Isaiah 2-4

I find it very interesting that the next couple of verses are actually repeated in our Bibles in the book of Micah. In the 4th chapter it reads very much like what we see here, I won’t read it to you because it is actually part of our chronological reading for tomorrow morning. And that makes complete sense to me, because Isaiah and Micah were contemporaries, doesn’t it make sense that God could give both prophets the same message if that is what He wanted communicated to His people? I hope so! I expect God to talk to my wife and to confirm the things that He has placed in my heart. In fact there are things I won’t move on, until I know that God has spoken to Nicole on, so that I know it was Him and not my heart deceiving me into something. He has made me one with her, so I can trust what He is speaking to her.

As we go through this and I don’t know how far we will get, but consider that the Lord is primarily speaking concerning the judgement regarding Judah and it’s capital Jerusalem. God will use pagan nations and ungodly leaders to pronounce judgement on them, primarily through the Assyrians and also the Babylonians.

Verse 2

Isaiah 2:2–3 NKJV

2 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. 3 Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

So last chapter, judgement was pronounced that was to come and it had a near future fulfillment and now Isaiah speaks of the later days, some say it is just some future unknown date, I don’t see how it could possibly be anything but the Millennial reign of Christ, or the 1,000 period that Jesus will rule from this earth. If you think about who the superpowers are on the earth right now, honestly in our everybody gets a trophy mentality, there are lots of countries that think of themselves as superpowers that would be absolutely crushed with any real assault against them. But Isaiah is telling us that at this time, the one superpower on the earth will be Israel. God still has plans for that nation and for His people, don’t ever forget that. We want to remain friends with Isreal. As a nation we are making grate efforts to blow that.

Isaiah 2:4 NKJV

4 He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; 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.

Biden Harris team, U.S. proposed budget for national defense 2023 $813.3 Billion, globally military spending is far over 2 trillion dollars. Think we could provide housing, services, fed the poor with that? Medical care for those in need? This could only happen when Jesus is reigning. Can you imagine if every county just voluntarily disarmed today? What would happen?

Isaiah 2:5 NKJV

5 O house of Jacob, come and let us walk In the light of the Lord.

This in an invitation to walk in the light of the Lord, now. Not to wait, let Him rule and reign in your own heart, so that the correction that he speaks of next wouldn’t have to occur.

Isaiah 2:6–9 NKJV

6 For You have forsaken Your people, the house of Jacob, Because they are filled with eastern ways; They are soothsayers like the Philistines, And they are pleased with the children of foreigners. 7 Their land is also full of silver and gold, And there is no end to their treasures; Their land is also full of horses, And there is no end to their chariots. 8 Their land is also full of idols; They worship the work of their own hands, That which their own fingers have made. 9 People bow down, And each man humbles himself; Therefore do not forgive them.

God has zero tolerance for the worship of idols gang and the conclusion there is sobering…therefore do not forgive them. Notice that this occurs at a time of prosperity. Lets pick through the rest of this. In this next section He speaks of the Day of the Lord. That phrase is used several times in the Scriptures. Understand it is not a single day. It is as if today, this mess that we are in is the day of Man, and the Messiah, Jesus will usher in the Day of the Lord, which will be very different than the days we are living in now.

Isaiah 2:10–22 NKJV

10 Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty. 11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, 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 come upon everything proud and lofty, Upon everything lifted up— And it shall be brought low— 13 Upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, And upon all the oaks of Bashan; 14 Upon all the high mountains, And upon all the hills that are lifted up; 15 Upon every high tower, And upon every fortified wall; 16 Upon all the ships of Tarshish, And upon all the beautiful sloops. 17 The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; The Lord alone will be exalted in that day, 18 But the idols He shall utterly abolish. 19 They shall go into the holes of the rocks, And into the caves of the earth, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily. 20 In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver And his idols of gold, Which they made, each for himself to worship, To the moles and bats, 21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, And into the crags of the rugged rocks, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily. 22 Sever yourselves from such a man, Whose breath is in his nostrils; For of what account is he?

Vs. 19 sounds a lot like Revelation 6

"15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 "For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"" - Revelation 6:15-17 NKJV

Chapter 3 Now this portion should sound familiar to those that did the reading that gives context to this passage, as 2 Kings 24 we read about Jerusalem being taken into complete captivity…but these principles remain with God, and we should always consider if God has been willing and is willing to go to these extremes with Israel, what shall He do with us?

Isaiah 3:1–7 NKJV

1 For behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, Takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah The stock and the store, The whole supply of bread and the whole supply of water; 2 The mighty man and the man of war, The judge and the prophet, And the diviner and the elder; 3 The captain of fifty and the honorable man, The counselor and the skillful artisan, And the expert enchanter. 4 “I will give children to be their princes, And babes shall rule over them. 5 The people will be oppressed, Every one by another and every one by his neighbor; The child will be insolent toward the elder, And the base toward the honorable.” 6 When a man takes hold of his brother In the house of his father, saying, “You have clothing; You be our ruler, And let these ruins be under your power,” 7 In that day he will protest, saying, “I cannot cure your ills, For in my house is neither food nor clothing; Do not make me a ruler of the people.”

One of God’s ways of correcting and casting judgment on a nation is to give them horrible leaders. Think how quickly a nation can be brought to its knees, think how quickly men can be humbled by God. Beyond earthquakes and pestilence, the Bible tells us that He holds all things together, that includes our minds, think of Nebuchadnezzar.

"30 The king spoke, saying, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?" 31 While the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice fell from heaven: "King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you!" - Daniel 4:30-31 NKJV

Isaiah 3:8–12 NKJV

8 For Jerusalem stumbled, And Judah is fallen, Because their tongue and their doings Are against the Lord, To provoke the eyes of His glory. 9 The look on their countenance witnesses against them, And they declare their sin as Sodom; They do not hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves. 10 “Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them, For they shall eat the fruit of their doings. 11 Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, For the reward of his hands shall be given him. 12 As for My people, children are their oppressors, And women rule over them. O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err, And destroy the way of your paths.”

Now this is interesting, God didn’t have to do anything to them to bring on judgement, just leave them to their own devices. Notice it is a sign of judgement to have the women rule over them. Not because women can’t lead, but because the men aren’t. The men are one wiped out because of war, second spiritually messed up and not leading and failing to function in their role of authority, so the women step up and do it. If that was offensive, there’s more. But first, let’s see what God’s beef with Judah was.

Isaiah 3:13–15 NKJV

13 The Lord stands up to plead, And stands to judge the people. 14 The Lord will enter into judgment With the elders of His people And His princes: “For you have eaten up the vineyard; The plunder of the poor is in your houses. 15 What do you mean by crushing My people And grinding the faces of the poor?” Says the Lord God of hosts.

Notice it’s not just that they haven’t taken care of the poor, they’ve exploited them, taken advantage of them. Trafficking, the Maine state lottery.

Isaiah 3:16–23 NKJV

16 Moreover the Lord says: “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, And walk with outstretched necks And wanton eyes, Walking and mincing as they go, Making a jingling with their feet, 17 Therefore the Lord will strike with a scab The crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, And the Lord will uncover their secret parts.” 18 In that day the Lord will take away the finery: The jingling anklets, the scarves, and the crescents; 19 The pendants, the bracelets, and the veils; 20 The headdresses, the leg ornaments, and the headbands; The perfume boxes, the charms, 21 and the rings; The nose jewels, 22 the festal apparel, and the mantles; The outer garments, the purses, 23 and the mirrors; The fine linen, the turbans, and the robes.

It is a dismantling of society when women become only their outward appearance, and not the inner treasure. That is so on many levels. Largely as the image of God is not correctly presented.

"4 that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed." - Titus 2:4-5 NKJV

1 Peter 3:3–4 NKJV

3 Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— 4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.

Isaiah 3:24–26 NKJV

24 And so it shall be: Instead of a sweet smell there will be a stench; Instead of a sash, a rope; Instead of well-set hair, baldness; Instead of a rich robe, a girding of sackcloth; And branding instead of beauty. 25 Your men shall fall by the sword, And your mighty in the war. 26 Her gates shall lament and mourn, And she being desolate shall sit on the ground.

Isaiah 4 NKJV

1 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, “We will eat our own food and wear our own apparel; Only let us be called by your name, To take away our reproach.” 2 In that day the Branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious; And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing For those of Israel who have escaped. 3 And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. 4 When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, 5 then the Lord will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering. 6 And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.

Isaiah 5:1–2 NKJV

1 Now let me sing to my Well-beloved A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard On a very fruitful hill. 2 He dug it up and cleared out its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, And also made a winepress in it; So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, But it brought forth wild grapes.

Isaiah 5:3–6 NKJV

3 “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard. 4 What more could have been done to My vineyard That I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, Did it bring forth wild grapes? 5 And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; And break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. 6 I will lay it waste; It shall not be pruned or dug, But there shall come up briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds That they rain no rain on it.”

and now the interpretation...

Isaiah 5:7 NKJV

7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.

What more could he have done? Jesus told a similar story, sent servants, and then sent His Son and they killed Him. So when Jesus told that perable, they knew what He was talking about! They knew that that little song was about the judgement of Israel for their lack of faithfulness, their lack of good fruit.

Isaiah 5:8–9 NKJV

8 Woe to those who join house to house; They add field to field, Till there is no place Where they may dwell alone in the midst of the land! 9 In my hearing the Lord of hosts said, “Truly, many houses shall be desolate, Great and beautiful ones, without inhabitant.

Why will they be empty, punishment, judgement men will be wiped out.

Isaiah 5:10–18 NKJV

10 For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, And a homer of seed shall yield one ephah.” 11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning, That they may follow intoxicating drink; Who continue until night, till wine inflames them! 12 The harp and the strings, The tambourine and flute, And wine are in their feasts; But they do not regard the work of the Lord, Nor consider the operation of His hands. 13 Therefore my people have gone into captivity, Because they have no knowledge; Their honorable men are famished, And their multitude dried up with thirst. 14 Therefore Sheol has enlarged itself And opened its mouth beyond measure; Their glory and their multitude and their pomp, And he who is jubilant, shall descend into it. 15 People shall be brought down, Each man shall be humbled, And the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled. 16 But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, And God who is holy shall be hallowed in righteousness. 17 Then the lambs shall feed in their pasture, And in the waste places of the fat ones strangers shall eat. 18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, And sin as if with a cart rope;

Isaiah 5:19 NKJV

19 That say, “Let Him make speed and hasten His work, That we may see it; And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, That we may know it.”

Isaiah 5:20–30 NKJV

20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight! 22 Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink, 23 Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away justice from the righteous man! 24 Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, And the flame consumes the chaff, So their root will be as rottenness, And their blossom will ascend like dust; Because they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 25 Therefore the anger of the Lord is aroused against His people; He has stretched out His hand against them And stricken them, And the hills trembled. Their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still. 26 He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar, And will whistle to them from the end of the earth; Surely they shall come with speed, swiftly. 27 No one will be weary or stumble among them, No one will slumber or sleep; Nor will the belt on their loins be loosed, Nor the strap of their sandals be broken; 28 Whose arrows are sharp, And all their bows bent; Their horses’ hooves will seem like flint, And their wheels like a whirlwind. 29 Their roaring will be like a lion, They will roar like young lions; Yes, they will roar And lay hold of the prey; They will carry it away safely, And no one will deliver. 30 In that day they will roar against them Like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks to the land, Behold, darkness and sorrow; And the light is darkened by the clouds.