The Lord of hosts
has sworn:
“As I have planned, so shall it be,
and as I have
purposed
so shall it stand” Isaiah 14:24
This
verse summarizes the theme of the next section of Isaiah which we begin this Sunday. In chapters 1-12 Isaiah declared this message
from God: “The haughty looks of man shall
be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone
will be exalted in that day.” (Is 2:11, 2:17, 5:15-16, ) Therefore the message to God’s people is
this, do not fear the nations, and do not look to them for your security. Instead “the Lord of hosts, him you shall,
honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and
let him be your dread” (Is 8:13).
The
previous section of Isaiah ended with a glorious promise of a coming King who
will lead God’s people in righteousness and faithfulness and he will execute
the wrath of God upon God’s enemies.
Isaiah 13
– 23 is a series of prophecy/pronouncements against the nations who oppose the
rule of of this coming King. “These ‘oracles’ are God’s way of saying that just
because he chooses to use the pagan nations as his tool to judge disobedient
Israel and Judah does not mean those nations are going to escape judgment for
their sins. Israel will be restored after disciplinary punishment, but some of
these nations are going to disappear from the face of the earth.” Oswalt, John N., Isaiah (The NIV
Application Commentary)
These
oracles are also a timely word for us today, even though it is addressed to
those God is going to bring down. The
point of this section is to show us the foolishness of trusting in what
ultimately will not endure, and encouragement to trust in the Sovereign God of
the Universe.
This
Sunday’s passage is a message of judgment against the ancient nation of
Babylon, but it is also a timeless message of judgment against a world system
that opposes God, God’s people and God’s purposes. Babylon is symbolic of a prideful, arrogant
and rebellious world that stands against God. We see it in the beginning with the tower of
Babel in Genesis 11, and we see it at then end with “Babylon the great” in Revelation. The
Apostle John describes the ‘world’ this way:
“For all that is in the world – the desires of the flesh and the desires
of the eyes and pride of life – is not from the Father but is from the world.”
(I Jn. 2:16)
John’s
warning could not be clearer: “Do not love the world or the things in the
world. If anyone loves the world the
love of the Father is not in him”. (I Jn. 2:15)
As we
prepare our hearts for worship it would be good for us to ask the Lord to apply
this verse to our hearts and show us where we our affections have been divided
and our love for him has been lacking.
This
Sunday we will gather to worship our Savior “who gave himself for our sins to
deliver us from this present evil age” (Gal. 1:4). We have been rescued out of this world; we are
not enslaved to “Babylon’ and we do not have to fear the coming wrath of God
that will be poured out upon it.
This is
the reason we can join the multitude in heaven proclaiming,
Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our
God,
for his judgments are true and just;
for he has judged the great
prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her immortality,
and has avenged on her the blood
of his servants. (Rev 19: 2)
This is
the reason we pray for those who need to hear this warning and need to hear of
God’s gracious offer of rescue and redemption.
This is the
reason we share the gospel and invite our neighbors and friends to come and
hear this message of rescue and hope.
This is
the reason we give our resources for the cause of global missions and the task
of making disciples of all nations.
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