Isaiah 2:10-22

b. LOSS OF DIGNITY

TEXT: Isaiah 2:10-22

10

Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of his majesty.

11

The lofty looks of man shall be brought low, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day.

12

For there shall be a day of Jehovah of hosts upon all that is proud and haughty, and upon all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought low;

13

and upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,

14

and upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up,

15

and upon every lofty tower, and upon every fortified wall,

16

and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant imagery.

17

And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day.

18

And the idols shall utterly pass away.

19

And men shall go into the caves of the rocks, and into the holes of the earth, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake mightily the earth.

20

In that day men shall cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which have been made for them to worship, to the moles and to the bats;

21

to go into the caverns of the rocks, and into the clefts of the ragged rocks, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake mightily the earth.

22

Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for wherein is he to be accounted of?

QUERIES

a.

Why command the sinful people to try to hide from God?

b.

Why does God bring His wrath upon nature and things?

c.

What does cease ye from man. mean?

PARAPHRASE

There is only one recourse left to you, Come, crawl into the depressions in the rocks or holes in the earth and try to hide from the terror and majesty of Jehovah's inexorable judgment. For the day is coming when your proud looks will be turned into looks of terror and shame and God alone will be exalted. On that day the Lord of Hosts will act against the proud and haughty and bring them down into the dust. All the tall cedars of Lebanon and the mighty oaks of Bashan which you admire and feel secure about will bend low. All the high mountains and hills, and every military tower and fortified wall, and all the proud ocean ships which bring you commercial treasure and all the trim pleasure craft which you enjoy soall shall be crushed before the Lord that day. All the glory of mankind will bow low; the pride of men will lie impotent in the dust, and the Lord alone shall be exalted. Finally, idolatry shall be utterly abolished and destroyed. When the Lord stands up from His throne to shake the earth, His enemies will crawl with fear into the holes in the rocks and into the caves because of the glory of His majesty. Then will be the time when they will at last abandon their gold and silver idols to the moles and bats, and crawl into the caverns to hide among the jagged rocks at the tops of the cliffs to try to get away from the terror of the Lord and the glory of His majesty when He rises to terrify the earth. Quit placing your confidence for salvation in puny man! Man's life is extremely transitory! He is nothing compared to God!

COMMENTS

Isaiah 2:10-11 TERROR OF JEHOVAH: In view of the sin of Judah and the inexorable judgment of God because of it, Judah's only recourse is to attempt to hide from God in the limestone rocks of Palestine which are filled with crevices in which people often took cover from threatened danger (Cf. Judges 6:2; 1 Samuel 13:6, etc.). Of course, it is impossible for man to hide from God. But Isaiah is emphasizing that the time for repentance is pastthe only hope for Judah (which is no hope at all) is to try to hide. This is the judgment which is to come upon Judah in the devastation of the Babylonian captivities, but it typifies and foreshadows the final judgment of God (Cf. Revelation 6:15-17; and our Special Study on The Day of the Lord in Minor Prophets, College Press). The appearance of Jehovah in judgment is both glorious and terrible at the same time! God's glory is manifested in His judgment as well as in His grace! Isaiah's appeal to the fear of God's judgment as a motive in preaching runs contrary to most modern psychological theories which assert that it is wrong to use fear as a motive in preaching and teaching. How different God's methods! Judgment is set before sinful men as a terrible reality! Men must turn from sin if they are to escape such judgment. This is the only motive that will prevail with rebellious sinners. The only way to run from God is to run to Him!

Isaiah 2:12-17 MAN, AND HIS PRIDE BROUGHT LOW: Isaiah announces the judgment of God upon a number of objects in which man had placed his confidence. The cedars of Lebanonused in the Temple (1 Kings 5:6); for masts of ships (Ezekiel 27:5); as a symbol of beauty (Jeremiah 22:6; Zechariah 11:1 ff); particularly admired by Jews (Cf. Psalms 92:12; Psalms 104:16; Ezekiel 31:3). Because of man's sin, even the great and beautiful things of creation will suffer His judgment. Things created by man's handhis buildings for wealth, show and fortification will never survive the judgment of God. One only has to read the notes of archaeologists to verify this statement. The greatest fortifications that the mind of man can devise and the hand of man can build can be destroyed by the least, most insignificant handiwork of God. God is able to direct and send the smallest insect to ruin and make helpless the most complex electronic defense instrument ever devised by man! God can shake the tallest and thickest wall or bridge or sky-scraper to rubble and dust through an earthquake. Objects which bring to man the necessities and luxuries of lifeships of commerce from Tarshish which was a critical lifeline of the nation of Judah would be cut off. Also the ships of pleasure which the rich people of Judah used for selfish pleasure would be destroyed. Isaiah 2:11; Isaiah 2:17, beginning and ending of specifying judgments, emphasize that God's eye of judgment is upon the evil of man and not on things. Man's sin has perverted the object and the objects have become a cause of man's sin and so God will remove the cause.

Isaiah 2:18-21 IDOLATRY TO BE DESTROYED: When God begins to act in judgment, the impotence of their idols and their own stupidity in trusting in them will be so evident the people will cast them away in shame. Also, the people will be so intent upon escaping during these terrible times they will consider their idols only hindrances, encumbering their attempts to escape, and they will leave them behind for the heathen to carry off as booty. The destruction of idols is mentioned last because idolatry is the root sin that causes all the rest. Covetousness (the desire to have more) is called idolatry in the N.T. The captives destroyed forever the practice of idolatry among the Jews.

Isaiah 2:22 TRUST IN MAN TO BE DESTROYED: Trust in idolatry is, in a sense, trust in man himself, for the idols are the products of his ingenuity and creative powers. But any trust in any man for salvation of the soul, for redemption is to be stopped! Man's knowledge, limited by the finitude of his being, is not only unable to extricate him from his predicament, but when trusted in to the exclusion of God, buries man deeper and deeper in his own predicamentignorance and immorality. Man's life is extremely transitory (Cf. Psalms 146:3-4; Psalms 118:8; Psalms 104:29; Ecclesiastes 12:7; Psalms 33:10; James 4:13-17, etc.). What can man do against the wrath of God? The answer is: Nothing! Man without God is lost!

QUERIES

1.

Why would Isaiah direct men to try the impossiblehide from God?

2.

Is an appeal to fear God a proper avenue of motivation?

3.

Why will God bring His wrath upon the objects of creation as well as persons?

4.

Why would the people of Judah cast away their idols?

5.

Why not trust in man?