Apocalypse
Isaiah 24 is
often called “Isaiah’s Apocalypse.” It
is easy to understand how it is that this description comes to be simply by
reading the very first line of this chapter.
The Lord will empty the earth and make it desolate. That sounds like an apocalypse to me. In fact, this apocalypse is to be so thorough
that every level of society will feel the effects of this apocalypse. The slave, the master, the buyer, the seller,
the maid, the mistress, the layman, the priest; all shall feel the effects of
this judgment.
What do we
learn from this opening section? The
message is similar to that of Paul. All
have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. It doesn’t matter how wealthy you are. It doesn’t matter how religiously close to
God you are. It doesn’t matter if you
own property or are owned as property.
Every single one of us has sinned.
Every single one of us deserves judgment. Every single one of us comes under God’s
wrath.
Of course,
we’ll get to grace; just not today. For
today, let’s stick with judgment and wrath.
Tomorrow we’ll have grace.
The next
major section spawns off of the fact that destruction comes upon us because we
are all guilty. Notice that it says,
“the earth lies defiled under its inhabitants, for they have transgressed the
laws, violated the statutes, and broken the covenants.” The earth is defiled because of us. We are clearly the ones who have sinned
against God, and we have defiled this place that God has created for us. Wine mourns – the vine laments! Houses are shut up. It is not the fault of creation that God will
bring judgment, but creation will feel the effects of the judgment. Oh, how contagious is our human sinfulness!
I’d like
to skip over verses 14-16 for a moment because they seem out of place in this
chapter. So, let’s deal with the verses
that follow and return to verses 14-16 later.
Reaction To Apocalypse
How will
the human beings react? How do human
beings react any time a great calamity falls upon the earth? For that record, how does all of creation
react in times of calamity? Is not the
flight instinct the strongest in most if not all creatures? Do you know many people or animals that run
headlong into a forest fire – without life-saving equipment, of course? Do you know many people or animals that voluntarily
climb the highest hill in the middle of a thunderstorm? Do we not run when we face something far more
powerful than ourselves?
Isaiah
tells us just as much. In judgment, we
will be caught in “a pit.” Those who try
to escape the pit will be caught in “a snare.”
There will be no escape. God’s
judgment upon creation will be thorough.
Judgment
Then we
reach the climax of this chapter. God
will punish those who oppose Him. It
matters not whether they oppose Him in heaven or upon the earth. Punishment will come upon those who oppose
God. After judgment, we hear that the
Lord will reign in Jerusalem. The Lord
will reign not only over the inhabitants of the earth, but even over creation. His glory will be before those who are
faithful in Him.
Thus ends
the first chapter of Isaiah’s apocalypse.
Sin leads to judgment, judgment leads to punishment, and punishment
points us to the reign of God.
Skipped Verses
Now we
return back to the verses that I skipped.
Who are the few who would rejoice at such a time? Go back and look at verse 6. Verse 6 hints at the fact that there will be
a small number of people who are left when God’s judgments come upon the earth. Now look back to the end of this
chapter. God’s glory is before the old,
aged, or perhaps we could translate as the “wise.” Cleary there is a small push from Isaiah even
in the midst of this chapter on judgment that there will be some who pass
through the judgment. There will be a
remnant. There will be the faithful.
That
brings us to the skipped verses. Who is
it that can praise God in spite of what is happening around them? Who is it that can still find a way to bring
God glory even if life is crumbling around them? Who is it that can still find a way to
recognize God’s sovereignty even while the earth mourns over the time of trial
that has come upon it? Who indeed … but
the faithful. The faithful will know
that all have sinned and we all deserve judgment. The faithful recognize that we deserve
punishment. The faithful will be able to
call God the Righteous One in spite of what happens to us.
<><
No comments:
Post a Comment