A Tale of Two Cities (Isaiah 2:1-4:6)
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”
Some of us may recognise these well-known opening lines from Charles Dickens’ novel, “A Tale of Two Cities”. Set in Paris and London around the time of the French revolution, this classic work of historical fiction contrasts both cities and the characters who live in them.
The prophet Isaiah also wrote about two contrasting cities, or more specifically, two different versions of the same city—the actual vs. the ideal. The actual Jerusalem is a proud, man-centred city destined for judgement. The ideal Jerusalem is a holy, God-centred city that blesses the world. These two versions could not be more different. But what’s amazing about Isaiah’s vision is that the actual will be transformed into the ideal.
God humbles the proud and exalts the redeemed.
Many of us want to become the best version of ourselves. Who we actually are now is not the ideal of what we should be. But how do we get from the actual to the ideal? Our own efforts at change fall flat, leaving us disappointed, discouraged, and disillusioned. But Isaiah 2-4 holds out true hope of real change. This tale of two cities points us to what God will do to transform a people for their good and His glory. It’s a story of righteous judgement and gracious redemption — about how God brings us low to lift us up. God confronts us as we actually are, that He might redeem us to be who we should ideally be. Here’s the big idea of Isaiah 2-4: God humbles the proud and exalts the redeemed. This story is good news for sinners. May it be our story.
The proud humbled (Isa 2:6-4:1)
Isaiah 2-4 is one vision contrasting the actual Jerusalem — the city as it is — with the ideal Jerusalem—the city as it should be. This vision expands on what Isaiah 1:21, which says God will judge Jerusalem because the previously faithful city has become unfaithful. But this judgement is not to destroy but to purify: “I will turn my hand against you and will smelt away your dross as with lye… Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.” (Isa 1:25-26). In Isaiah 2-4, the verses about God’s judgement are sandwiched between the promises of what God will do to redeem and transform Jerusalem. We’ll focus first on the middle of the sandwich: how the proud are humbled by God’s judgement. Jerusalem’s sinful pride reflects our own. May God also humble us by helping us see how we too have been proud.
Instead of trusting in God, Jerusalem takes pride in the world. When we are proud, we rely on ourselves, not God.
Instead of trusting in God, Jerusalem takes pride in the world. When we are proud, we rely on ourselves, not God. Look at Isaiah 2:6-8. They store up for themselves treasures on earth and lean on worldly power. They buy into the lies, superstitions and ways of the world. They worship the idols that they have made with their own hands. Jerusalem’s problem is not that it lacks anything, but that it is filled with everything except God. Living in an affluent society, we may unquestioningly assume that more is always better. But worldly abundance and prosperity can deceive us into thinking we’re ok when we’re actually spiritually poor. Jesus says to the church of Laodicea: “You say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realising that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” (Rev. 3:17) It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom (Mk 10:25).
Our lives revolve around getting good grades, seeking job satisfaction and success, buying our dream home, planning our next holiday, or pursuing a comfortable retirement. How have we filled our lives with so many worldly cares and pursuits that we have crowded God out? How have we taken pride in the things of the world that we’ve accumulated for ourselves?
God will humble the proud and will judge by removing everything that we boast in or exalt in His place
God will humble the proud. Because His people have turned their backs on Him, He will reject them by removing His favour from them. To make the world our friend is to make God our enemy. Look at Isaiah 2:9-11. God Himself will come to judge. Because only God is truly worthy of all our trust and worship, He cannot stand idly by while our pride robs Him of glory. The LORD will judge the pride of men so that He alone will be exalted in that day. God has prepared a day of judgement when every one of us will give an account to God for how we’ve lived.
God will judge by removing everything that we boast in or exalt in His place: “For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low” (Isa 2:12). Isaiah 2:13-14 speaks of “cedars of Lebanon…the oaks of Bashan…the lofty mountains…and the uplifted hills”, which refer to whatever we trust in for strength. Falling sick this week was a timely reminder for me that I depend on God for life and breath. God will also lay low “every high tower and…fortified wall” (Isa 2:15) — the things we trust for our security. Look at Isaiah 2:16: The “ships of Tarshish…and beautiful craft” represent our pride in human skill, enterprise, and resourcefulness. Do we boast about being self-sufficient, self-made? Isaiah 2: 17 repeats the warning of Isaiah 2:11: “The haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.”
At the last judgement, only God will be worshipped. But we don’t have to wait till then to see how God removes the pride of men. History is full of examples of how the mighty have fallen. Jerusalem was overthrown by the Babylonians, who were then conquered by the Persians. They, in turn, were defeated by the Greeks, who were then replaced by the Romans. We are too easily impressed by human power and prestige. But empires rise and fall. The world leaders of today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Jerusalem was tempted to trust in alliances with foreign nations for security, instead of trusting in God. But man cannot save. Those nations that Judah is tempted to rely on will also face God’s judgement “when he rises to terrify the earth” (Isa 2:19b). Only God is sovereign over all nations, so trust in Him alone.
His judgement will also expose the impotence of our idols — “The idols shall utterly pass away. (Isa 2:18) “ Idolatry is a form of pride. We think our own hands can make gods in our own image, and we can manipulate them to give us what we want. On the day of judgement, mankind will realise that our idols have no power to save — “In that day mankind will cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold, when they made for themselves to worship (Isa 2:20a).” The great tragedy of idolatry is that we will realise—too late—that all that we’ve trusted in for our worth will prove worthless.
In Isaiah 3:1-7, the LORD will take away from Jerusalem and Judah’s stability to undermine their pride. He will remove basic essentials like food and water (Isa 3:1). He will replace their leaders with irresponsible, foolish rulers (Isa 3:2-4). The social order will break down. Corruption and oppression will abound.
Then, nobody will want to lead (Isa 3:6-7). The lack of leadership is a judgement from God. If the people refuse to follow godly leaders, then God may take away such leaders, leaving them as sheep without shepherds. So desperate will they be for leaders that anyone will do: “You have a cloak; you shall be our leader” (Isa 3:6). And even then, no one will step forward: “You shall not make me leader of the people.” (Isa 3:7).
We should pray for godly leadership. Pray for our elders, deacons, and CG leaders to remain humble, obedient, and faithful. Pray for God to raise up godly leaders among us, and for a humble willingness to serve. Pray that we would use godly, not worldly, criteria to assess whether someone is suited to serve. Pray that we will encourage godly leaders by trusting and following them as they lead us to follow Jesus. Pray that we would have opportunity to train and send godly leaders to churches in need of leaders.
Isaiah 3:8-17 tell us why God is judging proud Jerusalem. It’s because they defy the LORD will their words and actions. Instead of worshiping Him, they defiantly shake their fist in His face. The people sin without shame (Isa 3:9). Not only do they disobey God, but they blatantly boast about their sin like Sodom. But God will not be mocked. We will reap what we sow. It will be well with those who repent and walk in righteousness, but woe to the unrepentant and wicked (Isa 3:10-11). God will judge.
Instead of following godly leaders, the people allow bad, unqualified rulers lead them astray: “O my people, your guides mislead you” (Isa 3:12). Instead of caring for God’s people, these leaders take advantage of others for personal gain. They exploit the poor and vulnerable (Isa 3:13-15). They are the like the false teachers mentioned in the New Testament, who feed themselves rather than God’s people. But the LORD will judge ungodly leaders. He will also hold us accountable for following ungodly leaders.
Isaiah 3:16-4:1 describe the women of Jerusalem and what God will do to them. They are proud and vain, showing off their fashionable clothes and jewellery. These women represent self-indulgence, materialism, consumerism, and pleasure-seeking. They glory in their own appearance instead of glorying in God. We also live in a me-first, pleasure-seeking culture that tells us to satisfy our wants and desires. We’re tempted to take pride in possessions and pleasure. We’re tempted to care more about keeping up appearances through fashion and fitness than about keeping our hearts. We escape into and eating and entertainment. As one social commentator puts it, what we love and desire will ruin us.
God will judge by taking away the things that have distracted us from Him. By taking away the things we depend on, God helps us realise that our loss cannot be compared with the gain of knowing Jesus Christ.
God will judge by taking away the things that have distracted us from Him (Isa 3:17-26). In that day, God will turn silk to sackcloth, beauty to brokenness. Having lost everything, the women will desperately seek marriage, even to the extent of supporting themselves. But just as there are no leaders, so there will be no husbands to take away their shame (Isa 4:1). God will humble the proud. By taking away the things we depend on, God helps us realise that our loss cannot be compared with the gain of knowing Jesus Christ. Only then will we learn not to boast in our wisdom, might or riches, but to boast in God alone. The main application is given in Isaiah 2:22: “Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?” We are as fleeting as the breath. Instead of trusting in man, should we not rather trust in God who gives us breath?
The redeemed exalted (Isa 2:1-5; 4:2-6)
The proud Jerusalem of Isaiah’s time will be judged, to transform the city from faithless to faithful. God is not done with His people. Although they have been faithless, he remains faithful. Isaiah 2-4 is bracketed by promises of hope. God will rescue and restore His people. He will humble the proud in order to exalt the redeemed.
In Isaiah 2:1-5, we see how Jerusalem will be humbled, but Isaiah looks forward to a time, “in the latter days”, when Mount Zion will be exalted as the highest of the mountains. In the OT, mountains represent kingdoms. Therefore, God will establish His kingdom above all earthly kingdoms. And, He will make Zion, or Jerusalem, the centre of His kingdom. The nations of the world will be drawn to Jerusalem to know God and hear His word. The peoples of the world will be gathered under God’s rule. They shall live in peace, converting their weapons of war into peaceful farming tools. In this way, God’s people will finally fulfil their ideal, God-given purpose.
In Genesis, God had promised Abraham that His offspring would bless the nations. In the exodus, God rescued Abraham’s descendants from Egypt that they might be His holy nation. God redeemed Israel to display His glory and teach His word to the nations, that others might also worship God. But instead of being a witness to the world, Israel became just like the world. Israel served idols rather than the LORD. In Isaiah 42:19, the LORD says this of Israel: “Who is blind but my servant, or deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is blind as my dedicated one, or blind as the servant of the LORD?” Israel’s story echoes in our own stories. God created us in His image to worship Him. He made us for His glory, to reflect the goodness and beauty of His character and ways. But instead of serving Him, we have selfishly served ourselves. Like OT Israel, we have pridefully chosen to live our way, not God’s way. We have all sinned.
But God will save sinners like us through an obedient Servant-King, who succeeds where we and Israel failed. The latter days have already arrived with the coming of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 1:1 says, “In these last days (God) has spoken to us by His Son.” Jesus has fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy. Jesus came to establish God’s kingdom through His life, death, and resurrection. He invites us to enter the kingdom by repenting of our sins and trusting in Him alone to save us. Jesus is the promised son of Abraham who will bless the world. It is to Him that all nations come—not to an earthly city, but to a person. Jesus said, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (Jn 12:32) To know God, we must come to Jesus, who is the Word of God made flesh. He will teach us God’s ways that we may walk in His paths. And now, Jesus is gathering around himself a new people—those who have believed in Him.
Isaiah’s prophecy has been fulfilled through Jesus and His people, the church.
Isaiah’s prophecy has been fulfilled through Jesus and His people, the church. Our purpose, as God’s church, is to glorify God by bearing witness to God’s kingdom. How? We are to be a people founded on God’s truth, who teach and live out God’s word and ways. Jesus commissions His disciples to make disciples of all nations, beginning with Jerusalem unto the ends of the earth. His gospel is to go out from us to the nations. We can proclaim Christ with the confidence that God will draw the nations to His Son. In Isaiah 2:2, the image of nations flowing like a river up the mountain of the LORD shows that this is God’s doing, not ours.
We are also to be a people of peace, who live in unity under one Lord, King Jesus. He is our peace. Jesus has reconciled us to God and to one another, removing the barrier of our sins that we might draw near. Jesus unites many as one. He enables us to love one another, despite our different ages, ethnicities, nationalities, or backgrounds. Thanks to Jesus, we can build deep spiritual relationships with those who are different from us. As God’s church, we show the gospel by loving one another, especially those who are different from us. Therefore, be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Missions entails two aspects: go and tell; come and see.
Missions entails two aspects: go and tell; come and see. The church goes with the gospel and also invites others to come and see what God is like. This is why the planting and growing of healthy local churches is central to the work of missions. To learn more, sign up for the upcoming missions conference with John Folmar. The church is to be a worship magnet by making God’s kingdom visible. Our life together as God’s people is meant to draw others in. This is God’s ideal for us. He has saved us into His people so that we can together be a display of His glory. So, make the church central to your Christian life. May God help us love one another, so that others might be drawn to Christ through us.
God will exalt His people by redeeming and purifying them through the refining fires of judgement. The phrase,“In that day” in Isaiah 2:2 refers to the latter or last days of Isaiah 2:1-5, God will create a holy people by cleansing them of their sin and guilt. He will save His people through judgement. Yes, Jerusalem will fall to Babylon and its people go into exile. But God judges to purify, not to destroy. There will be a return. God saves sinners like us through judgement. Jesus, through His death on the cross, bore God’s judgement in the place of all who would believe in Him. God does not compromise His holiness or righteousness in forgiving sinners, because our sins are paid for. Because God’s justice is satisfied, He is just to declare us righteous in Christ. Jesus makes us holy. We are raised with Him to new life.
Proud Jerusalem had been disobedient and barren. Yet, when God redeems His people, Jerusalem will be “the branch of the LORD” (Isa 2:2) and bear good fruit for God’s glory. Before, they had pursued false, worldly beauty. But now Jerusalem will be truly “beautiful and glorious” (Isa 2:2) in God’s sight. This is true hope of real change. Only through the converting power of the gospel can we become a new creation in Christ.
Isaiah likens God’s redemption to a new exodus. Just as God led Israel through the wilderness, so He will be present to protect and provide for His people. Previously, “the cloud by day” and “the flaming fire by night” (Isa 2:5) covered only the tabernacle. But Isaiah looks forward to a greater redemption where God’s glorious presence will be “over her assemblies” (Isa 2:5). God is with us when we assemble as His people. The church is God’s dwelling place, where He reveals His glorious presence. He is our refuge from the heat and storms of life.
We await a future, more glorious, fulfilment. By God’s grace, we are not what we once were, but we are not yet what we should be.
The wonderful promises of Isaiah 2-4 have been fulfilled in Christ. Yet, like the original hearers of Isaiah’s prophecy, we await a future, more glorious, fulfilment. By God’s grace, we are not what we once were, but we are not yet what we should be. For now, we see the church with all her weaknesses, faults, and failures. We are still faithless to God’s truth and unloving to one another. Instead of peace, the church is rife with quarrels and conflict. We repel rather than attract people to Jesus. We are often more conformed to the world than transformed by the gospel.
But it is not as though God’s promises have failed. God is not done with us. He is still at work among us, refining and purifying us. 4:4 says that over all glory, there will be a wedding canopy, which points to the joyful union between God and His people. Jesus has given Himself up for His bride, the church, that He might sanctify her. Our Lord will not fail to present us, the church, to Himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that we might be holy and without blemish.
On that glorious day, when faith turns to sight, the actual shall become the ideal. Revelation 21:2, “I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Therefore, live in the light of this hope. Take to heart this encouragement from Isaiah 2:5, “Come, let us walk in the light of the LORD.” He will keep His promises. May we trust and hope in Him, for the LORD is our light and salvation.