Isaiah: Chapters 2 and 3

Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.

November 18, 2021 

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

This is Part 2 of our messages on the book of Isaiah, in which we will look at Chapters 2 and 3. The first 39 chapters of the book of Isaiah are often called The Book of Judgment, and the last 27 chapters are often called The Book of Comfort. We briefly looked at Chapters 9 through 24 and Chapters 28 through 35, all of which speak predominantly of the judgment of God. Then we looked at Isaiah, Chapter 1 in some detail. Now let us turn to Isaiah, Chapter 2, which consists of three parts: Verses 1-4 speak of the day of the Lord and the end of man's day; Verses 5-9 proclaim the need for repentance on the part of the chosen people of God; and Verses 10 through 22 set forth a warning to all because of the sins of the people. Verses 5-22 describe conditions on earth just prior to when the Lord Jesus returns.

1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

"The word that Isaiah saw," means the vision of Isaiah. Isaiah 1:1 says the same thing.

Therefore Isaiah 1:1 is a summary introduction to the whole book. Jerusalem is both the natural city in Isaiah's day and a type of the Church.

2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

The mountain of the LORD's house is Mt Zion, or the kingdom of God, which is the dwelling place of God. (Psalm 76:2, "In Salem also is His tabernacle, and His dwelling place in Zion.") Zion is a type of the overcomers or the remnant. Note that people from all nations shall flow UPHILL to that mountain, not downward as in the natural realm. That flow of the Spirit started in natural Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost.

The nearby Mount of Olives is 200 feet taller than Mt. Zion in the natural realm, but in terms of spiritual importance, Zion stands above all other mountains of the world. "All nations shall flow into it" where "it" speaks of the kingdom of God, does not mean that everyone will enter the kingdom of God. The phrase means that people from all nations will enter the kingdom of God.

3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

In Genesis 12:3, God promised that "in Abraham shall all families of the earth be blessed." Then in Genesis 21:12, God said, "in Isaac shall thy seed be called." Romans 9:7, "Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called." Galatians 3:16, "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." There is no lasting blessing outside of Christ.

Verse 2 says, "and it shall come to pass in the last days." All of the early apostles, like Peter, John, and Paul, prophesied that they were living in the last days. But Isaiah 2:2-4 has not yet been fulfilled. What, then, does the phrase "in the last days" in Isaiah 2:2 refer to? First, “the last days" refers to all of time between the first and the second coming of Jesus. The verses in Isaiah 2:2-4 refer to the last of the last days. That will be the time, from Verse 3, that "many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD." Who are the "many people?" the remnant, overcomers over all of time. Isaiah 2:3 refers to the last fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles or Ingathering ... the time when multitudes of souls will be converted to the Lord during the Millennium. In the parable of the great supper, as recorded in Luke 14:21-23, "So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled."

Note also from Verse 3 that He, the Lord, Himself, will teach us of His ways. No apostle, no prophet, no evangelist, pastor or teacher, no elder, no man can reveal Christ within us. They can speak the will and ways of Christ to us but only the Spirit of God can reveal Christ within us. That does not minimize or do away with the function of the five-fold ministries. Philippians 2:12-13, "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." How do we work out our own salvation with fear and trembling? by conscious decisions every day on our part to deny self, take up our cross, and follow Jesus.

Verse 4: And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

It is impossible for natural man or for Christians to bring about lasting peace. Only the God of all peace can do that. Verse 4 says that in the last of the last days, God will in fact bring about lasting peace.

Verses 2 through 4 of Isaiah, Chapter 2, are almost identical to that found in the book by Isaiah's contemporary, the prophet Micah.

Micah 4:1-4, "But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3 And He shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.”

Some intellectually oriented theologians might ask the question, "Did Isaiah copy Micah or did Micah copy Isaiah?" The answer is "no." That kind of question reduces the word of God down to a carnal level. God never does anything in a corner. He never reveals a truth to only one man. In both cases, it was and is the word of the Lord, not the word of any man.

Isaiah, Chapter 2, verse 5: O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

The house of Jacob speaks of all 12 tribes or the natural seed of Jacob, the natural man. Verse 6 begins with "therefore," marking the verses that follow as motivation for the repentance of spiritual Israel, called for in verse 5.

6 Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished [or filled] from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.

God removed His presence from His people because they had become a mixture and they received and absorbed the superstitions of the east and the west. They were soothsayers, trying to access the divine realm through rituals with the aim of foretelling the future and warding off evil. Such actions were forbidden. Leviticus 19:26, "Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times." Deuteronomy 18:9-12, "When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee."

Verse 7: Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots:

Accumulating large quantities of silver, gold, and horses was forbidden to the king. They usually led to a failure to trust in the Lord. Deuteronomy 17:16-17, "But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold." Isaiah 31:1, "Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!" Psalm 20:7, "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God."

Verse 8: Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:

The root of the evil of idolatry is that idols are anything that is man-made. Jesus said, in Matthew 16:18, "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Neither Peter nor Paul nor any man or group of men can build the Lord's church. Of course, the Lord delights to use the Christ within His ministers to build upon our sure foundation, which is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:21-25,

"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen." 

We Christians can partake of idolatry through ignorance, through traditions of men, or through our own deliberate decisions which exalt man or self rather than God.

Verse 9: And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.

A mean man is a man of low degree or a hypocrite. Several other translations of Verse 9 say, "And the mean man is bowed down, and the great man is brought low: therefore forgive them not."

Verses 6 through 9 speak of the apostasy of God's chosen people. Because human nature never changes, we see the same unfortunate occurrence today. As a result, God's chosen people will always be afflicted by God until He returns. That is the love of God in action.

2 Timothy 1:8, "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;"

2 Timothy 3:12, "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."

Acts 14:22, " ... we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." 

Romans 8:18, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

However, God will gather His godly remnant one last time. From that remnant, He will build a strong nation... the kingdom of God. The last 13 verses of Isaiah, Chapter 2, speak of the ultimate victory of God over all the ways of men. They express one of the major themes of the whole book. Through judgment, God cuts down the sinful pretensions of His chosen people.

Verse 10: Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty.

11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.

12 For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:

The day of the Lord is the day of judgment of sinners and the redemption of His chosen people who remain faithful to Him.

13 And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,

Lebanon and Bashan were well-known for their fertile lands and their impressive trees. Thus, they represent arrogance built on abundance. God's judgment is against all kinds of pride.

14 And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up,

15 And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall,

16 And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.

17 And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.

Note in both Verse 11 and in Verse 17 that the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day ... the day that the Lord returns to earth.

18 And the idols He shall utterly abolish.

19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

Hebrews 12:22-29, "But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused Him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from Him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now He hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire."

20 In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;

21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

When the day of the Lord arrives, some men will try to cover up the evidence against themselves and their sins. However, God is omniscient. It is a futile endeavor to try to hide the idols of man from Almighty God. Instead, we must repent and hope for the mercy of God.

22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?

Stop putting your trust in man as your ultimate source of security. Only the Lord Jesus is worthy of our esteem.

In Isaiah Chapter 3 the Lord's indictment and judgment of Jerusalem and Judah continues. In verses 3:1-8 the prophet denounces the private sins of the affluent upper class of Judah by warning them that God will take away their leaders and replace them with incompetent ones. This chapter describes how the corrupt leadership brought about the collapse of the social condition of Jerusalem, and contains Isaiah's prophecies that for the sin of the people, God will take away the wise men, and give them foolish princes. Because God's people trust in man (Isaiah 2:22), rather than in God, He will remove from them every source of security. Although various political, military, and religious leaders are on the list, it begins with the staples of bread and water.

1 For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, 

In the natural realm, the removal of the whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water indicates a famine. Throughout the history of man, God has sent many famines to many different nations. Scripture speaks of at least 15 such famines, which were judgments of God. They are also foretold as a sign of the second coming of Christ. Diverse famines will be a part of God's judgment in the "last days" (Matthew 24).

In the spiritual realm, the "stay" speaks of the support or sustenance of God and the "staff" speaks of the protection and comfort of God for His chosen people.

Psalm 23:4, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."

Amos 8:11-13, "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it. In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst."

Back to Isaiah, Chapter 3 and Verse 2:

2 The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient,

3 The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator.

4 And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.

5 And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.

With the removal of the leaders in whom the people trust comes the installation of children to replace them. The word "children" means young, inexperienced men. The result always will be social chaos and oppression.

6 When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand:

7 In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people.

In such a disorderly society, it did not take much to be a leader among men. The people are so unwilling and unfit to lead that a man will be pressed into a leadership role just because he has clothing. But what would be left for him to lead? only a ruin.

8 For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of His glory.

9 The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.

10 Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.

Not all people will experience the severe judgment of God.

11 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.

12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.

In the Middle East, neither the rule by the young nor that of women was looked on with favor ... just the opposite. That is still true for the Church today.

13 The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people.

14 The LORD will enter into judgment with the ancients [or elders] of His people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses.

15 What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

Over the centuries, the greater judgment has always fallen on those in leadership positions. Verses 14 and 15 occur in several other scriptures, such as Micah 3:9-12.

9 Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity.

10 They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.

11 The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us.

12 Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.

Back to Isaiah 3. Verses 16-24 contain a warning against overemphasis on our outward adornment. 1 Peter 3:1-4 says the same thing. "Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price."

Verse 16 of Isaiah 3: Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:

The proud daughters of Zion stand for the city and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, not just the female inhabitants. The inhabitants certainly include its share of rich, conceited women.

17 Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts.

Cities with their inhabitants in a symbolic sense, are frequently referred to as women (Isaiah 47:1). The personification of Jerusalem as a woman is a common figure in scripture (Isaiah 23:12). A virgin daughter or the "virgin, the daughter of Zion" (Isaiah 37:22), refers to a righteous woman or nation. In contrast, Babylon is a called a harlot for her apostasy and corruption (Revelation 17:1).

Lamentations 1:1-9

1 How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary!

2 She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies.

3 Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits.

4 The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness.

5 Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the LORD hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy.

6 And from the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed: her princes are become like harts that find no pasture, and they are gone without strength before the pursuer.

7 Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old, when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and none did help her: the adversaries saw her, and did mock at her sabbaths.

8 Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; therefore she is removed: all that honoured her despise her, because they have seen her nakedness: yea, she sigheth, and turneth backward.

9 Her filthiness is in her skirts; she remembereth not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully: she had no comforter. O LORD, behold my affliction: for the enemy hath magnified himself.

The city is obviously Jerusalem, and it is portrayed as a widow. Then Jerusalem is depicted as a princess whose friends have deceived her. Her lovers have rejected her, and she has become a slave. However, the symbol that represents the city is still female.

In Verse 3, Jerusalem changes into Judah the nation. Judah is clearly twice referenced as "she" in the middle of the verse. Jerusalem and Judah are then referenced as "Zion," and in verses 4, 5, and 6, is again referred to as "her." In verse 6, Jerusalem becomes the daughter of Zion, whose beauty has faded and is counterpoised with male princes who are of no help to her. In verse 7, we return full circle to Jerusalem, and again it is referenced as "her" five times, and as "she" once. Clearly, a woman symbolizes a city, and the city, its nation.

It is not until the New Testament that the Bible suggests that a woman symbolizes a church, and that symbol is restricted to the "Israel of God" (Galatians 6:16). Back to Isaiah, Chapter 3.

18 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, 

[Cauls and round tires are jewelry shaped like the sun and the moon.]

19 The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, [Mufflers are veils.]

20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings,

21 The rings, and nose jewels,

22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,

[Changeable suits are festive robes. Today, the "performers" in churches are those who sit on raised platforms, dressed in robes and gowns so that the spectators can tell who the leaders are. Wimples are cloaks and crisping pins are purses.]

23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails.

24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.

A stomacher is a sash, usually made of silk and gold, worn around the stomach.

Verses 18 through 24 declare what Jesus said in Matthew 23:25. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess." As a result,

25 Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.

One of the signs of the approaching day of the Lord is wars and rumors of wars, famines, and pestilences, in which many men will die.

26 And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.

She shall be like a mournful woman bewailing the loss of her husband and children. To sit upon the ground speaks of a condition which is the most self-abasing and degraded. There is no throne or she is without a throne. The throne is where God sits, so God has left her to her own ways. That is a most terrible condition. May we all press on to know the Lord.