The Last Days Follow God

12 For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
has a day of reckoning.
He will punish the proud and mighty
and bring down everything that is exalted.
13 He will cut down the tall cedars of Lebanon
and all the mighty oaks of Bashan.
14 He will level all the high mountains
and all the lofty hills.
15 He will break down every high tower
and every fortified wall.
16 He will destroy all the great trading ships
and every magnificent vessel.
17 Human pride will be humbled,
and human arrogance will be brought down.
Only the Lord will be exalted
on that day of judgment.

18 Idols will completely disappear.
19 When the Lord rises to shake the earth,
his enemies will crawl into holes in the ground.
They will hide in caves in the rocks
from the terror of the Lord
and the glory of his majesty.
20 On that day of judgment they will abandon the gold and silver idols
they made for themselves to worship.
They will leave their gods to the rodents and bats,
21 while they crawl away into caverns
and hide among the jagged rocks in the cliffs.
They will try to escape the terror of the Lord
and the glory of his majesty
as he rises to shake the earth.
22 Don’t put your trust in mere humans.
They are as frail as breath.
What good are they?

The promise of coming salvation is again combined with the warning of a coming day of judgment.

In an age that has rejected the very possibility of ultimate truth and values, the idea of judgment isn’t popular. But it is a key part of the gospel message. It’s a theme that spans both the Old and New Testaments. Listen as Jesus says, “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned” (John 5:24).

But what justice issues will be on the table on judgment day? As Isaiah speaks about the arrogant being brought low, he reminds the people that the worst sin is pride. “The LORD Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty …” Pride is singled out as the key concern of the great Judge. Pride was at the heart of the fall of our first parents (Genesis 3). And pride was at the heart of idolatry in Judah. Many believed in their own ability to manipulate idols of gold and silver to get what they wanted for themselves.

Isaiah says that when the day of judgment comes, they “will throw away … their idols of silver and idols of gold, which they made to worship.” It would be good to ask ourselves what idols we worship today. Now is the time to throw them away and worship Christ, our true Lord.

Gracious Lord, we are so easily filled with pride, which only separates us from you. Thank you for turning our eyes to Jesus, who became a servant in order to save us. Amen.