THE LORD ALMIGHTY WILL REIGN

Isaiah 24:1-23 / Keywords 24:23

The moon will be abashed, the sun ashamed; for the LORD Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders, gloriously.

 

24:1 See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth

    and devastate it;

he will ruin its face

    and scatter its inhabitants—

2 it will be the same

    for priest as for people,

    for the master as for his servant,

    for the mistress as for her servant,

    for seller as for buyer,

    for borrower as for lender,

    for debtor as for creditor.

3 The earth will be completely laid waste

    and totally plundered.

The Lord has spoken this word.

4 The earth dries up and withers,

    the world languishes and withers,

    the heavens languish with the earth.

5 The earth is defiled by its people;

    they have disobeyed the laws,

violated the statutes

    and broken the everlasting covenant.

6 Therefore a curse consumes the earth;

    its people must bear their guilt.

Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up,

    and very few are left.

7 The new wine dries up and the vine withers;

    all the merrymakers groan.

8 The joyful timbrels are stilled,

    the noise of the revelers has stopped,

    the joyful harp is silent.

9 No longer do they drink wine with a song;

    the beer is bitter to its drinkers.

10 The ruined city lies desolate;

    the entrance to every house is barred.

11 In the streets they cry out for wine;

    all joy turns to gloom,

    all joyful sounds are banished from the earth.

12 The city is left in ruins,

    its gate is battered to pieces.

13 So will it be on the earth

    and among the nations,

as when an olive tree is beaten,

    or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.

14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy;

    from the west they acclaim the Lord’s majesty.

15 Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord;

    exalt the name of the Lord, the God of Israel,

    in the islands of the sea.

16 From the ends of the earth we hear singing:

    “Glory to the Righteous One.”

But I said, “I waste away, I waste away!

    Woe to me!

The treacherous betray!

    With treachery the treacherous betray!”

17 Terror and pit and snare await you,

    people of the earth.

18 Whoever flees at the sound of terror

    will fall into a pit;

whoever climbs out of the pit

    will be caught in a snare.

The floodgates of the heavens are opened,

    the foundations of the earth shake.

19 The earth is broken up,

    the earth is split asunder,

    the earth is violently shaken.

20 The earth reels like a drunkard,

    it sways like a hut in the wind;

so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion

    that it falls—never to rise again.

21 In that day the Lord will punish

    the powers in the heavens above

    and the kings on the earth below.

22 They will be herded together

    like prisoners bound in a dungeon;

they will be shut up in prison

    and be punished[a] after many days.

23 The moon will be dismayed,

    the sun ashamed;

for the Lord Almighty will reign

    on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,

    and before its elders—with great glory.

Footnotes

a. Isaiah 24:22 Or released

1. God’s judgment will come over all the earth. The earth will be laid waste. The heavens will also languish. Social status, financial attainment, and occupation will not exempt or save anyone from God’s wrath. The LORD will judge everyone. The earth will be plundered because people have defiled it. God’s laws are disobeyed. People break covenant with God. Therefore, all signs and sounds of earthly happiness will disappear. Only desolate cities and gloom will remain. The earth’s inhabitants will be burned up and few will be left.

 

2. Those who remain will raise their voices and shout for joy as the LORD establishes his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. God’s people from east to west will give glory to God, exalt his name and sing, “Glory to the Righteous One.” All who repent and believe in Jesus will be saved from the condemnation that will surely come (Jn 3:16-18). Believers in Jesus look forward to the day when God will bring an end to evil and rule the world.

 

3. Still, in the present, we struggle as Isaiah expressed (16b). The world is full of treachery and God’s people suffer. But one day the LORD will punish all evil spirits and earthly powers (21). Let us not be discouraged or overwhelmed by the world. One day, the LORD Almighty will reign!

 

Prayer Father, your judgment is certain but thank you for Jesus. May your kingdom come.

One Word Put your hope in the LORD Almighty