Isaiah 24:1-3

In The Future That Is To Come There Will Be World-wide Devastation (Isaiah 24:1).

Here as on opening gambit is a picture of unrelieved worldwide desolation in which all will be involved. None may escape. Yahweh is seen as finally dealing with the world in its sin. As already mentioned this scene of worldwide devastation is one common to the prophets who saw Yahweh as not only responsible for Israel/Judah but also for all nations. Every local experience of these words points forward to the wider experience. It is not just Israel/Judah that is in mind, but at least the whole of the world of Isaiah's day.

Analysis.

a Behold, Yahweh is making the earth waste, and desolating it, and is turning it upside down and scattering abroad its inhabitants (Isaiah 24:1).

b And it will be as with the people, so with the priest, as with the servant, so with his master, as with the maid, so with her mistress, (Isaiah 24:2 a).

b As with the buyer, so with the seller, as with the lender, so with the borrower, as with the receiver of interest, so with the payer of interest to him (Isaiah 24:2 b).

a The earth will be utterly laid waste, and utterly plundered, for Yahweh has spoken this word (Isaiah 24:3).

We note that in ‘a' Yahweh acts to lay waste the earth, scattering its inhabitants, while in the parallel the earth is to be utterly laid waste and plundered because of the word of Yahweh. In ‘b' and parallel, placed within the scenes of desolation, all will be affected by it, including religious, social and business relationships. The aim is to include everyone.

Isaiah 24:1

‘Behold, Yahweh is making the earth waste, and desolating it,

And is turning it upside down and scattering abroad its inhabitants.'

‘Behold, Yahweh ---' followed by a participle is found regularly throughout Isaiah (in ‘both' sections) but only twice outside (Amos 7:4; Micah 1:3). By it Isaiah is seeking to turn all our attention on what He is about to do. He will lay waste the known earth and make it desolate. This will arise partly as a result of man's aggressive behaviour towards his fellowmen and partly as a result of ‘natural' events. ‘Turning it upside down' possibly has in mind earthquakes, regularly seen as God's judgments, but may also contain the idea of invasion and empire building (Genesis 10:8). Scattering abroad the inhabitants reminds us of Babel (see Genesis 11:4), where men gathered to form an empire in opposition to God, but became scattered as a result of God's activity, we are not told how, so that through their scattering their language became diversified as they settled in different parts. So history is to repeat itself. In Genesis 10-11 it resulted in the nations being put outside God's workings as He began His plans through Abraham. Now it will result in the nations being dealt with finally in judgment because they have rejected the plea made to them through the sons of Abraham.

But Isaiah could see it happening in his own day as the Assyrians bestrode the ‘world' scene and took different peoples and moved them from one part to another, scattering them abroad. It was not only Israel which was exiled. People of all nations were uprooted. In one way therefore this could be seen as ‘fulfilled' at the times when Assyria reached its widest empire.

But similar things have happened throughout history. For the truth is that men cannot be trusted with too much power, because power corrupts. That is why empires crumble and scatter. This vivid picture is an indication of the inability of man to run the world over which God gave him dominion, and a recognition of the overall supervision of God in spite of it. It will happen again and again as the end approaches, and will get worse and worse until God finally intervenes.

The picture is not necessarily to be limited to one of war. It could equally apply to misuse of the environment. Although in ancient days the two often went together. However, Isaiah's main point is that while it is outwardly man bringing it on himself, behind the scenes it is God Who is at work. In the end it will be Yahweh Who does it. That is therefore where our assurance lies. It is in the fact that in the last analysis, all is in His hands. In the same way, we today, as we see what man is doing to his environment by selfishness, greed and war, can recognise in it all the hand of Yahweh, as He is bringing all things to a conclusion.

Isaiah 24:2

‘And it will be as with the people, so with the priest,

As with the servant, 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 receiver of interest, so with the payer of interest to him.

The earth will be utterly laid waste, and utterly plundered.

For Yahweh has spoken this word.'

All classes of people will be involved in God's final summing up of world history; clergy and laity, rich and poor, master and servant, businessman and customer, creditor and debtor, oppressor and oppressed. None will escape. The known earth will be utterly laid waste by spoilers, and spoil in large quantities will be taken in war, while other parts will be laid waste by misuse and plundered by big business (note Isaiah's emphasis on business relationships). The picture is deliberately intensified, and it will all be at Yahweh's word.