ISAIAH 2 JUDAH'S TRANSGRESSIONS AND DIVINE JUDGMENTS

                                                                    ISAIAH 2

Judah’s transgressions and divine judgments

Isa 2:1  The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 

The ensuing message is directed to both the people of Judah – the entire southern kingdom, and the leadership in Jerusalem, the capital city, which was the spiritual and political centre.

Isa 2:2  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. 

The temple in Jerusalem was built on Mount Moriah. This prophecy points to the time of the Messiah when the temple or the mountain on which it stands, would become a renowned place of worship of the true God. The worship of the LORD would become more prominent and significant, seen by all nations, attracting them to the glory of the true God.

(The verses from 2 – 4 are almost quoted the same way in Micah 4: 1 – 3; We can safely affirm that both prophets were divinely inspired.  These verses find partial fulfilment in the days of Messiah and will see complete fulfilment during the days when the Lord establishes a new earth—an eternal kingdom of peace and righteousness.)

Isa 2:3  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. 

Many people from nations far and near would flock to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of Jerusalem, hoping to be taught by the Messiah and to see Him, as many wondrous events occurred there and news of them spread widely. The people were to come with willing hearts to learn and obey the will of God. It was from Jerusalem that the gospel and the law go forth to all the nations.

Isa 2:4  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. 

This prophecy will reach its fulfilment in the latter days when the Lord God shall establish His kingdom on earth. He will rule over the nations. Justice and peace shall prevail, so that weapons of war will be transformed into tools of cultivation.   

Isa 2:5  O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD. 

This is a direct exhortation from the prophet, calling the people of Israel (Jacob was renamed Israel) to walk in the will of God as revealed in His commandments and scriptures.

The Day of the Lord

Isa 2:6  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. 

Isaiah now addresses God, seeking to understand why the Lord has forsaken the people of Israel. Miserable must be the condition of a people whom the Lord forsakes! Also, great must have been the provocation of the people for the Lord to forsake His own.  Israel had embraced the practices of astrology, soothsaying and divination under the influence of neighbouring foreign nations, finding pleasure in forming alliances with them – contrary to the law of Moses.

Isa 2:7  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: 

The people had lost their dependence on God by heaping to themselves abundance of treasures consisting of gold and silver. They placed their confidence in horses and chariots for security against their enemies.

Isa 2:8  Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made: 

They transgressed the commandments of God by making graven images for themselves and worshipping the works of their hands. The honoured the creations of man rather than the Creator Himself.

Isa 2:9  And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not. 

Both the great and the lowly had turned away from the true God bowing down to the works of their hands. Therefore, the Lord must not have forgiven them (as it appears in the original script) that they faced divine judgment.

Isa 2:10  Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty. 

The prophet warns of God's impending judgment, fulfilled in stages—first through the Chaldean invasion, later in the destruction of Jerusalem by Roman forces, and ultimately at the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He urges the people to seek refuge in caves and fall prostrate in the dust, for the Lord’s judgment is awe-inspiring, revealing His supreme honour, power, glory, and majesty.

Isa 2:11  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. 

On the day of judgment, the pride and arrogance of mankind will be utterly crushed, and human glory will fade. The LORD alone will stand exalted, supreme above all.

Isa 2:12  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: 

All who exalt themselves against God and His ways will be humbled and abased, stripped of their arrogance before His judgment.

Isa 2:13  And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, 

The great and mighty— represented by kings, rulers, princes, and nobles – are symbolized by these towering trees.  They too will be brought low, their strength and prominence diminished under God’s supreme authority.

Isa 2:14  And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, 

God’s judgment will fall upon the ancient, the mighty, and the strong, humbling all that stands in pride and prominence.

Isa 2:15  And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, 

His judgment will demolish strongholds and places of refuge, leaving nothing standing against His power. No earthly security will prevail before the Lord.

Isa 2:16  And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures. 

God’s judgment will not spare wealth, the instruments and centres of trade and commerce, the grandeur of magnificent and luxurious ornaments. Neither riches nor splendour will provide immunity from His righteous justice.

Isa 2:17  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. 

This declaration, echoing verse 11, reinforces the certainty and firmness of the prophecy’s fulfilment, emphasizing that no human pride will stand before God’s sovereign rule.

Isa 2:18  And the idols he shall utterly abolish. 

On the day of judgment, every man-made idol will be utterly abolished, leaving no trace of false worship.

Isa 2:19  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. 

On the day of judgment, when the Lord rises to shake the earth, the wicked will seek shelter in the rocks and hidden depths of the earth, desperate to escape His overwhelming presence. The prophet reinforces the certainty of this day, emphasizing the reverence and dread it will inspire.

Isa 2:20  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; 

In that day, men shall cast away all their graven images of gold and silver to the bats and the moles that live in the caves and the holes of the earth.

Isa 2:21  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. 

In that day, when the Lord arises to shake the earth terribly as His final judgment unfolds, the people will scramble for refuge in the crevices and among rocky crags, overwhelmed by the sheer power of His reign and the terror of His justice.

Isa 2:22  Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of? 

The prophet concludes by urging the people to abandon their reliance on mortals. How can man provide security when he has no control over his own existence—frail and fleeting as the very breath in his nostrils? Only God can offer true protection, especially on the day of His judgment.