As we draw things to a close regarding the book of Isaiah, we now come to the last paragraph of the book. Some see the gathering of all nations and tongues as a post-Pentecost event; others see it as what happened at Pentecost itself when the gospel was let loose to the nations of the world. God reacts to mankind in grace and provides a way for those who repent to come and see His glory.
We have been here before in Isaiah where he points out the stupidity of worshipping idols. We have sat in God’s courtroom and watched Him give the idols of the earth their opportunity to do something. But He proved that they were powerless to do anything. 41v24, 29 “indeed you are nothing and your work is nothing, he who chooses you is an abomination…indeed they are all worthless, their works are nothing, their molded images are wind and confusion.”
God detests sin. He does not treat it lightly and He will take an alarming vengeance on it. We must always remember that sin is horrendous to God. Keeping His attitude to sin constantly before us, will create a healthy true fear of God in our hearts and minds. Heb 12v28-29 say, “let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire.”
You and I know when life is going well and we feel like everything around us is also good and thriving, we suddenly find it threatened, an enemy wants to wreck it. Maybe driven by jealousy, maybe someone wanting what we have or have something against us. Jealousy can be very cruel but worse, in fact Prov 27v4 says “anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?”
The 18th century, Sir John Fortescue, writing about the aftermath of fighting in Europe, wrote these moving lines “as far as the eye could see over the whitened plain, were scattered gun-timbers, wagons full of baggage, of stones, of sick men, carts and private carriages. …
In the New Testament, Paul teaches that the Gentiles were deprived of five elements…
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