Isaiah 2:1-4

B. THE IMPLORING APPEAL - Chapter S 2 - 4
CHAPTER TWO

1.

VISION OF THE COMING MESSIANIC AGE

THE LORD'S HOUSE ESTABLISHED

TEXT: Isaiah 2:1-4

1

The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2

And it shall come to pass in the latter days, that the mountain of Jehovah's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

3

And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, 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 shall go forth the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.

4

And he will judge between the nations, and will decide concerning many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

QUERIES

a.

When are the latter days?

b.

Who are the people of Isaiah 2:3?

c.

When will the cessation of war take place?

PARAPHRASE

And this is the message to Isaiah from the Lord concerning Judah and Jerusalem. In the closing days of the Old Testament era the faithful people of God's remnant will grow into a great and spectacular kingdom into which people from all the nations and races on the earth will come for membership. They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, into this universal kingdom, saying, Let us join with this faithful remnant and learn of the One True God of Israel; He will teach us His ways and we will walk in His paths. Out of this Heavenly Community shall go forth the revealed will and word of God. And God, Himself, through His word will arbitrate between citizens of this new kingdom. Its citizens shall be people of peace and love and they will not fight against one another any more. All their activities and attributes will be directed toward fruitful and productive ends.

COMMENTS

Isaiah 2:1-2 THE TIME: In the latter days of Judah and Jerusalem as the exclusive covenant people of God. Latter days does not refer to the end of time or the Second Advent of Christ or the so-called millenium. The N.T. definitely and clearly applies the phrase latter days to that period of time which began to run its course with the first advent of Christ (Cf. Acts 2:17 with Joel 2:28; Hebrews 1:2; James 5:3; 1 Peter 1:5; 1 Peter 1:20; 2 Peter 3:3 and 1 John 2:18). Literally the phrase is, the last parts of the days, and means, the end of the ages (Cf. 1 Corinthians 10:11). So the Lord's house is to be established in its glorified and pre-eminent state in the last parts of the days of the Jewish Dispensation. In these last days of Judah, Herod the Great was King and he was the first foreigner ever to be King over Judah. This is a fulfillment of Genesis 49:10, The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh (Christ) come; and unto Him shall the obedience of the people be. It is not the present upon which the eyes of the Israelites are to be directed, but a time which is the end or goal of the contemporary course of events, when the Messiah will have come and the breach which sin had introduced between man and God will be healed (Cf. our comments in Daniel, College Press, chapter 9). The figure of Zion being exalted above the hills is significant. At the time when Isaiah spoke, the very reverse was the casemany other hills were higher than Zion (Cf. Psalms 68:16). The Temple in Isaiah's day was situated on Zion, but the false gods had their mountains as well: the Captiol, Olympus, Albordash, Meru, and Zaphon. But Zion, which, in Isaiah's day and up to Christ, was comparatively insignificant will one day surpass all others. Even Sinai, the mount of law, will recede into the background, for the new covenant is superior to the old. This is the meaning of Hebrews 12:18-24 where Sinai represents the old covenant and Zion represents the new covenant, or the church. See also Daniel 2:35; Daniel 2:44; Jeremiah 31:12 a; Jeremiah 51:44.

Isaiah 2:2 THE SCOPE: All peoples! No longer exclusively to the Jews. A constant accession of converts streaming, (flowing) from all parts of the world upward to God's house. This high and pre-eminent mount (Zionthe church) is to serve as a unifying force for the whole world. It is to be a reversal of the dispersion (Babel). (Cf. Matthew 8:10-11; Luke 13:29; John 10:16; Acts 13:44-47, etc.).

Isaiah 2:3 THE NATURE: Enlightment! The law here is not the law of Moses for that went forth from Sinai. It is the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. It is the perfect law of liberty. It is the word of the Lord that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in Christ's name beginning from Jerusalem (Cf. Luke 24:47). It will be missionary and evangelistic! Many people will go and say, Come ye. No national or racial boundaries. It will be didactic and doctrinal. Those who come to it will necessarily be taught His way. As a consequence of being taught, men will want to walk in God's way. True doctrine places within one's heart the desire to walk in the law of God. Truth leads to godliness, and when one has been truly instructed, he will want to do God's will. One must be instructed first before he can walk in God's way. Doctrine and ethics must go hand in hand. There can be no right obedience nor any right worship, until first one has learned of God (Cf. Hebrews 8:8-13; Acts 20:32; Titus 2:11-15; John 6:44-46). It is through the church that the manifold wisdom of God is to be declared (Ephesians 3:10). The church's work is to produce a ministry for evangelizing and edifying (Ephesians 4:11-16). God's Word is the only source and foundation of truth. Those who preach must preach the Word! This passage teaches that what unbelievers need above all else is teaching which is indoctrination. The missionary and evangelistic activity of the church must be doctrinal in character. The great need of the world is the preaching of revealed absolutes (restrictive and difficult though it may be). The world does not need speculative and theoretical philosophies and theologies of men. There will be some who will reject His Way (Cf. Jeremiah 6:16-21; Isaiah 42:24; Acts 9:2, etc.).

Isaiah 2:4 THE RESULTS: Peace! is the result of this establishing of the Lord's house. When men are brought into the kingdom of God, the church, they are brought to peacepeace with God and peace with their fellow citizens of the kingdom (Cf. Ephesians 2:11-22; Colossians 3:15; John 14:27; John 16:33; Acts 10:36; Romans 14:17, etc.). It does not necessarily demand the cessation of all literal human or physical war for the fulfillment of this prophecy. There will be war between human beings as long as there are unregenerate people. But if all men knew and did the will of God war would cease. Peace comes through knowing and doing (voluntarily, not by force) the will of God. There can not be war in the kingdom of God, the church, for it is recreated in the image of God and knows no man anymore after a human (unregenerate) point of view (Cf. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21). If the peace of Christ rules in our hearts (Colossians 3:15), this will arbitrate any disagreement we might have as Christians (Cf. 1 Corinthians 5:9 to 1 Corinthians 6:8). The Christian, if possible, so far as it depends upon him, must live peaceably with all (Romans 12:18). When the exalted, universal house of the Lord is established and people are so taught His Way that they want to walk in it, the result will be peace and productivity. The instruments of their bodies, the talents they have, formerly used for unrighteousness, will now be beaten into plowshares and pruning hooks and used for productive profitable ends (glorifying God and serving others) (Cf. Romans 6:12-23).

QUIZ

1.

When (latter days) is the Lord's house to be established?

2.

Cite two scriptures to show that Mount Zion is typical or prophetic of the church in the N.T.

3.

Who is to be included in the exalted house of the Lord?

4.

What will be the essential nature of the establishing of this house?

5.

What will be the result of it?