ISAIAH
Chapter 2:9-22


Isaiah 2:9-22

quote:

"So the common man has been humbled, And the man of importance has been abased, but do not forgive them. 10 Enter the rock and hide in the dust from the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty. 11 The proud look of man will be abased, and the loftiness of man will be humbled, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. 12 For the LORD of hosts will have a day of reckoning against everyone who is proud and lofty, and against everyone who is lifted up, that he may be abased. 13 And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up, against all the oaks of Bashan, 14 against all the lofty mountains, against all the hills that are lifted up, 15 against every high tower, against every fortified wall, 16 against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful craft. 17 And the pride of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men will be abased, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. 18 But the idols will completely vanish. 19 And men will go into caves of the rocks, and into holes of the ground before the terror of the LORD, and before the splendor of His majesty, when He arises to make the earth tremble. 20 In that day men will cast away to the moles and the bats their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, 21 In order to go into the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs, before the terror of the LORD and the splendor of His majesty, when He arises to make the earth tremble. 22 Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; For why should he be esteemed?"

Two Hebrew words are used to distinguish one man from another in verse 9. The first man "adam" refers to all mankind, while the second reference to man "ish" refers to men of prominence, meaning all men will come under the judgment of the Lord regardless of their social or economic status. This passage not only makes reference to the judgment of Judah, but to the final judgment of the "day of the Lord" when there will be a world-wide universal judgment.

Because of man's sin, creation also suffers. We see it suffering even today with floods, fires, drought, earthquakes and hurricanes. As in the days of Noah, the judgment of man also affects creation as they are bound together. It is a fallen creation – man has misused creation with idolatry and perverted it by worshiping the creature rather than the Creator.

Romans 1:25
"For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen."

This day of reckoning will show that whatever man has regarded as high and lofty, is in reality only something created and that God alone is to be exalted. Whatever we place our confidence in for security and protection will perish. "That day" of verse 17 will most certainly come and God will arise!

Verse 22 shows us that since idols are man-made, it is man who is in opposition to God. Placing confidence and hope only in ourselves is a clear depiction of fallen man – for it was God who put breath into us and just as that breath was put into us, it can be taken away. Our hope, our confidence, our protection and our very life is in God alone. He is and always will be God and God alone forever. Let's lift and exalt His Name high today and everyday.

Psalm 90:2
"Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God."