Isaiah 3

Chapter 3. Isaiah’s VisionIn the last daysthe mountain of the Lord’s temple will be establishedas chief among the mountains;it will be raised above the hills,and all nations will stream to it.Many peoples will come and say,“Come, let us go to the mountain of the Lord,to the house 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 nationsand will settle disputes for many peoples.They will beat their swords into plowsharesand their spears into pruning hooks.Nation will not take up sword against nation,nor will they train for war anymore.Come, O house of Jacob,let us walk in the light of the Lord.”(Isaiah 2:2-5)The second address of the prophet is contained in chapters two to four inclusive. It begins with a sublime vision of the future glory of Israel and Jerusalem. This is immediately followed by the dark picture of the present condition of things which was anything but ideal. But after the dark eclipse and the long interval of sin and judgment, the vision returns and the closing paragraphs of the fourth chapter are radiant with the promise of a holy people and the presence of their covenant God in the fullness of blessing and the fulfillment of the opening vision. Section I—The IdealIsaiah’s vision was not original. His words are quoted from an older prophet—the stern and eccentric figure that suddenly appeared in Jerusalem in the early days of Hezekiah’s reign and, with wild gestures and tones of agony and terror, summoned the king and the people to repentance and became the instrument of Hezekiah’s conversion. It was the prophet Micah who first uttered this sublime picture of the future glory of the house of the Lord, and Isaiah prefixes it to his second address somewhat as a modern minister would put a text at the commencement of his sermon. Center Stage

1. In the vision of Micah and Isaiah, the Lord’s house occupies the center of the stage and the foreground of the picture. It is the old conception of the theocracy, a state founded upon the throne of Jehovah and placing His authority and worship above all other obligations. A Mountain
2. The house of the Lord is represented as a mountain. The figure suggests vastness, loftiness and glory and the conception in the prophet’s mind is that God’s house, which simply stands for His cause, is the grandest of all causes and the noblest of all institutions. Mountains are used in prophetic imagery to represent great kingdoms. But all earthly organizations dwindle into insignificance in comparison: “His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation” (Daniel 4:3). A distinguished statesman, having been appointed as an elder in a humble village church and permitted to pass to the congregation the emblems of the Lord’s supper, remarked that he felt more highly honored in having the humblest place in the service of God than when he had held the highest offices from his sovereign and his country. The day is coming when the lowliest servant of the King of kings will be a prince compared with the proud rulers of time. Above All Mountains
3. It is above all other mountains. It is to be “established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills” (Isaiah 2:2). The Chinese place their sacred pagodas on the loftiest hills and will not suffer a commercial building or a missionary edifice to overtop their sacred temples. They literally carry out the idea that the houses of their gods must be exalted above all hills. The spiritual conception is fine. The claims of Christ should overtop all other claims. The authority of God should be supreme above all other influences. Have we thus exalted His throne in our hearts and crowned Him “Lord of all”? Center of World’s Attraction
4. The Lord’s house is to be the center of attraction for the world. “All nations will stream to it” (Isaiah 2:2). The name of Jesus already is the mightiest name on earth and the day is coming when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord, and when all men shall come to Him as the source of life and every blessing. “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself” (John 12:32). Zechariah has given us a sublime vision of a day that is coming when Jesus shall hold an annual reception in Jerusalem and all nations shall go up once a year to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Tabernacles and to worship at the feet of our glorified Lord. The vision of Isaiah shall then be fulfilled and Christ will indeed be the center of all hearts and all nations. The Light of the World
5. The house of the Lord is to be the light of the world for “He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths” (Isaiah 2:3). Jerusalem was the light of the ancient world. All true knowledge of God and righteousness came from the divine oracles committed to the chosen people. And from the same Jerusalem came the light of the gospel in the apostolic age. Once more in the millennial age is Jerusalem again to be the center of light for all men, and the Word of God will go forth to all earth’s millions, so that the “earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). That day has not yet come. At present we are simply giving the gospel as a witness to all nations and gathering out from among the Gentiles a people for His name (Acts 15:13), but a brighter light is yet to shine from shore to shore and all nations shall walk in the light of the Lord. A Seat of Government
6. The house of the Lord is to be the seat of government for the world. “The law will go out from Zion” (Isaiah 2:3). One of the curses of the nations today is bad government. It has been somewhat improved through the influence of Christianity among the nations, but we have no Christian nations as yet and never will have a truly Christian nation until the Lord Jesus comes. Then “a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice” (Isaiah 32:1). Then “He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; he will crush the oppressor. He will endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations” (Psalms 72:4-5). The Golden Age of the World
7. This will bring the golden age of the world. “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” (Isaiah 2:4). Man is trying to bring this about through human governments and arbitration treaties. We thank God for what has been accomplished, but the facts of current history are almost a caricature of man’s pretensions. The very heavens must laugh as they behold the kings who at one time were most active in establishing the tribunals of peace a little later provoking by their tyranny the horrors of the world’s most terrible wars. But the sentiment for peace is born from above and the echoes that float along the centuries in human sentiment and poetry speak forth a deep undercurrent of divine intuition. Not vainly has the poet dreamed of that golden age: Through the dark future, down long generations The echoing sounds grow fainter and then cease, And like a bell with solemn, sweet vibration I hear the voice of God again say Peace; Peace, and no longer from its brazen portals The voice of war’s loud thunder shakes the skies, But beautiful as songs of the immortals The holy melodies of Love arise. Section II—The FailureBut not yet is the vision. It is as true as it is sublime and beautiful; but, like Isaiah’s, it must wait till He comes, the Prince of Peace, the Lord of lords. How very stirring to find the young prophet of Jerusalem starting out in his splendid career with this glorious vision. How true to the loftiest natures and the history of every great movement. All great lives begin with such vision. It is this that stirs the breast of patriotism and makes the heroes whose lives have illuminated the pages of history. It is this that moved the Crusader and still inspires the philanthropist, the social reformer, the Christian worker and the worldwide missionary. No life will ever be illustrious until it has had its visions. Gideons must Isaiahs be, Visions first, then victory. But alas, the brightest vision must seem to fade and imagination and hope must learn to join hands with patience and faith and wait till God’s full time has come. It is all true. It is less than the glorious truth, for “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). But there is another vision and that is the actual reality of life and humanity. In looking at that vision we will find, as Isaiah did when he turned his eyes from heaven to earth, that the “gold has lost its luster, the fine gold become dull!” (Lamentations 4:1). What a picture of corruption met his gaze! Corrupt Rulers
8. First we see the corruption of the rulers. See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her— but now murderers! Your silver has become dross, your choice wine is diluted with water. Your rulers are rebels, companions of thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not come before them. (Isaiah 1:21-23) And here is another picture. Youths oppress my people, women rule over them. O my people, your guides lead you astray; they turn you from the path. The Lord takes his place in court; he rises to judge the people. The Lord enters into judgment against the elders and leaders of his people: “It is you who have ruined my vineyard; the plunder from the poor is in your houses. What do you mean by crushing my people and grinding the faces of the poor?” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty. (Isaiah 3:12-15) We have become accustomed even in our modern democracy to such exposures of official corruption. Even the best forms of government do not change the selfishness and unscrupulousness of fallen nature. The righteous Judge looks down with indignation upon the reeking and ever-recurring spectacle of oppression, selfishness and misrule and longs for the day when the scepter of righteousness shall be the scepter of His kingdom and earth shall cease to groan beneath the heels of her oppressors. Luxury
9. Next we see luxury. “Their land is full of silver and gold; there is no end to their treasures. Their land is full of horses; there is no end to their chariots” (Isaiah 2:7). Prosperity and wealth had debauched the nation. The leading families were given up to self-indulgence and luxurious pleasure which is always a demoralizing influence in the life of nations and which today is threatening the very foundations of society. Idolatry and Superstition
10. Idolatry and superstition are portrayed in this vision. “You have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob. They are full of superstitions from the East; they practice divination like the Philistines and clasp hands with pagans…. Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made” (Isaiah 2:6, Isaiah 2:8). Their intercourse with heathen nations had introduced their abominations in the form of idolatry, sorcery and devil worship. Our own times, not withstanding our boasted civilization, have not escaped the same peril. While we do not bow down to idols of wood and stone, we are running after the identical things that had this outcome of their coarser idolatries, and idolatry is but devil worship. In modern Spiritualism, clairvoyance, Buddhism, Theosophy and Christian Science, we have simply later forms of the same devil worship which the great father of lies is seeking to substitute for the worship of the true God in every age, and which he is refining to suit the tastes of the times and succeeding in palming off upon our boasted culture with unprecedented success. Pride
11. Next we see pride. The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. The Lord Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted (and they will be humbled), for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty, and all the oaks of Bashan, for all the towering mountains and all the high hills, for every lofty tower and every fortified wall, for every trading ship and every stately vessel. 1The arrogance of man will be brought low and the pride of men humbled; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day, and the idols will totally disappear. (Isaiah 2:11-18) The spirit of pride is particularly offensive to God. It grows with prosperity and human progress until man becomes his own god. The prophet’s severest denunciations are hurled against the high looks and the haughty pride of Jerusalem. And the modern prophet might as fittingly denounce the swollen vanity, the self-sufficiency, the assumption, the national vainglory and the intellectual boastfulness of our own age. A recent writer stated that it was the glory of the 19th century that it has given us humanity. Man’s confidence in himself and his own sufficiency is a practical atheism that dominates much of human thought today. Vanity and Corruption of Women
12. Last we see the vanity and corruption of woman. Finally the prophet’s piercing glance turns to the loud and showy women who form perhaps a large part of his audience and who with haughty eyes are beginning to frown down the awful message of the young enthusiast to whom they had listened for awhile with such admiration and pride. But now their faces blanch while he cries: The Lord says, “The women of Zion are haughty, walking along with outstretched necks, flirting with their eyes, tripping along with mincing steps, with ornaments jingling on their ankles. Therefore the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the women of Zion; the Lord will make their scalps bald.” In that day the Lord will snatch away their finery: the bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces, the earrings and bracelets and veils, the headdresses and ankle chains and sashes, the perfume bottles and charms, the signet rings and nose rings, the fine robes and the capes and cloaks, the purses and mirrors, and the linen garments and tiaras and shawls. Instead of fragrance there will be a stench; instead of a sash, a rope; instead of well-dressed hair, baldness; instead of fine clothing, sackcloth; instead of beauty, branding. (Isaiah 3:16-24) This fearful picture might be adjusted without much strain to one of the fashionable parades of today. It is not wrong for women to dress with modest taste, for God has made the world beautiful and given to woman the instinct of good taste. But when a woman dresses for display, for adornment, for personal vanity and to become a center of attraction for the eyes of men, she degrades herself and dishonors her womanhood and her God. It is very significant that the one thing he says about women here is about their dress. It would seem as if a woman’s character was expressed in her apparel. You can tell the pure and modest woman by her dress. You can tell the loud, vain and immodest woman by her walk, her look and her array. God help you, dear sisters, to dress as women becoming godliness, and above all other charms to wear the “unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight” (1 Peter 3:4). The condition of woman in Isaiah’s time was one of the very evidences of the degeneration of the nation and the awful precursor of the shame, the outrage and the ruin in which they were so soon to be involved in the ruthless grasp of their pitiless enemies. Section III—The Later VisionBut the dark eclipse is to pass away and when judgment shall have done its fearful work, the day at last will come of which the prophet says, In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel. Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy, all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem. The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire. (Isaiah 4:2-4) The change is to come about partly by divine judgment, bringing the conviction of sin, but more fully through the work of the Holy Spirit whom the Messiah is to bring and who is to cleanse them “by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire” (Isaiah 4:4). This was the message later of John the Baptist, as he announced the coming Savior, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Matthew 3:11). This is the only remedy for all wrong social conditions and for all the evils of our hearts and lives. The coal that touched Isaiah’s lips and consumed his sins must burn out from us the taint of depravity and burn in the holy image of our God. But it was only the remnant that was to be delivered. “For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this” (Isaiah 37:32). The whole nation was not to be saved, but “a remnant chosen by grace” (Romans 11:5). This is the principle on which God is working now for both Jew and Gentile. He is not saving all the world, but “all the Gentiles who bear my name” (Acts 15:17). He is not saving all Israel, but a remnant from among them are finding the light, accepting the Messiah and getting ready for the glory of the latter days. The work of God is not a wholesale work today, but a little flock, a humble minority. Are you in this remnant? Have you turned from the great broad road of time and are you in the narrow way and with the little flock? And when this remnant shall have been saved, sanctified and prepared, then will come in all its fullness, the vision of the glory. How sublimely the prophet describes it: “Then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over all the glory will be a canopy. It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain” (Isaiah 4:5-6). It is the old symbolism of the pillar of cloud and fire that led them through the wilderness and the tabernacle round which they gathered before their covenant God; only all this ancient symbolism is to reach a splendor in the coming age such as only the later visions of the New Testament fully unfolded. The Apostle John describes the vision of this tabernacle in the language of the Apocalypse, Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and 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) And he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. (Revelation 7:15-17) God bring us to that glorious time and that happy company. Isaiah began his visions of sin and sorrow, of darkness and judgment, with this glorious picture. He could not have stood the darkness if he had not first seen the light. Let us go forth into our mission in this world of sin and sorrow with a vision as bright and clear as the ancient prophet. And when our hearts grow sick with sin and all seems dark and wrong, let us remember the vision and keep saying, “For in just a very little while, He who is coming will come and not delay” (Hebrews 10:37), and the light of that blessed hope will lift us above the shadows of the present evil world and enable us to live under “the powers of the coming age” (Hebrews 6:5).