The Mountain of God (Isaiah 2)
Have you ever missed out on something huge? A lot of the bitcoin stuff has blown my mind. If only I had put money in at this point and taken money out at that point. Then, I'd be so rich. Do you know who Ronald Wayne is? Wayne was one of the co-founders of Apple Inc., along with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. He held a 10% stake in the company but sold his share for just $800 after 12 days. Today, that share would be worth tens of billions of dollars. Can you imagine?
But, when we open our Bibles to study Israel in the Old Testament, we learn about a group of people who missed out on something even more significant than that. Isaiah reveals this to us in Chapter 2, and as we study it, we will see that it's also available to us. We have to decide whether we are going to miss out on it or not.
In Isaiah, we see the Israelites have been stubborn and rebellious. They have mistreated God by sinning willfully and offering up many sacrifices. They have lost their way, but God promises restoration and redemption for all who repent. We might like for this book to be divided up into the judgment section and the promise section. But there is a little bit of both scattered throughout. Tonight's text starts with a promise and ends with judgment.
In The Latter Days
Isaiah 2:1–5 (ESV) — 1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, 3 and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. 5 O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.
Isaiah says, "In the latter days the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the highest mountain." What? First, when are the latter days? If you were an Israelite, wouldn't you want to know? In Acts, Peter tells us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that the signs on Pentecost indicate that mankind has entered into the latter or last days.
What is God going to do during this time? Isaiah tells us that he will establish the mountain of the house of the Lord as the highest mountain. Throughout the Bible, kingdoms are commonly called mountains (Dan 2:35, 44-45; Jer 51:24-25). It's a figure of speech because, in our eyes, mountains are so much bigger than one person. They are solid and immovable. But this is going to be the most incredible mountain. In Daniel, God is revealing more about this mountain. He says that it will fill the whole earth.
Isaiah says that this mountain will have a stream of people from all the nations coming to it. Everyone will say, "Let's go up to the house of the Lord! Israel didn't want to know God, but when this kingdom was established, all the nations would want to know him.
Then, he tells us what that mountain will be like. It will have so much peace that everyone will no longer need their swords. It will have such prosperity that they will turn their swords and spears into tools for harvesting. No one will fight against the other. There will be total reconciliation among men.
Israel Missed This
This sounds wonderful, utopian even. But why wouldn't God do this for his people?
Isaiah 2:6–11 (ESV) — 6 For you have rejected your people, the house of Jacob, because they are full of things from the east and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines, and they strike hands with the children of foreigners. 7 Their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures; their land is filled with horses, and there is no end to their chariots. 8 Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made. 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. 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.
God rejected Judah and Israel because they were full. Isn't that odd? What's wrong with being full? There is nothing wrong with being full. The problem is that they were filling themselves with all the wrong things. They were full of worldliness, chasing the same things the rest of the world is chasing and pursuing magical powers or superstitions. They are trusting in things that will never bring them real safety or lasting joy. They are full of money. I like money, but being full of it indicates a self-reliant attitude. They are full of horses and chariots. These represent their armies being great. They think they are so strong because of their armies. But the last one is interesting because it's the thing that explains all the others. They are full of idols. They lift money, armies, and worldly customs as equivalent or superior to God and worship them with their hearts.
God has chosen not to bring this mountain with all its peace and prosperity to Israel because they think they have all they need. Instead of a mountain, they are settling for an anthill.
In verse 9, God indicates that this is all rooted in pride. God says he will bring about their fall and will not forgive them. Why? Because they are proud. All of their fullness makes them feel like they are something special.
God Reveals Judgment
Isaiah 2:12–17 (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; 15 against every high tower, and against every fortified wall; 16 against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful craft. 17 And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
God has decided to come in judgment against the proud and destroy them. They think they are strong, but God will show himself to be stronger. He uses multiple images that represent strength. The cedars of Lebanon, the oaks of Bashan, lofty mountains, uplifted hills, a high tower, a fortified wall, and ships of Tarshish. These are all the most substantial things imaginable during that time. This would be their tanks, drones, F22 fighter jets, Apache helicopters, and Patriot missiles. They pride themselves in their strength, but God tells them that they will be brought low and only God will be exalted.
We can just imagine their pride, but God clarifies that he will bring wrath against them. His wrath is too mighty for their strength. This reminds me of what Paul says in 1 Corinthians, "The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." It's not comparable.
Now, notice what this judgment will accomplish.
Isaiah 2:18–21 (ESV) — 18 And the idols shall utterly pass away. 19 And people shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth. 20 In that day mankind will cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats, 21 to enter the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs, from before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.
They will take all those things they trust and throw them away because they are all useless to them. Their fortune tellers, pagan customs, money, and armies cannot save them from God's wrath and the judgment they deserve for their evil.
Stop Regarding Man
In the last verse, we have a word of advice given to all Israel. If they would heed this advice, they would avoid this judgment.
Isaiah 2:22 (ESV) — 22 Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?
God wants us to stop regarding man. What does that mean? To regard man is to hold up man's wisdom, strength, and accomplishments as worthy of our faith and trust. This is one of those statements we hear, "Why would anyone do that?" But, in reality, we regard men all the time. We regard men when we trust in our government. We regard men when we lift those who have reached incredible technological feats and provided us with machines that make life easier. We tend to regard highly educated people who appear to know a lot. We might listen to scientists who make discoveries and promote specific theories. But we also regard men who can speak well and look strong.
These men are our leaders in some ways. Shouldn't we follow men who have such extraordinary abilities? Shouldn't we trust them to provide what we need? No. Why not? Because they have breath in their nostrils. They are one breath away from death. They are temporary. Why would we put our faith in someone so finite? God is calling for us to recognize the limitations of our leaders. Men are not omniscient, omnipotent, or omnipresent. They are not ever going to be on the same level as God.
Lessons For Us
So, what do we learn from this text? First, we see that Israel missed the opportunity to have real peace and prosperity because they were full. Are we full? Do we feel satisfied with our place in society? It's so easy for us in America to pursue the customs of our society, money, and security. These things can become our idols. We can think that we have enough and become complacent, like the church at Laodicea in Revelation 3. It's so easy for us to do that. When everything is going well for us, we start focusing on what we see and believing the lie we have all figured out. We start trusting in ourselves and men who have accomplished even more than us to provide wisdom about living and what to do.
Will we admit that we are proud of our strength and our power? I was talking to a friend this past week about potentially preaching, and I told him how Brent gave me two weeks to prepare one sermon. I said, "Can you imagine having two weeks to prepare one sermon?" He responded, "I don't know if I'd like that. I feel like if I put that much work into it, I'd be upset if they don't appreciate it." That's pride. It's a subtle pride, but it's pride. As a trainee, I learned that having two weeks to work on a sermon didn't improve the sermon. I was still lost and didn't know what I was doing. But I remember thinking, "This is the best sermon ever. I spent two weeks preparing it. It has to be great." Those sermons were awful. You can go on West Palm Beach's website and listen to them. They were awful. But pride says, "I have done all this work, so I am worthy of appreciation." We get that from looking at other men who have done great things and appreciated them.
Don't get me wrong here. I'm not encouraging you to stop appreciating men, but men have limitations. Don't lift them above what they indeed are. God wants us to appreciate him above all. He is the one who can establish the greatest kingdom where righteousness dwells and men know God. The text tells us that he promises to build a new Jerusalem and a new kingdom of Israel greater than any kingdom on earth.
When we come to the New Testament, we find out that this kingdom is what Jesus came to establish. When he was alive, he would say, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand," or "The kingdom of heaven is near." He would spend his time describing what the kingdom is like. Then, when we read the book of Acts, we can see the kingdom being established. We get to be a part of this kingdom. We are citizens who have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.
Please don't miss out on this opportunity. If you have not submitted your life to Christ, do it today.