Sharper Iron — The Fifth Evangelist - Isaiah 2:6-22: The LORD of Hosts Has a Day

After giving a glorious vision of the hope that the LORD has for those who hear His Word and stream to Him in faith, the prophet Isaiah proclaims the stark reality that the house of Jacob has done the exact opposite. Judah has indulged in the wealth and power of the surrounding nations and has put her trust in their idols, rather than in the LORD alone. In response, the LORD of hosts will come and bring low all that is proud and haughty so that He alone is exalted. There will be no refuge to be found from the terror of His presence, for mortal man is of no account. Through such preaching of the Law, the LORD aims to bring His people to repentance for their false trust so that they would turn to Him in true faith.

Rev. John Bussman, pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Cullman, AL, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Isaiah 2:6-22.

“The Fifth Evangelist” is a series on Sharper Iron that goes through Isaiah 1-39. The prophet proclaims to the people of his day and throughout history that the Holy One of Israel alone is exalted. Those who put their trust in the strength of man will be brought low, but those who trust in the LORD will see that He is their Immanuel. Jesus is God with us who reigns over the kingdom of God forever and ever!

Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God’s Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen. Submit comments or questions to: listener@kfuo.org

Sharper Iron is underwritten by Lutheran Church Extension Fund, where your investments help support the work of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Visit lcef.org.

Isaiah 2:6-22

The Day of the Lord

⁶For you have rejected your people,
    the house of Jacob,
because they are full of things from the east
    and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines,
    and they strike hands with the children of foreigners.
⁷Their land is filled with silver and gold,
    and there is no end to their treasures;
their land is filled with horses,
    and there is no end to their chariots.
⁸Their land is filled with idols;
    they bow down to the work of their hands,
    to what their own fingers have made.
⁹So man is humbled,
    and each one is brought low—
    do not forgive them!
¹⁰Enter into the rock
    and hide in the dust
from before the terror of the Lord,
    and from the splendor of his majesty.
¹¹The haughty looks of man shall be brought low,
    and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled,
and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.

¹²For 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;
¹³against all the cedars of Lebanon,
    lofty and lifted up;
    and against all the oaks of Bashan;
¹⁴against all the lofty mountains,
    and against all the uplifted hills;
¹⁵against every high tower,
    and against every fortified wall;
¹⁶against all the ships of Tarshish,
    and against all the beautiful craft.
¹⁷And 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.
¹⁸And the idols shall utterly pass away.
¹⁹And people shall enter the caves of the rocks
    and the holes of the ground,^[a]
from before the terror of the Lord,
    and from the splendor of his majesty,
    when he rises to terrify the earth.

²⁰In that day mankind will cast away
    their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
which they made for themselves to worship,
    to the moles and to the bats,
²¹to enter the caverns of the rocks
    and the clefts of the cliffs,
from before the terror of the Lord,
    and from the splendor of his majesty,
    when he rises to terrify the earth.
²²Stop regarding man
    in whose nostrils is breath,
    for of what account is he?

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Isaiah 2:19 Hebrew dust

Rev. Timothy Appel

Although a mathematics degree may not be incredibly helpful to (proudly born-and-raised Texan) Rev. Timothy Appel while hosting Sharper Iron, his love of CFW Walther and the season of Easter will come in handy. His Call is shepherding the flock at Faith Lutheran Church in Godfrey, Illinois, and he’s also husband to wife Kristin and dad to their growing basketball team of children. When he’s not carrying out pastoral duties, you may find him reading “The Lord of the Rings,” snacking on Reese’s peanut butter cups, playing dominoes with his boys, or studying up on Texas history (including Sam Houston, of course).