Isaiah 24

City of chaos falls

1 Look! The LORD will devastate the earth and destroy it, will twist its face and scatter its inhabitants.

2 It will be the same for the people and for the priest; for the slave and for his master; for the female servant and for her mistress; for the buyer and for the seller; for the lender and for the borrower; for the creditor and for the debtor.

3 The earth will be devastated, totally devastated; it will be destroyed, completely destroyed because the LORD has said it would be so.

4 The earth dries up and wilts; the world withers and wilts; the heavens wither away with the earth.

5 The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants, for they have disobeyed instruction, swept aside law, and broken the ancient covenant.

6 Therefore, a curse devours the earth; its inhabitants suffer for their guilt. Therefore, the earth's inhabitants dwindle; very few are left.

7 The wine dries up; the vine withers; all the merry-hearted groan.

8 The joyous tambourines have ceased; the roar of partyers has stopped; the joyous harp has ceased.

9 No one drinks wine or sings; beer is bitter to its drinkers.

10 The town is in chaos, broken; every house is shut, without entrance.

11 There is a cry for wine in the streets. All joy has reached its dusk; happiness is exiled from the earth.

12 Ruin remains in the city, and the gate is battered to wreckage.

13 It will be like this in the central part of the land and among the peoples, like a smashed olive tree, like remains from the grape harvest.

14 They raise their voice; they sing with joy; from the west they will shout about the LORD's majesty.

15 Therefore, in the east honor the LORD; in the islands of the sea, the name of the LORD God of Israel!

16 From the ends of the earth we have heard songs: "Glory to the righteous one!" But I say, "I waste away; I waste away; I'm doomed! Betrayers betray; treacherously betrayers betray."

17 Terror, trench, and trap are upon you, ruler of the earth!

18 Whoever flees from the sound of terror will fall into the trench; whoever climbs from the trench will be caught in the trap. Heaven's windows will open, and the earth's foundations will quake.

19 The earth is shattering, shattering; the earth is shaking, shaking; the earth is teetering, tottering.

20 The earth trembles like a drunk and shudders like a hut; its rebellion weighs heavy upon it; it will fall, no more to rise.

21 On that day, the LORD will punish the forces of heaven in heaven, and the kings of the earth on earth.

22 They will be gathered together like prisoners in a pit, shut into a prison, and punished after many days.

23 The moon will be diminished, and the sun will fade, since the LORD of heavenly forces will rule on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, glorious before his elders.

Isaiah 24 Commentary

Chapter 24

The desolation of the land. (1-12) A few shall be preserved. (13-15) God's kingdom advanced by his judgments. (16-23)

Verses 1-12 All whose treasures and happiness are laid up on earth, will soon be brought to want and misery. It is good to apply to ourselves what the Scripture says of the vanity and vexation of spirit which attend all things here below. Sin has turned the earth upside down; the earth is become quite different to man, from what it was when God first made it to be his habitation. It is, at the best, like a flower, which withers in the hands of those that please themselves with it, and lay it in their bosoms. The world we live in is a world of disappointment, a vale of tears; the children of men in it are but of few days, and full of trouble, See the power of God's curse, how it makes all empty, and lays waste all ranks and conditions. Sin brings these calamities upon the earth; it is polluted by the sins of men, therefore it is made desolate by God's judgments. Carnal joy will soon be at end, and the end of it is heaviness. God has many ways to imbitter wine and strong drink to those who love them; distemper of body, anguish of mind, and the ruin of the estate, will make strong drink bitter, and the delights of sense tasteless. Let men learn to mourn for sin, and rejoice in God; then no man, no event, can take their joy from them.

Verses 13-15 There shall be a remnant preserved from the general ruin, and it shall be a devout and pious remnant. These few are dispersed; like the gleanings of the olive tree, hid under the leaves. The Lord knows those that are his; the world does not. When the mirth of carnal worldlings ceases, the joy of the saints is as lively as ever, because the covenant of grace, the fountain of their comforts, and the foundation of their hopes, never fails. Those who rejoice in the Lord can rejoice in tribulation, and by faith may triumph when all about them are in tears. They encourage their fellow-sufferers to do likewise, even those who are in the furnace of affliction. Or, in the valleys, low, dark, miry places. In every fire, even the hottest, in every place, even the remotest, let us keep up our good thoughts of God. If none of these trials move us, then we glorify the Lord in the fires.

Verses 16-23 Believers may be driven into the uttermost parts of the earth; but they are singing, not sighing. Here is terror to sinners; the prophet laments the miseries he saw breaking in like a torrent; and the small number of believers. He foresees that sin would abound. The meaning is plain, that evil pursues sinners. Unsteady, uncertain are all these things. Worldly men think to dwell in the earth as in a palace, as in a castle; but it shall be removed like a cottage, like a lodge put up for the night. It shall fall and not rise again; but there shall be new heavens and a new earth, in which shall dwell nothing but righteousness. Sin is a burden to the whole creation; it is a heavy burden, under which it groans now, and will sink at last. The high ones, that are puffed up with their grandeur, that think themselves out of the reach of danger, God will visit for their pride and cruelty. Let us judge nothing before the time, though some shall be visited. None in this world should be secure, though their condition be ever so prosperous; nor need any despair, though their condition be ever so deplorable. God will be glorified in all this. But the mystery of Providence is not yet finished. The ruin of the Redeemer's enemies must make way for his kingdom, and then the Sun of Righteousness will appear in full glory. Happy are those who take warning by the sentence against others; every impenitent sinner will sink under his transgression, and rise no more, while believers enjoy everlasting bliss.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 24

This chapter contains a prophecy of calamities that should come upon the whole world, and the inhabitants of it, for their sins; of the preservation of a remnant; of the visitation of the kings of the earth; and of the appearance of Christ in his glory and majesty. The miserable condition of the world, and its inhabitants, especially all within the Romish jurisdiction, is set forth by various phrases, Isa 24:1-4 the causes of which are the transgression and mutation of the laws and ordinances of Christ, Isa 24:5 the effects of which are the cursing and burning of the inhabitants, Isa 24:6 cessation of all joy among them, Isa 24:7-9 and the destruction of their chief city, Rome, Isa 24:10-12 then follows a prophecy of a remnant that shall escape, and be brought into a very comfortable condition, and sing for joy, and glorify God in the midst of the earth, and in the uttermost parts of it, Isa 24:13-16 but it is intimated it shall go ill with others for their perfidy and treachery; fear and danger shall attend them everywhere, Isa 24:16-18 yea, in the issue, the world shall be shaken, and moved and removed, and be utterly dissolved, fall and not rise more, Isa 24:19,20 when the kings and great ones of the earth shall be taken prisoners, and punished by the Lord, Isa 24:21,22 and then Christ shall take to himself his great power, and reign with his people gloriously in the New Jerusalem state, Isa 24:23.