Day 142: Isaiah 24- Make way For Glory!

Behold, the Lord will empty the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants. 2 And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the slave, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress;
as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor. 3 The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered; for the Lord has spoken this word. 4 The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and withers; the highest people of the earth languish. 5 The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.
 
6 Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left. 7 The wine mourns, the vine languishes, all the merry-hearted sigh. 8 The mirth of the tambourines is stilled, the noise of the jubilant has ceased, the mirth of the lyre is stilled. 9 No more do they drink wine with singing; strong drink is bitter to those who drink it. 10 The wasted city is broken down; every house is shut up so that none can enter. 11 There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine; all joy has grown dark; the gladness of the earth is banished.

12 Desolation is left in the city; the gates are battered into ruins. 13 For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done.14 They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;
over the majesty of the Lord they shout from the west. 15 Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 16 From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise, of glory to the Righteous One. But I say, “I waste away, I waste away. Woe is me! For the traitors have betrayed, with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.”
 
17 Terror and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth! 18 He who flees at the sound of the terror shall fall into the pit, and he who climbs out of the pit shall be caught in the snare. For the windows of heaven are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble. 19 The earth is utterly broken, the earth is split apart, the earth is violently shaken. 20 The earth staggers like a drunken man; it sways like a hut; its transgression lies heavy upon it, and it falls, and will not rise again. 21 On that day the Lord will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth. 22 They will be gathered together as prisoners in a pit; they will be shut up in a prison, and after many days they will be punished. 23 Then the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed, for the Lord of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his glory will be before his elders.
 
 
Meditation
The civil unrest of our society reveals a deep cry for justice. Our hearts long for sad things to become untrue, for evil to be vanquished, injustices to be made just, and for perpetrators to be accountable. Is there a way forward?
 
The judgment of God is good news for those who belong to God. The flood was judgment, bad news for everyone but Noah and his family. After judgment came the glory of renewed creation. After the final judgment God’s presence will fill all creation for a New Heavens and a New Earth.
 
Isaiah 24 portrays a just judgment for all the earth and for every person. (1-3) In the heart of the difficult descriptions of global judgment we see the goal of our just God, His glory over all the earth and for every person belonging to Him (15-16, 23).
 
God’s glory is the end game Isaiah saw during the vision of His call (6:3) and glory is literally the weight of God’s presence in the earth. The presence of the Righteous one will push out the presence of evil. Sad things will become untrue when the Author of life and love fills the earth. Perpetrators will be brought to justice and injustices will be no more.
 
Richly Dwelling
-Are you discouraged by the headlines of our times and the injustices of our world?
 
-How does the revelation of God’s eternal plan make a way for hope in your heart?
 
-Make a discipline to turn your heart to heaven when you read headlines through praying through the news. Turn twitter and other news feeds into prayer lists, petitioning for God’s kingdom to come, for His glory to fill the earth as it is in heaven.
 
Key Verse
15 Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 16 From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise, of glory to the Righteous One…