"Zion will be delivered with justice, her penitent ones with righteousness. But rebels and sinners will both be broken, and those who forsake the Lord will perish." (Isaiah 1:27-28) I am sure that some people must have repented at Isaiah's message, though the majority of them did not. And we know that, after Judah's defeat by the Neo-Babylonian Empire and their captivity in Babylon, we never see the people bowing to idols again after a large number of them return to the land of Israel. We know by this that many repented of idolatry but that does not mean everyone acknowledged God as their Lord. At no time did everyone repent and accept Him as Lord, for at no time has everyone of any nation repented and accepted Him as Lord. In every era and in every country there are those who accept Him as Lord and those who reject Him as Lord. This is why the Lord says that the "penitent ones" will be granted righteousness but "rebels and sinners will both be broken" and "those who forsake the Lord will perish".
Those who forsook Him for idols will have nothing to show for their lives. No righteousness can be imputed to them by false gods. No salvation can be granted to them by false gods. The references to oaks and gardens in the following verses are references to the groves in which the people performed pagan religious rites. "You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaks in which you have delighted; you will be disgraced because of the gardens you have chosen. You will be like an oak with fading leaves, like a garden without water. The mighty man will become tinder and his work a spark; both will burn together, with no one to quench the fire." (Isaiah 1:29-31)
Psalm 115, which is believed to have been composed after the Babylonian captivity by an unnamed author, said this about idols: "Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them." (Psalm 115:8) The Lord is saying the same type of thing here in the book of Isaiah; those who trust in futile idols will live lives of futility. They are producing nothing that lasts. Like an idol carved of wood that can be burned in a fire, the works of those who worshiped idols will be destroyed, just as the idolaters will be destroyed. Only the life lived for the Lord produces good fruit of eternal significance.
As we begin Chapter 2 we need to go back and remember that yesterday's passage ended with a prophecy regarding the reign of the Messiah. The Lord foretold a restoration of the nation---both a spiritual and a political restoration. This prophecy has begun to be fulfilled (many captives returned to the land and eventually Israel became a sovereign nation again) but it won't find its complete fulfillment until the Messiah reigns over the earth from Jerusalem. Chapter 2 begins with a vision of the Lord reigning from Jerusalem.
"This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: In the last days, the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it." (Isaiah 2:1-2) Jerusalem will be the capitol city of all the earth in those days. The Apostle John spoke of the kingdom of the Messiah and about the way ambassadors from the nations would stream into Jerusalem, saying of the city: "The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it." (Revelation 21:24) Jerusalem will be the seat of righteousness in those days for believing Jews and Gentiles, and the Lord will forever rule over the earth from His throne in the city.
That is when Isaiah's vision of Jerusalem as the shining example of all that is good will come true. "Many peoples will come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.' The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord." (Isaiah 2:3-5)
Isaiah foresees peace on earth. Peace on earth will not come until the Prince of Peace sits on the throne of His forefather David, reigning as the eternal Lord and King over the earth. But what a blessed hope this is! We do not know when our Lord will return to be crowned King of kings and Lord of lords but we know that when He does come, this future will be ours: "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 21:4) Amen!
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