Isaiah 24:13-23
Isa 24:13
When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the
people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the
gleaning grapes when the vintage is done.
Here we see a picture of mercy within the time of
judgment. The shaking of the Olive
trees and the gleaning of the grapes were not 100% because according to
Leviticus when the fields were gleaned, they were to leave a corner of the field
for the poor people of the land.
9 And when ye reap the harvest
of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt
thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. 10 And thou shalt not glean
thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather
every grape of thy vineyard;
thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I
am the LORD your God.
(Leviticus 19:9-10) So just as
there would be a remnant of grapes and olives, there would also be a remnant of
people which would be dispersed throughout the land.
The remnant would also be speaking of those who were obedient to the LORD
and did not go after the false idols as many in the country did.
They would be preserved by the LORD as his children.
Isa 24:14
They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the
majesty of the LORD, they shall cry aloud from the sea.
The remnant which will have escaped the Babylonian
invaders will be those who are dedicated to the LORD and would not partake in
the idolatry which led Judah to this point.
They shall rejoice in the fact that they escaped the invaders by the
mercy of the LORD. Back in Isaiah
17, we saw the seas represented the nations of the world as the remnant will be
crying or proclaiming the mercy of the LORD.
The same will be done in the body of believers which is
spread out throughout all the world.
They will sing of the majesty of the LORD and will proclaim that majesty
in every country in the world over the fact that they have escaped the judgment
on the last day and had their sins paid for by Christ.
Isa 24:15
Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, even
the name of the LORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea.
These are the remnant who glorify the LORD even in the
times of adversity they are facing.
The fires would be the fire of affliction and tribulation.
The isles of the sea would be wherever they would be living or taken to,
even in the midst of adversity they can still extol the name of the LORD to all
who are there.
Isa 24:16
From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs,
even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe
unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous
dealers have dealt very treacherously.
Here Isaiah is looking forward to the time when the
gospel will go throughout the entire world.
Isaiah also looks to the time when the true believers will be glorified,
not receiving worship but glorified by God himself to be able to come into his
presence. If we were not qualified
to be in his presence, then we would be consumed.
Moreover whom he did predestinate,
them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he
justified, them he also glorified. (Romans 8:30)
In contrast to the great glory the believer will receive, Isaiah looks at
his present condition and sees himself very lean which could be understood as
emaciated or famished. While we are in
these earthly bodies, it is hard for us to fathom the idea that the true
believer will one day be glorified as Paul states in Romans.
In Isaiah 21, the treacherous dealers were the Medes and Persians but
here these treacherous dealers are the ones in Judah had dealt wrongly with the
LORD and allowed the entire nation of Judah to depart from the LORD.
On the last day, the treacherous dealers, those who caused other people
to stray from the truth of God will also pay the ultimate price.
These could be the evolutionists, scientists, atheists, false religions,
etc., anything which causes people to stray from the truth.
Isa 24:17
Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O
inhabitant of the earth.
Then the treacherous dealers have to face the various
judgments which will come upon them.
They will have fear of the LORD because of judgment, then like an animal
who falls into a pit and if he gets out of that pit, then the snare awaits him
which will keep him trapped. In
other words, there is no way out of his predicament as he faces the judgment of
God.
Before the last day, the Lord’s return, the nations of
the entire world will be in such a predicament that there will be no way out of
what they have caused.
And there shall be signs in the sun, and
in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with
perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; (Luke 21:25)
The word “perplexity” carries with it the meaning of “no way out.”
The nations live in fear and by rejecting Christ and persecuting his
followers, they have dug a pit and a snare which mean they have no way out of
what they have done to the body of believers.
Isa 24:18
And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from
the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the
midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are
open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
Continuing the thought about the pit and the snare from
the previous verse, we read here that although one escapes the coming
catastrophe in Judah, they will be pursued by other calamities.
In other words, no one will escape the judgment of God, just like no one
escaped the worldwide flood except Noah and his family.
In the six hundredth year of
Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day
were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven
were opened. (Genesis 7:11) The
windows of Heaven poured rain down upon the earth in concert with the water
coming from the deep parts of the earth.
On the last day the same scenario will take place when
the final judgment happens.
And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall
on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the
wrath of the Lamb: (Revelation 6:16)
The people of the earth will do what they can to hide from Christ the
Judge but it will not happen. The
windows of Heaven will be open and no one will be able to hide because that
means everything and everyone will be under the scrutiny of God’s eyes and the
windows will pour out the judgment of God upon the entire earth.
This coming worldwide judgment will
completely shake all the foundations of the earth which are both the physical
and the sinful foundations which appeared after the fall into sin.
Isa 24:19
The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean
dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
Then Isaiah goes on and shows the Israelites how serious
their sin has become before the LORD and how they will receive the same judgment
because of their sins. Just as the
antediluvian world was loaded with sin, so is Judah and they will received the
same type of judgment which will be complete removal from their land, the temple
will be destroyed and the land will be completely desolate as they are thrown
into complete disorder at the coming of the Babylonians as God’s instrument of
judgment.
On the last day, that type of judgment will be felt
throughout the entire world as the earth will be broken down because of the
permeation of sin, and then the beast system of Satan will be completely
dissolved and the earth will be moved anew by the recreation of it in
righteousness.
10 But the day of the Lord
will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with
a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and
the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11
Seeing then
that all these things shall be
dissolved, what manner of persons
ought ye to be in all holy
conversation and godliness, (2 Peter 3:10-11)
Isa 24:20
The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and
shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy
upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
Since sin has pervaded Judah with all its false religions
and idols, the land shall reel like the wind driving a tumbleweed and it will go
to and fro as a drunk person does because there is no surefootedness to them
when inebriated. Man in his sinful
establishments believes that he is like a strong tower and is invincible but he
will be moved out as a cottage in a hurricane which cannot stand against it.
The transgression being heavy refers to the fact that the penalty for
their sinful actions will cause their systems to fall and never to be
resurrected again. There will be no
more empires like Babylon coming after Judah until the time of Rome and this
means they will have time to get themselves in order after they come back from
Babylon returning to the proper worship of the LORD.
On the last day, when judgment day happens, all the sin
curses of the world will be removed and burned up and the judgment of all the
unbelievers will be heavy upon them because of their sinful lives.
And whosoever was not found
written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15)
What penalty could be greater than to be cast into the lake of fire and
be separated from God for eternity?
Isa 24:21
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the
LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the
kings of the earth upon the earth.
Here we have the final judgment of two sets of beings.
The first set of beings are the fallen angels or the devils that rebelled
against God. These are the ones who
caused the people of the earth to follow them in rebellion against God and his
people, the Christians on earth.
Host speaks of angelic beings which in this case are the devils in Satan’s
kingdom which is spoken of as being on high.
The second set of beings are specifically stated as being on earth which
are the kings. These could possibly
not be only the heads of state but could also be the heads of corporations,
societies, or others who had authority over people while on earth and they shall
be punished because they committed fornication with the beast system.
And the kings of the earth, who
have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and
lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, (Revelation 18:9)
Isa 24:22
And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners
are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days
shall they be visited.
Here Isaiah is pointing out the fact that Judah will be
taken to Babylon and will be required to stay there for seventy years and then
after that time the LORD will visit them and they will be allowed to return to
Judah once again.
This verse points out a method whereby ancient kings
would gather their prisoners and hold them in a cell or a pit and then on a
feast or some holiday they would bring out these prisoners and execute them,
sometimes as a sacrifice to their false gods.
Here we see that those unsaved who have died over the years have gone to
a place of silence where they will be resurrected on the last day and be judged
for their sins.
The dead praise not the LORD, neither any
that go down into silence. (Psalm 115:17)
This is not soul sleep because they are being temporarily held somewhere
until judgment day. Then the angels
who rebelled against God will also be kept in place to be brought out on
judgment day and receive their judgment.
And the angels which kept not
their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in
everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. (Jude 6)
Isa 24:23
Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed,
when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before
his ancients gloriously.
The country of Judah will have shame upon them for taking
on the worship of the false gods which have done nothing for them but bring them
shame. Once they come back to the
true God of Judah, they will be ashamed at what they had done in departing from
him. Then Jerusalem will once again
be the center of proper worship after the temple of Zerubbabel is rebuilt and
Nehemiah comes in to repair the walls and get everything back in order.
The ancients would be the elders of Judah who survived and saw the temple
of Solomon.
Who
is left among you that saw this
house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now?
is it not in your eyes in
comparison of it as nothing? (Haggai 2:3)