Yesterday was an important lesson in worshipping the Lord. Worship must come from the heart, and it means nothing if our hearts are not in it. God does not want us to exhibit showy acts of worship. He instead wants the most important thing we can offer him: our hearts. It is from our hearts that we can gain His strength to endure, and it is in our hearts that God must dwell. When we worship God in showy ways, or worship to draw attention to ourselves, it is an affront to God.
Today is another day of prophesy, however, and in Isaiah chapter 2 we see the awesome power of the Lord on display as a preview of the end times. Not only will every knee bow in service to God at that time, but there will be no more war or disputes. This is hard for us to imagine in a temporal sense. We live in a world where each day, sometimes each hour, is a battle of some sort against adversity. Only the power of God can end that, and we see in Isaiah 2 that He promises to do just that.
2 In the last days
the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established
as chief among the mountains;
it will be raised above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.
3 Many peoples will come and say,
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths."
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore. – Isaiah 2:2-4
What does it mean to beat a sword into a plowshare and a spear into a pruning hook? Well, here is means that there will come a day where there is no need for weapons of war. In this world we will be fully focused on God, which is much of the reason as to why there is so much strife in our current world. People claim to fight in the name of God when they have often lost their way. Since we are imperfect, we cannot hope to find the right path without God truly in our hearts.
11 The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled
and the pride of men brought low;
the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
12 The LORD Almighty has a day in store
for all the proud and lofty,
for all that is exalted
(and they will be humbled),
13 for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty,
and all the oaks of Bashan,
14 for all the towering mountains
and all the high hills,
15 for every lofty tower
and every fortified wall,
16 for every trading ship
and every stately vessel.
17 The arrogance of man will be brought low
and the pride of men humbled;
the LORD alone will be exalted in that day, -- Isaiah 2:11-17
Arrogance is the downfall of man. We are all arrogant in our own way, and because of that we fall short of God. We are arrogant when we sin because we put our own needs in front of what God wants for us. Here, Isaiah shows us that there will come a day when everything in this world that stands tall in defiance will have to face God and give Him the glory. If we are right with God and we have Him in our hearts, we already take this humbling posture before Him. We give Him glory through the way we lives our lives for Him; therefore, we do not have to fear this vision. We are already aware of His power, and have submitted our pride to Him.
TODAY'S QUESTIONS:
- What is the mountain of the Lord's temple?
- Can there be peace in this world and in our lives before He judges the nations?
- What is our arrogance?
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