ISAIAH LESSON 3


     We will begin this lesson in Isaiah 2:1 "The word that Isaiah the
son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem."

     This is a prophecy of the last days beginning here. This is not
the last days on the earth for the people living when Isaiah wrote
this, but of the end of the age in, possibly, our time. It seems that
the prophecy was directed to Judah and Jerusalem.

     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."

     This is speaking of the church. The true Zion is not only
Jerusalem, but the church, as well. The church is many times spoken of
as a city on a hill which sends out the Light. This could be a time,
when all, who are mentioned here, will attend the church of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He is high and lifted up. We must look up for our help.
Our help cometh from the Lord.  This will be a time when the LORD's
house {church} will be lifted up.

     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."

     The church of the Lord Jesus Christ teaches the Word of God. The
above Scripture is speaking of the Word of God being taught by God's
servants. The written and the spoken Word of God comes forth from God,
but is presented to the world by God's servants. Zion can be a city or
it can be speaking of the church.

     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 pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword
against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."

     The One we know as Jesus is the Judge of all the world. There
will be no war, or even thoughts of war, during this time. There will
be perfect peace. Jesus is the King of Peace. The next verse helps us
understand what causes this great peace. Hebrews 8:10 "For this [is]
the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those
days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write
them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be
to me a people:" Hebrews 8:11 "And they shall not teach every man his
neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all
shall know me, from the least to the greatest." The house of Israel is
not just the Hebrew nation, but all believers in Christ, as well. The
Hebrews are physical Israel, and the Christians are spiritual Israel.
Galatians 3:29 "And if ye [be] Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed,
and heirs according to the promise."  When the King of Peace {Jesus
Christ} comes, there is perfect peace.

     Isaiah 2:5 "O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the
light of the LORD."

     Isaiah is saying, since they know the total outcome in the end
days, why not live that way now? He is inviting them to walk in the
Light which is Jesus Christ our Lord. They are God's children. They
should not be walking in darkness. When it speaks of "house of Jacob",
it is speaking of his family. This, then, is the Hebrew nation spoken
of here.

     Isaiah 2:6  "Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of
Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and [are]
soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the
children of strangers."

     It seems they have picked up some of the sins of their neighbors.
They have become worldly. They have followed the ways of the Assyrians
and the Ammonites. God has always called His people to be holy and
separate.  God has stopped hearing their prayers, because they are
living in darkness.  They are living worldly lives.  They have even
begun soothsaying like the evil Philistines around them. The countries
around them have evil practices in worship, and these of the house of
Jacob have picked up their evil ways. God had warned them not to be
yoked with those of darkness.

     Isaiah 2:7 "Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither
[is there any] end of their treasures; their land is also full of
horses, neither [is there any] end of their chariots:"

     Their wealth was probably one of the things that had drawn these
Hebrews. Silver and Gold are not a sin, in themselves. It is a sin to
get them by tricking, or cheating others. It is, also, a sin to lust
for them, or covet someone else's silver and Gold. These Hebrews had
none of these things in abundance. These Hebrews had abandoned their
teachings in favor of earthly things.

     Isaiah 2:8 "Their land also is full of idols; they worship the
work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:"

     The word that idols was taken from means nothings. These idols
are not a god. They are nothing compared to God who created all
things. The second commandment in the Bible forbids this type of
worship. Exodus 20:4 "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image,
or any likeness [of any thing] that [is] in heaven above, or that [is]
in the earth beneath, or that [is] in the water under the earth:" The
Jews were given the 10 commandments. They knew not to do this. The
Gentile world did not have these laws.

     Isaiah 2:9 "And the mean man boweth down, and the great man
humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not."

     This is just speaking of the fate of these evil ones. They must
turn from all of this, before God will forgive them.

     Isaiah 2:10  "Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for
fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty."

     This is speaking of them hiding in the caves in the rocks. It
seems the land of Israel has many of these places, where they hid in
time of great trouble. No one can hide from God. He knows everything,
and He sees everything. Even though they are involved with these
people, they still fear the LORD.

     Isaiah 2:11 "The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the
haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be
exalted in that day."

     This is speaking of that day when every knee will bow.
Philippians 2:10 "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of
[things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the
earth;" When the Judge of all the earth comes in all His glory,
everyone will bow down in humble adoration of Him. God loves the
humble, not the haughty.

     Isaiah 2:12 "For the day of the LORD of hosts [shall be] upon
every [one that is] proud and lofty, and upon every [one that is]
lifted up; and he shall be brought low:"

     The wrath of God is reserved for those who are too proud of
themselves to admit they need a Saviour. We know a day is certainly
coming that will be the Lord's Day. It will be the day when He will
say "It is enough". On that day, every person on the earth will be
judged of God.

     Isaiah 2:13 "And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, [that are] high
and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,"

     When the wrath of God comes on the earth, the trees will be
burned. You see, the wrath comes through burning of trees, the water
becoming wormwood, etc. This could, also, speak of a day near unto
them when the trees were cut before the fall of the land.

     Isaiah 2:14 "And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the
hills that are lifted up,"

     It seems these people had a false idea of their worth. They
thought themselves to be above punishment from God. This is speaking
of the fall of their country by judgement from God. This is not just
speaking of those of Judah, but could, also, be a warning to us today.
We are not above the judgement of God either. As we have said before,
wars are sometimes judgements of God on His people.

     Isaiah 2:15 "And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced
wall,"

     King Uzziah and King Jotham built great fortifications to hold
back the enemy. In the corners on top of the wall, they had high
towers to warn early of an attack. All of this will not protect them
from God, however.

     Isaiah 2:16 "And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all
pleasant pictures."

     This does not mean the handful of ships that were built to go to
Tarshish, but means all of the great ships. The pleasant pictures,
probably, mean the various works of art. It appears these people had
put their faith in things of this world. Nothing in this world can
equal Almighty God, who made it all.

     Isaiah 2:17 "And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and
the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be
exalted in that day."

     It appears this haughtiness was because of acquiring things
thought to be valuable on the earth. They had a false sense of their
own worth, because of the great accumulations of things they called
wealth. All of these things shall be brought low, and the LORD alone
shall be exalted. Those who have put their faith in the LORD will be
exalted. Those who have put their faith in things of the world shall
be brought down.

     Isaiah 2:18 "And the idols he shall utterly abolish."

     This just means that there will be total destruction of every
idol. This could be speaking of the time the Babylonians come and
conquer them, and can, also, mean at the end times. God wants us to be
His 100%, or not His at all. He will not tolerate us having idols.

     Isaiah 2:19 "And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and
into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory
of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth."

     Whether this means that great earthquake that will be felt around
the entire earth, or whether this is something that greatly frightens
them, is uncertain. This is saying, they will run from the city and
hide in the caves. Their fear is not of man, but of the LORD.  This
makes me believe it is a great earthquake. It is, however, impossible
to hide from the LORD.

     Isaiah 2:20 "In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver,
and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to
worship, to the moles and to the bats;"

     There will come a sudden awakening that these idols, made by
hand, have no power to save them. They will toss them down, because
they are of no help to them at all.

     Isaiah 2:21 "To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the
tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of
his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth."

     Be sure, your sins will be found of God, regardless of where you
hide. It appears they try to hide in the rocks, but this will not save
them. When the judgement of God comes, there will be no hiding place
from Him.

     Isaiah 2:22 "Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils:
for wherein is he to be accounted of?"

     This is just a warning to stop trusting in mankind, or in the
things he makes with his hands. The statement, whose breath in his
nostrils, implies that even the breath of man is not a product of man,
but God. God breathed the breath of life in man, and he became a
living soul. Even the breath of man, belongs to God. He can take it
back any time He wants to. God is in control of the next breath man
takes. When the breath of life leaves man, he must give account to
God. Mankind is of no account at all on his own. The only hope for
mankind is to turn from his idols, repent, and receive the LORD.



































                          Isaiah 3 Questions


1.  The word that Isaiah saw in verse 1 was concerning whom?
2.  What age is this really speaking of?
3.  What does verse 2 say, will be established in the top of the
    mountains?
4.  What is this speaking of?
5.  Where can we expect help from?
6.  What is the LORD's house?
7.  What does the church of the Lord Jesus teach?
8.  Who is doing the teaching?
9.  Out of ________ shall go forth the law.
10. And the Word of the LORD from _____________.
11. They shall beat their swords into ______________.
12. Who establishes the peace spoken of in verse 4?
13. Quote Hebrews chapter 8 verses 10 and 11.
14. What Scripture tells us the believers in Christ are included in
    this?
15. Let us walk in the ________ of the LORD.
16. What does "house of Jacob" mean?
17. Why has God forsaken them?
18. What is one of the evil things they have begun to do in verse 6?
19. What was, probably, the thing that lured them to pick up the ways
    of these evil people?
20. The Hebrews had abandoned their teachings for what?
21. What did these evil people worship?
22. Quote Exodus chapter 20 verse 4.
23. Why did they enter into the rock?
24. The lofty looks of man shall be _____________.
25. Quote Philippians chapter 2 verse 10.
26. Who is the wrath of God reserved for?
27. What effect will the wrath of God have on the trees?
28. What are wars, sometimes?
29. Who were two of the kings who had built fortifications?
30. What had these people put their faith in?
31. What had caused these people to be haughty?
32. Where will they try to hide from the LORD?
33. What is the terrible shaking, probably?
34. What will the people do with their idols in that day?
35. What great awakening will come to the people?
36. Who has control of man's breath?
37. What is the only hope for mankind?