Welcome to the MHB Podcast. This is Michael Baun. And welcome to my eighty sixth episode. Tonight I want to look at Isaiah chapter 24. I want to start off by issuing a caveat that there is a bit of ambiguity among scholars as to how we should understand chapters 24-27. Some say they are apocalyptic and directed at the entire world. Others say they are limited in scope to a defined territory. I’m going to side with the ones who believe these chapters are apocalyptic and directed at the entire world.
Up until this point we’ve been watching nations ascend to power, become corrupt, and collapse under God’s judgment for their wickedness. This chapter begins the third and final series of oracles. But these oracles are different because they show God bringing judgment upon the entire earth. This chapter describes the end of time. Many people ask why they should trust God – and they often point to the tragedy of life and how difficult their situation is. This chapter speaks to that question.
Here we see Isaiah telling the people of Jerusalem about God’s future victory over suffering, evil, and death. He’s telling them this while they are in the midst of facing the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrian Empire was a brutal and merciless force that had dominated much of the known world. Jerusalem stood no chance against them and at the time of this prophecy the Assyrians were surrounding the city. Yet here is Isaiah telling them to trust God. He’s giving them a glimpse of events that will take place long after they’re gone. Isaiah is telling them that God will be victorious over all powers that oppose Him. The situation they are facing may be dire, but they can find hope in the fact that God is always in control – even up to the end. The situation you are facing may be dire but you, too, can find hope in knowing that God will have the final victory.
Chapter twenty four begins what is often called Isaiah’s apocalypse because it foresees the whole world in crisis at the end of history. We get a glimpse of the final conflict and God’s victory. These next four chapters show us the period when God will finally and permanently remove evil. Let’s begin with verses 1-6:
24 Behold, the Lord will empty the earth[a] and make it desolate,
and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
2 And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;
as with the slave, so with his master;
as with the maid, so with her mistress;
as with the buyer, so with the seller;
as with the lender, so with the borrower;
as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
3 The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered;
for the Lord has spoken this word.
4 The earth mourns and withers;
the world languishes and withers;
the highest people of the earth languish.
5 The earth lies defiled
under its inhabitants;
for they have transgressed the laws,
violated the statutes,
broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore a curse devours the earth,
and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,
and few men are left.
So right away in verse one we find two important pieces. Notice how it begins with Behold, the Lord. This is meant to show us the active presence of God in this passage – He’s taking action directly. Also, when it’s talking about the earth, look how it says God will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants. In this verse, the Hebrew word used for scatter is the same word used back in Genesis chapter eleven in the Tower of Babel story. Just like at Babel, God is bringing a judgment against human autonomy. The problem at Babel was the same problem with most of the nations we’ve seen collapse so far in Isaiah. They became powerful enough to believe that they no longer needed God. This belief totally removed all constraints on human pride. Pride is what separates you from God, and since separation from God is the worst possible thing that can happen to you – rather than watch you drift away God will come into your life and cause you to fall. This fall will be painful and you will suffer for your arrogance – but most of the time it will lead to humility and an understanding of how much you don’t know. This humility will lead you back into the arms of God.
Verse two shows us that this final judgment will not discriminate between social classes. It won’t matter who you are because everyone will be under the gun. In the modern world there are many people who have escaped justice because of their social or economic status. There are also many people who have been unfairly treated because of such things. But God doesn’t play favorites. Black, white, male, female – doesn’t matter. All of us fall short in the presence of God. And He loves all of us despite that. Listen to Revelation 20:12:
12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
You don’t want the verdict of your life to be arrived at according to what you’ve done. I know that you don’t have to think very long before you find something that makes you feel guilty. And your memory isn’t even that good – God remembers everything. This is why you need a Savior and it’s why God sacrificed Himself for you. If you trust in Him, you can be free of that guilt and have peace in knowing that you’re going to be okay.
Notice in verses 4 & 5 how it says the earth mourns and withers and the earth lies defiled under its inhabitants. It’s not uncommon to hear modern people say that human beings are a blight upon the earth. I think that’s a reprehensible thing to say because it discounts all of the good things that we do and the ones who say it usually don’t consider themselves to be the blight. But there is a kernel of truth to it. Animals and the rest of the creation didn’t choose to rebel against God – we did. But everything has had to suffer under this fallen condition. It was this suffering that Tennyson observed when he said, nature is red with blood in tooth and claw and life is a carnival of blood. Listen to Hosea 4:3:
3 Therefore the land mourns,
and all who dwell in it languish,
and also the beasts of the field
and the birds of the heavens,
and even the fish of the sea are taken away.
I think it’s interesting how Isaiah lays the defilement of the creation at the feet of humanity. This might be an area where the environmentalists agree. But notice more specifically how it says we transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. There is a school of thought that many of our environmental woes are actually caused by societal disorder. Things like pollution, crime, addiction, and poverty. There’s good reason to believe that these issues are connected to the greater environmental concerns such as climate change.
Bjorn Lomborg, President of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, suggests that if we solved social problems we would in-turn alleviate environmental problems. A good example is childhood nutrition. If every child in the world had adequate nutrition during their formative years, they would have a better chance of developing properly into adults. If more of our children were developed properly into adults, then we would increase their likelihood of being productive and caring about the environment. It’s pretty difficult for a person to take on pollution when they aren’t even sure where their next meal is coming from. But what happens when we rebel against God and try to live our own version of the truth? Well verse 6 says:
6 Therefore a curse devours the earth,
and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,
and few men are left.
Now I’m not suggesting that if we live in just the right way the fallen nature of man and creation will just correct itself by our own performance. But it seems to me that abiding in God’s Word is a pretty good start to alleviating a whole raft of interconnected problems. Let’s move on to verses 7-13:
7 The wine mourns,
the vine languishes,
all the merry-hearted sigh.
8 The mirth of the tambourines is stilled,
the noise of the jubilant has ceased,
the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
9 No more do they drink wine with singing;
strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10 The wasted city is broken down;
every house is shut up so that none can enter.
11 There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;
all joy has grown dark;
the gladness of the earth is banished.
12 Desolation is left in the city;
the gates are battered into ruins.
13 For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth
among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done.
This passage is showing us how the worldly lifestyle of escapist behavior is ground to a halt. This is roughly analogous to the reality check that hits you when you’ve partied away too much of your life. Many people who suffer depression have described losing the ability to enjoy things that used to be fun for them. A similar issue could be causing the effect found in verse nine where it says, no more do they drink wine with singing; strong drink is bitter to those who drink it. But this verse could also be a commentary on going from being a social drinker to becoming an alcoholic. Because look at verse eleven where it says, there is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine. Why would people be upset about not having something that made them feel bad anyway? Sounds like an addiction to me.
Look in verse ten how it says, the wasted city is broken down; every house is shut up so that none can enter. In the ancient Middle-East it was common practice to show hospitality to strangers. If you turned someone away at night it was very likely that their life would be in danger by sleeping outside. So it’s a big deal that we see these houses closed off to people. It could be that they are abandoned – but it seems more likely that the toxicity of a reprobate society has led to neighbors no longer trusting each other.
We need to pay attention to the phrase wasted city because it’s going to be an important image in the next three chapters. The wasted city is a symbolic representation of Isaiah’s view of culture. He saw it this way because cities were places of concentrated population and imagined safety. The Hebrew word that is used for wasted is the same word used at the beginning of creation in Genesis 1:2. It means without form. That which is without form has the potential to be something – which is why creation was without form before God brought it into being. So Isaiah is saying that human civilization, though highly developed, rejects the will of God and thus wastes its own potential. Wasted city. Let’s read verses 14-16:
14 They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;
over the majesty of the Lord they shout from the west.[b]
15 Therefore in the east[c] give glory to the Lord;
in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
16 From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,
of glory to the Righteous One.
But I say, “I waste away,
I waste away. Woe is me!
For the traitors have betrayed,
with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.”
We see that the drunken binge of verses 7-11 is replaced with the joyful worship of those redeemed from the world. People who trust and love God will see the same God as those who don’t – but our perception of Him will be different. Where those in rebellion will see judgment, we will see majestic, saving grace. Listen to how this is described in Revelation 15:2-4:
2 And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. 3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,
“Great and amazing are your deeds,
O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
O King of the nations![a]
4 Who will not fear, O Lord,
and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
In verse 16 Isaiah goes from praising the Righteous One to saying woe is me. It’s difficult for him to reflect on the perfection of God and then see the world around him. He’s not in heaven yet. We are not in heaven yet. It’s hard to face the reality that we have so much suffering to endure before we get there. This reality is made all the more difficult when those we love have gone before us. Isaiah is reflecting on this difficulty as well. Jerusalem will be surrounded by Assyrians soon and it doesn’t look like there is any way out for them. But even so he is trusting God – that’s what gets him through. And that’s what will get you through as well. Let’s read verses 17-20:
17 Terror and the pit and the snare[d]
are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!
18 He who flees at the sound of the terror
shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the snare.
For the windows of heaven are opened,
and the foundations of the earth tremble.
19 The earth is utterly broken,
the earth is split apart,
the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth staggers like a drunken man;
it sways like a hut;
its transgression lies heavy upon it,
and it falls, and will not rise again.
These verses are showing us that God’s judgment of the world is deliberate and final. In this day there will be no escape for those who have given themselves over to pride and evil. Verse 18 says, He who flees at the sound of the terror shall fall into the pit, and he who climbs out of the pit shall be caught in the snare. No matter how hard humanity tries to recreate social order without God – it just won’t work. Listen to how the prophet Amos describes it:
18 Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord!
Why would you have the day of the Lord?
It is darkness, and not light,
19 as if a man fled from a lion,
and a bear met him,
or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall,
and a serpent bit him.
We also see this phrase, the windows of heaven are opened. This same phrase is used in describing the events that took place just before the entire world was destroyed in Noah’s Flood. God’s final judgment will destroy the fallen creation for good. The violent shaking of the earth could be a description of earthquakes and the tectonic plates breaking the land apart. But I think it’s more apt to see this as a metaphor for the lost state of humanity. This chapter of Isaiah is describing a time when humanity has gone so far sideways that nothing but God’s redemption will bring the creation back to life. Let’s finish up with verses 21-23:
21 On that day the Lord will punish
the host of heaven, in heaven,
and the kings of the earth, on the earth.
22 They will be gathered together
as prisoners in a pit;
they will be shut up in a prison,
and after many days they will be punished.
23 Then the moon will be confounded
and the sun ashamed,
for the Lord of hosts reigns
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and his glory will be before his elders.
These verses show us the absolute and all-encompassing range of God’s judgment. At the end of history He’s going to clean up the mess everywhere. Verse 21 says, the Lord will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth. So the host of heaven most likely means fallen angels – or demons. And the kings of the earth will be the human beings who have exalted themselves against God. All opposition to God everywhere will be no more.
Verse 23 says, the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed. If you look back to Genesis 1 and the creation account you can see that one of the purposes of the moon and the sun is to rule over the day and the night. But when God is here in full form His glory will provide all the light we ever need. It will be light of a divine brightness – the likes of which we’ve never seen. Listen to Isaiah’s poetic description of this in chapter 60:
19 The sun shall be no more
your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon
give you light;[a]
but the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.[b]
20 Your sun shall no more go down,
nor your moon withdraw itself;
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your days of mourning shall be ended.
Isaiah says that God will rule His redeemed creation from His city Jerusalem on Mount Zion. And you can imagine what this will be like for those who know Jesus Christ. Isaiah says:
7 How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
who publishes salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
8 The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice;
together they sing for joy;
for eye to eye they see
the return of the Lord to Zion.
9 Break forth together into singing,
you waste places of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people;
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Lord has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.
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