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kingdom of priests. Not until the nations cease to "learn" war, will peace be more than
an illusion.
Before we come to the sequel to this prophecy of restoration and peace (Isa. 4: 2-6),
we must first consider the intervening passage--Isa. 2: 6 - 4: 1--which deals with the
cause of Israel's failure to enter into their inheritance and to become a channel of blessing
to the surrounding nations. The structure shows a threefold division of this passage (see
page 131) but the theme is one--sinful pride ending in ruin. What a contrast between the
Jerusalem of Isaiah's vision (2: 1-5), and the Jerusalem he actually knew. Instead of true
worship, we see a land full of idols, and instead of the law of the Lord shining forth from
Jerusalem--
"They are replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they
join hands with the children of strangers" (Isa. 2: 6).
The following is the structure of Isa. 2: 6-22:
Isaiah 2: 6-22.
A | 6. People forsaken of the Lord.
B | 7-9. Idols. Silver and gold. The land full. Men abased.
C | 10. Enter into rock . . . . . Glory of His majesty.
D | 11. Lofty humbled.
E | 11. The Lord alone exalted.
F | 12-16. The day of the Lord.
D | 17. Lofty humbled.
E | 17. The Lord alone exalted.
C | 19. Go into rocks . . . . . Glory of His majesty.
B | 20. Idols. Silver and gold. Cast to moles and bats.
A | 22. Cease ye from man.
The last sentence here: "Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for
wherein is he to be accounted of?" is parallel with the opening section of the second part
of Isaiah, where we read that "all flesh is grass". The "Word of the Lord" is what
endures, and He is able to accomplish His purposes without the aid of man. If only we
could take to heart the testimony of Isa. 2: 22, we should realize the futility of all human
schemes to bring about the Kingdom of God on earth. The Lord has forsaken His people
. . . . . "Cease ye from man".
Chapter 3: gives another terrible picture of Jerusalem as it was, in contrast to what it
will be:
"I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them" (3: 4).
"As for My people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them" (3: 12).
The word "ruin" in verses 6 and 8 means "stumbling and falling", and occurs also in
Isa. 5: 27, 35: 3, and 40: 30. The recurrence of the idea of "rule" here (verses 4, 6, 7,
and 12), shows that we have in this second view of Israel's failure, failure in its political