The Heavens Hear

Isaiah 2:15-16   English Standard Version (ESV) 15  against every high tower,      and against every fortified wall; 16  against all  the ships of Tarshish,      and against all the beautiful craft.    In the previous three verses we found that there is a coming Day of the Lord, and that day, and hence the Lord, is going to be against many things. In 13 and 14 Isaiah talks about the things in the natural world that we put above God. Putting the creation above the Creator if you will. Now he moves on and we see that not only has man put himself above God, creation above God, but also the things which man himself has created!     The first example he gives is the high towers. Interestingly enough, one of the first man-made structures mentioned in the bible is the Tower of Babel, a tower built in direct defiance to God not long after the first God-directed structure recorded, Noah's Ark. M...

From Isaiah 2 – 12 For the day of the Lord of hosts shall come down upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up – and it shall be brought low – 13 upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, and upon the oaks of Bashan; 14 Upon all the high among, and upon all the hills that are lifted up; 15 Upon every high tower, and upon every fortified wall; Upon all ships of Tarshish, and upon all the beautiful sloops. "A state is not a mere aggregate of persons," defines Aristotle in Politics , "but a union of them sufficing for the purposes of life."  By analogy, he reminds us that cities, states, and civilizations are not merely a collection of people who happen to live in the same place. Individuals impact each other such that he often makes the point that states function as living things. Good character in individuals can strengthen the unity of the state. A dissipated character in the same individuals weakens the body politic dreadfully. The...

Isaiah 2:12-14   English Standard Version (ESV) 12  For the  Lord  of hosts has a day      against all that is proud and lofty,      against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low; 13  against all the  cedars of Lebanon,      lofty and lifted up;      and against all the  oaks of Bashan; 14  against all  the lofty mountains,      and against all the uplifted hills;    There is a day, a day that might not be to far off now, when God's glory will be all that matters. Everything that is proud and lofty, all that is lifted up, will be brought low. in other words, what was formerly the "in" crowd will now be out.    And the picture here is dramatic. All of the things in the natural world that we quite literally look up to, the cedars of Lebanon, the oaks of Bashan, any mountain or hill, be they nea...

From Isaiah 2 – 12 For the day of the Lord of hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up – and it shall be brought low – 13 upon the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, and upon the oaks of Bashan; 14 upon all the high mountains, and upon the hills that are lifted up "Wake me up to Your glory," pleads I Am They in the appropriately named song "Over and Over Again." God's Word to Isaiah offers just such a wake-up call, and testifies to its necessity. The lofty looks and hearty demeanors of men which that Word confront in the previous verse show the symptoms of heart sick unto death, pride clogging the arteries which maintain life altogether if not for some intervening grace. Since pride manifests itself in the eyes, God deigns to address the eyes first. He shows His willingness and ability to demonstrate mastery of the unseen by moving the seen first. Surely eyes that have beheld high mountains, sturdy oaks and ce...

Isaiah 2:11   English Standard Version (ESV) 11  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.    The word "haughty", according to old-school Webster, is disdainful, proud, snobby, and arrogant. Although it comes with a good measure of lofty and noble thrown in. When Isaiah brings up "The haughty looks of man", I think this means that man as a whole feels this way about who we are or can be. If we look at society at large we can see this. Stretching further back even than our comparatively recent Industrial Revolution, we can see this throughout history.  A great biblical example is found in Genesis 11:1-9 with the building of the Tower of Babel. Lofty indeed.    Bringing it back to us moderns, we are endlessly touting our accomplishments, our place in the cosmos, (although admittedly, some see thi...

The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. Isaiah 2:11, New King James Version The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart – these, O God, you will not despise. Psalm 51:17, New King James Version Applying Psalm 51:17 in his book Songs of Jesus , Tim Keller pleads, "Lord, create in me true brokenness – not the counterfeit ones of discouragement, bitterness, or despair." He differentiates, "Let me know liberation from always needing to defend myself, always standing on my dignity, always smarting because I've been snubbed. Give me the quiet peace of a broken spirit." Isaiah 2:11 takes us to that quiet place, nearly drives us there, by contrast. Isaiah's inspired word look is the same one used for the eye itself. The very organ by which we perceive is itself diseased. How can our looks, then, not be distorted? Confronted with the Divine O...

Isaiah 2:9-10   English Standard Version (ESV) 9  So man  is humbled,      and each one  is brought low—      do not forgive them! 10  Enter into the rock      and hide in the dust from before the terror of the  Lord ,      and from the splendor of his majesty.    We have seen what happens when a people reject God and what He has commanded them. They themselves are rejected, and we are even given a list of the reasons why, (see Isaiah 2:6-8).         He will take those that have rejected Him and humble them. This is not man being humble, purposefully making himself lower than others so as not to exalt himself and because he wants to serve, but this is the Almighty putting man into the place he has made for himself. He is not to be forgiven because all man wants is forgiveness without repentance.    When...