred.

Jesus Christ has already come.

People from the Gentile nations are already streaming to the temple He established not made with human hands.

And God’s terms of peace, repentance and faith in His Son, are the only means of salvation – and they have been fully realized.

This promise is one we will see again later in Isaiah – not once but often.

This is the promise of the Prince of Peace.

We often read the ninth chapter of Isaiah around the Christmas holidays:

his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. - Isaiah 9:6-7

When the angels proclaimed the Messiah’s birth, they called out:

Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” - Luke 2:14

So we are in much the same situation as Isaiah’s original hearers: you have shown us the Peace that is to come – what shall we do?

When Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount:

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

He didn’t leave it there.

This is not simply some ideal to be hoped for but never attained.

These are not the peace-keepers, or the peaceful people; they are the peaceMAKERS.

The ones who MAKE peace even when the circumstances around us call us to war.

We have no English equivalent, but you could also translate this compound word “peace-doers” or “peace-carriers”.

We DO peaceful things; we carry the peace of God in us.

Notice what our Lord said immediately after this beatitude:

10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. – Matthew 5:9-12

We are destined, if we are in Christ, for the kingdom of His peace – that is true.

But WE ARE ALREADY CITIZENS of that very kingdom now.

Too many Christians think we are called to be God’s judges on the world,

Or God’s declarers of doom to the world.

But as citizens of God’s kingdom, we are God’s envoys of peace to this world.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. – 2 Corinthians 5:20-21

This has nothing to do with being pacifist, nor does it prevent you from physically defending yourself or others.

It doesn’t prohibit service in the Armed Forces.

We still live in a world that is hostile to God, so there will be times when we must defend ourselves or others.

Armies will still be necessary for every nation until ALL people acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord.

(4) When HE leads (judges) the nations and rebukes their greed and sin.

What it does mean is that,

If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. 19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. – Romans 12:18-21

Never take your own revenge.

Some may wonder if this puts us at a disadvantage in this world, that we might lose more often the things we want here.

To which I would reply: what do you desire here MORE than to represent our Lord Jesus Christ in this world?

A job?

A home?

Respect?

Fame?

Wealth?

Why would you want these trifling things more than to accurately and honorably to carry the message of God’s terms of peace to the world around you?

He has not commanded you to obtain the best jobs, the nicest home, the greatest fame, or the most wealth.

If He wants you to have these things in His providence, He will provide them to you WHILE you are being faithful to Him and accomplishing your mission.