Isaiah on Tuesday - It's the End of the World as We Know it

Isaiah 24 is the first chapter after the "oracles" against various nations and peoples and it's not good news. The NIV titles it "The LORD's devastation of the Earth." It's pretty bleak stuff and it's one of those chapters where I'm left scratching my head a little bit. Mixed in with the doom and destruction are snippets of glory and worship. While I will be the first to say the Isaiah is a master of mixing judgment and promise, the context of these verses leaves me wondering what exactly he was going for.

My high level summary is - God is going to lay waste to the Earth because its people have totally rebelled. The few that remain will see God's glory which is so magnificent that the sun and the moon pale in comparison.

I have to admit that my first thoughts upon reading this chapter were about the environmental damage that we humans are currently doing to the earth. Verse one says "

See, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants-"

to which I might add "unless we do it first." I don't really think this is intended as an indictment towards over exploitation of resources, spewing of pollution or wasteful consumption, but I do see a parallel in that those things inevitably lead to the same fate as the one Isaiah speaks of:

3 The earth will be completely laid waste
and totally plundered.
The LORD has spoken this word.

The cause of the devastation is given in verse 5:

5 The earth is defiled by its people;
they have disobeyed the laws,
violated the statutes
and broken the everlasting covenant.

I suppose one could say that the environmental destruction we are currently visiting upon the planet is just a consequence of violating the laws and statutes of God - greed, lack of concern for others, failure to consider "the earth the Lord's and everything in it." I can't help but think that Isaiah glimpsed a future when the deforested planet was a desert wasteland, the skies burned with a chemical stink and neither king nor subject could escape - there was nowhere left to go.

I think the scariest part of this chapter, though, are 3 verses in the middle which at first seem to be a glimmer of hope, but turn out to be the greatest despair:

14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy;
from the west they acclaim the LORD's majesty.

15 Therefore in the east give glory to the LORD;
exalt the name of the LORD, the God of Israel,
in the islands of the sea.

16 From the ends of the earth we hear singing:
"Glory to the Righteous One."
But I said, "I waste away, I waste away!
Woe to me!
The treacherous betray!
With treachery the treacherous betray!"

The voices of those proclaiming God's majesty and shouting for joy appear to be the betrayers. An open enemy doesn't betray, he attacks openly and defiantly. It is from the one who claims to be an ally that treachery and betrayal come. From the context of the chapter it appears that those who sing "Glory to the Righteous One" speak truth with their lips, but their actions betray them. That is why this is the most disturbing part of Isaiah's vision. It is a warning that those of us who claim to worship God, must do so in word AND deed.

We must bend our heart, mind, soul and strength to this endeavor, lest we stray even one degree off course. And that's the rub - one degree is far worse that 180. When we get totally turned around, it's much easier to tell - we usually know it right away. A single degree isn't immediately obvious and so we often don't detect it until we have traveled quite a distance. Compounding the problem is that we may not be alone. There may be a fleet of us sailing off course. A dangerous armada, indeed. We can be humbly thankful that God is gracious to forgive, merciful and kind and gives course correction to those willing to accept it.

Isaiah keeps his eyes focused on the prize in similar fashion. He closes this chapter with the following:

23 The moon will be abashed, the sun ashamed;
for the LORD Almighty will reign
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and before its elders, gloriously.

Though a great devastation is wrought upon the earth, it is overwhelmed with glory. Even the sun and moon fade in comparison. I suspect those elders in Jerusalem will be overwhelmed by the contrast between the ugliness of the temporal and the beauty of the eternal and that glory will shine even more prominently.