Isaiah 24

Isaiah 13–23 consists of oracles of judgment against various nations, and Isaiah 23 closes with the oracle concerning Tyre. In chapter 24 the scope of judgment widens beyond particular nations to the whole earth. The unit that begins here, chapters 24–27, is commonly called the "Isaiah Apocalypse" in scholarship.

Outline

• Verses 1–3 The LORD makes the earth empty and waste. People and priest, servant and master, buyer and seller all suffer the same fate without distinction.
• Verses 4–6 The earth is defiled because its inhabitants have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse devours the earth, and few people are left.
• Verses 7–12 The joy of wine and the mirth of tabrets and harp cease; the plundered city is broken down, and its gate is smitten with destruction.
• Verses 13–16a Like the fruit left after an olive tree is shaken, the survivors glorify the LORD in the east, in the isles of the sea, and from the uttermost part of the earth.
• Verse 16b The prophet laments, "My leanness, my leanness," because of the treacherous dealers, those who betray.
• Verses 17–20 Fear, the pit, and the snare come upon the inhabitants of the earth. The earth is broken down and reels to and fro like a drunkard before it falls.
• Verses 21–23 In that day the LORD punishes the host of the high ones and the kings of the earth and shuts them up in prison. The sun and moon lose their light, and the LORD reigns as King on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem.

Key Verses

• Isaiah 24:5 "broken the everlasting covenant": Traces the earth's judgment to humanity's breaking of the covenant.
• Isaiah 24:21 "the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth": Declares that judgment extends both to heavenly powers and to earthly rulers.
• Isaiah 24:23 "the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem": The prophecy of judgment concludes with the reign of the LORD.

People and Places

• Priests Mentioned alongside the people in verse 2, showing that no one, whether of high or low status, can escape judgment.
• The host of the high ones and the kings of the earth Those punished in verse 21. The host of the high ones refers to heavenly powers.
• The elders Those before whom the LORD displays His glory in verse 23.
• Mount Zion and Jerusalem The place where the LORD reigns as King.
• The east and all the isles of the sea Distant regions from which songs of praise to the LORD are heard.

Points for Reflection

• Interpretations of the "everlasting covenant" in verse 5 differ. Some take it as the Noahic covenant of Genesis 9, others as the Sinai covenant, and still others as God's moral order given to all humanity.
• The ruined city of verse 10 is not named in the text. Some identify it with Babylon, Moab, or another city, while others read it as a symbol of all human society set against God.
• Views also differ on when this unit was written. Traditional and conservative interpreters regard it as a prophecy of the eighth-century BC prophet Isaiah, whereas critical scholarship tends to see it as a later text of an apocalyptic character.
• The scene in verses 21–22, in which those punished "shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited," is often read together with the following passages:
• Revelation 20:1–3: Satan is shut up in the bottomless pit
• 2 Peter 2:4–5: The angels that sinned are reserved unto judgment
• Some premillennial interpreters connect the "many days" of verse 22 with the millennial kingdom. Others regard the verse as a general description of the final judgment.
• The sun and moon losing their light in verse 23 is frequently read alongside Revelation 21:23–24, which states that the New Jerusalem has no need of the sun or the moon.