Not so long ago, our little corner of Kansas was something of a highway for wagon trains that were travelling along the Santa Fe Trail. In general terms, this trail led people from cities back east—like Kansas City—to the mountainous area of the American Southwest. Trails like this have been an enduring image of American history and culture.
The picture of a trail is a biblical image as well that is used as a metaphor for our journey through life. In Isaiah 25-27, this metaphor covers terrain that calls to mind one of the great trails of the American West, as these chapters picture history moving from the cities of man to the mountain of God. Beginning with Babel in the book of Genesis, cities in the Bible often represent the heights of human accomplishment and are thus sources of pride for humanity that can lead them to feel self-sufficient. It’s not that cities are inherently bad—they are just idolized, especially at that time when all major cities were literally fortresses. Kings and their subjects felt that they were literally untouchable within the walls of their capital city.
In contrast to the cities of man, the seat of God’s future kingdom in this world is pictured as a mountain—something that is strong, enduring, immovable and unconquerable. Isaiah 25-27 pictures God humbling and destroying the cities of man to establish His holy mountain as a place of safety, peace, and celebration for His people. His mountain represents both the kingdom of Jesus Christ that we will enjoy in this world and the home with God that we will enjoy on the New Heavens and the New Earth. Let’s trace this path from the city to the mountain, and then we’ll discuss how we should live as we travel through life and wait for God to establish his kingdom.
The cities of man…
First of all, let’s take a look at the description of the cities of man in this chapter. We see from the opening verses of this section that:
…are not indestructible; they are vulnerable to the judgments of God (25:1-2; 27:10-11)
The first verses of this section describe what God had already done to some of the cities of Israel’s neighbors [READ 25:1-2]. This activity of God foreshadows further judgment to come upon the world in the future as described in 27:10-11 [READ 27:10-11]. The last part of v. 11 describes why God will bring judgment upon mankind—because we lack discernment. Our lack of discernment is revealed by the fact that we are at odds with our maker. Think about what its like for a little child to rebel against his parents, and then magnify that. We exist because of God—are we really to think that anything we can do or make cannot be undone by Him? Do we really think that we can disregard His commands and place our trust in something else?
Such foolishness on the part of mankind will one day be exposed when God humbles our race with his judgments. We will see then that even our grandest accomplishments cannot sustain us or withstand the judgments of God.
…are home to ruthless people who oppress the poor and needy (25:3-5)
In 25:2, Isaiah recalled how God had already acted in judgment against some of the cities and nations of his day, so he says in the next few verses [READ vv. 3-5]. Fortunately, God has a special concern for the poor and needy in our world, and He has provided some much-needed protection for them because the history of our race has been one of oppression and violence, often committed against the weakest members of society. Think about all of the Communist leaders who claim to represent the common folk, who then turn around and slaughter so many of their own people. Power structures in virtually every society have led to subjugation and oppression.
But, Isaiah 26:21 assures us that…
…will have all of their sins disclosed and judged (26:21)
This verse states [READ 26:21]. Think about all of the unsolved crimes in our world, all of the victims who have not yet seen justice. Rest assured that there will be no more cold cases when the Judge of all the earth settles accounts. The Lord will see to it that justice is served when He prepares to set up His kingdom. His kingdom is described in glorious terms in these chapters through the imagery of a mountain.
The mountain of God…
…is a place of feasting and celebration (25:6)
[READ 25:6] I think we have every reason to take this verse literally, which means that we will actually enjoy a feast with God—perhaps many of them. In the Gospels we read that Jesus could eat and drink after He was resurrected—in fact He did so to show the disciples that He had a real body and He wasn’t just some kind of ghost. Can you imagine enjoying a feast with Jesus? We look forward to family dinners today—how about a meal prepared for us by Jesus, with all of our Christian brothers and sisters there?
…is free from death and pain, a place where God dwells with man and our hope finds its fulfillment (25:7-9)
Though the sting of death has already been taken away by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, death is still a grievous experience for us because it means a temporary separation from our loved ones and a temporary separation of our soul from our body. But one day, even death will be no more, and we will be in the presence of our God, whom we have longed for so many years. Just imagine what it will be like to see Jesus for the first time and to have our hope of being with Him fulfilled. Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred makes a heart sick,” and don’t we feel that way sometimes? The longer we are in this world, the more wearisome it becomes, but one day our hope will be fulfilled, and our gladness will no longer have any twinge of sadness with it. Joy will no longer be the silver lining around a dark cloud—it will be our constant reality.
…is a place where God’s people are fruitful under His loving care (27:2-6)
Back in Isaiah 5, God described the people of Israel as a vineyard which produced rotten fruit. He was like a loving master gardener, but they were like vines that produced stink fruit. But one day, in Christ’s kingdom on Earth, His people will produce the fruit of righteousness under His loving care [READ 27:2-6]. Someday, God’s people Israel will be a righteous nation before Him, and we will join them building a righteous civilization in this world.
I hope at this point you just feel like shouting, “Come, Lord Jesus!” We are ready for this, aren’t we? But the timing is up to God, not us, and so until that day comes, how should we live as history is traveling the path from the cities of man to the mountain of God?
1. With a confident expectation of deliverance from God’s wrath (26:21)
As we read about the terrible descriptions of God’s judgment being poured out upon the world, it is easy to feel shaken and fearful. But I believe that as God’s people, we will be delivered from this coming time of wrath. Isaiah 26:20-21 speaks of God’s people being hidden away and protected during the time when God carries out his judgments [READ 26:20-21].
According to Scripture, God has a history of protecting His people during times when He has carried out judgments. Think of Noah and his family, who were spared from the worldwide flood. Think of Lot and his daughters, who were saved from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Think of the children of Israel during the plagues against Egypt. The Bible states that the area of Egypt in which the Israelites lived was unaffected. The clearest example of God’s protection was the Passover. If God’s protection wasn’t evident before, it certainly was after that night.
In 2 Peter 2, the apostle recounts some of these same events, and he states in v. 9—“the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment.” I believe the descriptions of future judgment that we have read about in Isaiah will be fulfilled during a time known as “the Tribulation,” which is thoroughly described in the book of Revelation. I further believe that God will actually take the church out of the world prior to the Tribulation in an event known as the Rapture.
Thus, those of us who believe in the Lord today will not be on the Earth during the Tribulation. Instead, we will be with Him in heaven, and then we will return with Him when He comes to establish His kingdom in this world. And so, even though we should be sobered by the realization that there is a period of God’s judgment yet to come on the world, we can have the confident expectation that we will be spared from it—just as God has spared His people in times past.
2. By trusting in God and staying on the path of righteousness in our behavior (26:1-8)
Both of these actions are commended in Isaiah 26:1-8, and a blessing is mentioned for each of them as well. First, look at the blessing that comes from trusting God in vv. 1-4 [READ vv. 1-4]. We saw earlier that the cities of man are not indestructible, but according to the verse that we just read, “the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” We can trust in Him for strength and protection and know that He will always be here for us. And the blessing that comes from placing our trust in God is peace! My translation says “perfect peace;” the original Hebrew literally says, “peace peace.” The Hebrew language uses repetition like this for emphasis—as we saw with the angels declaring that God is not just holy, but “holy, holy, holy.”
This peace will come in its fullness when we are in heaven because we will literally have no enemies, but we get a foretaste of this peace today when we choose to trust in God. Verse 3 states that the battle to maintain this kind of trust takes place in the mind, and don’t we all know how true that is? That is why its so important for us to fill our minds with Scripture so that we can remember the promises of God and choose to believe them. Then we can be free from the anxiety and fear that come when we choose not to trust God.
A few verses later, Isaiah commends righteous or godly behavior and mentions a blessing for such behavior. Look at vv. 7-8 [READ vv. 7-8]. The level path of the righteous in v. 7 speaks of ease and smooth sailing. In a culture where people did a lot of traveling by foot, a level path was just the kind of path you wanted because it was easier to walk on. You didn’t have to exert as much effort and there was less chance that you would slip and fall.
When we choose to carry out godly behavior, we make life easier for ourselves. Generally speaking, life is easier and more pleasant when you obey God. Obedience keeps you from bringing more problems into your life. And even when problems come, obedience makes it easier to deal with them because it keeps you from making the problems worse.
So as history travels the path from the cities of man to the mountain of God, let us choose to travel the path of godly behavior, trusting in God to be our protection and the fulfillment of our hope.
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