Isaiah 2 Devotional

When Every Tall Thing Bows

“The proud look of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.”Isaiah 2:11 (BSB)

In the first of two pictures, the mountain of the LORD's house is raised above every hill, and the nations stream toward it to learn his ways, until weapons are reshaped into farm tools and war is no longer practiced (2:2-4). In the second, Judah's land is crowded with silver, gold, horses, chariots, and idols shaped by their own fingers (2:7-8). They trust everything except the God the nations will come to learn from.

So the prophet announces a day aimed at everything tall: cedars and oaks, mountains and towers, walls and ships (2:12-16). Pride will be brought low, idols flung to the moles and bats, and the LORD alone lifted high (2:17-20). The God who humbles human pride is the same God who teaches the nations peace. The chapter closes with a call to stop relying on mortals, whose life is only a breath (2:22). When everything else falls, only the LORD is left standing, and he is the one worth leaning on.

To think about: What impressive thing in your life are you most tempted to trust, and what would it mean to let the LORD alone be lifted high there?