The Book Of Isaiah. Day 118, A Storm Is Coming

Chapter 28 in the NIV is titled "Woe To The Leaders Of Ephraim And Judah". The word "Ephraim" is being used here for "Israel". In Isaiah's day the kingdom was divided, with the northern kingdom retaining the name of "Israel" and the southern kingdom going by the name of "Judah".

The first segment regards the coming fall of Israel, whose leaders and whose citizens are living carnal lives of sin and idolatry. "Woe to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim's drunkards, set on the head of a fertile valley---to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine!" (Isaiah 28:1)

The city mentioned here is Israel's capital city of Samaria. On the pages of the Bible we often find the word "Samaria" used synonymously with "Israel" after the kingdom split and the capital of the northern kingdom was located at Samaria.

The citizens of the northern kingdom are looking at Samaria as a great city, as a beautiful city, as a prosperous city. They make toasts to it and sing songs about it during their drunken feasts. But the Lord is about to send a great enemy against it: the Assyrian Empire. As Isaiah continues predicting the fall of the northern kingdom, he compares the Assyrian army to destructive forces of nature. Just as human beings are unable to control the forces of nature, the northern kingdom will be unable to protect itself from the forces of this enemy empire.

"See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong. Like a hailstorm and a destructive wind, like a driving rain and a flooding downpour, he will throw it forcefully to the ground. That wreath, the pride of Ephraim's drunkards, will be trampled underfoot. That fading flower, his glorious beauty, set on the head of a fertile valley, will be like figs ripe before harvest---as soon as the people see them and take them in hand, they swallow them." (Isaiah 28:2-4)

Assyria will covet Samaria. Assyria will invade and capture it. Assyria will take captive many of the citizens of the northern kingdom, deporting them to other lands and settling other conquered peoples in their place. Like one who grabs a ripe fig and eats it, the Assyrians will grab hold of the nation and "swallow it up": take it for themselves. 

Why is this going to happen? Because of idolatry. Because of living for decades in unrepentant sin, despite the numerous prophets the Lord has sent to them with words of warning. However, as we have previously studied, the Lord will not make an end of the people of Israel. He will disperse them to other lands but He will not make an end of any tribe of Israel or of Judah. The Assyrian Empire will be used to discipline the people for their sin and idolatry but the Assyrian Empire will not be allowed to thoroughly wipe out any tribe of Israel.

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 117, The Ingathering

This final passage of Isaiah 27 is believed by many mainstream scholars to be about the collapse of the world system of the end times and about the ingathering of Israel and about Israel's eternal security. At that time the things of this world will have proven futile and impermanent, whereas the things of God will have proven firm and everlasting.

The Coffman commentary on the Bible interprets our next segment of Scripture like this: "This is a reference to that time period mentioned in Revelation 16, near the close of the dispensation of the grace of God, when the cities of the nations shall fall. This will occur at a time when Adam's race shall have almost run its course, and when, due to rampant wickedness, God will have no moral choice available except to destroy the sinful world." Revelation 16 has to do with the pouring out of the Lord's wrath upon the earth during the Great Tribulation. 

Of the downfall of the final corrupt system of the world, before the Messiah comes to reign over a restored earth forever, Isaiah says: "The fortified city stands desolate, forsaken like the wilderness; there the calves graze, there they lie down; they strip its branches bare. When its twigs are dry, they are broken off and women come and make fires with them. For this is a people without understanding; so their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor." (Isaiah 27:10-11)

Wickedness will be at an all-time high in the last days. Rejection of the Lord will be at an all-time high leading up to the final judgment. (2 Timothy 3:1-9) The world system will be at its most corrupt in that era and we will be taking an in-depth look at that world system when we arrive at the book of Revelation and study the "kingdom" of the Antichrist. 

This is the era the prophet Daniel foresaw when he spoke of the final kingdom on earth that would be crushed when the King of kings comes to establish His kingdom forever. (See Daniel 7 for an overview of the world kingdoms that would rise and fall between Daniel's day and the day when the Messiah takes the throne.) Because wickedness will abound as never before, and because so many people on the earth in those days will repudiate and curse the Lord to their dying breath, and because the Lord knows who will reject Him right up to the end, He can say that He will have no compassion or favor upon them. This does not mean that He doesn't offer mercy to everyone, but it means that He knows who will accept or reject His mercy. And about those who reject His mercy up to the point where they have no more opportunities left, He can say that no compassion or favor is given because they wanted no compassion or favor from Him.

In the day when He has put all of His enemies under His feet, and when He has put all the enemies of the Jews and the Christians under His feet, He will gather in the descendants of Jacob from every corner of the earth. No tribe of Israel is lost to the Lord. An ingathering of sorts has happened in several stages already; for example, when Jews returned from the places their enemies took them captive, such as when Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon and told them they could go home. But an ingathering will occur on a massive worldwide scale when it is time for the Messiah to take His throne at Jerusalem.

"In that day the Lord will thresh from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, Israel, will be gathered one by one. And in that day a great trumpet will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled in Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem." (Isaiah 27:12-13) Many Jews fled to Egypt from the northern kingdom of Israel when it appeared that a fall to the Assyrian army was imminent. Many more were captured and taken captive by Assyria. A great number of them and their descendants never returned to the land of Israel but they will in the future. There will be more Jews in Israel in that day than there ever have been since the nation was first founded in the Old Testament. 

When we arrive at the book of Revelation we will talk more about this massive ingathering. But for now we will close by keeping in mind that the Lord knows the location of every single descendant of Jacob. It doesn't matter how many were dispersed in antiquity or in more modern times; not one of them is lost to the Lord. We may refer to some of the tribes as being "lost" because we don't know where everyone was dispersed but the Lord knows exactly who they are and He knows exactly where they are.

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 116, The Only Name

As we concluded yesterday's study we found Isaiah predicting a day in which Israel would be the crown jewel of the whole world. The prophet foresaw the eternal reign of the King of kings and the eternal peace of Israel. 

In our next segment of text we find the Lord asking Israel whether He was as harsh with her as He was with the heathen nations. (He was not.) We find Isaiah speaking of a time when idolatry will exist no more---a day in which the name of the Lord will be the only name upon which anyone will call. 

"Has the Lord struck her as He struck down those who struck her? Has she been killed as those were killed who killed her?" (Isaiah 27:7) The Lord has not dealt with Israel the way He has dealt with her enemies. In our study of the prophets we have already looked at several predictions involving the downfall of various enemies of Israel. A number of those fell never to rise again in any form; they ceased to exist as a nation and as a distinct people in the world. Yet the Lord has continued to preserve Israel, though on several occasions He allowed enemy armies to invade, plunder, conquer, and take captives. But at no time has He ever wiped out a tribe of Israel and there is no time when He ever will wipe out a tribe of Israel.

The prophet continues: "By warfare and exile You contend with her---with His fierce blast He drives her out, as on a day the east wind blows." (Isaiah 27:8) Scholars are in disagreement over what this verse means. Some believe it's a reference only to Israel, whereas some believe it's a reference to Israel and other nations to whom the Lord sent judgment. I personally feel that the "her" in this passage is Israel and that it's a reference to how, as we mentioned above, the Lord disciplined her for her idolatry with warfare and exile in the past. 

I feel that this next passage reinforces that opinion because, after the northern kingdom of Israel was conquered by Assyria and many of her citizens taken captive and after the southern kingdom of Judah was conquered by Babylon and many of her citizens taken captive, we do not find the descendants of Jacob falling into heathen idolatry again. There were still spiritual issues in Jesus' day, as we mentioned in yesterday's study, but we don't find the people building pagan altars and making sacrifices on them anymore.

From the time of their return from exile, we don't see the people clinging to heathen gods, but we also don't see the complete fulfillment of our next segment at that time. When they returned they were more concerned with rebuilding their cities and city walls than with tearing down old altars, so I assume many remained in ancient times. But there is coming an era---an eternal era---when the name of no god but will ever cross their lips except the name of the Lord. There will be no idolatry in any form, not the common form of ancient times (in which images were used) and not the modern form of putting prestige and prosperity and other things in place of God.

"By this, then, will Jacob's guilt be atoned for, and this will be the fruit of the full removal of his sin: When he makes all the altar stones to be like limestone crushed to pieces, no Asherah poles or incense altars will be left standing." (Isaiah 27:9) I am not clear whether Jacob (Israel) is the one being talked about when Isaiah says "he" will crush the altars or whether "he" is the Lord. Both may be the case since only the Lord can atone for anyone's sins and because, when all the people give their hearts fully to Him and He forgives their sins, they produce the fruit of repentance and remove all types of idolatry from their lives. The same can be said of anyone who repents and turns to the Lord for salvation: He is the one who does the forgiving and the atoning and the justifying, then once we have been saved our lives produce good and worthwhile fruit. But even then we cannot take credit for the fruit! We could produce nothing of value without Him.

The day Isaiah foresees is the day the prophet Zechariah foresaw when he said, "The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and His name the only name." (Zechariah 14:9) Amen! What a glorious day that will be!

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 115, Israel: The Lord's Vineyard

In today's segment of Chapter 27 the Lord speaks of Israel as His vineyard. This is not the only time in the Bible where we find Israel referred to as a vineyard and the Lord referred to as its husbandman: the One who planted it, the One who feeds it, the One who prunes it, the One who protects it. The Lord Jesus used this analogy in one of His parables, and that particular parable painted the vineyard in a bad light, for it was being unproductive. But Isaiah's vision of Israel as the Lord's vineyard looks ahead to a later time than the era of Jesus Christ. 

In Jesus' day the comparison of the nation to a vineyard was an indictment against the people's unbelief, since so many rejected Him and His message. But Isaiah foresees a day when no one in the nation will be spiritually unproductive again. He is speaking of the eternal era of the Lord's reign over the earth, which is a subject he spoke about at great length in our previous chapter.

We know this because our text begins with the phrase "in that day", which is a reference back to yesterday's text in which the Lord forever abolished upon the earth all temptation and all sin and rebellion. In our last study session the Lord put Satan and his minions in prison forever and He put death to death. When the Lord has done that, no one will ever reject Him again, and all who are upon the earth are those who love and serve Him, and they will enjoy peace and joy forevermore in His presence.

"In that day---'Sing about a fruitful vineyard: I, the Lord, watch over it; I water it continually. I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it.'" (Isaiah 27:2-3) The Lord is the Founder, Protector, and Defender of Israel. He always has been and He always will be. While it's true that on the pages of the Bible He did at times allow enemies to trouble or defeat the nation, (due to idolatry), He never allowed anyone to make an end of the descendants of Jacob and He never will. The day Isaiah foresees is the day which the Apostle Paul also foresaw when he said, "All Israel will be saved." (Romans 11:26) 

Isaiah and Paul both envisioned Israel becoming a spiritually fruitful nation in every way. The Lord Jesus spoke of the nation as being unfruitful in His day; Isaiah could have said the same about the northern kingdom of Israel in his day and about many in the southern kingdom of Judah as well. But a day is coming when the Lord will sing for joy about this vineyard and its fruitfulness.

We must not take on a judgmental attitude about the idolatry that took place in the Old Testament (when people rejected God the Father in favor of pagan gods) or about the rejection of God the Son that took place in the New Testament. We cannot be judgmental unless we have never sinned---and we all know we have sinned. Anytime we've placed someone or something ahead of the Lord, we have been operating in a spirit of idolatry. And during the years before we were saved, were we not rejecting the Lord? We cannot look down on anyone for their sins since we are not sinless ourselves. I am of Gentile heritage and there is absolutely no doubt that my ancestors were spiritually unfruitful. They bowed to images and made sacrifices and offerings to deities that don't exist. I can't brag about them or about my own past, much less look back at the sins that took place in Israel and Judah and shake my head over them.

No enemy will ever confront Israel again in the everlasting era Isaiah foresees. If any enemy existed, the Lord would trample it fiercely under His feet. He is no longer angry with any of the sin or idolatry that took place in Israel. Those things no longer exists and He has put those things out of His mind forever. This is why He declares to them that if anyone or anything existed that wished them harm, He would destroy that person or thing. "I am not angry. If only there were briers and thorns confronting Me! I would march against them in battle; I would set them all on fire. Or else let them come to Me for refuge; let them make peace with Me, yes, let them make peace with Me." (Isaiah 27:4-5)

There are no enemies of Israel in the world in that day and there never will be again, but the Lord paints a colorful picture of exactly what He would do to defend the nation if He had to. He also paints a picture of the salvation of the Gentiles when He says, "Let them come to Me for refuge; let them make peace with Me." Gentile nations were the enemies of ancient Israel. Gentiles are the people who have persecuted the Jews throughout the eras. But in the eternal reign of the Lord over the earth, the Gentile believers and the people of Israel will be at peace with each other. They will be at peace with each other because so many Gentiles will have made peace with God and will consider themselves the brothers and sisters of those of Jewish heritage, for all believers will be the children of God and will be of one united family.

Israel will be the crown jewel of the world---the capitol of the world---and will be a blessing to the entire world. Today's passage closes like this: "In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom, and fill all the world with fruit." (Isaiah 27:6)

Right now we are hearing alarming stories in the news about the angry and sometimes violent demonstrations of anti-Semitism in the United States and in other countries. The spirit of anti-Semitism has existed for many ages past and has reared its ugly head in particularly atrocious ways a number of times. But a day will come in which the Lord judges all such attitudes and actions against the descendants of Jacob. And after that judgment, no spirit of anti-Semitism will ever exist in the world again. Instead, the nation of Israel will be admired above all others. 

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 114, Judging The Serpent

Chapter 27 is titled in the NIV as "Deliverance Of Israel". A big part of that deliverance is not only the Lord's judging of Israel's enemies but His judging (doing away with, putting an end to) mankind's enemies of sin and death---and also our enemy, Satan.

This first portion of Chapter 27 deals with the judging of a great serpent. We will talk about how the term "Leviathan" is used both literally and figuratively in the Bible.

Isaiah has been prophesying about the end times, about the final judgment, about the resurrection of the dead, and about believers' eternal destiny with the Lord. Chapter 27 picks up where Chapter 26 left off, which ended with Isaiah predicting a time of distress before the day of resurrection and the eternal kingdom. That is why Chapter 27 begins with the words "in that day" because it is a continuation of the same theme.

"In that day, the Lord will punish with His sword---His fierce, great and powerful sword---Leviathan the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent; He will slay the monster of the sea." (Isaiah 27:1) Before the day of eternal peace can dawn when believers will live on the restored earth in the presence of the Savior forever in immortal bodies like His, the Lord must banish all that is wicked. He must judge sin and the source of sin.

There are places in the Bible where "Leviathan" appears to be a reference to a literal sea creature. Many scholars think it was the great white whale, a prehistoric whale which was the "giant of the sea" or "Goliath of the sea" or "dragon of the sea". Others think Leviathan may have instead been a large sea serpent which, like the great white whale, is extinct in our day. We don't know exactly what it was in reality but there was a great deal of ancient mythology regarding sea serpents. It has been theorized that Leviathan represented a Ugaritic sea god that was the pagan god of chaos. In my opinion, this is a valid theory for why Isaiah is using the word "Leviathan" here, for it is certain that the world is filled with chaos due to sin and it is well known that ancient peoples often symbolized chaos with images of the sea or of waves.

The Lord is going to do away with the chaos of this world. He will put an end to rebellion. He will put an end to sin and, in putting sin to death, He will put death to death. He will forever imprison Satan and the angels who rebelled with him, according to Revelation, in a place called the "lake of fire". This brings me to another point regarding Leviathan, which Isaiah calls a "serpent": Satan first appears in the Scriptures in the form of a serpent. Satan also appears in the final book of the Bible as a serpent, for when he is cast into his eternal place of imprisonment in the book of Revelation, he is called "that ancient serpent" and "the dragon". 

I believe a number of things are being judged here in Isaiah's vision of the future. I believe the enemies of Israel are being judged and eradicated from the earth. I believe the enemies of Christ's church are being judged and eradicated from the earth. I believe sin is being judged and being eradicated from the earth. I believe death is being judged and being eradicated from the earth. I believe Satan and all his minions are being judged and are being eradicated from the earth. 

What do we have left when all chaos is gone? We have peace! We have the eternal, peaceful reign of the Lord over all who are His! No temptation will ever befall mankind again. No accuser will ever accuse us before God again. No one will ever persecute us again. Never again will anyone be sick or injured. Never again will anyone die. It would be worth giving our allegiance to the Lord for all this, would it not? Eternity in the joy of His presence, where no sorrow will ever overcome us again, is better than anything sin could ever offer us. The pleasures of sin are only "for a season", as the Bible tells us in Hebrews 11:25---and we will pay dearly for those pleasures if we do not repent of them and accept the offer of salvation from the Redeemer. But the joys of the Lord are eternal. Nothing worldly that we will ever possess could ever begin to compare with what He offers us. As Isaiah will later say and as the Apostle Paul will later say, the things the Lord has in store for His people are so good that no human mind can begin to imagine them. (Isaiah 64:4, 1 Corinthians 2:9) 

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 113, The Resurrection Of The Dead

Chapter 26 closes with a prophecy regarding the resurrection of the dead---specifically those who died in faith. Previously in the book of Isaiah we talked about the fate of those who rejected the Lord all their lives long but the remainder of our chapter is about the glorious future of those who made God the Lord of their lives.

Salvation and the eternal joy of those who are saved is nothing that human beings can boast of having accomplished for themselves. It is entirely the work of the Lord. Isaiah reminds us that salvation is by faith and not by works, for the works of mortal creatures are not powerful enough or perfect enough to earn salvation. This next segment paints a portrait of those who realized they could never be perfect and sinless, so they came to the Lord for Him to do what they could not do for themselves.

"Lord, they came to you in their distress; when You disciplined them, they could barely whisper a prayer. As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in Your presence, Lord. We were with child, we writhed in labor, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation on the earth, and the people of the world have not come to life." (Isaiah 26:16-18) We must trust in the Holy One to make us holy. We cannot do it ourselves. It is a painful thing when we realize we are lost in our sins. We may wrestle with this knowledge for a while, tossing and turning through many sleepless nights, until we surrender and lift our hands to the God who already has His hands outstretched toward us. Without Him, all our works are in vain because imperfection cannot bring about perfection.

But when we accept Him as our Savior and when we trust in Him to perfect that which is lacking in us, we receive the salvation of our souls. We receive the promise of a resurrected body like Christ's, and although in Isaiah's day the advent of the Messiah was still far off and the prophet did not clearly understand when and how the Lord was going to bring all these things about, he believed. He believed and he looked forward to the day when the saved of the Lord would be raised from the dead in incorruptible bodies.

Of that day he said, "But Your dead will live, Lord; their bodies will rise---let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy---Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead." (Isaiah 26:19) The Old Testament saints absolutely believed in and taught of a bodily resurrection from the dead. This is not new ideology that emerged in the Christian era. The belief in a bodily resurrection existed long before the church was born. This is clearly demonstrated throughout the Old Testament and also during the lifetime of Jesus before He ever went to the cross; Martha the sister of Lazarus proclaimed to Him that she believed her brother would rise from the dead in the resurrection. So we see that ever since the Lord created man and ever since man fell from grace and became subject to death, a bodily resurrection from the dead in an immortal body has been promised.

We previously discussed the fact that all who have ever lived will be resurrected, but that those who rejected the Lord will spend their eternity separated from His presence, so we will not delve back into that subject again at this time. Instead we will conclude our chapter with verses which demonstrate that Isaiah was aware that the resurrection was not about to occur very soon. He did not know when or how the Redeemer would come or in what manner the Redeemer would save mankind from sin. He did not know when or how the resurrection would take place, but the Lord had already revealed to him that the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah would endure hard times due to the widespread idolatry going on in those nations. Isaiah knows his people will fall to the enemy and be taken captive to foreign lands. By this he knows that the end of days is not yet, and that the final judgment is not yet, and that the resurrection of the dead is not at hand.

Knowing that hardships will come before the day dawns when believers will enjoy a glorious eternity with the Lord, Isaiah encourages his people to endure. Someday all evil will be judged. Someday God's people will be vindicated. "Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until His wrath has passed by. See, the Lord is coming out of His dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed on it; the earth will conceal its slain no longer." (Isaiah 26:20-21)

The Lord Jesus said something similar: "For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open." (Luke 8:17) All wrongs will be righted someday. No crimes are hidden from God and no one will get away with the wrongs they have done to His children. When we begin our next chapter we find Isaiah speaking of the deliverance of his own people and of the way the Lord will judge all who have persecuted them.

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 112, The Lord Is The Source Of Goodness

In today's text the prophet Isaiah credits the Lord as the source of all good things. He acknowledges that he and his people could have accomplished nothing without the Lord. This is the attitude every person should have because we would not even exist if He had not created us. We could accomplish nothing unless He had given us the health and intelligence and talent to accomplish it. On a personal level, nothing is worthwhile without the Lord. On a national level, nothing is worthwhile without the Lord, because unless we place our trust in Him to protect us, all our precautions are in vain. He is our Defender.

"Lord, You establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished You have done for us." (Isaiah 26:12) The nation would not be standing firm if the Lord were not protecting it. The strength of the nation is not its leaders. "Lord our God, other lords besides You have ruled over us, but Your name alone do we honor. They are now dead, they live no more; their spirits do not rise." (Isaiah 26:13-14a)

Most of the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel were bad kings. Some were "mildly" idolatrous, if there is such a thing, for they worshiped the Lord but in a manner that went against His commandments. They constructed unauthorized altars and areas of worship, using the golden calf idols to represent the Lord, all of which things were sins. But some of the kings of Israel went even further and forsook the Lord entirely in favor of pagan gods. Many of the kings of the southern kingdom of Judah were godly but there were also some exceedingly wicked ones. 

I believe the wicked kings of Israel and Judah are the ones Isaiah speaks of when he says they are dead and their spirits do not rise. They are in their graves with nothing of eternal significance to show for their lives. They are in their graves and their souls which rejected the Lord will be eternally separated from Him. Isaiah cannot be talking about the kings who were godly because this next segment says, "You punished them and brought them to ruin; You wiped out all memory of them." (Isaiah 26:14b) It's quite possible Isaiah is also talking about the kings of other nations who will conquer Israel and Judah. Those kings were idolaters and a succession of them subjugated Israel and Judah for several centuries. The works of those kings will come to nothing as well; they will go down to the grave and spend eternity separated from the Lord whose goodness they rejected.

But the people who love and serve the Lord will be the beneficiaries of His goodness: both in this life and in the life to come. The nation that serves the Lord will be preserved by the Lord, so Isaiah says, "You have enlarged the nation, Lord; You have enlarged the nation. You have gained glory for Yourself; You have extended all the borders of the land." (Isaiah 26:15) 

Isaiah is speaking of his own nation, of course, but the blessings of God will fall upon any nation that honors Him. If not for the Lord, the descendants of Jacob would never have become a nation. If not for the Lord, those people could never have conquered the tribes of Canaan in order to inhabit the land of Canaan. If not for the Lord, those people would not have been protected time and again from their enemies. While it's true that the Lord allowed them to fall (because of idolatry) to several enemies over the centuries, He never allowed any enemy to make an end of them. He has kept the promise He made that Israel would never cease to be a nation in His eyes (Jeremiah 31:36) because although He did allow them to be conquered and although He did allow them to be taken captive to foreign lands, He preserved people from every tribe of Israel. This is why Israel is a sovereign nation in the world again in our times. This is why Israel will always be a nation. 

But any nation can receive the blessings and protection of the Lord and we would do well to pray for our own nation that a great revival would break out in it, with a widescale turning to the Lord. I think we have a duty and an obligation to do just that. If we want to live in peace, we must have citizens who love and honor and worship the God who gave us our nation in the first place.

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 111, The Unrepentant Sinners

In today's segment of Chapter 26 we find Isaiah speaking of the contrast between the Lord's people and those who have chosen to reject Him.

As we begin we see the difference between the attitude of the righteous and the attitude of the wicked. "My soul yearns for You in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for You. When Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. But when grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and do not regard the majesty of the Lord." (Isaiah 26:9-10)

Those who love the Lord think about Him during the day and during the night. Those who love the Lord learn from His works which they observe upon the earth. When He sends correction, they respond in the right way. 

But the same is not true for those who have no regard for the Lord. When He sends correction, they become angry about it. They don't respond by acknowledging their sin, repenting of it, and turning to the Lord for salvation. They don't even respond to the Lord's mercy toward them, for Isaiah says that even when "grace is shown to the wicked" they do not "learn righteousness". They don't take either the goodness or the discipline to heart.

The Lord is merciful to all. He makes the free offer of salvation to all. Even to those who reject Him repeatedly their whole lives long, He is being merciful by allowing them to continue living in this world where they will continue to have opportunities to hear the gospel and to repent up until the day of their death. When the day of death comes, there is no remedy for the sins of the one who has rejected the Lord's mercy. They will stand before His judgment seat to be charged and sentenced without the Redeemer at their side to say, "I have paid for this one's transgressions. He accepted Me as Savior and I have borne his guilt. He is to be declared not guilty."

It is those who go into eternity still rejecting the Lord that Isaiah is speaking about in this last segment. "Lord, Your hand is lifted high, but they do not see it. Let them see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame; let the fire reserved for Your enemies consume them." (Isaiah 26:11)

The prophet says something like, "Your hand is upraised to administer judgment, but the wicked refuse to acknowledge it. Judgment is at their very door but they do not take this to heart. When they see the glorious eternity You have prepared for those who love You, let them be ashamed of the way they scorned Your merciful goodness. Send them to the place of eternal separation from You---the place You prepared for Satan and for the angels who rebelled with him."

We don't know exactly what the place called "hell" will be like. The Jewish people did not have the same concept of hell as Christians do. They viewed it more as a place of separation from the righteous and separation from the presence of the Lord. But the Lord Jesus referred to it as a place of torment, which is where Christians get the concept of a place where there are flames, for Jesus referred to hell by the word "Gehenna", which was a reference to the Valley of Ben Hinnom. 

The Valley of Ben Hinnom had a terrible history from way back when the tribes of Canaan occupied the land. It was a location where human sacrifices had been performed. Not only did the heathen tribes of Canaan engage in such abominable practices, but some of the kings and citizens among the Jewish people did the same when they fell into idolatry. By Jesus' day it was considered an unclean and unholy location, forever marred by the terrible things that had taken place there, and it is believed by many scholars to have been used as a dump site similar to the landfills of today. Various types of garbage was deposited there to be burned, along with the dead bodies of animals that perished of disease or that had been torn apart by wild animal attacks. This is why Jesus, when referring to hell as Gehenna, made the statement that it was a place where the fire was never quenched and the worms never died, because fires were always burning at this dump site and maggots were always crawling in the rotting corpses and rotting food.

If this sounds graphic and horrifying, I believe that's because the Lord Jesus intended it to sound graphic and horrifying. This does not necessarily mean that hell is literally a place of fire and maggots but it does mean that it is a place of unholiness and destruction. It is a place of hopelessness where nothing will ever change. Hell does not have to be a burning pit of fire in order for it to be a bad place to go. Being forever separated from the One who created us is hell enough. Spending eternity with all the wicked of all the ages is hell enough. Being forever apart from loved ones who had accepted the Lord is hell enough. We may not know much about the nature of hell but we know enough not to want to go there. The Lord Jesus preached about hell a great deal because He didn't want us to go there. He wanted us to instead accept what He was doing on our behalf so we could spend eternity in the blessed joy of His presence.

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 110, A Level Path

In our text today the prophet Isaiah speaks of how the guidance of the Lord makes clear the path of those who trust in Him.

First the prophet praises the Lord for the way He humbles the proud---and by this I believe he means those who eschew the Lord in favor of doing things on their own and who boast in themselves instead of in the Lord. "He humbles those who dwell on high, He lays the lofty city low; He levels it to the ground and casts it down to the dust. Feet trample it down---the feet of the oppressed, the footsteps of the poor." (Isaiah 26:5-6)

The one who exalts himself will be brought low; the one who exalts the Lord will be lifted up. In the verses above we find the arrogant brought low and the humble lifted up. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 5:5 that the meek would inherit the earth; we see the prophet Isaiah proclaiming the same message. In both the Old Testament and the New Testament we find the Lord stating that He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. 

I don't believe the words of caution against being prideful are words instructing us to have no self-esteem. Our identity is in the Lord and there is no greater sense of self worth than to know we are the child of the Most High King! There is also nothing sinful about feeling satisfied with a job well done as long as we acknowledge the Lord for giving us the strength and intelligence to perform that job. I believe the pride in view here is carnal pride, the type of pride where a person says, "I don't need anybody's help! Everything I have, I've done on my own. Why should I consult the Lord about my decisions or credit the Lord for what I've achieved?" A person who says this does not realize that they wouldn't even exist if the Lord had not created them. They are not taking into account the fact that they owe their health and their mental capacity and their talents to the Lord. Without Him, not a single one of us could draw the next breath, much less achieve anything of worthwhile value.

There is nothing more worthwhile we can do than live our lives according to the guidance of the Lord, which is why Isaiah says, "The path of the righteous is level; You, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth." (Isaiah 26:7) The prophet isn't promising that our walk through this world will be easy but that the Lord will make the path plain to us. 

Like a loving and responsible parent, the Lord is always willing and ready to wisely direct our steps. He wants us to come to Him for all of our big decisions. Isaiah's life as a prophet certainly wasn't easy but because he allowed the Lord to direct his steps, his path was made plain to him. In addition to making the path plain to us, the Lord will remove any obstacles along the way and He will do it at the right time and in the right manner. He will do it in such a way as to bring Himself glory so He can strengthen our faith. Have there ever been obstacles moved out of your path that were not moved by human means? Did it appear that there was no way for them to move but suddenly they were taken away? I have experienced that a number of times in my fifty-four years on earth and those experiences strengthened my faith because I knew that nothing I did cleared the path for me. It was the work of the Lord.

Isaiah cautions us to wait for the instruction of the Lord and he encourages us to delight in the Lord and to praise Him for His works on our behalf. "Yes, Lord, walking in the way of Your laws, we wait for You; Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. My soul yearns for You in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for You." (Isaiah 26:7-9a)

Day and night, Isaiah was focused upon the Lord, waiting for His instructions, praising Him for His provision. When we live our lives like this, we live lives of satisfaction. We live lives of hope. We live lives where we stay on the path far more than we stumble off of it. If you have a big decision to make, there is no better way to make it than to pray earnestly to the Lord until He makes the choice clear to you. If you have been praying and you still don't see the way yet, wait until you do. I have gotten ahead of the Lord several times in my life and it was always a mistake. Even if the choice I made was the choice He would have told me to make, it needed to be made on His timing and not on mine. I've always regretted it every time I've gone ahead and made a choice without waiting for a clear answer from Him. He loves us and wants to make the path plain to us. He doesn't want us making wrong choices or making right choices at the wrong time. The Lord knows what is best for us and He knows when we are ready to handle a great blessing. Isaiah's words to us today clearly demonstrate the best way to go about making decisions---and the best way is always to consult the Lord and to wait for His answer.

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 109, Perfect Peace

As we begin Chapter 26 it's important to recall that in the preceding chapter we found Isaiah speaking of the day in which the Lord will reign over all the earth. This is a day when there will be no more sin, for only the children of God will be here. This is a day when there will be no more death, for sin---which brings death---has been conquered forever. In Chapter 26 we find the prophet Isaiah rejoicing about the day when there will truly be peace on earth. At the same time, Isaiah provides us with a recipe for having peace in our hearts before that day arrives.

We know that the Messiah will reign over the earth from the throne of David in Jerusalem; Jerusalem will be the capital of the whole world. The people of Judah will rejoice over their city being the seat of the Messiah's government. "In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts. Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith." (Isaiah 26:1-2)

In that day, all the people of the earth---God's children---will literally be "one nation under God". We will live in perfect harmony with our God and with each other and with the natural world. When we arrive at the book of Revelation we will learn that the gates of the world's capital city will never be shut day or night. There will never be any fear of invasion, for the Lord "makes salvation its walls and ramparts". There will be no need to lock gates or doors then. There will be no need for a military. There won't be anyone or anything that will be an enemy to us, not even death as we learned in our previous chapter. No longer will we have hospitals or funeral homes or cemeteries. It will be an eternity completely without fear. As someone who has always had a tendency to be anxious and high strung, what a relief it is to me to know that!

In the book of Revelation we will also find people from all over the world coming into the city. No gates will ever be shut against those who want to come see the Messiah face to face. Ambassadors from every nation will pour into the city bringing gifts and paying homage to the Redeemer. But until the day comes when there will be literal peace on earth, we can have peace in our hearts no matter what is going on around us. This next verse tells us how to have such peace.

Isaiah says to the Lord, "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You." (Isaiah 26:3) Then the prophet makes this appeal to mankind, "Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord Himself, is the Rock eternal." (Isaiah 26:4)

Some translations of the Bible render verse 3 as, "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is fixed on You." If our minds are fixed first and foremost on our Almighty God, the problems of this world seem small in comparison to His unlimited power. Is the God who created this world not in control of the world? Of course He is, and keeping our attention on Him more than on events in this world helps us to keep things in perspective. The more we focus on our problems, the bigger our problems appear to us. But the more we focus on our God, the smaller our problems begin to appear. 

God created the universe and everything in it. He created the world and everyone on it. Nothing that has ever happened or ever will happen is beyond His control. He is never taken by surprise. His plans are never changed by anything anyone does. He is never thrown off course. He is never confused or alarmed. If we keep our focus on Him, we will find ourselves confused and alarmed far less often. We have never needed this message more than we need it today, when sometimes it appears as if the world is falling down around us. But in actuality, things are falling into place. I personally don't believe the way of this world will continue much longer and I believe the eternal kingdom of the Messiah is not far in the future now. But whether our blessed eternity with Him is at hand or is still far off, we can have peace in our lives now. We don't have to wait for the day when peace reigns on the earth because it can reign in our hearts today by trusting that the Lord is in control of all things and that He has a plan and a purpose for all things. 

Our job is to trust in Him like a young child trusts in his good and loving parents. When I was a child I certainly didn't understand everything my parents were doing but I trusted in their love and I believed they wanted the absolute best for me and I counted on them to handle circumstances that were too big for me to handle. Our heavenly Father loves us more than any human parent ever could and He is more powerful than any human parent could ever be. How much more, then, should we trust Him to look out for us?

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 108, Death Destroyed, Part Three

Isaiah has been looking ahead to the day when death will be no more. We have been talking about the glorious future of the redeemed when we live on a restored Eden-like earth forever, in an immortal body like that of the Lord Jesus Christ, under His righteous and loving reign. 

But this is not the future of those who reject the Lord all their days. They too will experience a bodily resurrection---what is known as the "second resurrection" in the book of Revelation. In Revelation we see the redeemed rising from the dead and being given glorious bodies like Christ's; this is referred to as the "first resurrection": "Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection." (Revelation 20:6a)

But there is a second wave of people being raised from the dead and these are being raised for the judgment. This is the final judgment, often referred to as the "great white throne judgment", for the Apostle John saw it like this: "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it." (Revelation 20:11a) In this passage of the book of Revelation, John envisions the remainder of the dead (those who never accepted the Lord) being raised from the earth and from the sea and from every place man has ever died and from every place man's remains have ever been buried or scattered. They are raised to stand before the great white throne to have their sins judged and to be sentenced.

Those who took part in the first resurrection will live eternally in the light and love of the Lord; those who rejected Him to the end will live apart from Him eternally. They did not want anything to do with Him in this life on earth and they will not be forced to have anything to do with Him in the afterlife. The Bible does not portray this as a pleasant eternity. How could it be? Even if it entails nothing except separation from the Creator, that in itself is hell. I believe the Scriptures indicate that for many it will entail more than just separation from all that is good and holy, but even if that's all it is, we were never created for such an existence. The human soul can never find any satisfaction in such an existence. 

When we ended our last study session, the prophet Isaiah foresaw the redeemed singing the praises of the Redeemer whose face they will behold forever and ever as He reigns lovingly over His own from His throne at Jerusalem. The final portion of text from Chapter 25 speaks of how the Lord's capital will be at Jerusalem (referred to as "this mountain") but then it goes on to speak of the fate of a particular group of idolaters.

"The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain; but Moab will be trampled in their land as straw is trampled down in the manure. They will stretch out their hands in it, as swimmer stretch out their hands to swim. God will bring down their pride despite the cleverness of their hands. He will bring down your high fortified walls and lay them low; He will bring them down to the ground, to the very dust." (Isaiah 25:10-12)

The Moabites were related to the Israelites through Abraham's nephew Lot, though they were no friends to the Israelites. There is even a Moabite in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, for Ruth was a Moabitess who converted to the God of Israel and married Boaz, the great-grandfather of King David. But the vast majority of the Moabites worshiped idols and they were still idolaters in Isaiah's day. I believe Isaiah's prophecy against them is literal and figurative. The Lord was going to judge the literal Moabites for their wickedness and idolatry and He is also going to judge "spiritual" Moabites---those who have rejected Him to serve the things of this world. 

Isaiah's prediction against the literal and figurative Moabites is quite graphic. He depicts them as swimming in excrement. Their lives have been spent serving idols, serving the flesh, serving sin. Nothing good can come from that. They will have nothing to show for their deed. Their deeds are like dung, in other words. In contrast to this, the redeemed have a song to sing forever and ever, and we will close with those words of praise from earlier in our chapter. "Surely this is our God; we trusted in Him, and He saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in Him; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation." 

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 107, Death Destroyed, Part Two

Isaiah 25 contains glorious news: someday death will be destroyed! As we've moved through this book we've found judgment falling on sins, on nations, and on the earth. All of this will culminate in judgment upon death itself. The only news that tops this is the news that we can enjoy eternity in the presence of the Lord if we have placed our faith and trust in Him.

We already knew that we possessed an eternal soul. But we will possess an eternal body as well. For the children of God this is a great blessing, for we will live in perfect and immortal bodies like the one in which Jesus rose from the dead. We will experience the joy of His love and the light of His countenance forever and ever. We will never have to fear illnesses, injuries, the death of a loved one, or our own death. Isaiah rejoices in this knowledge and says of the Lord that, "He will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; He will remove His people's disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken." (Isaiah 25:7-8)

People from all nations and tribes have accepted God as their Lord. This will continue to happen right up until the end. A glorious resurrection is in store for people who have existed all around the world who have rejected idolatry and have given their allegiance to the one and only living God. This is why Isaiah can say that "all peoples" and "all nations" will share in the relief of never again experiencing the discomfort of living in a frail mortal body and of never again fearing the things that can happen to a mortal body. 

In Revelation 21, when the things Isaiah foresaw have come to pass, the Apostle John hears a loud voice declaring from God's throne room in heaven: "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and will be their God. 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21:3-4) This is a direct quote from Isaiah 25, as notated in our Bibles. 

God, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, will dwell with mankind. Christ will take the throne of David, as foretold many times on the pages of the Bible, and will reign from Jerusalem over the restored and remade earth and over "His people". We must be careful to take to heart that this message, however, is only for the redeemed. These are the people among whom God the Son will dwell. These are the people who will enjoy an Eden-like existence on a planet that has no more curse of sin upon it. These are the people who will behold the face of the Redeemer who wipes away all tears and who destroyed the power of death over those who have placed their trust in Him. 

The glorious promise contained in Isaiah 25 and in Revelation 21 is not for every person who ever has or ever will exist. The offer of salvation certainly is made to every person who ever has or ever will exist, but that offer has not been accepted by all. Therefore, the promise of living forever in the presence of the Lord on an earth where conditions will be perfect, where no sin will never enter, and where our bodies can never become sick or injured or fall prey to death, is made only to those who have accepted the Lord's merciful offer of salvation. The offer of salvation is made to all people but the promise of an eternity in the presence of the Lord is made only to His people. 

That fact is made clear by the text we conclude with today. "In that day they will say, 'Surely this is our God; we trusted in Him, and He saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in Him; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation." (Isaiah 25:9) Isaiah could not have made it plainer that those who are enjoying a blessed eternity are those who trusted in the Lord and received His salvation. 

What happens to those who did not trust in Him and accept His free offer of salvation? We will be looking at that subject as we move on through our chapter and compare it with text from Revelation. They will have an eternal existence too, but it will not be the glorious one promised to the children of God.

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 106, Death Destroyed, Part One

Yesterday's segment of Chapter 25 contained praise from the prophet Isaiah. He praised the Lord for His judgment against wickedness and he praised the Lord for the help He gives those who call upon Him. Now we begin a segment where Isaiah praises Him for taking care of the biggest problem the mortal human body has. The Lord is going to destroy death!

Earlier in the book of Isaiah we foresaw the remaking of the heavens and the earth. Now we look at the conditions on the new earth. We look forward to the day when the King of kings reigns forever over the world from His throne in Jerusalem. We look forward to the day when there will be no more sin, illness, death, or mourning.

Jerusalem will someday be not only the capital of Israel but the capital of the whole world. The city of Jerusalem is what is in view here when Isaiah says: "On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine---the best of meats and the finest of wines." (Isaiah 25:6)  When Isaiah says "this mountain" he means Mount Zion---Jerusalem. 

Whether he is speaking of this fine food and drink literally or figuratively, I cannot say for certain, but I tend to think it's both. In the book of Revelation we learn that the earth will be restored to an Eden-like state when the Messiah reigns over it. The crops that grow then will be the finest crops grown since Adam was in the Garden of Eden, or perhaps they will be superior to those. If this is literal food and drink Isaiah speaks of, then it's the best of the best. And that's what we would expect the Lord to give His children, isn't it? After the earth is remade, and when the Messiah sits on the throne, only the redeemed will be living on the earth. At that time the Lord will be able to bless human beings as never before, for no one will ever commit a sin again. 

As well as referring to literal food and drink, I think the feast is symbolic of the eternal spiritual blessings of the Lord's people. Later in the book of Isaiah we will find the Lord appealing to the people to turn to Him to be satisfied all the way to their souls. We were created with a spiritual space that only the Lord can fill; everything else falls short of fully satisfying us. In turning to Him, our souls are fed. Our hearts are filled. That is why the Lord phrases it like this: "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to Me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare." (Isaiah 55:1-2)

In the verses above, the food and drink appear to be spiritual in nature. Human beings thirst for the living God. Human beings hunger for the living God. So the Lord says, "Why waste your time and energy running after things of this world that will never satisfy your souls? Only a relationship with Me will satisfy your souls. I offer you salvation---and it is free to you! It cost Me a great deal to be able to make you this offer, but to you it is free."

We will be able to enjoy the Lord's blessings as never before, for death will be taken out of the picture. We will have immortal bodies like that of the Lord Jesus. Those bodies will never be capable of dying. "On this mountain He will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; He will swallow up death forever." (Isaiah 25:7-8a) Isaiah envisions the human race as being enfolded in a burial shroud because ever since man fell from grace, death has been the fate of the human body. But the Lord came to earth in the form of a man to set us free from the power of death. To quote the Apostle Paul: "For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive...The last enemy to be destroyed is death." (1 Corinthians 15:21-22,26) 

When the Apostle Paul says "all" will be made alive, he means those who have been redeemed, not all mankind. We know that not all of mankind ever has or ever will accept the Lord as their Savior. This is why Paul also says in that same passage, "those who belong to Him", to make it clear who will be given perfect immortal bodies like Christ's. 

It is going to take us another session or two to take a good look at the remainder of this passage. But it's a passage of good news! It's a passage that describes the destiny of those who belong to the Lord. 

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 105, Praise To The Lord For His Works

In Chapter 24 Isaiah shared with us his vision of the end times. He foresaw cataclysms upon the earth leading up to the final day of judgment. As Chapter 25 opens we find the prophet praising the Lord for all His works: His works of mercy upon those who seek Him, His works of judgment against sin. 

We should praise the Lord for His works of judgment as well as for His works of mercy. If He did not judge sin, He would not be righteous. How could we worship a God who turns a blind eye to sin? How could we exalt a God who does not avenge His children? The prophet praises the Lord for everything He does because everything He does is holy and perfect.

Isaiah begins: "Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your name, for in perfect faithfulness You have done wonderful things, things planned long ago." (Isaiah 25:1) Before the Lord ever created the universe, before He created the earth and everything on it, before He created the first human beings, He knew everything He was ever going to do. He knew everything man was ever going to do. He made His plans long ago with the knowledge that the humans He created would transgress His holy laws, and in knowing this He made the plans for man's redemption.

It is up to us to accept or reject His offer of redemption. In this next segment we see the judgment that fell on sinful, idolatrous cities because the citizens rejected the Lord. "You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin, the foreigner's stronghold a city no more; it will never be rebuilt." (Isaiah 25:2) Earlier in the book of Isaiah we found the prophet predicting the fall of nations that were the ancient enemies of the descendants of Jacob. Some, like Babylon, were predicted never to rise again. It did not matter how powerful the armies were or how thick the city walls were; the Lord brought down the nations that bowed to idols. The Lord brought down the nations that attacked and persecuted His people.

Because of the way the Lord avenges those who are His, many will develop a reverent fear of Him. "Therefore strong peoples will honor you; cities of ruthless nations will revere You." (Isaiah 25:3) This verse may or may not mean that any of these people will turn from idols and give their allegiance to the Lord. You will recall from our study of the days of Joshua that, when the children of Israel began moving in and taking over the land of Canaan as commanded by God, the nations that heard of them feared the Lord who gave the Israelites victory in battle. This doesn't mean those people turned from idols to the living God, although I am sure some did. (Rahab of Jericho is one example; she feared the God of Israel and hid the Israelite spies from her own people, which led to her and her family being saved from harm during the fall of Jericho, which led to her marrying a man of Israel and becoming an ancestor of Jesus Christ.) We do not know how many citizens of other nations may have come to a saving knowledge of the Lord in ancient times upon hearing of the power of the Lord, but it is certain that a large number of people from other nations believed He existed and that He worked on behalf of those who trusted in Him. 

This last segment we are going to study today involves the way the Lord works on behalf of those who call upon Him. "You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the strong of the ruthless is stilled." (Isaiah 25:4-5)

The verses above can be taken both literally and figuratively. The Lord does indeed provide for us, supplying our needs and sheltering us in a literal way. But the verses above also symbolize His protection against the enemy. The enemy is like a storm battering against us but He says to this storm, "Peace, be still!" 

You and I may not have human enemies, although it's doubtful any of us will go through life without encountering people who don't like us and who wish us ill. But we all have an enemy who would love to keep us from living productive lives for the Lord. We have an enemy who wants to discourage us. We have an enemy who wants to harm our testimony for the Lord by enticing us into sin. We have an enemy who wants us to live in a joyless, hopeless manner so that we cannot attract anyone to the Lord by the way we live. Oh, but mighty is our Defender against him! And greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world! 

God is our refuge. God is our shelter. God is the One who says to the storm that rages against us, whether that storm is a problem in our life or a feeling in our heart: "Peace, be still!" God, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, knew what it was like to live in this fallen world. He knew what it was like to have human enemies and to have a supernatural enemy. But He also knew that the child of God can have peace in the heart no matter which type of enemy comes against us, so He said: "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

In Him we are overcomers. We can have peace in Him while living in a world that feels like it's falling down around us. We can have victory in Him against the schemes of Satan. We can have victory in Him against any humans who scheme against us. We can say along with Isaiah, "I will exalt You and praise Your name."

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 104, The Devastation Of The Earth, Part Five

Today we will be concluding our look at Chapter 24 which deals with the judgment in the end times. We find Isaiah describing great cataclysmic events.

"The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake. The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is violently shaken. The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls---never to rise again." (Isaiah 24:18b-20)

In the book of Revelation such a devastating takes place that the Apostle John will say that there has never been one like it since the creation of the world. That earthquake is likely what Isaiah foresees in our current chapter. Isaiah envisions the earth shaking so violently that he describes it as never rising again, not because the Lord is going to do away with the earth entirely, but because He is going to remake it into something new. The "old order" of things will pass away, as it is phrased in Revelation 21:4.

In Matthew 24 the Lord Jesus described the natural disasters that would occur between His own day up until the time of the Great Tribulation as "birth pangs". This is because the earthquakes and tsunamis and volcanic eruptions and wars between nations which would take place between His lifetime on earth until the end were a process of remaking this fallen world into something new. Just as a woman's labor pangs become more frequent and intense as the moment of birth arrives, the disasters and wars upon the earth will become more frequent and intense as the moment of "new birth" arrives.

The Lord is going to "make all things new" as He says in Revelation 21:5. He will do this by shaking the earth (shaking loose all that is wrong) and by judging all the sin that has taken place upon it. He will do this by shaking the heavens as well, by judging Satan and the angels who rebelled with him. Earth will not cease to exist and heaven will not cease to exist; instead they will be cleansed of all dark deeds and will enjoy an atmosphere that sin can never mar. Nothing wicked will ever happen again. Only those who love the Lord will inhabit the heavens and the earth; these inhabitants will behold His face and live in the light of His love forever.

What falls "never to rise again", as Isaiah puts it, is sin and the curse of sin that affected the entire creation. No rebellion against the Lord will ever rise again. Man will not fight against God. Man will not fight against man. Man will not fight against the animal kingdom, or the animal kingdom against man. The creation will be restored to a state of perfection.

But between now and then the birth pangs of that new creation must take place. The judgment of sin must take place. "In that day the Lord will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below. They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days. The moon will be dismayed, the sun ashamed; for the Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders---with great glory." (Isaiah 24:21-23)

When we arrive at the book of Revelation we will find the leaders of the nations in the last days banding together to rebel against the Lord for what will be the last time. The Lord---in the person Jesus Christ---will overthrow them by His power and great glory. Those still living and those already dead, who rejected the goodness and mercy of God, will be judged and sent to their final and eternal destination. Satan and the fallen angels will be judged and sent to their final destination. Then the Lord Jesus Christ will take His throne in Jerusalem and reign over the entire world---over all who belong to Him---in goodness and love for eternity. 

In that day no one will need the light of the sun or the moon (as Isaiah says, "the moon will be dismayed, the sun ashamed") because the glory of the presence of the Lord will put the lesser glory of those heavenly bodies to shame. The Apostle John described the light coming from the Lord's throne at Jerusalem like this: "I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there." (Revelation 21:21-25)

A beautiful day is going to dawn, a beautiful day that will last forever, and that beautiful day is intended for those who have placed their trust in the Lord.

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 103, The Devastation Of The Earth, Part Four

Isaiah has been predicting some of the things that will happen in the end times. That is a serious and gloomy subject. But he also ended yesterday's study session on a positive note: there will be people who come to the Lord during those days and they will shout His praises and thank Him for His salvation.

I believe Isaiah's heart rejoiced when he foresaw the many who would give their hearts to the Lord. I think his spirits were lifted as he heard those voices raised in shouts of praise to God. But Isaiah is soon brought back down to earth when he looks around him and sees the problems of his own day. It is a sobering thought to realize how much sin will take place between his day and the day in which the Lord puts an end to sin forever. 

Right after envisioning the redeemed singing, "Glory to the Righteous One," his mood changes. "But I said, 'I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me! The treacherous betray! With treachery the treacherous betray!'" (Isaiah 24:16b-17) Isaiah will pass away and go to be with the Lord before the day comes when only righteousness will reign on the earth. He will not see the day, from earth, when the entire creation is redeemed. 

I think he is speaking of something more than just his dismay at knowing he won't be on earth to see this happen. I think he is feeling the feelings of all those who will live on earth between his lifetime and the day in which the Lord judges all wickedness and sets up an eternal holy kingdom. Isaiah envisions the terror of those upon whom the Lord's judgment falls. "Terror and pit and snare await you, people of the earth. Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit; whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare." (Isaiah 24:17-18a)

There will be no escape for those who sneered at the Lord's offer of salvation and who rejected Him right up to the end. We've made mention of this previously, but even during the Great Tribulation when the Lord begins pouring out cups of wrath upon the earth, the majority of the world's citizens will not take the Lord's correction to heart. They won't acknowledge that their distress is of their own making. They won't repent and ask His forgiveness. Instead they will curse the name of God and continue to rebel against Him. This is why we find Isaiah saying something like, "You can run but you can't hide! Be sure your sins will find you out!"

We can have our sins covered by the blood of the Redeemer or we can stand before a holy Judge and have to answer for them ourselves. We can attempt to mount a useless defense or we can have the Lord Jesus standing beside us saying, "This one is Mine. I paid their penalty and they are set free from it." What better deal can anyone ever offer us than the one the Lord Jesus offers us? To quote the author of the book of Hebrews, "How shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3a) 

The Lord Jesus Christ paid the price for our sin, but if we ignore this great opportunity for salvation, there remains no other remedy for us. We are lost in our sins. We must bear the penalty for our sins. But if we have accepted the Lord Jesus as our Savior and if we believe that His sacrifice has paid our debt of sin once and for all, we have become the sons and daughters of the living God because Christ will "bring many sons and daughters to glory". (Hebrews 2:10a) We who accept Christ as our Redeemer are the children of God---the brothers and sisters of Christ and the co-heirs of Christ. (Romans 8:17) 

We can have shame or we can have glory. We can have judgment or we can have justification. We can have eternal joy in the presence of the One who loves us most or we can have eternity separated from His love. The choice is ours and there is no day better than today for a person to make the right choice if they have not already made it. 

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 102, The Devastation Of The Earth, Part Three

Isaiah has been predicting the terrible times of the Great Tribulation. In our last study session he spoke of how there would be no new wine in those days and nothing to celebrate even if they had it. We talked about how this message of devastation is for the wicked of the earth, not for the children of God. This is something we must always keep in mind whenever we are reading about the perilous days of the end times and the final judgment to follow.

Today's session begins with Isaiah painting a picture of people living in fear, with many of them hiding in their homes with their doors barred. This is because because the things of this world that gave them a sense of security are no longer present. We also find people going in search of something to soothe their anxiety but no substance can be found with the power to do this. If only they had made the Lord their trust! He would have shielded them. But instead they rejected him, to their own peril.

"The ruined city lies desolate; the entrance to every house is barred. In the streets they cry out for wine; all joy turns to gloom, all joyful sounds are banished from the earth. The city is left in ruins, its gate is battered to pieces. So it will be on the earth and among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest." (Isaiah 24:10-13) 

I don't think any particular city is in view in the verses above. I think many cities will be in the condition Isaiah describes, for he says this will happen "among the nations". In the last days, in every nation in the world, cities will be enduring the woes described for us in the book of Revelation as cup after cup of the Lord's wrath is poured out on the earth.

Earlier in our chapter we were told that this great judgment comes because of the ways man has transgressed the beautiful and righteous laws of a holy God. But even in the midst of judgment, God is merciful. When we arrive at the book of Revelation we will learn that during the Great Tribulation the Lord is still making His offer of salvation and there will still be people accepting His offer. Even during the darkest days the world has ever known, and even during the era when sin will abound more than it ever has before, the Lord does not turn His back on mankind. He will still hold out His hand to man and there will still be people reaching up and taking His hand. I believe that's what Isaiah is foreseeing in this next segment.

"They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the Lord's majesty. Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; exalt the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea. From the ends of the earth we hear singing: 'Glory to the Righteous One.'" (Isaiah 24:14-16a)

Who is shouting for joy? Who is giving glory to the Lord? Who is exalting His name? It's not those who are still deliberately wallowing in sin, refusing to repent and accept His mercy. It's not those who, in spite of His discipline for sin, continue to curse His name as they will in Revelation. Those who are praising the Lord are those who have trusted in Him for salvation. They are the ones shouting for joy in spite of the world falling apart around them. They are the ones exalting the name of the God who forgave them. They are the one praising the God who called them out of darkness into light, who exchanged their old life of sin for a new life in Christ.

During the last days, people from cities all over the world will mourn the devastation falling upon the earth but will not repent of the sin that is causing this devastation. But at the same time, people from cities all over the world will repent and turn to the living God, to the salvation of their souls.

It's important to remember that although there will be opportunities to turn to the Lord during the Great Tribulation, no one should put off turning to Him. Today is the day when the lost should turn to Him. We aren't guaranteed tomorrow. We aren't even guaranteed the next breath. Anyone who has not trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior needs to do it now. 

Even if someone who is alive now is still alive when the end time events begin unfolding, and even if they accept the Lord as their Savior during that time, that is not a good time to be a citizen of the earth. Christians will be persecuted as never before during the era of the Antichrist. Natural disasters will be taking place as well; it is not a time anyone will want to endure. If we accept Christ before He calls His church out of the world, which I believe happens at the beginning of Chapter 4 of Revelation, we are not even going to be on the earth during the Great Tribulation. When the Apostle John is given his vision of the end times, he sees the church on the earth up until the end of Chapter 3. But at the beginning of Chapter 4 the Lord calls him to heaven in the vision, and from that point on John views events on earth from heaven and we no longer see the church mentioned as being on the earth. This is why I, and many people much more learned than I am, believe the church is called up to heaven at the beginning of Revelation 4. 

We will get into the subject of the end times in much more detail as we move on through the Bible but for now I cannot stress enough that today is the day of salvation. Today is always the best day to be saved. There is no better decision anyone could ever make. I've made a multitude of decisions during my fifty-four years on the earth and I've regretted some of them deeply but I have never and will never regret my decision to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior. 

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 101, The Devastation Of The Earth, Part Two

Chapter 24 deals with the final judgment of the Lord upon the deeds done on the earth. We concluded yesterday's passage with Isaiah saying that the earth will be "completely laid waste and totally plundered".

The Lord will not destroy the earth, not in the sense that it will cease to exist. But He will cleanse and remake the earth---and not only the earth, but the heavens as well, for the Apostle John was given a vision of new heavens and a new earth in Revelation 21. 

Why will the heavens need to be remade? It is clear in the Bible that Satan, though he has sinned against God, still has access to the Lord's throne room. We know this because he accuses us before the Lord (Revelation 12:10). For example, when we arrive at the book of Job we will find Satan, whose rebellion has already taken place sometime in the past, claiming that the only reason Job loves the Lord is because the Lord has caused Job to prosper. But a time is coming, in Revelation 12, when the Lord hurls Satan and his minions eternally from His presence, casting them down to the earth in the last days for judgment.

What we are studying in Isaiah 24 is end times prophecy, and in the coming days I will discuss my reasons for believing in a pre-tribulation rapture of the church, so we need to keep in mind that the terrible woes in those days are reserved for those who have rejected the Lord and for our accuser (Satan) and his minions. We need not fear and tremble when reading about these astonishing events because we, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, will be in heaven with Him when the most dreadful days of all time fall upon the earth.

When those days come, there won't be any reasons for those left on the earth to make merry. "The new wine dries up and the vine withers; all the merrymakers groan. The joyful timbrels are stilled, the noise of the revelers has stopped, the joyful harp is silent. No longer do they drink wine with a song; the beer is bitter to its drinkers." (Isaiah 24:7-9)

Those who are used to holding drunken celebrations find nothing to celebrate during the Great Tribulation, but still they don't turn to the Lord. They don't ask themselves, "Why is this happening?" They don't conclude, "It is because we have sinned against the Lord." They don't say, "Let us repent and turn to Him for mercy and salvation." Instead they will "curse the God of heaven" according to Revelation 16:11. 

How bitter does a soul have to be to curse the very One who created them, who offers them salvation, who is correcting them in His goodness in order to lead them in the right direction? How wicked and wayward does a heart have to be to reject the Lord's mercy? The Lord doesn't want to judge anyone! The Lord wants to save everyone! The correct way to respond to His discipline is to acknowledge that we have transgressed the laws of a holy God, to confess to Him that we are sinners, to ask Him to forgive and save us, and to commit our souls to Him. Then we will escape judgment! Then we can look forward to a blessed eternity in the presence of the One who loves us more than anyone has ever loved us.

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 100, The Devastation Of The Earth, Part One

So far in the book of Isaiah we have studied prophecies against the ancient enemies of the descendants of Jacob and we have studied prophecies against the descendants of Jacob. Now, instead of naming particular nations and tribes, Isaiah foresees judgment falling upon the entire world.

There have been and will continue to be periods of judgment up until the last days: judgments against the Lord's people for idolatry in the Bible days, judgments against the wicked idolaters of other nations, judgments against those who have persecuted the Lord's people. But what is primarily in view here is the final day of judgment.

Isaiah says, "See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; He will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants---it will be the same for priest as for people, for the master as for his servant, for the mistress as for her servant, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor. The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The Lord has spoken His word." (Isaiah 24:1-3)

The nations that existed in Isaiah's day were going to experience some devastation, to be sure, and in that sense the prophecy has been partly fulfilled. The known world of his day was going to fall under the rule of powerful empires, such as the Assyrian Empire, then the Neo-Babylonian Empire, then the Medo-Persian Empire, then the Greek Empire, then the Roman Empire. But a larger picture is also in view here and Isaiah's prophecy won't find its complete fulfillment until the end of days when the Lord judges all the wickedness that has ever taken place upon the earth.

Isaiah makes it clear that this judgment is due to wickedness. "The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the heavens languish with the earth. The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth's inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left." (Isaiah 24:4-6)

The Lord created the earth in a perfect condition. But when man fell from grace, his sin brought a curse upon the earth, as we studied in the book of Genesis. This curse is why we must work hard to make a living. This curse is why disease befalls man, animals, and plants. This curse is why accidents occur. This curse is why death exists. We have all experienced the effects of this curse but in the end times the curse is going to reach its ultimate point---because that is when sin will reach its ultimate point---and the Lord is going to pour out His wrath such as never before. 

In the coming days we will be studying Isaiah 24 in conjunction with other passages of Scripture regarding the time known as the Great Tribulation and the final judgment. But I want to conclude today's study session by looking at Isaiah's statement that the people "must bear their guilt". He is talking about unrepentant people. He is not talking about the people who have placed their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and who have been redeemed by the sacrifice He made. Those of us who are saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are not the ones in view here, for Christ has borne our guilt! 

We need not be overcome with anxiety when we study end times prophecy. The dreadful woes pronounced upon mankind and upon the earth in those days are pronounced against those who have rejected the Lord. You and I, as believers, are to be looking for Christ to appear to call us up to be with Him. We are not to be fearfully looking about us for signs that the end of days is near. We are to be listening for the Bridegroom to call our names, not listening for bad news.

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 99, A Prophecy Against Tyre, Part Four

We conclude Chapter 23 today and Isaiah's prophecy against the ancient seaport city of Tyre of the Phoenicians.

Isaiah concluded yesterday's passage by telling the the ships of Tarshish to wail because the seaport had been destroyed. Now he goes on to say, "At that time Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, the span of a king's life." (Isaiah 23:15a)

Scholars are divided in their opinions as to which period of time is indicated by the above passage. Some say the seventy years refers to the seventy years during which the Neo-Babylonian Empire held control over the region. When we arrive at the book of Jeremiah we will find the Lord predicting that the Babylonians would hold the people of Judah captive for seventy years, which corresponded with the years during which Babylon enjoyed a revival of fortunes. Others think it has to do with the arrival of Christianity to that region during the New Testament era---that the restored fortunes mentioned later in our chapter have to do with the way many people in the region accepted the gospel message. I tend to lean toward the first explanation but we simply don't know for certain. What we do know is that since the Lord gave a precise number of years, whatever He had in mind actually did take place within the span of seventy years, for He doesn't say things He doesn't mean. 

What happens when the seventy years are up? "But at the end of these seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute: 'Take up a harp, walk through the city, you forgotten prostitute; play the harp well, sing many a song, so that you will be remembered.'" (Isaiah 23:15b-16) Many scholars believe Isaiah is quoting a song that actually existed in his day. In yesterday's passage we found him referring to the region of Phoenicia as a "virgin" and we discussed the Bible's use of this term for cities or nations that had never before been conquered. We will find the Lord referring to Israel and Judah as "virgins" as we continue moving through the books of the prophets. He uses this term when predicting the fall of Israel and Judah because those nations have never fallen before. But Tyre will fall and perhaps that is why the Lord now calls her a "prostitute" during her post-fall years. Or perhaps He uses this term because the people of Tyre served other gods, for the Lord equates idolatry with prostitution since it involves people selling themselves out and selling themselves short by forsaking Him (being unfaithful to Him) and giving themselves to idols.

The region of Tyre will once again become commercially successful. "At the end of seventy years, the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her lucrative prostitution and will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth." (Isaiah 23:17) This verse indicates that the scholars who think the restoration of Tyre is a reference to Christianity may be mistaken. I don't think the Lord would call it "returning to prostitution" if there had been a widescale forsaking of idolatry there. I think that, when Tyre rebuilds, the things that go on there will mostly be the things that went on in the past: there will be a focus on worldly things.

But that doesn't mean that Tyre will profit only herself. The Lord is going to somehow use the wealth of Tyre to profit those who are His and possibly also that He will use the seaport and trade routes to spread the gospel message in later times. Our chapter ends with a statement that cannot be explained to the satisfaction of theologians or laymen but, as with anything the Lord says, we can be sure it happened exactly as He said it would. "Yet her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord; they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the Lord, for abundant food and fine clothes." (Isaiah 23:18) 

Although we don't know exactly when and how the Lord used the profits of Tyre to benefit His people, the Lord has always been able to provide for His people and He has often plundered the wicked in order to do so. He is more than capable of taking things intended for evil by those who are wicked and using them for the good of His children.

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 98, A Prophecy Against Tyre, Part Three

Isaiah has been predicting the fall of the great city of Tyre and its prosperous seaport, as well as the fall of many other wealthy and magnificent cities of Phoenicia.

"Till your land as they do along the Nile, daughter Tarshish, for you no longer have a harbor." (Isaiah 23:10) Tarshish means "smelting place" and they made some fine metalworks there. Tarshish was a very prosperous seaport along the Mediterranean but it too would suffer destruction. Not only that, but the people of Tarshish could no longer travel to and from the seaport of Tyre. Isaiah says, "You might as well become farmers. You won't be able to transport any fine works made by your artisans. This line of commerce will be cut off. Till the soil and plant crops instead."

The destruction Isaiah foresees won't come for a while. The region of Phoenicia will first be attacked by the Assyrian Empire, then later by the Neo-Babylonian Empire, then what remained of the seaport of Tyre will be practically demolished by the Greek Empire. But the prophet speaks of the downfall of the great cities of that region as if it has already happened because he knows it will happen. "The Lord has stretched out His hand over the sea and made its kingdoms tremble. He has given an order concerning Phoenicia that her fortresses be destroyed. He said, 'No more of your reveling, Virgin Daughter Sidon, now crushed! Up, cross over to Cyprus; even there you will find no rest.'" (Isaiah 23:11-12)

In the Bible we often find nations that have never been conquered referred to as "virgins". Sidon was a powerful ancient city but it will not be able to prevent the Lord's judgment against it from coming true. It will be invaded and plundered.

"Look at the land of the Babylonians, this people that is now of no account! The Assyrians have made it a place of desert creatures; they raised up their siege towers, they stripped its fortresses bare and turned it into a ruin. Wail, you ships of Tarshish; your fortress is destroyed!" (Isaiah 23:13-14) Isaiah says, "Look at how the Assyrian Empire conquered Babylon! Don't think you will be able to defend yourself any better than Babylon did. The same fate will befall you."

We know from history that, in time, the Neo-Babylonian Empire arose and threw off the shackles of Assyria and that Assyria ceased to be a great empire. But that doesn't mean Phoenicia's troubles are behind it after Babylon rises to power; Babylon will set its sights on the region of Tyre, Sidon, Tarshish, and other great maritime cities in that part of the world. 

Isaiah, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, views these coming events and speaks with the authority of absolute certainty when he states that they will happen exactly the way the Lord says they will happen. I don't know whether Isaiah knew which of these events might happen in his lifetime or in the lifetimes of his listeners, but he knows that every word the Lord speaks is going to come true, whether it happens in a year or in a hundred years or in a thousand years or in ten thousand years. We are living in an era when we are able to look back through history and see that everything Isaiah predicted against the ancient cities of his day has come true.

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 97, A Prophecy Against Tyre, Part Two

We began Chapter 23 on Friday with Isaiah's prophecy against the prosperous seaport of Tyre. He spoke of how the harbor would be destroyed and how the nations that did their trade there would wail over its fate.

He continues with that theme today. "Cross over to Tarshish; wail, you people of the island. Is this your city of revelry, the old, old city, whose feet have taken her to settle in far-off lands?" (Isaiah 23:6-7) Tyre would be attacked by both Assyria and Babylon but the primary fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy that the people would be taken to settle in far-off lands would occur during the time of Alexander the Great. Alexander sold 30,000 of them into slavery to other nations.

Why will this happen to the ancient seaport city? Isaiah provides the answer. "Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are renowned in the earth? The Lord Almighty planned it, to bring down her pride in all her splendor and to humble all who are renowned on the earth." (Isaiah 23:8-9)

This is the Lord's judgment. The Tyrians reveled in the works of their own hands, not in the works of the Lord. They worshiped idols, not the one true God. Their idols weren't only the type we typically think of, such as graven images, but they were also the idols of wealth and prestige. They were lifted up in pride over everything they had achieved, not giving any glory to the God without whom they wouldn't even exist. They believed they were too big to fall, but that is not true of any nation. There are many verses in the Bible about how the Lord hates pride and about how He gives grace to the humble. The Lord blesses those who bless Him. The Lord honors those who honor Him. The Lord lifts up those who humble themselves but the Lord humbles those who are lifted up in pride in themselves.

Not only will the Lord humble proud and idolatrous Tyre but, through the judgment He sends upon Tyre, He will humble the proud and idolatrous nations that profited through their trade in this seaport city. This is why Isaiah said in verse 9 that the Lord would bring down the pride of Tyre and "humble all who are renowned on the earth". Tyre made itself prosperous by worldly means and it enabled many other nations and tribes to prosper. But none of them acknowledged God as Lord, and in that sense they were destitute. 

The Lord Jesus Christ once asked in a sermon, "What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?" (Mark 8:36) Many idolaters have done well for themselves, materially speaking. Many idolaters have made great names for themselves in a worldly sense. But they've forfeited their souls and there is nothing worth missing out on salvation! The citizens of ancient Tyre thought they had it all but they were like the wealthy apostate church of the end times, about which the Lord Jesus said: "You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked." (Revelation 3:17)

I am not stating that it is a sin to succeed in our careers or to make a good living for our families. The Lord enjoys giving gifts to His children and if we have made any wealth by living according to God's principles, by working hard, and by honoring Him, the Bible is not saying that we are destitute in spirit because we have made some money. The words of Isaiah's prophecy and the words of the Lord Jesus regarding wealth are spoken about those who have made wealth their god. They serve money, not the Lord. They have likely done some ungodly things in order to make their money but even if they haven't, they value money above everything else. This is idolatry.