Deeper Commentary
Isaiah 2:1 This is what Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem- These prophecies were about the Judah and Jerusalem which Isaiah had before him; this was the potential which could have come about at the time, had they repented. It didn't, but God's word will finally come true in essence, although not necessarily in every literal detail envisaged in the primary fulfilment.
Isaiah 2:2 It shall happen in the latter days, that the mountain of
Yahweh’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall
be raised above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it- God's
intention was that all nations (a phrase which usually refers to all
nations around Israel, those within the eretz promised to
Abraham) would come to worship in the restored temple. It would be raised
up above the mountains and hills in that the nations would 'raise up' Zion
in the sense of worshipping. The nations would "flow" as a broad stream;
later Isaiah in Is. 66:12 sees this as the possibility which could come
about after the exile, if the exiles repented and restored Zion and the
temple as Ezekiel 40-48 commanded.
The returned exiles didn't build according to Ez. 40-48. And their
behaviour meant that the small temple they did build was not exalted in the
eyes of the nations around. And so these prophecies come true in essence in
a spiritual sense. The New Testament quotes several passages evidently prophetic of the
future Kingdom as having their fulfillment in the preaching of the Gospel
today. Is. 2:2-4 (the word of Yahweh will go out from
Jerusalem) is alluded to by the Lord as the basis for the ecclesia’s witness to the world today, “beginning at
Jerusalem” (Lk. 24:47). This, the Lord said, was in fulfillment of the Old Testament
prophets- and He could only be referring to those like Isaiah.
Isaiah 2:3 Many peoples shall go and say, Come, let’s go up to the
mountain of Yahweh, 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 the law shall
go forth, and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem- This has the ring of
psychological reality to it.
People learning the Gospel
very
often share their new found knowledge with
others. Time and time again this happens. And here we see the same; people
will spread the good news to each other as
they begin to understand
the Gospel (Is. 2:3; Jer. 50:5; Mic. 4:2; Zech. 8:21). Their response to
having heard the word is to go up to the temple to receive more teaching
there. The Mosaic law will surely not function after the Lord returns; it
ended at His death. So this initially describes the potential possible
after Judah had repented. The temple system could have been exalted, and
the surrounding peoples taught God's law. But it didn't happen. The
Gentiles came to Hezekiah in Jerusalem, but he didn't teach them God's
law, and the people continued in idolatry; and so the people were
condemned to exile in Babylon, and then later Isaiah speaks of the
reestablishment of the Kingdom. At that time, all peoples were envisaged
as coming to the rebuilt temple. But these things didn't happen, because
Judah didn't build the temple as outlined in Ez. 40-48, nor did they
repent. And they were not welcoming to Gentiles. The essence of these
words is fulfilled in people coming to the temple of God, which today is
the people of God; and perhaps when the Lord returns there will be a place
of centralized teaching in Jerusalem. The only other use of the phrase
"the law shall go forth" is in Is. 51:4, which clearly speaks of this
happening at the restoration from Babylon. But it didn't. Perhaps the
prophetic potential therefore never will come true; or it may be fulfilled
in a reapplied and rescheduled manner.
Isaiah 2:4 He will judge between the nations, and will decide concerning
many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plough shares, and
their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against
nation, neither shall they learn war any more-
The Mosaic system featured a system of justice whereby those with
issues against others could have them resolved. The Gentile nations around
Israel were to have access to this same system, if they accepted the God
of Israel. "Decide" is literally 'to plead' (s.w. Mic. 6:2). His judgments
are in order to plead with them for repentance. The result of that
judgment will be positive, as the judgment upon Israel was intended to
have a positive spiritual outcome. God's judgments lead to the nations
learning righteousness (Is. 26:9), or 'being taught righteousness'. The
practical outcome of that judgment will be that therefore they will beat
their swords into plough shares; and devote themselves to learning of God
(:2,3) rather than of war. This is the revere of the latter day situation
in Joel 3:10, where the enemies of Israel beat their plough shares into
swords. The connection could be in that we are to understand Is. 2:4 as
saying that the enemies of Israel, her previous invaders referred to as
"the nations" around her, will reverse their aggression against Israel and
instead come to accept Israel's God.
Isaiah 2:5 O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!-
The rest of the chapter, and indeed the
whole prophecy, beseech Israel to act as they should as “the house of the
Lord” in view of their future glory. Gentiles would come to worship in
God’s house, i.e. in the community of His people, and therefore they ought
to live the Kingdom life themselves. Thus following straight on from the
prophecy of how Gentiles would come to “the house of the God of Jacob”,
there is an appeal in 2:5 for the “house of Jacob” to walk in God’s ways
themselves.
Isaiah 2:6 For You have forsaken Your people, the house of Jacob, because
they are filled from the east with those who practice divination like the
Philistines, and they shake hands with the children of foreigners-
This idolatry (:8) went on at the same time as great apparent zeal in
Yahweh worship, offering expensive animal sacrifices (Is. 1:11-13). Isaiah
and other prophets were stating clearly what would be Judah's fate; and
yet they turned to divination and the wisdom of the East to try to tell
the future, acting no better than their historical enemies the
Philistines- who were renowned for their claims to foretell the future by
divination (1 Sam. 6:2; 2 Kings 1:2). See on Is. 3:2. "Filled" is the same word we find
twice in :7; they were totally committed to these things. It was this
rejection of Yahweh's word which led Him to forsake His people; and He
likewise is just as sensitive towards our attitude to His word today.
Striking hands with foreigners refers to the making of alliances with
other nations, which was the prostitution noted on Is. 1:21.
The LXX is more concrete as to what was going on. Judah had returned the land to how it was before Israel had first entered it, acting like the Canaanites, marrying them and having children by them: "For he has forsaken his people the house of Israel, because their land is filled as at the beginning with divinations, as the land of the Philistines, and many strange children were born to them".
Isaiah 2:7 Their land is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end
of their treasures- In the midst of Judah’s prosperity, with a land
“filled with silver and gold” perhaps from the control of the Red Sea
trading posts (2 Kings 14:22), visions of doom haunted Isaiah’s
soul; he couldn’t just go along with the swing of things, knowing that all
that wealth was an illusion and being used as an antithesis to faith. Now
that’s something we see all the time around us and in the brotherhood; but
is our soul touched like his was? Do we know the spirit of the prophets?
Their land also is full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots- Multiplying horses and chariots was explicitly forbidden to Israel (Dt. 17:16,17; 20:1), because they were to trust instead on the cherubim Angels fighting for them. Is. 31:1 is explicit that these horses and chariots were Egyptian; they had turned to Egypt for help against Assyria rather than trust in God's heavenly armies.
Isaiah 2:8 Their land also is full of idols, they worship the work of
their own hands, that which their own fingers have made- See on :7.
The essence of idolatry is a worship of human works rather than simple
faith in God. And that is why the challenge of idolatry is real for all
human history.
Isaiah 2:9 Man is brought low, and mankind is humbled; therefore don’t
forgive them-
It
makes a good exercise to go through Isaiah 2 and look at all the times
when words like ‘bow down’ and ‘lift up’ are used. Judah are condemned for
‘bowing down’ before the idols, when in fact they were ‘lifted up’ in
pride (Is. 2:9,11). We seem to have in :6-9 Isaiah's prayer to God after
his appeal for Israel to repent in :5 went unheeded; he asks God not to
forgive the people, because they bowed down to their idols rather than to
God, despite having the prospect of the Kingdom placed before them in
:2-4.
Isaiah 2:10 Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, from before the
terror of Yahweh, and from the glory of His majesty- Having asked God
not to forgive Judah because of their impenitence, Isaiah now appeals
again (as in :5) for their repentance. He asks them to act as if the
theophany of judgment day is upon them; then they would repent,
and Isaiah asks them to do so right now. They did not respond, because the
same appeal is made to the judged and exiled community in Is. 40.
The
whole purpose of the Gospel is to bring down the mountains of human pride
and lift up the valleys of those who lack any self-respect (Is. 40:4),
thereby making an equality of attitude amongst God's people. The vision of
the Kingdom in Is. 2:2-4 was used as an appeal for
humility
amongst Israel (2:10-12). And it should so appeal to us today.
At the day of judgment, we will all go through the Moses experience; hiding in the rock in the presence of God's glory (Is. 2:10 cp. Ex. 33:22). And our vision of that glory in the face of the Lord Jesus even now should have the same humbling effect. For the manifestation of glory to Moses is alluded to in John's gospel as pointing forward to the glory of God now perceived in the face of Jesus Christ. Isaiah besought men (in the present tense): “Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty”, and then goes on to say that in the day of God’s final judgment, “[the rejected] shall go into the holes of the rock... for fear of the Lord and for the glory of His majesty when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth” (Is. 2:10,11,19-21). We must find a true, self-condemning humility now, unless it will be forced upon us at the judgment.
Isaiah 2:11 The lofty looks of man will be brought low, the arrogance of
men will be bowed down, and Yahweh alone will be exalted in that day-
If this is to happen "in that day", then we are to humble ourselves now.
See on :10.
John
the Baptist’s message was that the valleys are to be lifted up, and the
mountains made low, thus creating a plain. I read this as meaning that
those with too low a view of themselves are to be lifted up, and the
heights of human pride brought down. The over confident and under
confident alike are to leveled so that they can be a path for the Lord’s
glory. “Made low” in Is. 40:4 is surely in the spirit of Is. 2:11, which
predicts that in the day of judgment, “the lofty looks of man shall be
humbled [s.w. ‘made low’], and the haughtiness of man shall be bowed
down”. The experience of condemnation in the coming day of the Lord will
mean that “the proud and lofty” will be “brought low” (Is. 2:12,17; 5:15).
In fact, Isaiah is full of references to the proud being ‘made low’ by
judgment- the same Hebrew word is common: Is. 10:33; 13:11; 25:11; 26:5.
Perhaps Paul had this in mind when he said that our preaching is a
bringing down of every high thing that is exalted against God (2 Cor.
10:5). Our message is basically that we must be humbled one way or the
other- either by our repentance and acceptance of the Gospel today, or
through the experience of condemnation at the day of judgment. We’re
calling people to humility.
Isaiah 2:12 For there will be a day of Yahweh of Armies for all that is
proud and haughty, and for all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought
low- If everything and everyone proud is going to be brought down "in
that day", then we should live today as if that future day is upon us. For
it is, in essence. We have to note the huge emphasis upon the need for
humility. Israel had lost their hold on true doctrine, many scarcely knew the
Law (Is. 57:4,5; 59:3). They got drunk at the temple feasts (Is. 36:10-12;
58:3,4), like Corinth they had an "eat, drink, for tomorrow we die"
mentality (Is. 22:12,13); they committed all manner of sexual perversions,
along with almost every other form of doctrinal and moral apostasy (Is.
5:11-13,24; 8:19; 9:15; 22:12,13; 24:5; 27:11; 28:7; 30:10; 31:6; 44:8-20;
consider the similarities with Corinth). This list is worth reading
through. And consider the terrible implications of their perversion in Is.
66:17. But the early chapters of Isaiah sternly rebuke Israel for their
pride- there is not a whisper of all these other things until
later (Is. 2:11-22; 3:16-20; 5:15; 9:9). And even throughout the later
rebukes, there is the repeated criticism of their pride (Is. 13:11; 16:6;
23:9; 24:4; 25:11; 26:5; 28:1,3,14; 29:4; 30:25; 50:33; 57:15). This is
why Isaiah's prophecies of Christ stress His humility (Acts 8:33), and the
"lofty", "high", "exaltation" of God. These words, common in Isaiah, are
those translated “pride" in Isaiah's condemnations of Israel's arrogance;
as if to say that God was the only one who could be 'proud'.
Isaiah 2:13 for all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, for
all the oaks of Bashan- The cedars of Lebanon in the temple became
iconic, to the point that they are put by metaphor for the temple itself
(Zech. 11:1). Judah were so proud of the temple (see on Jer. 7:4). The
destruction of the temple was required to humble Judah. "High and lifted
up" is the same phrase used of the exaltation of Yahweh in glory in Is.
6:1.
What is high and lifted up in human eyes is to be brought down before the
glory of Yahweh. It is used in Ez 10:16 about the cherubim, which appear
to morph into the seraphim of the Is. 6 vision (see on Is. 6:2). And it is
used in Is. 37:23 of how the Assyrians were high and lifted up against
Yahweh, and would be brought down- just as the pride of Judah was to be,
before the high and lifted up glory of Yahweh. Both Jews and Gentiles
would thereby be humbled and the intention was that together they would
form part of a restored Kingdom of God in Judah.
Isaiah 2:14 for all the high mountains, for all the hills that are lifted
up-
The "high places" of Israel are typically associated in the prophets with
idol worship. But in Is. 2:14 they are spoken of as places of pride which
needed to be brought down. There is therefore a connection between
idolatry and pride; believing in one God is associated with no idolatry
and thereby humility.
Isaiah 2:15 for every lofty tower, for every fortified wall- The
defences of Jerusalem were legendary; and they too were to be brought
down, continuing this theme of humility being imposed everywhere and in
every way.
Isaiah 2:16 for all the ships of Tarshish and for all pleasant imagery-
I suggested on :7 that Judah became a land “filled with silver and gold”
perhaps from the control of the Red Sea trading posts (2 Kings 14:22). But
the trading ships, "the ships of Tarshish" and their "watchtowers",
standing proudly on the ships, were to be brought down. LXX and GNB
have "fine ships" for "pleasant imagery". Note that ships of Tarshish mean
simply long distance trading vessels. "Tarshish" may have been Tartessus
in Spain, and so a long distance vessel would have been called a Tarshish
boat; just as in 18th century England, an "Indiaman" referred to a long
distance trading boat, so named because the longest distance vessels
sailed to India.
Isaiah 2:17 The pride of man shall be bowed down, and the arrogance of men
shall be brought low- If we don’t humble ourselves now, then God will do this to us
through the process of condemnation at the judgment. In this lies the
insistent logic of humility. The theme of ‘bringing down’ pride is a major
one in the first half of Isaiah (Is. 2:17; 13:11; 25:5,12; 29:4; 32:19).
These passages pave the way for the announcement that in man’s response to
the Gospel of Christ, “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain
and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and
the rough places plain” (Is. 40:4). By the hills of human pride being
brought down, and the giving of confidence to those so low in the valleys
of hopelessness and lack of self respect, there is a leveling of all
those who respond to Christ. But more than this; in this lifting up of the
hopeless and bringing down of the proud, there is a foretaste of what will
happen in the future day of judgment. In essence, “we make the answer now”
by whether or not we bring down our pride, or whether we summon the faith
in God’s grace and imputed righteousness to believe that we, who are
nothing, are lifted up in His sight. “Let the brother of low degree
rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low”
(James 1:9-10).
And Yahweh alone shall be exalted in that day- The idea may be,
'exalted as one'. There will come a
day when all the world realizes that God is one (Is. 37:20 Heb.)- in that
they will realize that He alone is God and all else is pure vanity.
Because God alone is holy, only He will be worshipped then (Rev. 15:4).
"The Lord alone shall be exalted in that day" (Is. 2:11,17).
Isaiah 2:18 The idols shall utterly pass away- In :19, the AV reads
"And they shall go into the holes...". The worshippers of idols are spoken
of as if they are the idols; people become like the gods they worship (Ps.
135:18).
Isaiah 2:19 Men shall go into the caves of the rocks and into the holes of
the earth from before the terror of Yahweh, and from the glory of His
majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily- See on :18. This
was what Isaiah foresaw as coming upon Judah in his day. But it didn't;
the full extent of judgment was averted, by the repentance and
intercession of a minority. But the essence of these words, as of all
prophecy, will come true in the last days. This passage is therefore
alluded to in a latter day context in Rev. 6:16.
This hiding in the rocks is the language of condemnation; Is. 7:19 says that even hidden there, they would be attacked by the Assyrians and Egyptians. But it seems many of them were saved from this by grace, and by the repentance of a remnant. Later Isaiah applies it to the judged exiles in Babylon (Is. 42:22); but with the good news that even from that humbled, condemned position- they could be exalted and returned to the restored Kingdom.
Isaiah 2:20 In that day men shall cast away their idols of silver and
their idols of gold which have been made for themselves to worship, to the
moles and to the bats-
The wealthy will hide in caves and throw their gold and silver to the
animals before the awesome presence of Yahweh's glory, with unclean moles and bats
gawping at all the discarded wealth of the humans. Dynamically
translating this into our terms, I think we can speak of men being ashamed
of their bank balances, stock portfolios, expensive cars and furnishings,
holiday homes... when finally (and all too late for many) the penny drops,
that all this is shameful, all the pride, wealth and human armament /
defenses of man are things to be terribly awkward about before God. But
for us, the essence of judgment day is now, as we face up to God's glory
in the face of our Lord Jesus.
Isaiah 2:21 to go into the caverns of the rocks and into the clefts of the
ragged rocks, from before the terror of Yahweh, and from the glory of His
majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily- The allusion is
to Moses and Elijah; perhaps both of them went into the rocks with a sense
of penitence, as they came close to Yahweh's glory. Moses was brought to
cower in the rocks, just as the unworthy will do (Ex. 33:22 = Is. 2:21);
and he only saw the back, not the face of God, which is the attitude God
adopts to those He rejects (Jer. 18:17). And only in this position could
Moses see the vision of God's moral glory.
Isaiah 2:22 Stop trusting in man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for of
what account is he?-
Our
faith in God is mitigated against by our misplaced faith in humanity. We
would rather trust a doctor, a repair man, a kind neighbour, before
throwing ourselves upon God as a last resort. "Cease ye from man, whose
breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of" (Is.
2:22) compared to the great God of Israel?
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