Daily Devotions
Isaiah
"The LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment"
Text: Isaiah 5:16
FOUR DIFFERENT PICTURES
Isaiah offered a glimpse of what would happen when the nation of Judah is judged for its sinful ways. Four different pictures were described.
“People shall be brought down,
Each man shall be humbled,
And the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled.
But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment,
And God who is holy shall be hallowed in righteousness.
Then the lambs shall feed in their pasture,
And in the waste places of the fat ones strangers shall eat.”
Isaiah 5:15-17
1. The humbling of the lofty ones.
a) When a nation has been defeated in war, in general, everyone suffers.
b) The conquered people would suffer much humiliation.
i) The people would be “brought down”.
ii) Each and every one would be “humbled”.
iii) Those who had once been “lofty” would suffer humiliation.
2. The LORD of hosts.
a) He alone would be exalted.
b) His power and sovereignty would be recognised.
c) His holiness would be recognised and honoured.
3. The lambs.
a) This is a reference to the “innocent ones” who had remained true to their faith.
b) They would be protected especially.
c) The LORD would continue to feed them in their pasture.
4. In contrast:
a) Those who had plenty and thus became “the fat ones” would suffer hunger.
b) Their possessions would become “wastelands”.
c) The conquerors who are called “strangers” would seize their wealth.
d) They would lord it over:
i) The lofty ones.
ii) The “fat ones”.