THE BOOK OF ISAIAH
Lesson 9: Chapters 22-25
Part One: Prophecies of Condemnation
Proclamations Concerning the Nations Continued (22:1-23:18)
Apocalypse of Isaiah Part I (24:1-25:12)
Most Holy and Righteous Lord,
You have given us Your moral laws to guide our lives on
the path of righteousness. When Your moral laws are written into the fabric of
our civil laws, providing guidelines and boundaries, the result is a society
that benefits by protecting both the common citizen and the most vulnerable in
society while at the same time prosecuting the wicked. But when civil leaders are
out for their own gains and enact laws or demonstrate behavior that ignores or
violates Your moral laws, as in the leaders of Isaiah's day, the result is a
society that reaps injustice and descends into a spiritual malaise that spirals
into chaos with each person doing what is "right" or "just" in his or her own
eyes. It is our prayer, O Lord, that You will call forward men and women of
integrity and morality to serve our community and our nation. We pray that you
will give us the wisdom to discern the inner qualities or defects of each
candidate for elected office. Help us, Lord, to elect committed men and women
who acknowledge Your sovereignty over their lives and who are filled with a
healthy fear of offending You. Help us to see beyond their rhetoric and to
discern their value based upon their behavior that is the mirror of their true
image. We pray in the name of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
+ + +
This is what the Lord Yahweh showed me: A basket of ripe fruit.
"What do you see, Amos?" he asked. "A basket of ripe fruit," I said.
Then Yahweh said, "The time is ripe for my people Israel; I will not continue to overlook their offences.
That day, the palace songs will turn to howls—declares the Lord Yahweh—the corpses will be many that are thrown down everywhere.
Amos 8:1-3a
Isaiah's prophecies against the nations who were Judah's neighbors announce the fact that Yahweh, God of Israel and Judah is God of all the nations of the earth. Nations might or might not acknowledge His sovereignity, but whether they did or did not recognize Him did not matter then, nor does it matter today. The exercise of free-will allows men and women to move forward the course of human history for evil or for good, but ultimately the fate of every nation rests in the hands of Yahweh-God of the universe.
Chapter 22 ~ Oracles against Jerusalem and the Davidic Steward
In the preceding chapter, Isaiah gave three oracles against Babylon (21:1-10), Edom (21:11-12), and Arabia (21:13-17). Now he pronounces an oracle against His own people and the capital city of the Southern Kingdom of Judah "the holy city of Jerusalem. Yahweh will deal with sin wherever He finds it and no one is exempt from His judgment.
Isaiah 22:1-14 ~ Oracle predicting the Siege of and
Salvation of Jerusalem
1 Prophecy on the
Valley of Vision: Now what is the matter with you for you all to be up on the
housetops, 2 full of excitement,
boisterous town, joyful city? Your slain have not fallen to the sword nor died
in battle. 3 Your leaders have all
fled together, captured without a bow between them, all who could be found have
been captured at a blow, far though they had fled. 4 That is why I said, "Turn your eyes away from
me, let me weep bitterly; do not try to comfort me over the ruin of the
daughter of my people." 5 For this
is a day of rout, panic and confusion, the work of the Lord Yahweh Sabaoth in
the Valley of Vision. The wall is sapped, cries for help ring out to the
mountains. 6 Elam has picked up
his quiver, with manned chariots and horsemen, and Kir has bared his shield. 7 Your fairest valleys are full of chariots and
the horsemen take up positions at the gates; 8 thus falls the defense of Judah. That day you turned your gaze
to the weapons in the House of the Forest. 9
You saw how many breaches there were in the City of David. You
collected the waters of the lower pool. 10
You surveyed the houses in Jerusalem and pulled houses down to
strengthen the wall. 11 Between
the two walls you made a reservoir for the waters of the old pool. But you did
not look to the Creator of these things, you did not look to the One who
fashioned them long ago. 12 That
day the Lord Yahweh Sabaoth called on you to weep and mourn, to shave your
heads, to put on sackcloth. 13 But
instead there is joy and merriment, killing of oxen, slaughtering of sheep,
eating of meat, drinking of wine, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall
be dead." 14 Then Yahweh Sabaoth
revealed this to my ears. "This guilt will never be forgiven you, until you
are dead," says the Lord Yahweh Sabaoth.
This prophecy dates to the deliverance of Jerusalem from the Assyrian army that was besieging the city in 701 BC. King Hezekiah openly broke with Assyria in 705 BC. The death of King Sargon II of Assyria became a signal for open rebellion throughout the Assyrian Empire, and Hezekiah was the force behind a military coalition to resist the Assyrians and to test the new king. He took his army into the coastal plain and ousted the rulers who were hostile to his policies (2 Kng 18:7-8). In 701 King Sennacherib brought his armies into the west. The Phoenician and Philistine allies were overwhelmed by the Assyrians, and then Sennacherib began his march through Judah, taking 46 fortified cities before besieging Jerusalem (2 Kng 18:13-17; 2 Chr 32:1). Hezekiah and the people repented their sins and prayed for deliverance. As Isaiah prophesied, God delivered Jerusalem from the Assyrians the same night (2 Kng 19:35-36; 2 Chr 32:20-23).
Isaiah had prophesied the city's deliverance and now he warns the city in advance against the exaggerated joy expressed by Jerusalem's citizens who do not seem to realize or want to acknowledge that this was a work of God.(2)
1 Prophecy on the Valley of Vision: The "Valley of vision is mentioned in verses 1 and 5. Jerusalem was built in between two high valleys in the Judean Mountains. The Mount of Olives to the east was higher than Mount Moriah and one could look down on Jerusalem from Mount of Olives, as Jesus did when He pronounced His judgment over Jerusalem in Matthew 24:3-25. It was also a place of visions that moved forward God's plan in salvation history:
6 Elam has picked
up his quiver, with manned chariots and horsemen, and Kir has bared his shield.
The Elamites and Aramaeans from Kir were allies or
mercenaries of King Sennacherib of Assyria who were the vanguard of the
attacking army.
8 thus falls the
defense of Judah. That day you turned your gaze to the weapons in the House of
the Forest. The House of the Forest of Lebanon was the royal palace built
by King Solomon with huge cedar pillars to hold up the roof and decorated with
shields on its walls (1 Kng 7:2-6; 10:16-17; 14:25-29; 2 Chr 9:16; 12:2, 9-11).
Question: In what ways did the people recognize
how desperate their situation was?
Answer:
11 Between the
two walls you made a reservoir for the waters of the old pool. But you did not
look to the Creator of these things, you did not look to the One who fashioned
them long ago.
Jerusalem was a double walled city. To secure Jerusalem's
water supply, King Hezekiah had his engineers cut a tunnel out of the rock from
the city's only water supply, the Gihon Spring, to bring the water into the
reservoir of the Siloam Pool within the city. Hezekiah's tunnel was a marvel
of ancient engineering (2 Kng 20:20; 2 Chr 32:3-4; Sir 48:17/19).3
Question: Instead of jubilation and feasting, what
is it that God wanted from Jerusalem's citizens?
Answer: It is Isaiah's warning that when their
deliverance comes instead of joyous celebration they should show their
gratitude to God by offering Him their genuine repentance for their sins by
wearing sackcloth, weeping, and shaving their heads.
Question: What will be their punishment for their
failure to recognize God as their deliverer and their failure to repent the
sins and purify their lives?
Answer: The verdict is divine judgment and the
future destruction of the city.
Isaiah 22:15-25 ~ The Davidic Chief Stewards Shebna and Eliakim
15 The Lord
Yahweh Sabaoth says this: Go and find that steward, Shebna, the master of the
palace: 16 "What do you own here,
who gave you the right for you to hew yourself a tomb here?" He is hewing
himself a tomb, is digging a resting-place for himself in the rock. 17 But Yahweh will throw you away, strong as you
are, will grasp you in his grip, 18 will
screw you up into a ball, a ball thrown into a vast space. There you will die,
with your splendid chariots, disgrace to your master's palace! 19 I shall hound you from your office, I shall
snatch you from your post 20 and,
when that day comes, I shall summon my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah. 21 I shall dress him in your tunic, I shall put
your sash round his waist, I shall invest him with your authority; and he will
be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the House of Judah. 22 I shall place the key of David palace on his
shoulder; when he opens, no one will close, when he closes, no one will open. 23 I shall drive him like a nail into a firm
place; and he will become a throne of glory for his family. 24 On him will depend all the glory of his
family, the descendants and offspring, all the vessels of small capacity too,
from cups to pitchers. 25 That day
declares Yahweh Sabaoth, the nail driven into a firm place will give way, will
be torn out and all. And the whole load hanging on it will be lost. For
Yahweh has spoken."
God finds fault with the Davidic chief steward Shebna whose focus is
advancing himself instead of service to his king and the people.
Question: What example is given of his self-serving agenda?
Answer: He has built an expensive tomb for himself to reflect
his status and is more concerned with material wealth that with his eternal
future.
God will bring about the loss of Shebna's position as chief steward/Vicar of the palace and will appoint another to take his place, a righteous man named Eliakim, whose name means "God will establish". The signs of Eliakim's office and the extent of his authority are listed in verses 21-24. To "open and shut" refers to making binding decisions for the good of the kingdom of Judah as the king's chief minister, the symbolic images of the "nail into a firm place" depicts the security of his office, and "the vessels" both small and large, "from cups to pitchers" refers to all the members of the kingdom from the common people to the more influential. To "open and shut" (also translated as to "bind and loose") refers to the authority to make binding decisions.
Question: How is the office of the Davidic Vicar/Prime Minister
Eliakim described in Isaiah 22:21-25?
Answer:
Question: Who in the New Covenant in Christ Jesus
is given the same responsibilities in the New Testament and who carries on that
same office in the Church today? See Mt 16:16-20.
Answer: Simon-Peter, like Eliakim, was chosen for
his office by God Himself as the new Davidic King's chief steward or Vicar of
the New Covenant Kingdom. His successors are the Popes "the "fathers" to the
people of the new Jerusalem that is the Kingdom of the Church who continue to
serve today. They have the same authority as the other Davidic Vicars:
The power to "bind and loose" sins and govern the Church that Jesus gave to Peter, who served as His chief minister/vicar, Jesus also gave to the other Apostles who were the first members of the Magisterium who governing Jesus' Kingdom of the Church with His chief minister/Vicar (see Mt 18:18 and Jn 20:22-23).
Question: But what warning is given in Isaiah 22:25?
Answer: While the people of the Davidic kingdom
and their descendants depend on the Vicar/chief minister, he will only remain
in his office so long as he remains faithful. If he fails, he too will be torn
out like a defective nail and his failure will be a threat to the kingdom which
will fail.
Question: Why does this threat of the loss of the
kingdom not apply to Christ's Vicar and the Kingdom of the Church? What
promise did Jesus make in Matthew 16:17-19? How is Jesus' kingdom unlike
earthly kingdoms?
Answer: Jesus promised that, through divine intervention,
His Kingdom would remain secure and did not depend on the faithfulness of any
one vicar: "And the gates of the underworld [death and Hades] can never
overpower it" (Mt 16:18). Jesus' kingdom is eternal.
It is uncertain if verse 25 refers to Eliakim himself (see 2 Kng 18:18, 26, 37; 19:2; Is 36:3, 11; 37:2) or to his successors. Since Eliakim is never accused of the same failing as Shebna, it is likely the warning is for future chief ministers. The Davadic kingdom did fall in 587/6 BC.
Chapter 23 ~ Oracle against the Phoenician Cities of Tyre and Sidon
It is, after
all, the practice of the prophets and the just to grieve not only for
themselves but also for the rest of humankind.
St. John
Chrysostom, Homilies on Genesis, 29.7
Isaiah 23:1-7 ~ A Call to Lament
1 Howl, ships of
Tarshish, for all has been destroyed "no more houses, no way of getting in: the
news has reached them from Kittim. 2 Be
struck dumb, inhabitants of the coast, you merchants of Sidon, whose messengers
cross the sea 3 to the wide ocean.
The grain of the Canal, the harvest of the Nile, formed her revenue. 4 She was the market for the nations. Blush,
Sidon (citadel of the seas), for this is what he sea has said, "I have felt no
birth-pangs, never given birth, never reared boys nor brought up girls." 5 When the news reaches Egypt, they will tremble
to hear Tyre's fate. 6 Cross to
Tarshish, howl, inhabitants of the coast. 7
Is this your proud city founded far back in the past, whose steps led
her far afield to found her colonies?
The Phoenician trading centers of Tyre and Sidon were famous across the Mediterranean. People came by land and by sea to trade with these cities. They sent ships as far away as the Iberian Peninsula (Tarshish; 1 Kng 10:22) and Kittim probably refers to the Phoenician colonies on the island of Cyprus. Nevertheless, Yahweh is also lord of Tyre, and his prophet has announced Tyre's inevitable destruction.(1)
Question: Prophetic oracles of judgment usually
called on the nation, city, or its people under divine judgment to mourn and
wail. But in this case, who does Yahweh's prophet call upon to lament the fate of Tyre?
Answer: Isaiah calls on the great trading vessels
that sailed to Tarshish (23:1), her friends like the sister city of Sidon and
colonies on Cyprus (23:1-2) and Tyre's major trading partners, including Egypt
(23:3-7) to lament the fate of Tyre.
Isaiah 23:8-18 ~ Tyre's Judgment and Future
8 Who took this
decision against Tyre, who used to hand out crowns, whose traders were princes,
whose merchants, men honored in the city? 9
Yahweh Sabaoth took this decision to wither the pride of all beauty and
humiliate those honored in the city. 10 Cultivate
your country like the Delta, daughter of Tarshish, for your marine docks are no
more. 11 He has raised his hand
against the sea, he has shaken kingdoms, Yahweh has ordained the destruction of
the fortresses of Canaan. 12 He
has said, "Exult no more, ill-treated virgin daughter of Sidon! Get up, cross
to Kittim, no respite for you there, either." 13 Look at the land of the Chaldaeans, a people who used not to
exist! Assyria assigned it to the creatures of the wilds; they raised their
siege-towers against it, demolished its bastions, reduced it to ruin. 14 Howl, ships of Tarshish, for your fortress
has been destroyed. 15 When that
day comes, Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, the length of one king's
life. But when the seventy years are over, Tyre will become like the whore in
the song: 16 "Take you harp, walk
the town, whore whom men have forgotten! Play sweetly, song after song, to
make them remember you." 17 At the
end of the seventy years Yahweh will visit Tyre. She will receive her pay
again and play the whore with all the kingdoms of the world on the surface of
the earth. 18 But her profits and
wages will be dedicated to Yahweh. They will not be stored or hoarded, but her
profits will go to those who lie in Yahweh's presence, for them to have as much
food as they want and splendid clothes.
Verses 8-9 clarify the situation.
Question: Will the future humiliation and
destruction of Type happen by chance/fate?
Answer: No. It is the work of Yahweh Sabaoth.
The fall of Tyre was to have implications for Canaan and the entire Mediterranean coastal region. The ships that travel to Tarshish will mourn because of its economic losses as will the other coastal cities of Canaan including Sidon. Refugees from Sidon will flee the coast and seek asylum on Cyprus (verse 12).
13 Look at the
land of the Chaldaeans, a people who used not to exist! Assyria assigned it to
the creatures of the wilds; they raised their siege-towers against it,
demolished its bastions, reduced it to ruin.
Chaldaeans is the ancient name for the original people
who became the Babylonians. Babylon was conquered by the Assyrians in 729 BC
but Babylon will rise again to conquer the Assyrians in 605 BC at the Battle of
Carchemish.
15 When that day
comes, Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, the length of one king's life.
Verses 15-20 offer a prophecy of restoration after a
period of subjugation. After a period of seventy years, Tyre will be both
religiously purified and politically restored only to fall back into her old
sins, using the ironic image of an elderly prostitute who is too old to learn
another kind of living. Another irony is that the wages of the harlot city
will not support Tyre but those who dwell in God's presence. This is odd since
a harlot's earnings could not be given to the support of the Jerusalem Temple. Prostitution
was forbidden under the laws of the covenant (Lev 18:22/19; Dt 23:18-19/17-18).
This future prophecy resembles that of Egypt and Assyria in Isaiah 19:18-25. God will punish the Gentiles as He punishes the Israelites, and after they are severely punished, then they will be saved. Seventy years is the length of Jerusalem's punishment in Jeremiah 25:11 and 29:10. Both the Assyrians and Babylonians fought and then received tribute from Tyre at various times. The city survived until the conquest of Alexander the Great in 332 BC when Alexander destroyed it. It was later rebuilt and in Jesus' time was again a major trading center under the rule of the Roman Empire. St. Paul came into the port at Tyre on his last journey to Jerusalem and spent a week with the Christian community there (Acts 21:3-6).
The question that scholars have disputed is when was the part of the oracle about Tyre sending funds to Jerusalem in verse 18 fulfilled? After the Roman Emperor Constantine I had his conversion experience (312 AD), he sent his mother, St. Helena, who was a Christian convert to Judah and Jerusalem in 326-28 AD to identify the holy sites associated with Jesus. After Christian Bishop Makarios of Jerusalem pointed out the site of Jesus' crucifixion and entombment in Jerusalem, St. Helena built two churches on the site. These two churches were later combined into the one Church of the Holy Specular. She also arranged for the building of the Church of the Nativity and other churches on holy sites. The Romans proved funds to build the churches from Roman tax revenues, some of which probably came from the wealthy trade center of Tyre. After Jews living in Tyre (along with some former pagans) converted to Christianity, their contributions to the Jerusalem church were clean and acceptable to the Lord.
Isaiah chapters 13-23, and Isaiah's oracles against the nations of the ancient Near East, declare that Yahweh is the God of all the nations of the world. Even if they did not recognize Him, He has divine authority over them and will judge them for their sins. However, Isaiah's oracles also demonstrate the extent of God's grace in reaching out even to those who reject Him. Therefore, Isaiah's oracles to the nations set the stage for the fullness of Yahweh's grace in the revelation of Jesus Christ in the New Testament and the call for all nations of the world to come to salvation through God the Son. The subtheme of God's sovereignty over the universe will continue to be developed in chapters 24-27.
Chapters
24:1-27:13 ~ Isaiah's Apocalypse:
Vison of the Great Tribulation and the Cosmic Chaos
As great as his
mercy, so is his severity; he judges each person as his deeds deserve: the
sinner will not escape with his ill-gotten gains nor the patience of the devout
go for nothing. He takes note of every charitable action, and everyone is
treated as he deserves.
Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 16:12/13-14/15
After he
rebukes those of the circumcision who have trespassed the law of the covenant
of God and warns them with what he has written, he prophesies that only a small
number of them will be saved. These few are those whom the apostle calls "the
remnant according to the election of grace" [referring to St Paul in Romans
11:5].
St. Eusebius of Caesarea, Proof of the Gospel 2.3
In Chapters 24-27, Isaiah ends his condemnation of individual nations. He looks beyond the events of his time and introduces a more general, cosmic description of judgment and gives a poetic description of God's Final Judgment at the end of the age of man. The basic themes of this section are:
Isaiah 24:1-6 ~ Yahweh's Judgment
1 See how Yahweh
lays the earth waste, makes it a desert, buckles its surface, scatters its
inhabitants, 2 priest and people
alike, master and slave, mistress and maid, seller and buyer, lender and
borrower, creditor and debtor. 3 Ravaged,
ravaged the earth will be, despoiled, despoiled, for Yahweh has uttered this
word. 4 The earth is mourning,
pining away, the pick of earth's people are withering away. 5 The earth is defiled by the feet of its
inhabitants, for they have transgressed the laws, violated the decree, broken
the everlasting covenant. 6 That
is why the curse has consumed the earth and its inhabitants pay the penalty,
that is why the inhabitants of the earth has been burnt up and few people are
left.
The first part of the general judgment reads like a
ritual mourning for the land and its people. Twelve different groups of people
are named in verses 1-2. Twelve is one of the so-called "perfect numbers" and
usually is symbolic of governmental order. The earth and all members of the
world's communities will be caught up in Yahweh' judgment.
Question: What three reasons are given for God's
divine judgment in verses 5-6?
Answer:
The "everlasting covenant" in verse 5 does not refer to the covenant with Abraham that promised land, many descendants and a world-wide blessing (Gen 12:1-3), nor can it be the covenant with the children of Israel at Sinai which was not an everlasting covenant but a covenant based on obedience and loyalty (Ex 24:3, 7; Lev 26:3-5, 14-45). It therefore, must refer to the eternal covenant with Noah after the Flood Judgment in Genesis 9:9-17; see 9:16 for the words "eternal covenant" and the chart on Yahweh's Eight Covenants.
Question: What was unique about the Noahide
covenant as opposed to the covenants with Abraham and Israel? See Gen 6:5-7;
9:8-11.
Answer: The Noachide covenant concerned mankind and
the entire earth. The violation of this covenant causes judgment to overtake
the entire world (verse 6), and the judgment that will fall upon all people of
the earth because of their wickedness also recalls the reason for the Flood
judgment in Genesis 6:5.
Question: But even when men and nations violate
God's covenants, what promise did God make in Leviticus 26:44-45 and
Deuteronomy 4:29-31; Hosea 5:15-6:3?
Answer: When His people repent He will always
restore them and He will always preserve a faithful remnant.
Isaiah 24:7-16a ~ Song about the Ruined City
7 The new wine is
mourning, the vine is withering away, the once merry-hearted are sighing. 8 The cheerful sound of tambourines is silent,
the sound of reveling is over, the cheerful sound of the harp is silent. 9 No more will they sing over their wine, liquor
will taste bitter to the drinker. 10 The
city of nothingness is in ruins, every house is shut, no one can enter. 11 People shout in the streets to try to get
wine; all joy has vanished, happiness has been banished from the country. 12 Nothing but rubble in the city, the gate has
collapsed in ruins. 13 For at the
heart of earth's life, among the peoples, is as at the beating of the olive
trees, as at the gleaning of the grapes when the grape harvest is over. 14 They raise their voices, shouting for joy, in
Yahweh's honor they shout from the west. 15
"Yes, in the east, give glory to Yahweh, in the islands of the sea, to
the name of Yahweh, God of Israel!" 16a We
have heard psalms from the remotest parts of earth. "Glory to the Upright
One!"
Wine is a symbol of joy and covenant union with Yahweh,
but in Isaiah's vision there will be no more joy in the coming judgment and no
sanctuary because "every house is shut, no one can enter" (verse 10).
Question: Once again what kind of imagery does
Isaiah use to describe the utter devastation?
Answer: He uses the imagery of the harvest.
The "city of nothingness" in verse 10 may not be a
particular city. Just as the whole land is in crisis, so are its cities
reduced to chaos.
Question: The imagery of a remnant being saved in
the midst of an angry and chaotic sea is reminiscing of what previous judgment?
Answer: It is reminiscent of the Flood judgment in
which a remnant of humanity is saved from Noah's family.
14 They raise
their voices, shouting for joy, in Yahweh's honor they shout from the west. 15 "Yes, in the east, give glory to Yahweh, in
the islands of the sea, to the name of Yahweh, God of Israel!" 16a We have heard psalms from the remotest parts
of earth. "Glory to the Upright One!"
The faithful remnant that has survived now sings a hymn
of praise and thanksgiving to God. Many of the Fathers of the Church saw the
"islands of the sea" in verse 15 as the Church surviving in an ocean of sin in
the world, and through which a remnant has been saved. St. Jerome wrote:
"Therefore, the glory of the Lord is in the islands of the sea'. That
pertains obviously to the Church, which is located in the midst of the godless
nations as if an island in the sea. It is in that island that the glory of the
Lord shines" (Commentary on Isaiah, 7.19).
Question: What is the reason they sing God's praises?
Answer: It is because remnants of the faithful
have been preserved across remote parts of the earth.
This song of praise and thanksgiving will be continued in 25:1-12.
Isaiah 24:16b-23 ~ The Last Battle
16b But I
thought, "What an ordeal, what an ordeal! What misery for me!" The traitors
have betrayed, the traitors have acted most treacherously. 17 Fear, the pit and the snare for you,
inhabitants of the city! 18 And
whoever flees from the cry of fear will fall into the pit, and whoever climbs
out of the pit will be caught in the snare. Yes, the sluice-gates above are
open, the foundations of the earth are quaking. 19 A cracking, the earth cracks open, a jolting, the earth gives
a jolt, a lurching, the earth lurches backwards and forwards. 20 The earth will reel to and fro like a
drunkard, it will be shaken like a shanty; so heavy will be its sin on it, it
will fall, never to rise again. 21
When that day comes, Yahweh will punish the armies of the sky above and on
earth the kings of the earth; 22 they
will be herded together, herded together like prisoners in a dungeon and shut
up in gaol, and, after long years, punished. 23 The moon will be confused and the sun ashamed, for Yahweh
Sabaoth is king on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and the Glory will radiate on
their elders.
Question: Who are the traitors in verse 16c?
Answer: The traitors are all those who have
apostatized from their covenant with Yahweh.
18 And
whoever flees from the cry of fear will fall into the pit, and whoever climbs
out of the pit will be caught in the snare. Yes, the sluice-gates above are
open, the foundations of the earth are quaking. 19 A cracking, the earth cracks open, a jolting, the earth gives
a jolt, a lurching, the earth lurches backwards and forwards. 20 The earth will reel to and fro like a
drunkard, it will be shaken like a shanty; so heavy will be its sin on it, it will
fall, never to rise again.
There is no escape for the wicked. Yes, the
sluice-gates above are open would have reminded those hearing Isaiah's
prophecy of Genesis 7:11 where is similar expression is used to describe the
beginning of the great Flood.
the foundations of the earth are quaking.
The earth will respond to God's judgment in a series of
shattering earthquakes, and even the sun and moon will be affected. In our
modern age, with more and more unstable nations securing the technology to
create a nuclear bomb, the event might even be described as the devastation
caused by nuclear explosions. Notice the similarity to Jesus' description of
the last days and His Second Coming in Matthew 24:29-31: Immediately after
the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its
light, the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of the heavens will be
shaken. And then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven; then, too,
all the peoples of the earth will beat their breasts; and they will see the Son
of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will
send his angels with a loud trumpet to gather his elect from the four winds,
from one end of heaven to the other. The description in Isaiah is also similar
to the day of judgment in Revelation 6:12, In my vision, when he broke the
sixth seal, there was a violent earthquake and the sun went as black as coarse
sackcloth; the moon turned red as blood all over, and the stars of the sky fell
onto the earth like figs dropping from a fig tree when a high wind shakes it...
21 When that day
comes, Yahweh will punish the armies of the sky above and on earth the kings of
the earth; 22 they will be herded
together, herded together like prisoners in a dungeon and shut up in gaol, and,
after long years, punished.
In the Final Judgment, the evil spirits (angels) who fell
with Satan (Rev 12:7-9) who influenced evil in the kings of the earth in this
final conflict will face divine judgment together and will be shut up in the
prison/pit and will be visited by God Himself for their Last Judgment and
consigned to a place from which there is no release, the hell of the damned. This
is the hell of the damned to which the fallen angels were condemned and about which
both Sts. Peter and Jude wrote:
These are the kings of the earth in the last days who have waged war against God and His plan for humanity (Acts 4:26-27) and against the Lamb: They are all of one mind in putting their strength and their powers at the beast's disposal, and they will go to war against the Lamb, but because the Lamb is Lord of lords and King of kings, he will defeat them, he and his followers, the called, the chosen, the trustworthy. (Rev 17:13-14).
St. Paul wrote about these other worldly evil influences in Ephesians 6:12, For it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle, but against the principalities and the ruling forces who are masters of the darkness in this world, the spirits of evil in the heavens. And Jesus spoke of this judgment in John 12:31 when He said, "Now sentence is being passed on this world: now the prince of this world is to be driven out." Paul also wrote of this same judgment in Colossians 2:15, ... and he has stripped the sovereignties and ruling forces, and paraded them in public, behind him in his triumphal procession.
23 The moon will
be confused and the sun ashamed, for Yahweh Sabaoth is king on Mount Zion and
in Jerusalem, and the Glory will radiate on their elders.
Isaiah concludes this section on the last battle with end
result of the judgment: all worldly powers will be destroyed and the eternal
kingdom of God will be established in the new Jerusalem: Then I say a new
heaven and a new earth; the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared
now, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride dressed for her husband
(Rev 21:1-2). The moon will be "confused" and the sun "ashamed" because there
is no longer any need for their light: ...and the city did not need the sun or
the moon for light, since it was lit by the radiant glory of God, and the Lamb
was a lighted torch for it (Rev 21:23). The day of salvation renders the
sun and moon unnecessary because of God's dazzling glory.
The elders upon whom God's glory will radiate must be the elders of St. John's vision in Revelation 4:4 and 10-12: Round the throne in a circle were twenty-four thrones, and on them twenty-four elders sitting, dressed in white roes with golden crowns on their heads ... and made them a line of kings and priests for God, to rule the world. In my vision, I heard the sound of an immense number of angels gathered round the throne and the living creatures and the elders; there were ten thousand times ten thousand of them and thousands upon thousands, loudly changing: Worthy is the Lamb that was sacrificed to receive power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and blessing.
Chapter 25: The Faithful Remnant's Hymn of Thanksgiving and Praise
The sea gave up
all the dead who were in it; Death and Hades were emptied of the dead that were
in them; and everyone was judged as his deeds deserved. Then death and Hades
were hurled into the burning lake. This burning lake is the second death; and
anybody whose name could not be found written in the book of life was hurled
into the burning lake.
Revelation 20:13-15
Look, here God
lives among human beings. He will make his home among them; they will be his
people, and he will be their God, God-with-them [Immanuel].
Revelation 21:3-4
Just as a song of praise and thanksgiving followed the description of the fall of the world powers and the establishment of God's kingdom in chapters 10 and 11, so too, after the prophecy of God's great judgment in chapter 24, Isaiah has another vision of the faithful singing of songs of praise and thanksgiving.
Isaiah 25:1-5 ~ A Hymn of Thanksgiving
1 Yahweh, you are
my God, I shall praise you to the heights, I shall praise your name; for you
have accomplished marvels, plans long-conceived, faithfully, firmly. 2 For you have made the town a heap of stones,
the fortified city a ruin. The foreigners' citadel is a city no longer, it
will never be rebuilt. 3 Hence
mighty peoples will honor you, the city of pitiless nations hold you in awe. 4 For you have been a refuge for the weak, a
refuge for the needy in distress, a shelter from the storm, shade from the
heat; for the breath of the pitiless is like a winter storm. 5 Like heat in a dry land you calm the
foreigners' tumult; as heat under the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the
pitiless dies away.
Question: Why do they sing a hymn of praise and thanksgiving? Give 2 reasons
Answer: The faithful remnant sings a hymn of praise and thanksgiving because:
Isaiah 25:6-12 ~ The Divine Banquet
6 On this
mountain, for all peoples, Yahweh Sabaoth is preparing a banquet of rich food,
a banquet of fine wines, of succulent food, of well-strained wines. 7 On this mountain, he has destroyed the veil
which used to veil all peoples, the pall enveloping all nations; 8 he has destroyed death for ever. Lord Yahweh
has wiped away the tears from every cheek; he has taken his people's shame away
everywhere on earth, for Yahweh has spoken. 9 And on that day, it will be said, "Look, this is our God, in
him we put our hope that he should save us, this is Yahweh, we put our hope in
him. Let us exult and rejoice since he has saved us." 10 For Yahweh's hand will rest on their
mountain, and Moab will be trodden under his feet as straw is trodden into the
dung-heap. 11 He may stretch his
hands wide on the mountain like a swimmer stretching out his hands to swim.
But he will humble his pride despite what his hands may attempt. 12 And the impregnable fortress of your walls,
he has overthrown, laid low, flung to the ground, in the dust.
Having fulfilled His divine plan, God now reigns eternally. The "mountain" of the Lord is where divine revelation of
God is given to His people. Isaiah receives a vision of the Messianic Banquet
at the end of time "it is the hymn of praise St. John heard and the vision of
the Wedding Supper of the Lamb that St. John saw in Revelation 19:1-10!
Question: In the reoccurring symbolic images of
the Old Testament prophets, what does drinking fine wine at a banquet represent
and what is this banquet? See the chart below and also Revelation 19:7-9.(2)
| Drinking Wine |
Covenant unity: Joy of drinking good wine |
Rebellion: Becoming drunk |
Judgment: Loss of wine; drinking the "cup of God's wrath" |
Restoration: Rejoicing in the best "new wine" at the Master's table |
| Examples in Scripture | Isaiah25:6-8; 62:8-9; 65:13; Jeremiah 31:12; 40:12 | Isaiah 5:11-12; 28:1; Jeremiah 8:13; 48:26; 51:7; Joel 1:5 | Psalm 75:9; Isaiah 51:17-23; ; Joel 4:13; Jeremiah 13:12-14; 25:15-31; 49:12; 51:6-7; 48:26; Ezekiel 23:31-34; Habakkuk 2:16 |
Promise: Zech.9:15-16 Filled: Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32; Revelation 19:7-9 |
Answer: Drinking the best wine represents restoration in covenant unity with God. This vision is of the restoration of covenant unity at the Messianic banquet in the New Jerusalem at the end of time.
7 On this
mountain, he has destroyed the veil which used to veil all peoples, the pall
enveloping all nations; 8 he has
destroyed death for ever. Lord Yahweh has wiped away the tears from every
cheek; he has taken his people's shame away everywhere on earth, for Yahweh has
spoken.
The veil/curtain that separated the Holy Place of the
Temple from the Holy of Holies where the presence of God dwelt in the midst of
His people came to represent the separation of God from His covenant people
after the sin of the Golden Calf (Ex 32). It was this veil that was torn
asunder upon the moment Jesus offered up His life on the altar of the Cross for
the sins of humanity, signifying that the barrier of sin had been conquered by
Jesus' prefect sacrifice (Mt 27:51; Mk 15:38; Lk 23:45). Sin was the veil that
separated mankind from perfect covenant unity with God, but Jesus removed that
barrier. And, Jesus has conquered death, the physical result of the infection
of sin, freeing mankind from the curse of eternal death (2 Tim 1:10; CCC 1021).
8 he has
destroyed death for ever. Lord Yahweh has wiped away the tears from every cheek
[face]; he has taken his people's shame away everywhere on earth, for Yahweh
has spoken.
Question: According to Isaiah, God will comfort
His people in what three ways?
Answer:
St. John will quote from Isaiah 24:8 from the Greek translation in Revelation 7:17 and 21:4 (underlining added):
Question: Until Christ's return, physical death is
still part of the human condition, but for the righteous it is now a gateway to
eternal life. However, in His Second Advent and the Last Judgment, what will
happen to both death and Hades? See Rev 20:13-15; 21:4b.
Answer: Both death and Hades will be destroyed
because there is no longer any need for them in God's plan for mankind's
salvation.
10 For Yahweh's
hand will rest on their mountain, and Moab will be trodden under his feet as
straw is trodden into the dung-heap. 11 He
may stretch his hands wide on the mountain like a swimmer stretching out his
hands to swim. But he will humble his pride despite what his hands may attempt.
12 And the impregnable fortress of
your walls, he has overthrown, laid low, flung to the ground, in the dust.
Moab, the people descended from Abraham's nephew Lot who
abandoned worship of the One True God, becomes a symbol of all men and women
who turned away from God. The intimate presence of God is the mark of God's
covenant with his people (Ex 25:8; Jn 1:14). It will reach its consummation at
the end of time (Is 12:6; Joel 4:17, 21; Zep 3:15-17; Zec 2:14).
The image in verse 11 is of a swimmer doing what we would call a breast stroke by pushing his hands through the water in front of him and then pushing the water by moving his arms out to his sides at the top of the water so his arms are opened wide and extend out from his shoulders. The "He" who is stretching out of His hands wide on the mountain is God and recalls the image of Jesus on the Cross, on the hill of Golgotha just below the summit of Mt. Moriah, with His arms outstretched as the victim of sacrifice upon the Cross, but also with arms stretched wide to embrace all of mankind with His gift of the forgiveness of sins that leads to eternal life. In accepting human flesh, God humbled Himself for our sake, and by accepting death on the Cross, He swallowed up death in victory to conquer the fearful and impregnable fortress of human death: He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began, but now made manifest through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus, who destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel ... (2 Tim 1:9-10).
Question for reflection or group discussion:
Compare Isaiah's vision of the Messianic Banquet with St.
John's vision in chapter 19. What are the similarities and what are the
differences? What is the present and future fulfillment of the Messianic
banquet?
Endnotes:
1. The city of Tyre was built on an island close to the Mediterranean
coast and was attacked or besieged unsuccessfully by the regional powers of the
Assyrians (Shalmaneser and Sennacherib) and the Babylonians (Nebuchadnezzar
besieged the city for 13 years). The city was finally destroyed by the Greek
army of Alexander the Great in 332 BC, but it was later rebuilt. Today Tyre is
the fourth largest city in Lebanon and is about 50 miles south of Beirut.
2. See the complete chart on the Symbolic Images of the
O.T. Prophets in handout 3 from Lesson #1 or see the online chart: Symbolic Images of the Old Testament Prophets
Catechism references: Isaiah 25:6-12,
the Divine Banquet
(CCC 1027, 1036, 1642, 1682, 2618, 2770, 2837, 2861)
marriage feast of the Lamb
(CCC 546, 1244, 1335)
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