Isaiah 24
Today's Passage: Isaiah 24
So far, God has used Isaiah to systematically usher warnings to individual nations. In Isaiah 24, there is a shift from individual nations to the judgment of the world as a unit. In this chapter, Isaiah is not prophesying directly to the people at the time, but to the future and toward God’s ultimate judgment of the earth.
A few ways that I saw the character of God on display in this chapter is through His consistency, impartiality, and sovereignty.
CONSISTENCY
“The LORD will empty the earth and make it desolate and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.” Reading this verse, I am taken back to Genesis when God sent the flood and when he scattered the people at the tower of Babel. God has consistently brought justice to wickedness. The judgment that God will bring on the earth will not be accidental or triggered, but intentional and in line with His eternal character.
The chapter goes on in verses 5 and 6 to discuss how the world has been defiled by its inhabitants. How? Because they have broken the law, they have changed God's Word, they have broken the everlasting covenant. Which covenant you ask? All of them! We are the inhabitants of this earth. The earth has not been defiled by a distant, impersonal force, but by us.
But even in the midst of our disobedience and brokenness, the law, the Word, and the covenants have not changed because they are not built on us. God’s promises have not changed because they have been built on the unchanging God.
IMPARTIALITY
“As with… so with.” Isaiah lists out a series of opposites, displaying that there is no title that will act as a shield, and the lack of a title will not serve as an excuse for unfaithfulness.
Jumping to verse 17, Isaiah uses the pictures of terror and the pit and the snare, showing that there is no escape from judgment. Pits and snares were and sometimes still are used for hunting. The only way to stop a pit from catching prey is to fill it, and the only way to stop a snare from catching prey is for it to catch something. The only way to escape God’s wrath is to satisfy God’s wrath.
God is completely impartial in His judgment of sin, and we are utterly guilty of sin. We cannot woo God to extend us grace or satisfy His wrath toward us, but we can look to the one who satisfied God’s wrath - God himself. Through Jesus, we can cling to the hope found in His sacrifice on our behalf. We can live knowing that wrath has been satisfied on the Cross, and walk in new life because of His resurrection.
SOVEREIGNTY
“For the LORD has spoken.” This chapter is filled with the power of God, and that power is displayed through His word. God is not struggling to bring judgment but declaring justice, and for that, we can sing joy and give glory knowing that He truly is the Righteous One.
He will punish and gather up those who sought to take the place of Him, the kings that have trusted in their power and might will be brought low and punished in the pit, and God will reign.
God sits powerfully on His throne. Unwavering in His character and abounding in glory for all to see.
How have you seen God’s consistency? Do you trust God’s judgment? How are you resting in His sovereignty?
Written By: Paulette Black
So far, God has used Isaiah to systematically usher warnings to individual nations. In Isaiah 24, there is a shift from individual nations to the judgment of the world as a unit. In this chapter, Isaiah is not prophesying directly to the people at the time, but to the future and toward God’s ultimate judgment of the earth.
A few ways that I saw the character of God on display in this chapter is through His consistency, impartiality, and sovereignty.
CONSISTENCY
“The LORD will empty the earth and make it desolate and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.” Reading this verse, I am taken back to Genesis when God sent the flood and when he scattered the people at the tower of Babel. God has consistently brought justice to wickedness. The judgment that God will bring on the earth will not be accidental or triggered, but intentional and in line with His eternal character.
The chapter goes on in verses 5 and 6 to discuss how the world has been defiled by its inhabitants. How? Because they have broken the law, they have changed God's Word, they have broken the everlasting covenant. Which covenant you ask? All of them! We are the inhabitants of this earth. The earth has not been defiled by a distant, impersonal force, but by us.
But even in the midst of our disobedience and brokenness, the law, the Word, and the covenants have not changed because they are not built on us. God’s promises have not changed because they have been built on the unchanging God.
IMPARTIALITY
“As with… so with.” Isaiah lists out a series of opposites, displaying that there is no title that will act as a shield, and the lack of a title will not serve as an excuse for unfaithfulness.
Jumping to verse 17, Isaiah uses the pictures of terror and the pit and the snare, showing that there is no escape from judgment. Pits and snares were and sometimes still are used for hunting. The only way to stop a pit from catching prey is to fill it, and the only way to stop a snare from catching prey is for it to catch something. The only way to escape God’s wrath is to satisfy God’s wrath.
God is completely impartial in His judgment of sin, and we are utterly guilty of sin. We cannot woo God to extend us grace or satisfy His wrath toward us, but we can look to the one who satisfied God’s wrath - God himself. Through Jesus, we can cling to the hope found in His sacrifice on our behalf. We can live knowing that wrath has been satisfied on the Cross, and walk in new life because of His resurrection.
SOVEREIGNTY
“For the LORD has spoken.” This chapter is filled with the power of God, and that power is displayed through His word. God is not struggling to bring judgment but declaring justice, and for that, we can sing joy and give glory knowing that He truly is the Righteous One.
He will punish and gather up those who sought to take the place of Him, the kings that have trusted in their power and might will be brought low and punished in the pit, and God will reign.
God sits powerfully on His throne. Unwavering in His character and abounding in glory for all to see.
How have you seen God’s consistency? Do you trust God’s judgment? How are you resting in His sovereignty?
Written By: Paulette Black
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