Nothing earth shaking, just a few observations.
Isaiah 2:1 The Word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
Isaiah was a seer-prophet; he saw the Word. That doesn’t mean that he saw the words that he was to speak. The Word is the Lord (John 1:1) and in Him is hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3). The answer to every need and problem is not found in information but in the Lord Himself. A revelation of Him enhouses all that we need for any situation. Isaiah saw the Word; he had a revelation of the Lord. In that revelation of the Lord was a treasure of wisdom and knowledge concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And, of course, if it is for Judah and Jerusalem, it is a treasure for us, too.
Isaiah 2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
“Last days” often refers to a place of maturity rather than a place on a time line. For example, spiritual maturity comes after much growth and could be termed “last days.” Notice what is being pictured here in this verse. It is speaking of the mountain of the Lord (His Kingdom) being established in the top of the mountains. It is rising above every other kingdom. It is speaking of ascension; that is, spiritual elevation. The Kingdom of the Lord is being exalted above the hills. When it is pre-eminent, exalted and established above every other kingdom, then all nations shall flow unto it. Now we know that nothing flows upward because of gravity. The gravity or downward pull of human nature makes spiritual growth very difficult, but a strange thing happens with the ascension of the Kingdom of God. As the Lord’s Kingdom is exalted above the hills of mankind, the gravitational pull of human nature is reversed and nations are drawn upward to the Lord.
Have you begun experiencing the upward pull to the Lord and the lessening of the downward pull of your adamic nature? It is when the Lord and His Kingdom are exalted in you above all the hills of your corrupt nature that the gravitational pull is reversed. Then all the nations in you, all the various aspects of what you are, begin flowing upward unto the Lord and to the place He has prepared for you.
Isaiah 2:3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
“Jacob,” “Zion,” and “Jerusalem” are all Old Testament terms for the Church and the Kingdom of God. Our observations here will be upon the second half of this verse. First, “He will teach us of His ways” is more literally translated “He will teach us out of His ways.” You will remember that Jesus said, “I am the way” (John 14:6). Jesus, after His crucifixion and ascension, has become a many-membered Christ. Therefore, “the Way” has become “the ways” of the Lord. The apostles of Christ are the ways of the Lord. Because Isaiah saw the Word and the Word was revealed through him, he is also a way. “He will teach us out of His ways” then is speaking of how the Lord teaches us through those He sends.
“Out of Zion shall go forth the law.” In the Hebrew “law” is torah without the article. Therefore, the word means “teaching” or “instruction.” Thus, out of Zion shall go forth the teachings of the Lord. The Lord is coming forth in the many-membered Christ and He will teach through His ways.
Isaiah 2:4 And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: 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 any more.
The Lord judging among the nations I take to be a spiritual judgment that takes place in us. That doesn’t eliminate the Lord’s judgments upon the nations of the world, but Christians often overlook the judgments of the Lord in them. There is a way in which we as individuals are made up of many nations. Let me explain that. You will remember Nebuchadnezzar’s image in Daniel chapter two. It was the image of a man. The head of gold represented Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom of Babylon, the arms and breast of silver represented the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, the belly and thighs of brass was the kingdom of Greece, and the legs of iron represented the Roman Empire. All these were found in the one image of man because man was a result of what those kingdoms represented. There is also a spiritual counterpart to each of those empires. In the book of Revelation we again find Babylon, but this time it is not Babylon of old but the spiritual counterpart of the kingdom of Babylon. Spiritual Babylon has been a major influence upon Christians. Therefore, God says, “Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4). The same is true for the other kingdoms represented by the image of man made by Nebuchadnezzar. There is a spiritual counterpart of the Medo-Persian kingdom, the Grecian Kingdom, and the Roman Empire. These four kingdoms are winds or spirits that have influenced man and warred against the Church. And because of their influence upon our man nature we are, in a sense, made up of many nations. Therefore, the Lord comes forth within His people to judge among the nations of our make-up. This is seen most clearly in II Thessalonians 1:4-12. Everything within us, every influence, will be judged by the Lord and we will be set free that He might be glorified and admired in us.
The result of the Lord’s judging among the nations will be the end of warfare and the beginning of fruitfulness. Swords and spears will be beat into plowshares and pruning hooks. The gravitational pull will be changed and the fruitfulness of the Lord’s nature will come forth within us as we ascend into the place He has prepared for us.
Isaiah 2:5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.
The light of the Lord is beamed down upon us, and as we walk in it we are ascending up the beam of light into His presence.
Copyright © 2008 by Henry DuBose