15 For behold, the Lord will come in fire
And His chariots like the whirlwind,
To render His anger with fury,
And His rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For the Lord will execute judgment by fire
And by His sword on all flesh,
And those slain by the Lord will be many.
17 “Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the gardens,
Following one in the center,
Who eat swine’s flesh, detestable things and mice,
Will come to an end altogether,” declares the Lord.
18 “For I know their works and their thoughts; the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory. 19 I will set a sign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations: Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Tubal and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare My glory among the nations. 20 Then they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as a grain offering to the Lord, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. 21 I will also take some of them for priests and for Levites,” says the Lord.
22 “For just as the new heavens and the new earth
Which I make will endure before Me,” declares the Lord,
“So your offspring and your name will endure.
23 “And it shall be from new moon to new moon
And from sabbath to sabbath,
All mankind will come to bow down before Me,” says the Lord.
24 “Then they will go forth and look
On the corpses of the men
Who have transgressed against Me.
For their worm will not die
And their fire will not be quenched;
And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.”
Message: God's Glory in Judgment
Time: Isaiah prophesied from 739–681 BC to a nation that had turned a deaf ear to the Lord. He wanted to see the nation of Judah return to serving God with humility and love for their neighbors. But he was called to pronounce judgments to on a people offering meaningless sacrifices in the Temple and committing injustices throughout the nation. It provides the most prophetic picture of Jesus in the entire Old Testament.
What the Lord is Saying: Tabletalk magazine for today's reading offers 3 basic ways peopole know the one true God:
1. As Creator - God made the world and reveals Himself in the world. People have some sense of His attributes and therefore some knowledge that He is Lord of Glory (Psalm 19; Romans 1:18-32).
2. Those who trust in Christ alone for salvation know the one true God as Savior. As sinners, they know God's mercy and then have a better understanding of His glory (Romans 9:22-24)
3. Impenitent sinners or sinners with no regret for their actions, know God not as Savior but only as Judge. They know their sin and that judgment is coming (Romans 2:1-16).
Today's passage speaks of this judgment. And for this text in Isaiah, it is fairly clear.
"The Lord...will render His anger with fury and His rebuke with flames of fire. For the Lord will execute judgment by fire and by His sword on all flesh, and those slain by the Lord will be many." When I ready these words I think of the text in Deuteronomy 32:25, "Vengeance is Mine." For many, this is wrath and judgment people want to see that the Lord will have because we tire of the evil in our world and yet we so quickly look at other's evil and not our own.
"Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the gardens, following one in the center, who eat swine’s flesh, detestable things and mice, will come to an end altogether,” declares the Lord." - At first glance this verse almost sounds like a verse beginning to speak of faithful people, but instead it is speaking of those enemies of His Church and those who use the name of God for their own glory. And those people that purify themselves, almost making a mockery of God or finding other ways to make themselves feel worthy or holy. And the reality is these will be judged as well.
"For I know their works and their thoughts; the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory." - This is clear. God knows. He knows their works and their thoughts. He knows. And they will see God's glory. God's glory will be seen one day by all people. This is a sobering truth. "All mankind will come to bow down before Me."
And so God's glory will be seen on that day, on His judgment day. It will be very clear. More clear than probably people want to admit or will want to see.
Summary: God's glory in judgment will be clearly seen in the end.
Promise: Let us give glory to God for His justice and pray that the day on which that justice is fully revealed comes quickly.
Prayer: O God you are good and your ways are right and true. Thank you for showing me in your word Your judgment and that it is coming. I think I want to see this come and yet I need to keep my compassion at the forefront. I hate to see the despicable sin in this world and yet I know in your eyes, my sin is equal. So help me to have mercy and forgiveness for people. And give me patience in helping understand people and their sin and the error of their ways and how they have been tricked into believing something about themselves that is not true.
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