Isaiah 2:1

Isaiah 2:1 says, The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.  This chapter and the next two are a new sermon directed at Judah and Jerusalem.   

Verse two adds, And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.   The last days referred to here are the end of the days of the old covenant and the beginning of the days of the new covenant.  God's house will be established for all to see when the end of the new covenant comes.  All nations will come to it, not just the Jews.  Between the beginning of the new covenant and the return of Christ, those who believe in Jesus Christ throughout the world will be like a beacon on a hill when they call people to put their faith in Him.  We should never be hidden away.  

Verse three continues, And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.  Isaiah said that in this time many people would come to the house of the God of Jacob, and that God would teach them His ways and they would walk in His paths.  Again, this wasn't limited to the Jews but was available to all.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, the Holy Spirit indwells us to teach us God’s law and lead us in His paths.   

Verse four continues, And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.  We know this will happen when Jesus Christ returns, but when He first came was also a time of peace in the world.  It did not last that time, but He will bring everlasting peace when He returns.  There will no longer be need of instruments of war.  While we are awaiting His return as Christians, we are to do our best to live at peace in the world.  This will not always be possible, but it is to be our goal.   

Verse five states, O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.  Isaiah called on the house of Jacob, the Jews, to walk in the light of the Lord, but they still haven’t accepted Jesus as the Messiah.  We cannot walk in the light of the Lord if we do not accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  Just as Isaiah called on the people of Judah to walk in God’s light, we need to call on everyone to do the same thing today.   Matthew Henry says this could apply to the physical descendants of Jacob or the spiritual descendants who come to God by faith.  I do know that God calls both groups to put their faith in Jesus, the Light of the world.  Of course, those living then put their faith in the coming Messiah and we put our faith in the Messiah Who has come. 

Verse six adds, Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.  Isaiah said God had forsaken His people from the house of Jacob because they had rejected Him.  They were worshipping false gods and looking to soothsayers to guide them to please themselves and not to please God.  If we reject Jesus Christ, when He comes again, He will reject us as well and we will be sent away to everlasting punishment.   

Verse seven continues, Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots:  Isaiah said they were full of earthly treasures at that time, but they had rejected God’s word.  No matter how rich we may become in the world, if we have rejected Jesus Christ, we have nothing of lasting value.   

Verse eight says, Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:  The people of Judah were worshipping the works of their hands and manmade idols while rejecting God’s way.   Too many people are still worshipping wealth and manmade idols instead of worshipping God.   

Verse nine adds, And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.  Since people both high and low in the eyes of the world were worshipping idols instead of God, they could not be forgiven.  If we refuse to accept Jesus Christ and put our faith in material things instead, our sins cannot be forgiven.   

Isaiah 1:24

Iasiah 1:24 says, Therefore saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies:  Isaiah said God had said He would avenge Himself of His enemies, and one day He is going to do so forever.  This is not His choice, but theirs.  He made everything available that is necessary for everyone to become a part of the family of God when He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for their sins.  All they had to do was accept this gift, either by looking ahead to His coming or looking back to His having come as we do, so as stated, the choice is up to every person whether to remain an enemy of God or not by either accepting or rejecting this gift of salvation.   

Verse twenty-five adds, And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:  God also said that He would refine the church, those who are His people by their relationship with Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord and not destroy it.  If we are a Christian and stray away from God, He is going to be at work to call us back to obedience and purge the sin out of our lives, but He will never cast us away.   

Verse twenty-six continues, And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.  God said He would restore their judges as they had been when the people of Judah, and Isreal as a whole, had first become His people.  They started out in obedience to Him, but over time began to put their faith in false gods, and He was going to restore those who once more put their faith in Him and the coming Messiah to a right relationship with Him.  Restoration to a right relationship will always come from God.  We cannot work to restore it without accepting His will and guidance.   

Verse twenty-seven states, Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.  This happens spiritually when people put their faith in Jesus Christ, and then it doesn’t really matter what happens in this lifetime.  We know that there is never coming a day when everything will be right in this world.  It is only going to get worse according to God’s word, but there is coming a day when everything will be made right for those who put their faith in Jesus Christ, even if it is after we die physically.   

Verse twenty-eight adds, And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed.  This is still also true.  When Jesus Christ returns to claim His church, the people who have accepted Him as their Savior and Lord, will go to be with Him forever and everyone who hasn’t is going to be sent away to everlasting destruction.   

Verse twenty-nine continues, For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.  God said those who had rejected Him would one day be ashamed of their choice.  Those people who had been worshiping idols, such as trees, were going to be cut off.  People today still worship nature and reject God, and one day they will realize that they have put their faith in the wrong things.   

Verse thirty says, For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.  God said that those who put their faith in false gods, once again referring to these gods as oaks, would be like a tree without water, which would die.  If we don’t put our faith in Jesus Christ, we are cutoff from the Living Water and will never have everlasting life with God.   

Verse thirty-one adds, And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.  God then said that those who thought themselves to be strong in the world outside of His will would one day burn together and no one could quinch the fire.  This will always be true.  Matthew Henry said that some of this came true during the reign of Hezekiah, but that it would come true forever when Jesus Christ returns.  This is the assurance that God’s people have.  We will one day have all sin and pain removed from our lives spiritually and live forever in God’s kingdom. 

Isaiah 1:16

 Isaiah 1:16 says, Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;  This called for action on the part of the people, even though washing physically could not make them clean, and they could not cleanse themselves spiritually.  Still, if they put their faith in God and the coming Messiah and stopped doing evil, they could be made clean by God’s forgiveness.  If we want to be made clean in God’s sight, we must be washed in the blood of Jesus Christ.   

Verse seventeen adds, Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.  Once we have been washed clean and turned from our sinful ways, we then need to put our faith into action, seeking justice for everyone, especially for the orphans and the widows.  I don’t believe that we can accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord and then live in luxury while others are starving or being oppressed and still be living by God’s guidance.    

Verse eighteen continues, Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.  I think we need to listen to this verse every day.  We need to reason together with God, accepting His leadership in all that we do.  The first step is to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, and once you do, your sins will be washed as white as snow, no matter how sin stained you might be.   

Verse nineteen concludes, If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:  If we willingly obey God after we accept His gift of salvation, we like the people of Israel will have our needs met.  He did not promise them personal riches but only said they would eat the good of the land.   

Verse twenty states, But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.  The people of Judah and Jerusalem were called on to obey God and be washed clean, and now they were told what would happen if they didn’t.  If they rebelled against God, they would be devoured by the sword.  This was a certainty since God had spoken it.  If we refuse to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we can be certain that we will one day face everlasting suffering, because God has already pronounced His judgment on those who don't. 

Verse twenty-one adds, How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.  Just as God asked the people of Jerusalem then how a faithful city could have become such a harlot, when it had been full of righteousness, He may be asking the same thing of people in America today.  We have been called a Christian nation, but we have become a nation of murderers who have very little concern for the widows and orphans, or poor people in general.   

Verse twenty-two continues, Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:  Isaiah said that God would remind them that the riches they had when they were obedient to Him had become corrupted or watered down.  I don’t believe that this means that if we put our faith in God that we are going to be materially wealthy, but even if we are, it will one day be proven to be a counterfeit wealth if we don’t obey God.   

Verse twenty-three concludes, Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them. This could be a very good description of America today.  We seem to value the rich and famous while having little concern for the poor and downcast.