God promises lasting peace
1 The vision of Isaiah, son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 In the last days, the mountain of Yahweh’s house shall be set over the highest mountains and shall tower over the hills.
3 All the nations shall stream to it, saying, “Come, let us go to the moun tain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and we may walk in his paths. For the Teaching comes from Zion, and from Jerusalem the word of Yahweh.
4 He will rule over the nations and settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not raise sword against nation; they will train for war no more.
5 O nation of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!”
Hide in the dust
6 You have forsaken your people,
the land of Jacob,
for it was full of diviners.
They turned into soothsayers like the Philistines,
and clasped hands with pagans.
7 Their land is full of silver and gold,
there is no end to their treasures.
Their land is full of horses,
there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land is full of idols,
and they bow down
before the work of their hands,
before the things their fingers have made.
9 Man will be humbled
and the mortal fallen,
forgive them not!
10 Get behind the rocks,
hide in the dust,
for fear of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty!
11 The haughty looks of man will be humbled; the pride of mortal will be brought low. Yahweh alone will be exalted on that day.
12 Yahweh will stand up on that day
against all the proud and arrogant,
against all that is high or great,
13 against all the cedars of Lebanon
and all the oaks of Bashan,
14 against all the lofty mountains,
and all the soaring hills,
15 against every high tower
and fortified walls,
16 against all the ships of Tarshish
and their luxurious load.
17 The arrogance of man will be humbled; the pride of mortal will be brought low. Yahweh alone will be exalted on that day,
18 and all the idols will pass away.
19 People will flee
into the hollows of the rocks,
into the caverns of the earth,
from the terror of Yahweh,
from the splendor of his majesty,
when he arises to terrify the earth.
20 On that day,
they will throw to the moles and to the bats
their idols of silver and gold,
which they made for themselves to worship.
21 They will flee
into the caverns of the rocks,
into the crevices of the crags,
from the terror of the Lord,
from the splendor of his Majesty,
when he arises to terrify the earth.
22 Rely not on man,
who has but a breath in his nostrils.
What is he worth?
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Comments Isaiah, Chapter 2
• 2.1 This is apparently an unr
eal vision and yet it is being fulfilled and will be fulfilled.
The small hill overlooking the city of David and on which Solomon’s temple is built, has become in this vision the center of the universe. All the nations are going there. Why are they going there? Because they know they need the word of God. After having exhausted the resources of science, economy and politics, they realize they need a Teaching, that is to say, a Revelation from God. The word “Torah,” which in later days will mean the “Law,” originally means, the Instruction given by God as we translate it here.
The law of God teaches us the meaning of human life and the mission of humankind. The answer to such questions is finally found in the person of Christ, Son of God become human, the model for his brothers and sis ters. Recall how Jesus also went up a mountain to be transfigured before his apostles. It is there that they were given the Law and the Teaching: “Listen to him.”
Let us go to the house of the God of Jacob. The Kingdom of God will be formed around the people of Jacob-Israel and their kings, the descendants of David. Throughout the ages God preserves a Center in the world, the visible focus of the invisible kingdom: first, Israel, then remnant of Israel which is in the Church. Today, the Church reveals itself as a sign upon a mountain, open to the contemplation of both be lieving and unbelieving people.
It is true that the Church has many unattractive aspects: her institutions, her hierarchy; her paralyzing traditions are no more exempt from error and scandals than were those of the Jewish community. Perhaps we fail to discern the profound riches which the Church de velops in sincere believers. In the world, they are those who keep the fire that Christ lit burning, and who create a net work of more human relationships and more au t hentic life around them.
In the final analysis, this is what prepares for the coming of the “new creature.” Isaiah alone has done more for human progress than all the kings of Assyria with their armies, their victories and their laws. This leaven of authentic civilization is what, one day, will be placed “on the high mountains”, or “on a lamp stand” to enlighten the world. (See Mt 5:14.)
• 6. This text is not addressed to Jerusalem (capital of Judah), but to the northern kingdom (Samaria is the capital) which bears the name of their ancestor Jacob-Israel.
At the time, the northern kingdom had enjoyed years of prosperity. It followed that idols multiplied. In those days, those who became rich did not know what to do with their gold other than to make statues and ornaments which they dedicated to some god from whom they expected security and protection. Isaiah foresaw the disaster which was ap proaching for those unconcerned people.
Isaiah considers war as disasters and the terror of the defeated as an encounter of materialistic-minded people with their God who comes to judge them.
Their land is full of idols. An idol in our life is like a cancer in the body; it is something overly important which consumes our real life. This is what science, progress, conveniences, a house, a car or money do, when they are no longer a means of fulfilling God’s plans but instead we devote to them all our energy and hope.
Note the refrain in 9, 11 and 17: the pride of mortal will be brought low. Pride of the great, of the wise, pride of the mediocre and of the falsely humble. The pride of the religious person who believes he knows God because he knows how to speak about him. Pride of the mor tal creature coming to the end of his days without having encountered the living God. More than folly, pride is an insult to the Holy God and it demands amendment: the more divine love is, the more demanding and jealous it is.