Isaiah 24 Devotional

The Last Word Is His Reign

“The moon will be confounded and the sun will be ashamed; for the LORD of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before His elders with great glory.”Isaiah 24:23 (BSB)

Chapter 24 widens the view to the whole earth. The LORD lays it waste, and no one is exempt: priest and people, master and servant, lender and borrower all stand on the same ground (24:1-2). The earth has been defiled by its people, who have broken God's laws and his everlasting covenant (24:5). Wine dries up, music stops, and the chaotic city lies broken (24:7-12).

Even then, voices rise from the ends of the earth praising the Righteous One (24:14-16). Isaiah cannot yet join in, seeing too much treachery (24:16). The chapter refuses easy triumph. It ends with the powers of heaven and the kings of earth punished, and the LORD of Hosts reigning on Mount Zion in such glory that the sun and moon are put to shame (24:21-23). Judgment clears away what resists his rule; it does not end his purposes. Whatever disorder fills the world, the last word in this chapter belongs to a reigning God, and that is solid ground for hope.

To think about: When the world feels like it is coming apart, what difference does it make to you that the LORD reigns?