Isaiah 2:5-22

Isaiah 2:5-22

[5] O house  of Jacob,  in the light  of the LORD.  [6] Therefore thou hast forsaken  thy people  the house  of Jacob,  because they be replenished  from the east,  and are soothsayers  like the Philistines,  and they please  themselves in the children  of strangers.  [7] Their land  also is full  of silver  and gold,  neither is there any end  of their treasures;  their land  is also full  of horses,  neither is there any end  of their chariots:  [8] Their land  also is full  of idols;  they worship  the work  of their own hands,  that which their own fingers  have made:  [9] And the mean man  boweth down,  and the great man  humbleth  himself: therefore forgive  them not. [10] Enter  into the rock,  and hide  thee in the dust,  for  fear  of the LORD,  and for the glory  of his majesty.  [11] The lofty  looks  of man  shall be humbled,  and the haughtiness  shall be bowed down,  and the LORD  alone shall be exalted  in that day.  [12] For the day  of the LORD  of hosts  shall be upon every one that is proud  and lofty,  and upon every one that is lifted up;  and he shall be brought low:  [13] And upon all the cedars  of Lebanon,  that are high  and lifted up,  and upon all the oaks  of Bashan,  [14] And upon all the high  mountains,  and upon all the hills  that are lifted up,  [15] And upon every high  tower,  and upon every fenced  wall,  [16] And upon all the ships  of Tarshish,  and upon all pleasant  pictures.  [17] And the loftiness  of man  shall be bowed down,  and the haughtiness  shall be made low:  and the LORD  alone shall be exalted  in that day.  [18] And the idols  he shall utterly  abolish.  [19] And they shall go  into the holes  of the rocks,  and into the caves  of the earth,  for  fear  of the LORD,  and for the glory  of his majesty,  when he ariseth  to shake terribly  the earth.  [20] In that day  a man  shall cast  his idols  of silver,  and his idols  of gold,  which they made each one for himself  to worship,  to the moles  and to the bats;  [21] To go  into the clefts  of the rocks,  and into the tops  of the ragged rocks,  for  fear  of the LORD,  and for the glory  of his majesty,  when he ariseth  to shake terribly  the earth.  [22] Cease  ye from man,  whose breath  is in his nostrils:  for wherein is he to be accounted of? 

What does Isaiah 2:5-22 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

This emphasis is a major one in Isaiah 1-39 , and the prophet introduced it at this point. Many in his day-and this is still true today-preferred to trust in strong people, especially nations, rather than in the Lord.
The prophet"s first exhortation2:5
In view of what the nations will do eventually, Isaiah appealed to the house of Jacob (Israel) to do the same thing immediately, namely: walk in the Lord"s light (presence and truth). Commit to following the Lord. This motivation is also applicable to present-day Christians (cf. Ephesians 5:8-20). Virtually all the commentators recognized that this verse is transitional. Some make it the end of the previous section and others the beginning of the next.