A Tale of Two Cities

“Look, the Lord is stripping the earth bare and making it desolate. He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants: people and priest alike, servant and master, female servant and mistress, buyer and seller, lender and borrower, creditor and debtor. The earth will be stripped completely bare and will be totally plundered, for the Lord has spoken this message. The earth mourns and withers; the world wastes away and withers; the exalted people of the earth waste away. The earth is polluted by its inhabitants, for they have transgressed teachings, overstepped decrees, and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse has consumed the earth, and its inhabitants have become guilty; the earth’s inhabitants have been burned, and only a few survive.” (Isaiah 24:1-6 HCSB)

Key verses: “The earth is polluted by its inhabitants, for they have transgressed teachings, overstepped decrees, and broken the everlasting covenant.” (Isaiah 24:5 HCSB)

“The city of chaos is shattered; every house is closed to entry.” (Isaiah 24:10 HCSB)

“On that day the Lord will punish the host of heaven above and kings of the earth below.” (Isaiah 24:21 HCSB)

Devotional thought: To want nothing but what this world offers is to be left with nothing but shallow, empty desires. But to delight yourself in the Lord’s will, in His glory and honor is to be filled beyond hope with endless joy and purpose.

Note: Sarx is the Greek term Paul uses, often translated as “flesh”, to describe how we live our lives and respond towards God: 1) this body and its desires and needs are all that matters; 2) I am the only one capable of knowing and satisfying those desires and needs and bringing joy and meaning to my existence. But in Romans 8, Paul tells us that life is not found in the flesh, for the flesh (sarx) leads only to death. But life, real life as God intended is found in the Spirit. That’s the life that God’s Spirit gives us when we love and pursue Him with all of our being.

Life is precarious. It is balanced on a pin head but is always teetering one direction or the other and about to fall into chaos and destruction. I know, that’s not a very encouraging and inspiring way to begin our time together but it is true. We are always on the edge of life looking into the abyss, wondering what’s at the bottom or even if there is a bottom.

This week, our study in Isaiah shifts from considering the God of the Nations and His judgment upon them to being confronted by the GOD of all creation and the apocalypse, the end of life as we know it, and His judgment upon all of creation. At first glance, this might seem like just a repeat of what we’ve already considered – God’s judgment upon each of these nations and His use of them as judgment upon His covenant people. But as we get into this passage, we will clearly discover that this judgment is much, much broader in some respects and much more focused and direct in others. We will even have clear implications for those of us who love Him and desire His will in our lives.

In the opening verses (1-3), we clearly see that this judgment is worldwide and all encompassing. God not only strips the earth bare, leaving it a desolate wasteland but His judgment touches every social strata of human existence: spiritual: people and priest alike; social: servant and master, female servant and mistress; cultural and economic: buyer and seller, lender and borrower, creditor and debtor. Nobody is excluded and His judgment falls on every person and part of the social structure.

Not only is this judgment broad, touching every part of the social structure, but it is clearly directed against every area and aspect of human life and is the direct result of God’s will: “The earth will be stripped completely bare and will be totally plundered, for the Lord has spoken this message.” (emphasis added, Isaiah 24:3 HCSB) He is not just a regional god of the Hebrews, He is not even just the God of the nations, He is the LORD God over all creation.

It all gets a little more personal in verses 4-5, “The earth mourns and withers; the world wastes away and withers; the exalted people of the earth waste away. The earth is polluted by its inhabitants, for they have transgressed teachings, overstepped decrees, and broken the everlasting covenant.” While the “exalted people” of verse 4 could be referencing those who hold positions of importance, I think Isaiah may actually be saying “those who exalt themselves” are wasting away. Those whom God exalts are those who humble themselves before Him, but those whom He judges are those who remain prideful and haughty before Him.

But notice what happens in verse 5, those who are judged are all of earth’s inhabitants – we’re all guilty of sin before the Holy One. This is a key verse in this chapter as Isaiah sets the tone for God’s justice in this worldwide judgment. The earth has been polluted by its inhabitants, but in what way? Not because we are human, that’s a direct result of God’s creative will. No, we have polluted and are polluting God’s creation by transgressing teachings, overstepping decrees, and breaking the everlasting covenant. What began as a garden that willing produced all man needed is now defiled by man’s rebellion and is actively giving us the result of our sinful actions – that which we don’t want. We have to work to get it to yield its good fruit but it constantly yields up briars, thorns and weeds alongside what we want, what we sow and cultivate.

The earth has been polluted by our actions, but in very specific ways: transgression of teachings, overstepping of decrees, and breaking the everlasting covenant. While some might want to focus in on the word “polluted” and talk about all of the ways in which we are destroying our planet – and we certainly are, but Isaiah is focused on the more serious nature of our polluting the earth by our response to God’s authority. The same sin which caused Adam and Eve to be removed from the garden is the same one Isaiah charges us with – we have defiled God’s creative order.

First, we have “transgressed the torahs.” The very first charge is that we have transgressed the laws that God has established in creation. Technically, this is not a direct and specific reference to the Ten Commandments, but to the underlying, inherent laws that He set forth in creation and the human soul. Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying that the Ten Commandments are excluded here, but I’m talking about a deeper, broader law of God that is instilled in the very heart, mind and soul of every man and not just those specified in the Mosaic covenant. While the Mosaic covenant clearly delineates these inherent laws in a precise and clear way, they reach far beyond the Israelites and their offspring. These laws are universal in nature, culturally agnostic and are encoded by the Sprit of God in the souls of men. So, it doesn’t matter where you were born or what culture you grew up in, God’s laws exist in your soul and you are accountable to Him when you transgress them.

Next, we have “overstepped decrees”. The core idea is that we have overstepped our boundaries and changed God’s decrees. In other words, we have altered God’s word to fit our own desires. Don’t miss this: the core sin in what we call the “fall of man” is this very same thing. God decrees that man should not eat of the tree of knowledge that was in the middle of the garden and man’s fall comes when he alters God’s decree and utters a new decree: “it was good for food, delightful to look at, and desirable for obtaining wisdom.” The serpent (tempter) told the woman that when she ate it her eyes would be opened and she would “be like God”, knowing or declaring for herself what is good and evil. She overwrote God’s decree with her own and we continue to do so, to this very day. God says that disobedience to His commands will kill and destroy us, but we rewrite that decree and tell ourselves that God just wants to control us, keep us submissive and remove all love and joy from our lives. We continue to overstep our bounds and overwrite His decrees.

Then, we break the “everlasting covenant.” This covenant is God’s universal promise to mankind that we will experience real joy, know true love and enjoy His blessings and presence when we remain in this holy, life giving, humble relationship with Him. In other words, when we realize that everything we truly need and desire is found in relationship with Him and in obedience to His laws and word then we will live the blessed lives we truly seek. The problem is that we continually break away from this covenant relationship and pursue our own path but still want and expect God to bless us. Instead, God judges our actions and calls us to repentance and restoration.

This entire chapter is all about those three things: we transgress His universal laws, we change them to fit our own desires and we live in open rebellion to the universal covenant He established with us from the creation of the universe. So, “a curse has consumed the earth, and its inhabitants have become guilty; the earth’s inhabitants have been burned, only a few survive (v. 6).” But why? Why would a God who declares His love for man judge him, pronounce a curse upon the earth and destroy those who reject Him? God’s judgment is always, always intended to draw us into the truth, into knowing Him and into an acknowledgment or confession of our sinful rebellion and the truth of His laws. Then and only then will we fall humbly before Him crying out for His grace, mercy and forgiveness.

“If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9 HCSB)

As God’s judgment falls upon man, things take a definite turn and all the rejoicing stops and mourning and groaning takes over (vs. 7-9). But pay close attention to verse 10: “The city of chaos is shattered; every house is closed to entry.” The word “chaos” is the same word used in Genesis 1:2, “the earth was formless and empty (emphasis added).” When man lives independent from God, in defiance and rebellion toward His laws, rewriting His decrees, and scoffing at and breaking His everlasting covenant with us then our lives are nothing but chaos, formless and empty. It doesn’t matter that we’ve built vast cities filled with wealth, power, and beauty and glorious in man’s sight. In reality, we are cities of chaos and have reverted to our original state of lumps of formless mass and empty of all meaning and purpose.

As this happens, we begin to lose hope and close ourselves off and we withdraw into isolated, formless, and empty existence. Scripture declares that we are created by Him and for Him: “For everything was created by Him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through Him and for Him.” (Colossians 1:16 HCSB) If we are created by Him and for Him then our true self, our true purpose, our true destiny and life will be found only in Him.

Please pay close attention to this, our world wants you to believe that you will only find your true self when you look deep inside yourself. They say you will only know love, happiness, fulfillment and your true identity when you live life your way. However, scripture says that you will only find love, joy, purpose and your true self when you look outside yourself to your creator, the LORD God. He alone holds the key to your identity, your purpose, and your destiny. He alone is the love you so desperately seek and the giver of the life that you really want. Why? Because He made you and knows you better than you know yourself. He took a formless, empty mass and shaped into the unique and distinct person you are. He’s the one who knows your purpose for He’s the one who defined it and gave it to you. Consider these words:

“For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well. My bones were not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.” (Psalms 139:13-16 HCSB)

But, when God’s judgment falls upon the “city of chaos”, when nobody escapes (see vs. 17-20) and earth’s rejoicing goes into exile, we are surprised to hear voices singing. They are proclaiming the majesty of God in the west and His honor in the east. Even the islands of the west honor the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. Who are those singing of the “Splendor of the Righteous One” (vs. 16)? They are the remnant, those who sing around His throne: “After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were robed in white with palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10 HCSB)

Nobody will escape this judgment, “earth’s rebellion weighs it down, and it falls, never to rise again” even as He punishes “the host of heaven above and the kings of the earth below.” This judgment is not just a judgment of mankind, this is also a judgment of “host of heaven” and seems to be a clear reference to the judgment of the angels who rebelled against God, those who were cast down – Satan and his demons. This also mirrors what John tells us in his Revelation, they will be gathered together and placed in a pit, confined for a time and then punished for all eternity.

We long for things to be set right, for evil to be punished and for God’s kingdom to be established forever. This is one of the universal laws that I referenced above, the innate sense of justice that demands evil be punished and that right and truth prevail. This was not a judgment of a nation, but a universal judgment of sin and evil. Unfortunately, we often fail to see our own sin as being truly evil. We see it as an error of judgment and we shrug it off as inconsequential and unimportant. But I hope you paid attention to those three items I mentioned above, our tendency to transgress His laws (or teachings), to overstep His decrees or overwrite His word with our own, and to break His everlasting covenant. We all stand guilty as sinners before a holy God, worthy of His judgment and condemnation.

While Satan and his demons will be judged for their part in our world’s demise, so will we. We are all guilty of polluting our world with our own rebellious actions but we rarely recognize our own culpability. There’s an allegory used in chaos theory of how the flutter of a butterfly’s wings could potentially result in the formation of a catastrophic typhoon. While I’m hesitant to say that a simple lie could result in a catastrophe of global proportions, we must be willing to recognize that our sin has significant consequences. We may see them as simple errors in judgment, but God sees them as rebellious, pollutants to His “good creation”, eternally destructive and worthy of judgment and damnation. We see them as inconsequential and God sees them as deadly. We need to begin to see them His way and repent or we will stand eternally condemned for them.

Finally, I want you to notice how this chapter ends. It is easy to see this as a chapter focused on damnation and judgment and to do so is to miss a key point: “The moon will be put to shame and the sun disgraced, because the Lord of Hosts will reign as king on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, and He will display His glory in the presence of His elders.” (Isaiah 24:23 HCSB) On that day, God’s glory will be on full display and it will be so overwhelming that the moon will be put to shame and the sun will hang its head in disgrace before the glory of Almighty God, the LORD of Hosts. This chapter is about the King of the Universe taking His rightful place and reigning over His creation. It is about His glory being rightfully and prominently displayed and no longer being concealed, questioned or downplayed.

Jesus taught us to pray that God’s name would be honored as holy, that His kingdom rule would come to earth (and our lives) in the same way He rules over heaven. We are to pray that He would give us what we need each day and the He would forgive our sins in the same way we forgive others when they sin against us. And finally, that we would not be brought into temptation to rebel against Him but that we would be delivered from the evil one. Do we honestly pray like that? Do we truly want and seek that God’s name would be honored as holy? Do we want God’s kingdom rule in our lives and world, just like it exists in heaven? Do we really want God to supply what we truly need each day, nothing more and nothing less? Do we want God to forgive our sins in the same manner that we forgive others who hurt us? And do we really want God to help deliver us from temptation and our tendency towards evil and the evil one’s desires for us?

God’s glory and holiness are not dependent upon our obedience, but our obedience should be a reflection of His glory and holiness. We should so long for His glory and holiness to be on display in this world that it impacts our choices and our sinful actions. I called this a tale of two cities, the city of man ruled by chaos which is formless and empty like existed before creation and like Isaiah sees in this prophetic vision and the City of God, full of His glory and ruled by powerful and perfect will. You can call it a tale of two cities or even of two lives. Which one do you want? A life that is formless and empty or one that is designed and filled with purpose and beauty?

The one you get depends entirely on the one you truly desire, pursue and pray for.

As a final note, I want to make one additional comment on the statement in verse 5 about the earth being polluted by its inhabitants. While this is clearly and directly referencing the sin of mankind as described in my three points regarding our transgression of His teachings, overstepping or rewriting His decrees or word, and breaking the everlasting covenant, I think it is also important to note that man was given a position of stewardship over creation (see Gen. 1-2). While the world does suffer under condemnation because of our sin as I’ve outlined here (and in Gen. 3), it also suffers due to our failure to be good stewards of what God has entrusted to us. We seem to think that stewardship is ownership and we can use the world in any way we see fit and for our benefit. But that idea is foreign to Biblical stewardship. A steward is given responsibility to care for and tend to the things he has been given but in accordance with his Master’s wishes and desires. We must learn to be better stewards of what God has put under our care, lest we be judged like the steward in the parable of the talents.