Isaiah 2:1-4 speaks a message of restoration, after the previous word of judgement (1:21-31) & before another one to come (2:5-22). We must always remember that when the Lord judges His people, the purpose is not to destroy them, but to restore them.
What is therefore restoration? In the simple sense, it is the reign of God – the state of being able to be entirely seized by the Spirit in everything that we do. When this happens, the church will become a place where nations would naturally gather for hearing the Word of the Lord, in order to walk in His ways (V2-3). The church will thus have the answer to all of the world’s problems, as the Lord reigns as the only Righteous Judge, whose verdict all will accept (V4).
Of course, the ultimate fulfilment of this prophecy will be in the Millennium Kingdom, when the worship will be restored on Mount Zion. But at this moment, the Church is the only entity that can manifest this restoration because of the Spirit that dwells in us, which has made us the Temple of God (1 Cor 3:16). …Read More
The outcome of attending the restored church is that people will walk in the light of the Lord (V5) – i.e. a life of no darkness & hatred (1 Jn 2:9), and fully devoted to the Word which is Light (Jn 1:4). If not, the list of judgements from V6-22 will follow.
If one does not walk in the light, he would only live a life without God, thus living by the world, embracing their “superstitions” & “striking hands” with them (V6). This will include the worshiping of idols and bowing down to the work of their hands (V8) – in other words, the self becomes god; thus, becoming proud (V12).
In their loftiness, they will boast of their “silver and gold”, “horses” & “chariots”, “cedars of Lebanon” & “oaks of Bashan” (V7,13) – all that they use to prop up their own name, and live a life depending on false security (“towering mountains” & “fortified walls” V14-15). But the day will come where God will judge, and there will be no place to hide from His wrath (V10,19,21). That day they will find that all they have depended on is useless (V20).
In a nutshell, this message tells us that we will be doomed if we continue to entertain darkness, i.e. not walk in the light (even though we may go to church). The same will be for people who value their own abilities, thinking, standards & works as the most important thing they need in their life, or build their life with these. We must always remember that we are no higher than God – He alone is to be exalted (V11) – and He is the Sustainer of our life & Giver of our breath. The moment He takes away our breath, we are no more – so we should “stop trusting in mere humans” (V22).
