Slices
Prepare
The Bible has a remarkable way of giving us a God’s-eye view. May we see as he sees.
Bible passage
The mountain of the Lord
2 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
2 In the last days
the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.
3 Many peoples will come and say,
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.’
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into ploughshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war any more.
5 Come, descendants of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the Lord.
The day of the Lord
6 You, Lord, have abandoned your people,
the descendants of Jacob.
They are full of superstitions from the East;
they practise divination like the Philistines
and embrace pagan customs.
7 Their land is full of silver and gold;
there is no end to their treasures.
Their land is full of horses;
there is no end to the chariots.
8 Their land is full of idols;
they bow down to the work of their hands,
to what their fingers have made.
9 So people will be brought low
and everyone humbled –
do not forgive them.
10 Go into the rocks, hide in the ground
from the fearful presence of the Lord
and the splendour of his majesty!
11 The eyes of the arrogant will be humbled
and human pride brought low;
the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
12 The Lord Almighty has a day in store
for all the proud and lofty,
for all that is exalted
(and they will be humbled),
13 for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty,
and all the oaks of Bashan,
14 for all the towering mountains
and all the high hills,
15 for every lofty tower
and every fortified wall,
16 for every trading ship
and every stately vessel.
17 The arrogance of man will be brought low
and human pride humbled;
the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,
18 and the idols will totally disappear.
19 People will flee to caves in the rocks
and to holes in the ground
from the fearful presence of the Lord
and the splendour of his majesty,
when he rises to shake the earth.
20 In that day people will throw away
to the moles and bats
their idols of silver and idols of gold,
which they made to worship.
21 They will flee to caverns in the rocks
and to the overhanging crags
from the fearful presence of the Lord
and the splendour of his majesty,
when he rises to shake the earth.
22 Stop trusting in mere humans,
who have but a breath in their nostrils.
Why hold them in esteem?
Explore
A friend once told me that his parents realised he needed glasses when he couldn’t see a battleship that had sailed into the harbour! In this chapter, Isaiah has clear sight of a glorious future, as well as the unedifying present. What the prophet could see embraced ‘the last days’ and his own day, the heavenly Jerusalem and his own Jerusalem, peoples of the world and the locals.
What will it be like at the end of time? Isaiah gives one of the Bible’s earliest answers. He sees the world’s peoples streaming to the mountain of the exalted Lord to adopt his way (vs 2–4). He sees that Jerusalem and the world are key in God’s plan of salvation. One day, as we know, his Word would go out worldwide (v 3c) from a green hill and an upper room in this Jerusalem. Ultimately, the Lord will reign over a new, re-ordered world. War and armaments will be obsolete (v 4).
By contrast, Isaiah saw that his contemporaries’ faith was full of pagan practices, materialism, idolatry and pride (vs 6–18). They must be rejected. God’s judgement will be like a violent earthquake from which people will flee (vs 12–21). ‘Come … let us walk in the light of the Lord’ (v 5).
Respond
‘Lord Jesus, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). May my values match the values of heaven. Amen.’
Deeper Bible study
The word that shines from Zion’s hill / shall lighten every land. / Our Saviour King shall teach his ways / and countless hearts command.’1
What is God’s vision? Here is a remarkable picture of what God aims to do ‘In the last days’ (v 2; no timescale is specified). Now fire2 is replaced by blessing. God establishes a rule which demonstrates his superiority. His Temple, located on the highest mountain, is not overlooked or dominated by anything (v 2). This mountain-top Temple is not only a sign of greatness; there is also a teaching function. People stream to this place of pilgrimage, not as a site of historical interest or must-see location on a tourist trail, but as a place of teaching and learning: a place to learn how to live well. The Lord is the attraction, his ability to judge right being the major draw (v 4).
The whole scene is one of peace. This is God’s vision, and it will come about as his people (v 5) walk in the light of the Lord. Surveys tell us that the attractiveness of believers is a primary means of drawing people to God.
That is the future; what about now? The vision comes to an abrupt and jarring note in verse 6. The people who should be teaching the nations truth and sharing God’s peace are abandoned by God. Their lives are ‘full’, but with all the wrong things – superstitions (v 6), silver and gold (v 7), horses and chariots (v 7– effectively weapon systems!) and idols (v 8). Outward prosperity betrays inner emptiness. You can gain the entire world and still be a loser if you trust something or someone other than God (v 22). A work of humbling is necessary (vs 9–21). We live in a similar tension in a church that is the beautiful bride of Christ yet too often displays the ugliness of abusive power and a reliance on our ingenuity and resourcefulness.
God will deal with his people to bring about his vision. How can we display that fruit of humility that God so clearly cherishes?
1 Michael Bruce, 1746–67, ‘Behold the Mountain of the Lord’, adapted 2 Isa 1:31
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Ezra 5,6; Psalm 77
Pray for Scripture Union
Give thanks along with Local Mission Partner Brentwood Schools Christian Worker Trust. They are thankful for It’s Your Move lessons with primary schools, holding a LifeSpace Prayer Space with a local secondary school and other opportunities to serve local schools this year.
Meet our sports team!
Mark and our brilliant Sports Team use sports, games, and activities to reach children and young people where they’re at while creating space to introduce them to Jesus. Sport not your thing? That’s no problem. Mark and the team know that even the least sporty person can develop simple, fun games and activities to engage the 95, creating space for them to find faith.
