Over the next few weeks we will be studying these four chapters that are often called “Isaiah Apocalypse.” They discuss God’s judgment on the entire world for its sin. Isaiah’s prophecies were first directed to Judah, then to Israel, then to the surrounding nations, and finally to the whole world. The theme is the triumph of God, which is good news (hence the singing) because it means that the reign of sin and death is at an end; the kingdom of God has at last come in its fullness. The “apocalypse” or “unveiling” of the end (for that is what the word means) in many ways anticipates that better known apocalypse, the Book of Revelation, which serves as the grand finale of the Bible as a whole.

Isaiah 24:1-23 The earth laid waste: The judgment of God is both terrible and glorious, especially when, as here, it is the final judgment which is in view. Much of chapter 24 is taken up with the terror of it, but the glory breaks through briefly in the middle (vv. 14-16) and again, more brilliantly, at the end (v. 23).

There are both certainty and expectancy in the opening words of verse 1. For Isaiah the final judgment was not only certain; it could happen at any moment. He lived every day in the light of it, just as we ourselves must do today as those who await their Lord’s return. That is one reason why the judgment is glorious; it’s a manifestation of His total sovereignty. In exercising that judgment, as verses 1-3 make clear, God will be no respecter of persons; in language reminiscent of the account of the great flood in Genesis 7. Flood gives way to drought in verses 4-6, making it clear that we are dealing not with literal description but with a series of powerful images. There is more connection with what has gone before however, than first meets the eye. The earth mourns, we are told, because its inhabitants have broken His everlasting covenant (v.5). This is almost certainly a reverence to the covenant between God as Creator and humankind as creature implicit in the very act of creation itself, and reaffirmed to Noah after the flood. God has given us fair warning of where our abuse of His world is leading us! The solution is not to deify the earth, as some do today (allowing paganism to re-enter by the back door), but to turn to its Creator in repentance before it is too late.

But then suddenly, just as at the time of the great flood there were a faithful few who were spared to inherit a new earth, so, it appears from verses 14-16, will there be a remnant on the final day. Scattered among the nations will be those who acknowledge the Lord and welcome His judgment as the triumph of right over wrong. Over the scene of desolation, a song of praise goes up from east and west and from the earth’s farthest limits (vv. 15-16). This is the “new song” of Revelation 5:9-10, the song of the redeemed. God will not destroy the righteous with the wicked. He will spare those who have turned to Him and waited for His salvation.

The basic idea of verses 17-22 is the impossibility of escape for those destined for judgment, whether people in general or kings or heavenly beings (vv. 17, 21). They will be like animals vainly fleeing from a hunter who has anticipated their every move (vv. 17-18a). There will finally be nowhere to go because the very ground they tread on will break up under their feet (vv. 18b-20). Like captive rebels they will be thrown into prison, never to be released (v. 22). This message needs to be sounded clearly today when the church has grown squeamish about the truth of divine retribution. There will be no escape for rebels who refuse to lay down their arms. The day on which He will punish them has already been entered in God’s diary (v. 21a).

The final goal of judgment, however, is the glory of God, the visible display of His character. And so in verse 23, the chapter ends fittingly with a burst of light so brilliant that it shames the sun which is a thumbnail sketch of God’s glorious reign over a renewed earth. There is surely a touch of special grace in the fact that the redeemed people of God are represented here by “the leaders of His people.” The Lord’s triumph will not be for Himself alone, but for His people as well. His glory consists not only of His righteousness (v. 16), but also of His grace (v. 23). How thankful we should be for that tremendous fact!

Isaiah 24:1-23 Reflection Questions:

What is a New Testament Scripture that Jesus said that He would return at some time?

How would you describe the way are you living each day as if Jesus is returning at any moment?

How are you preparing for His return each day?

 

This prophecy of the fall (vv. 1-14) and the subsequent rise (vv. 15-18) of Tyre is a minor landmark within this part of the book. It’s the last of the series of oracles concerning particular nations which began in chapter 13 and is followed by what scholars commonly call the “Isaiah Apocalypse” (chapters 24-27) in which cosmic acts of judgment and salvation bring history to a close. It stands at the end of a distinct block of material within the larger unit, chapters 13-27.

Tyre probably closes the series of oracles against the nations for the same reason that Babylon opens it; it was so famous for one particular aspect of worldly achievement that it had a symbolic value that could be used to good effect by Isaiah and others who followed him. As Babylon was proverbial for its military might and cultural achievements, Tyre was proverbial for its commercial wealth. Standing in the first and last positions as they do, then, Babylon and Tyre sum up all that is impressive and alluring in the world. A connection of a different kind is made between Tyre and Babylon in verse 13, which points clearly to the historical setting of the present oracle. It is clear that the fate already suffered by Babylon provides the background to the present prediction that Tyre, too, will fall. Again indirectly, but none too subtly, Isaiah hammers home his message. Then as now, the security that seems to be available through unholy alliances with the world is a cruel illusion.

Verses 1-7 picture the stunning news of Tyre’s fall reverberating around the Mediterranean world. Home-bound sailors first hear of it in Cyprus (v. 1b); a deathly hush falls over Sidon at the news (vv. 2-4); Egypt weeps because of the impact on her wheat exports (v. 5), and finally refugees carry the news right back to Tarshish (v. 6). There is more involved here than the personal suffering of the inhabitants of the city. A lot of people had a great deal to lose in the collapse of Tyre. When it came it would hit the Mediterranean world like a Wall Street crash of devastating proportions.

Isaiah doesn’t leave it at that, however. In verses 8-12 he presses beyond the event itself to its cause, and in characteristic prophetic fashion bypasses all secondary causes to trace Tyre’s fall to the determined purpose of the Lord Almighty (v.8). Sentence had already been passed on the city in heaven, not (take note!) because of its wealth, but because of its pride. There is no intrinsic connection, of course, between wealth and pride, but sadly they do all too often go hand in hand. The wealth of Tyre had made its merchants princes (v. 8), but, like the rich fool in Jesus’ parable, they had failed to recognize their accountability to Him from whom their wealth had come. Wealth had bred in them an illusion of self-sufficiency which had made God – or at least the true and living God – seem irrelevant. It would take God’s swift and severe judgment to jolt them back to reality.

But God’s judgments on nations within history are seldom final, and that is certainly the case here, for in verses 15-18 Isaiah sketches in the longer-term prospects for Tyre in God’s purposes. There is hope in the seventy years of verses 15 and 17, a conventional number for a long but limited time. Tyre will not rise quickly, but rise she will, and in the continuation of the prostitute image through to verse 17 there is more than a hint that she will return to her old ways. But – and this is where history gives way to eschatology – the wealth she has hoarded up will be taken from her. It will flow into Zion as the rightful inheritance of the people of God (v.18).

Isaiah 23:1-18 Reflection Questions:

If Isaiah were to write a letter today what country or counties would he use to “sum up all that is impressive and alluring in the world”?

In what areas of your life are you putting your security through unholy alliances with the world? Will you repent?

Have you ever had God jolt you back to reality? What was it for?

What is the “hope” that you see in this study?

 

The dire vision of 21:1-10, with its revelation that Babylon was doomed, filled Isaiah with dread. If Babylon could not stand, how could Judah? But the same news apparently produced quite a different reaction among the people of Jerusalem in general, as summarized in 22:13b. The response of some, including the king, was more measured and purposeful: they looked to the city’s armaments, walls and water supply in anticipation of an attack (vv. 8-11a). But what no one did was to look to the Lord in repentance and faith (v. 11b), and it is this that calls forth the severe announcement of judgment to come in this oracle (v. 14).

We need to see the descriptions of Jerusalem beset by armies in verses 2b-3 and 5-8a as the content of a revelation (vision) which Isaiah has received rather than the description of a past event. In the midst of a city given over to senseless revelry (vv. 1-2a) Isaiah sees a very different scene, which causes him to weep (4a). He is inconsolable, for what is portended by revelation is nothing less than the destruction of his people. The mention of Elam in verse 6 is a further link with the dire vision of the previous chapter, and suggests that, like that vision, this one too reaches beyond the immediate threat to the city (in this case Jerusalem) to its ultimate fall. Warriors from Elam probably formed part of the forces of Nebuchadnezzar which destroyed Jerusalem in 587. Isaiah saw that, whatever her fortunes in the short term might be, Jerusalem’s faithlessness would eventually be her downfall (vv. 8a, 14).

The reservoir between the two walls in verse 11 is almost certainly Hezekiah’s famous water tunnel, still to be seen in Jerusalem today. So Hezekiah, as king, is alluded to but not named, partly perhaps out of deference to him, but mainly because he is not being singled out for individual blame (he later evinced a faith not evident here, as we will see in chapter 37). The indictment is general rather than particular at this point and remains so to the end of verse 14. But there is a sharp shift of focus in what then follows.

Both men named in verses 15-25 were court officials under Hezekiah. In Shebna in particular the passage gives a concrete example of the faithlessness for which the people as a whole are condemned in verses 1-14. Verses 15-19 predict his fall, and verses 20-25 his replacement by Eliakim. Eliakim is the very antithesis of Shebna, an ideal leader called and established by the Lord. Verses 24 and 25 therefore, come as something of a surprise. Eliakim’s family is apparently not made of the same stuff as he is. They take advantage of his high position to better themselves and in so doing bring about his ruin. Eliakim is destroyed from below.

In the end then, it’s not just the Shebnas of Jerusalem that will bring it down, but the common people as well. What is presented in general terms in verses 1-14 is particularized in verses 15-25, but the message is the same. The failure of the people of Jerusalem to rely upon the Lord will bring both them and their leaders to ruin. Jerusalem, Mount Zion, is in reality a valley where no real vision exists. The people of Jerusalem are blind to the Lord’s purposes. Isaiah sees them clearly, and weeps.

Isaiah 22:1-25 Reflection Questions:

What does it say about God’s character in verse 14?

What lesson can we learn from Eliakim’s story?

Are you blind to the Lord’s purposes in your life?

 

There are two short oracles here, the first concerning Dumah in verses 11-12, and the second concerning Arabia in verses 13-17. They are closely related to one another, as we shall see.

Between Judah and Babylon lay the north Arabian Desert with its Bedouin tribes, its oases and its overland trade routes. Dumah, Dedan and Tema all lay in this region. The Babylonian envoys of chapter 39:1 probably passed this way en route to Judah in order to avoid going through the Assyrian heartland to the north, and as they did so, they no doubt tried t enlist the support of these desert tribes for their cause. If they succeeded, as they appear to have done, then the subsequent action taken by the Assyrians against Babylon would have serious repercussions for these people, and that appears to be the situation reflected here. The people of Dumah anxiously await news of what is happening (vv. 11-12). While further south, fleeing refugees seek food and water in Tema (vv. 13-14), Kedar in verses 16-17 is a collective term for the desert tribes in general, so that these final two verses really act as a conclusion to both oracles. They predict a sudden end (within one year) to the prosperity of these proud desert-dwellers, and the decimation of their fighting men. Their involvement with Babylon was soon to cost them dearly. Judah herself felt Sennacherib’s wrath at about this time (as we know from chapter 37), and escaped complete destruction only because of the Lord’s miraculous intervention (37:36).

The close connection with the preceding oracles against Babylon is confirmed by the watchman imagery of verses 11-12, but now it’s Isaiah himself who is the watchman. The one who calls to him from Seir (which is also Edom), a visionary figure, is probably a fugitive who has fled westward from Dumah. He receives a mysterious response (v. 12), but its implication is clear: no news yet; Dumah’s fate hangs in the balance. It is apparent, however, from verses 16-17, which way the balance finally tipped, not by accident, but by the sovereign determination of the Lord, the God of Israel.

Isaiah 21:11-17 Reflection Questions:

Why has Edom been a constant enemy of God’s people?

What does it say about the doctrine of election concerning Edom?

How are you doing in being a watchman (watching and waiting on the Lord)?

 

The title of this oracle by Isaiah is mysterious in nature and really sets the tone for the oracle as a whole. It concerns a dire vision of an invader who would come like whirlwinds (vv. 1-2). This vision was so dreadful in its aspect that Isaiah was physically affected by it (vv. 3-4). It’s not until almost at the end in verse 9, that we discover as Isaiah himself apparently did at that point, that it concerns the fall of Babylon. The title introduces an atmosphere of mystery and dread which is maintained until the climax is reached. It’s Isaiah’s experience as well as his message which is being communicated to us here.

But why is there another oracle against Babylon at this point? The answer lies in the fact that, as the eighth century drew to a close, Judah’s attention began to swing away from Egypt and towards Babylon as a prospective ally against Assyria. But Isaiah sees in this vision that Babylon, like Egypt, is doomed and so, by implication, are those who align themselves with her. Hence the warning note on which the oracle ends (v. 10).There is no comfort for Judah in this oracle; only a premonition of her own eventual demise. Babylon was the only nation which seemed capable of offering effective resistance to Assyria at the eighth century B.C., and by looking to Babylon, Judah, potentially at least made Babylon’s fate her own fate.

Babylon was in more or less continuous rebellion against Assyria from 721 to 689 B.C. when it was decisively crushed by Sennasherib. He treated the city and its people with great ferocity, and destroyed the temple of Marduk (the national god) and carried his image away to Assyria. But Isaiah’s dire vision reaches beyond this. Babylon was to rise again and its fate would not be sealed finally until its fall to a coalition of Medes and Persians under Cyrus the Great in 539 B.C. It’s this more distant, final fall of Babylon which appears to be alluded to in verse 2a with its reference to Elam (or Persia) and Media as Babylon’s destroyers, and in verse 5a where the princes of Babylon eat and drink, unaware that the enemy is at the gate. However that may be, the general message of the vision is clear: Babylon is doomed. Judah would be foolish in the extreme to link her own fortunes to those of Babylon, no matter how attractive this course of action may appear in the short term.

The lookout of verses 6-9 appears to be a visionary figure rather than the prophet himself, since it is Isaiah who appoints him at the Lord’s command (v. 6). He is part of the total visionary experience Isaiah has and which he communicates, in turn, to his contemporaries in Judah (v. 10).

Isaiah 21:1-10 Reflection Questions:

Why do you think Judah is still considering an alliance with Babylon?

What are the similarities with verse 9 and Revelation 14:8?

Reflect on how often you turn to the world for answers verses turning and waiting for God to answer.

 

In this chapter, which concludes the block of material concerning Egypt (chapters 18-20) we are returned yet again to the concrete historical realities of Isaiah’s own day. Isaiah graphically reminds Judah that they should not count on foreign alliances to protect them. Isaiah had gone about stripped and barefoot like a disgraced captive (v.3). He may have been completely naked or more likely, barefooted and stripped of his outer clothing. His feet were certainly bare, and so, probably were his buttocks (v.4). It is highly improbable that he remained stripped around the clock. More likely he appeared this way in public at least once each day over the three-year period.

Isaiah’s intention in miming the plight of the captives was to expose the futility of trusting Egypt. When this fate came upon Egypt before his audience’s very eyes (vv. 5-6) they would realize the hopelessness of the policy they have adopted. Such was the historical setting of Isaiah’s acted oracle. He visibly committed himself to the veracity of the Word given to him and they would see it fulfilled.

But why does Isaiah include it here in his collective works? He has been outlining a world-wide hope (19:16-25) in which three nations of his own day have figured: his own people, the imperial Assyria and the would-be imperial Egypt. His vision for them has been astounding – the two superpowers would be joined to tiny Judah as one people in one world under one God (19: 23-25). Is this incredible? To prove that it is, Isaiah records an incident showing that precisely these world empires – in the heyday of their power – are subject to the Word of the Lord. Nothing therefore, is impossible. What is of significance is not a human estimate of what can happen but that the Lord has spoken.

This chapter then, is a fitting climax to the complete block of material concerning Egypt in chapters 18-20. It underlines the basic message of the entire section in a most vivid manner; and it is a message the church needs to hear afresh today. The crises we face will not be solved by looking to the world for solutions.”The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever (1 John 2:17).

 Isaiah 20:1-6 Reflection Questions:

At times God may ask us to take steps we don’t understand. Will you obey God in complete faith?

What is God asking you to be transparent (being naked and barefoot) about?

How committed are you obeying God’s Word?

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