ISAIAH 23-24: “The Burden Of
By
1.
INTRO
1.1.
In our last study we looked
at the burden of Babylon, Edom, and Arabia, and the prophesy of the Valley of
Vision
1.1.1.
We saw that these two
chapters deal with:
1.1.1.1.Babylon had been prophesied against in chapter 13, however now we see a
further prophesy pronounced against that nation
1.1.1.2.Edom and Arabia will be judged by the Lord
1.1.1.3.Jerusalem is considered to be the Valley of Vision, as Isaiah
prophesies against her because she is so blind and undiscerning concerning the
judgments to come upon her that she is reveling heavy in the party spirit
instead of mourning
1.1.2.
We saw that Isaiah was most
concerned that Judea not trust in Babylon as her strength and hope for he knew
that to do so would bring judgment and total destruction to her from the Lord
1.1.3.
We looked at the attitudes
that we Christians ought to have in light of the fact that this world that we
are living in today is headed towards judgment in a very short amount of time
1.1.3.1.How should we then live knowing these things?
1.2.
In our study today we are
going to look at the last of the ‘burdens’ or ‘woes’ pronounced against
individual nations and cities, and then in the next chapter we will begin to
look at Isaiah’s apocalyptic discourse pertaining to the whole world
1.2.1.
We have seen in all of these
‘burdens’ pronounced against the nations and cities of the earth, that Isaiah
has also mentioned to us that the Lord is going to in like manner judge all of
the nations of the earth. All of the
nations have turned and rebelled against the Lord, yet He is the One who is
setting up the world stage in bringing down nations for He is in the process of
ushering in His kingdom, and in His kingdom all nations will be in subjection
to Him and worship Him regularly as He is to be worshipped
1.2.2.
We will look at the ‘burden’
of the city of
1.2.2.1.It was pride and greed that brought down
1.2.2.1.1.Pride is something that is so easy to pop up in the life of one
Christ’s disciples, and because it is so offensive to God and damaging to
others, we must be careful not to allow ourselves to be caught up with pride
1.2.2.1.2.God is determined to bring down all pride on the earth before He
establishes His kingdom, therefore we must remove it from our lives as
believers. This pride first of all
infects our thought life, and thus Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 2 Cor. 10:5
that they were to be sure to destroy every lofty thing in our life and take
every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, “5 We are destroying
speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and
we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ”
1.2.2.2.We will also look at the restoration of the city to the Lord, much in
the same way that the nations of
1.2.3.
We will begin to look at the
apocalyptic discourse of the whole world (chapters 24-27) as Isaiah uses the
metaphor of a city for illustration. We
will begin to see how marvelously Isaiah’s Apocalyptic Vision of chapters 24-27
fits and intertwines with other prophesy in the scripture. This is one of many countless instances where
we see that it could be no accident how that the scriptures do not contradict
each other but weave perfectly together and compliment and re-emphasize each
other
1.2.3.1.We will see that this discourse follows Jesus’ Olivet Discourse when He
began to answer the questions that His disciples put before Him:
1.2.3.1.1.When will these things be (destruction of Herod’s temple which Jesus
had just prophesied)?
1.2.3.1.2.What will be the sign of your coming?
1.2.3.1.3.What will be the sign of the end of the age?
1.2.3.2.We will also see that the discourse follows directly events prophesied
in the book of Revelation to occur during the 7 year Tribulation
2.
VS 23:1-3 - “1 The oracle concerning
2.1.
This is the last of Isaiah’s pronunciations
of ‘woe’ upon the individual nations and cities of the earth and this chapter
ends this section of these pronunciations against the nations that began in
chapter 13 with the city and nation of
2.2.
2.3.
In 573B.C., Nebuchadnezzar conquered the
mainland city of
2.4.
As we look through the scriptures we see that
mostly
2.4.1.
J. Alec Motyer writes
about the good relations that
2.4.1.1.We
see from this quote that
2.5.
The picture that is painted of the city of
2.5.1.
In Amos 1:9
we see that Tyre would not allow anything stand in the way of making a profit,
not even having compassion on the people of Edom, nor the ‘covenant of
brotherhood’ she made with many, “9 Thus says the Lord,
“For three transgressions of Tyre and for four I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they delivered up an entire population to Edom And did not remember the
covenant of brotherhood.”
2.6.
Tarshish refers to the southern part of
2.7.
2.8.
2.9.
The downfall of
3.
VS 23:4-8 - “4 Be ashamed, O Sidon; For the sea speaks, the stronghold of the
sea, saying, “I have neither travailed nor given birth, I have neither brought
up young men nor reared virgins.” 5 When
the report reaches
3.1.
Isaiah seems to speak in verse 4 of the end
of the commerce of
3.2.
3.3.
Tarshish, or southern
3.4.
3.5.
3.6.
3.7.
Isaiah tells us that the merchants and
traders of
4.
VS 23:9-13 - “9 The Lord of hosts has planned
it to defile the pride of all beauty, To despise all the honored of the
earth. 10 Overflow your land like the
4.1.
The pride of
4.2.
Tarshish can now move unrestrained throughout
her land (‘overflow your land like the Nile’) and across the oceans now that
the domination
4.3.
Isaiah tells us that the Lord has ‘stretched
His hand out’ over the sea and made the kingdoms tremble by bringing down Tyre,
and in saying this borrowed from what happened with Moses in parting the Red
Sea: In Exod. 14:21
we read about how that Moses ‘stretched his hand out’ over the Red Sea and the
Lord parted the sea and dried out the land so that the people could walk over
it as if on dry land, “21 Then Moses stretched
out his hand over the sea; and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east
wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters were divided.”
4.3.1.
The stretching out of the Lord’s hand speaks
of His beginning to work in a mighty way.
4.4.
Isaiah tells us that the Lord had commanded
that all of the strongholds of the
4.5.
We see in verse 12 that the people of Sidon
would try to flee to the nearby island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean when
being conquered, however this island was firmly in the hands of Assyria, and
the Chaldeans, so this action would be futile for Cyprus would not permit them
a safe place of refuge.
5.
VS 23:14-18 - “14 Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
For your stronghold is destroyed. 15 Now
it will come about in that day that
5.1.
Concerning how that
5.2.
It is
sad that after being judged and having her trade restricted for the seventy
years that
5.2.1.
It is sad when we see individuals we know
also who hit rock bottom only to somehow bounce back up again, and we ask
ourselves when they will ever learn that it doesn’t pay to not trust and obey
the Lord in your life?
5.3.
The restoration of the wealth of
6.
VS 24:1-3 - “1 Behold, the Lord lays the
earth waste, devastates it, distorts its surface, and scatters its
inhabitants.2 And the people will be like the priest, the servant like his
master, the maid like her mistress, the buyer like the seller, the lender like
the borrower, the creditor like the debtor.3 The earth will be completely laid
waste and completely despoiled, for the Lord has spoken this word.” - Isaiah begins to tells of the
apocalypse that will occur over the whole world during the 7 year Tribulation
of the book of Revelation
6.1.
Isaiah tells us that the Lord is going to lay
the earth waste, devastate it, distort its surface, scatter its inhabitants,
and turn upside the entire social order of man.
6.2.
The prophesies of this
apocalypse that will occur on all the earth will be fulfilled when in the book
of Revelation we read that during the 7 year Tribulation that there will be
three sets of seven judgments that are
going to occur on the earth, each one worsening in succession, before the
Second Coming of Christ, which will bring to an end the battle of Armageddon
and usher in the Millennial Reign of Christ:
6.2.1.
The seven Seal Judgments are
described in Revelation chapter 6, and these include:
6.2.1.1.The
arrival of the Antichrist: Rider on the
white horse.
6.2.1.2.Wars,
threats, terrorism: Rider on red horse.
6.2.1.3.Famine
and economic ruin: Rider on black horse.
6.2.1.4.Death
and Hades: Rider on pale horse.
6.2.1.5.Martyred
saints and more persecutions.
6.2.1.6.Physical
disturbances such as earthquakes.
6.2.1.7.Silence.
6.2.2.
The seven Trumpet Judgments
(judgment of thirds) are described in Rev. 8-9:
6.2.2.1.1/3rd
of the earth on fire, 1/3rd of the trees on fire, all grass burned
up.
6.2.2.2.1/3rd
of the sea becomes blood, 1/3rd of the ships sink, 1/3rd
of the fish die.
6.2.2.3.A
falling star poisons 1/3rd of all rivers and 1/3rd of all
fountains.
6.2.2.4.1/3rd
sun darkened, 1/3rd moon darkened, 1/3rd stars darkened.
6.2.2.5.Demonized
locusts torture man 5 months.
6.2.2.6.1/3rd
of mankind dies, 200 million men go from Asia to the
6.2.2.7.Huge
earthquake and 7,000 die in
6.2.3.
The seven Bowl judgments are
described in Rev. 16:
6.2.3.1.Boils
on followers of Antichrist.
6.2.3.2.All
sea becomes blood, all fish die.
6.2.3.3.All
rivers are turned into blood.
6.2.3.4.Sun
scorches all mankind.
6.2.3.5.Total
darkness covers earth.
6.2.3.6.
6.2.3.7.Earthquake
topples all cities on earth,
6.3.
When Christ establishes His Millennial
kingdom, He will bring down all of those in positions of power and influence
and put in His hand picked people in these positions. Thus, we read that Jesus spoke in His Parable
of the Talents about how that those who are faithful stewards of His to varying
degrees will be responsible for a respective number of cities on the earth.
7.
VS 24:4-6 - “4 The earth mourns and withers,
the world fades and withers, the exalted of the people of the earth fade away.5
The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws,
violated statutes, broke the everlasting covenant.6 Therefore, a curse devours
the earth, and those who live in it are held guilty. Therefore, the inhabitants
of the earth are burned, and few men are left.” - Isaiah tells us here that the earth is going
to wither and be polluted, and then he tells us what it is that has caused the
earth to be polluted
7.1.
The curse over the earth can be traced to the
fall of man in Genesis chapter 3. There
we find that the earth is cursed because of man’s sin and thus it is now much
less productive than it was when first created and Adam and Even lived in the
Garden of Eden.
7.2.
However, ever since the fall of man, the
earth is continuing to be polluted because of man’s sin. Isaiah tells us what the pollution of the
earth can be traced to:
7.2.1.
Transgression of God’s laws and statutes.
7.2.1.1.In 1 John 3:4, we
read that sin is defined as the transgression of one of God’s laws, “4 Whosoever
committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the
law.”
7.2.2.
A breaking of the ‘everlasting covenant’.
7.2.2.1.What
this actually refers to is a matter of much debate, and in fact every
commentator I read had a different idea:
7.2.2.1.1.The
covenant given to Noah after the flood.
7.2.2.1.2.The
covenant of the Law of Moses.
7.2.2.1.3.All
of God’s covenants combined together.
7.2.2.1.4.Etc.,
etc.
7.3.
It is the sin of man that will bring about
the curses of the 7 year Tribulation of the book of Revelation above.
7.3.1.
That Isaiah writes prophesies that all men
will be burned could refer to the fourth Bowl Judgment of the book of
Revelation where the sun will scorch all mankind.
7.3.2.
Since we know that 2/3rd of the
people of the earth will be killed before the end of the 7 year Tribulation,
this could be the fulfillment of the prophesy of Isaiah that ‘few men are
left’.
8.
VS 24:7-13 - “7 The new wine mourns, The vine
decays, All the merry-hearted sigh.8 The gaiety of tambourines ceases, The
noise of revelers stops, The gaiety of the harp ceases. 9 They do not drink wine with song; Strong drink is bitter to those who drink
it. 10 The city of chaos is broken down; Every house is shut up so that none may
enter. 11 There is an outcry in the
streets concerning the wine; All joy
turns to gloom. The gaiety of the earth
is banished. 12 Desolation is left in
the city, And the gate is battered to ruins.
13 For thus it will be in the midst of the earth among the peoples, As
the shaking of an olive tree, As the gleanings when the grape harvest is over.” - Isaiah begins to tell us
about the gloom that will fall over this metaphorical city during this
apocalyptic time of judgment over the whole earth
8.1.
The commentators I’ve read all concur that
the city mentioned by Isaiah here is no literal city upon the earth but rather
a metaphorical construct used to convey a general time of apocalyptic
occurrence that will occur all over the earth.
8.2.
We see here in this prophesy of Isaiah’s that
when the Lord begins to bring His judgments upon all of the nations upon the
whole earth that He will take all of the joy and merriment of those who reject
God away from them and bring them to the horrible reality that they are in the
midst of the wrath of God being poured out upon the whole earth:
8.2.1.
New win mourns.
8.2.2.
Vine decays.
8.2.3.
All the merry-hearted sigh.
8.2.4.
Gaiety of tambourines ceases.
8.2.5.
Noise of revelers stop.
8.2.6.
Gaiety of harp ceases.
8.2.7.
No one drinks strong wine with song.
8.2.8.
Strong wine now has a bitter taste.
8.2.9.
All joy turns to gloom.
8.2.10.Gaiety
of the earth is totally banished.
8.3.
This city is called a ‘city of chaos’, and it
is ‘broken down’. God is taking down
this whole world order. He is removing
every manmade vesture, every idol of man, every abomination upon the earth.
8.4.
This city is reduced to desolation and there
is now not even a gate to keep out invaders.
8.5.
This city refers to the earth after God has
finally determined to make a final harvest of those who are His people from her
midst. Isaiah tells us that it will be like
a olive tree after all of the olives have been beaten off. There will be not much life that is left
anywhere. God is going to judge this
world that is in rebellion against God, and in that day He is going to destroy
all those who are not His people from the earth before He begins to rejuvenate
the earth and repopulate it with His people.
9.
VS 24:14-16 - “14 They raise their voices, they
shout for joy. They cry out from the
west concerning the majesty of the Lord.
15 Therefore glorify the Lord in the east, The name of the Lord, the God
of
9.1.
The earth was created to glorify God, and
when He removes evil from the earth and establishes His kingdom it will exist
to bring Him glory. Therefore, now that
the evil people from all over the earth have been removed from the earth, the angels
and/or the redeemed saints are crying out from one end of the earth to the
other for joy and that the Lord now be glorified in the earth.
9.2.
Not only are angels or redeemed saints
calling out, they are also singing songs of worship and praise to the Lord all
across the earth.
9.3.
In the midst of this frenzy of praise of the
Lord and calling out for Him to be glorified, Isaiah realizes that this event
is yet future and that for him in the here in now that men are treacherously
dealing with each other, and they are just getting worse and worse in their
wickedness, and Isaiah cries out for himself two ‘woes’.
9.3.1.
These ‘woes’ which Isaiah calls out upon
himself are reminiscent of chapter 6 when the Lord appeared to him in His
glory, and Isaiah suddenly saw his sinfulness before the Lord and the sinfulness
of the people around him, and he cried out a ‘woe’ upon himself, for he felt
that he was undone before the glorious and holy Lord.
10.
VS 24:18 - “18 Then it will be that he who
flees the report of disaster will fall into the pit, And he who climbs out of the
pit will be caught in the snare; For the
windows above are opened, and the foundations of the earth shake.” - Isaiah tells us that there
will be no way out for anyone to escape this apocalyptic judgment coming upon
the whole earth
10.1.
When God determines to judge the earth there
will be no escape for the wicked. Those
who flee the report of disaster that has struck will try to run away from the
trouble only to fall into the pit, and those who have crawled out of the pit
will just be caught up in the snare.
10.2.
The ‘windows above are opened’ reminds us of
the judgment that fell upon the earth when it was destroyed by the Great Flood,
for the rain fell in this way as we see in Gen. 7:11-12, “11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month,
on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the
great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened.12 And the
rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights.”
10.2.1.These
windows will not be windows from which rain falls upon the earth, they will be
windows from which God’s judgment falls upon the earth.
11.
VS 24:19-20 - “19 The earth is broken asunder,
The earth is split through, The earth is shaken violently. 20 The earth reels to and fro like a
drunkard, And it totters like a shack, For its transgression is heavy upon it,
And it will fall, never to rise again.” - Isaiah describes for us the catastrophic
effect God’s judgment will have upon the earth
11.1.
Some have said that these descriptions are
only to be understood allegorically, and that they really apply only to the
feelings that people will have as they are in the midst of these
judgments. However, as we see from the
book of Revelation there are going to be literal disturbances upon the earth
during the 7 year Tribulation of the book of Revelation:
11.1.1.In
chapter 6 we see that during that sixth Seal Judgment that there will be
physical disturbances on the earth, including earthquakes.
11.1.2.In
chapter 9 during the seventh Trumpet Judgment we see that there is a huge earthquake
in
11.1.3.In
chapter 16 during the seventh Bowl Judgment we see that there is another huge
earthquake which topples all of the cities of the earth.
11.2.
We see also that Isaiah even goes so far as
to say that the earth is going to fall and then never to rise again. In Rev. 20:11,
events are described that correspond to this prophesy of Isaiah’s, and these
events will occur at the end of the Millennial Reign of Christ and just before
He judges those who are not God’s people at His Great White Throne Judgment, “11 And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from
whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.”
11.2.1.We
read a little later on in the book of Revelation that after the Great White
Throne Judgment that the Lord is going to create a new heavens and earth.
12.
VS 24:21-23 - “21 So it will happen in that
day, That the Lord will punish the host of heaven, on high, And the kings of
the earth, on earth. 22 And they will be
gathered together Like prisoners in the dungeon, And will be confined in
prison; And after many days they will be
punished. 23 Then the moon will be
abashed and the sun ashamed, For the Lord of hosts will reign on
12.1.
In the book of Revelation, we read that at
the end of the Millennial Reign of Christ that both fallen angels as well as
those who were not God’s people in this life are to be thrown into the
12.1.1.In
Revelation 20:10, we see that
before the Great White Throne Judgment that the Devil, the Antichrist, and the
False Prophet will be thrown into the Lake of Fire that burns for eternity, “10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire
and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be
tormented day and night forever and ever.”
12.1.2.In
Revelation 20:13-14,
we see that death and Hades are thrown into the Lake of Fire that burns for
eternity, therefore all of the fallen angels who have been bound in Hades will
at that time be thrown in this Lake of Fire, “13 And the
sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead
which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their
deeds.14 And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the
second death, the lake of fire.”
12.1.3.In
Revelation 20:15, we see that every
person whose name is not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life is thrown into the
Lake of Fire that burns for eternity, “15 And if
anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the
lake of fire.”
12.2.
Isaiah tells us here that the sun and moon
will be abashed at the time when this judgment falls upon all those who live
upon the earth. This is the same thing
that Jesus said in His Olivet Discourse concerning what will happen when He
returns to the earth at the end of His Millennial Reign. In Mark 13:24-27,
Jesus taught that when He comes not to rapture the church, but at His Second
Coming, that the sun and moon would not give their light and that the stars
will be falling from heaven, and then before He ushers in His Millennial
kingdom that the angels will gather up those who have become God’s people
during the 7 year Tribulation from the earth, “24 “But in
those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will
not give its light,25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the
heavens will be shaken.26 “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in
clouds with great power and glory.27
“And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect
from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth, to the farthest end of
heaven.”