For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Isa 24:1-13

1 See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth
    and devastate it;
he will ruin its face
    and scatter its inhabitants –
2 it will be the same
    for priest as for people,
    for the master as for his servant,
    for the mistress as for her servant,
    for seller as for buyer,
    for borrower as for lender,
    for debtor as for creditor.
3 The earth will be completely laid waste
    and totally plundered.
The Lord has spoken this word. 4 The earth dries up and withers,
    the world languishes and withers,
    the heavens languish with the earth.
5 The earth is defiled by its people;
    they have disobeyed the laws,
violated the statutes
    and broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore a curse consumes the earth;
    its people must bear their guilt.
Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up,
    and very few are left.
7 The new wine dries up and the vine withers;
    all the merrymakers groan.
8 The joyful tambourines are stilled,
    the noise of the revellers has stopped,
    the joyful harp is silent.
9 No longer do they drink wine with a song;
    the beer is bitter to its drinkers.
10 The ruined city lies desolate;
    the entrance to every house is barred.
11 In the streets they cry out for wine;
    all joy turns to gloom,
    all joyful sounds are banished from the earth.
12 The city is left in ruins,
    its gate is battered to pieces.
13 So will it be on the earth
    and among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,

A. Find Out

1. What is the Lord going to do? v.1,3
2. Who will that include? v.2
3. What has happened to the earth? v.4,5
4. With what result? v.6
5. How is this seen? v.7-12
6. Yet with what hope? v.13

B. Think:

1. How much of this bad picture is down to the people of the earth?
2. How much is down to the Lord?
3. Yet what appears to be the end result?

C. Comment:

The word of this chapter appears first as a picture of total devastation of the earth. Whether it is a natural (earthquakes) or warfare devastation is unclear. Verse 1 could be natural and verse 3 human, or both could be either! Verse 2 tells us that no one, but no one, will escape what is going to happen.

The picture that is then given after this devastating warning is of human influence. The ‘big people’ languish (v.4), the earth is defiled by the general people (v.5a) who have disobeyed God (v.5b). But God has designed the world so that blessing and curse follow behaviour. Blessing is simply good that will come when we live according to the way God has designed us; curse is bad that will follow unrighteousness and ungodly behaviour which brings its own consequences. This ‘curse’ now follows (v.6) and the people will reap the harvest of their behaviour.

When the negative consequences of bad behaviour occur, they are obvious and natural (although designed by God- it’s how the world works!) people die (v.6b), harvests shrivel (v.7a) and the people suffer as a consequence (v.7b,8,9) and whole societies collapse (v.10) and ‘depression’ is not merely a work used in economics, it is also the state of the people (v.11,12). Nevertheless that is not the end. Even as a few grapes are left after the vines are picked, so a few will survive.

D. Application:

1. Even God’s people go through the times of economic decline.
2. Where there is judgment there will always be a faithful remnant left.

Passage: Isa 24:13-23

13 So will it be on the earth
    and among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
    or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.

14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy;
    from the west they acclaim the Lord’s majesty.
15 Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord;
    exalt the name of the Lord, the God of Israel,
    in the islands of the sea.
16 From the ends of the earth we hear singing:
    ‘Glory to the Righteous One.’

But I said, ‘I waste away, I waste away!
    Woe to me!
The treacherous betray!
    With treachery the treacherous betray!’
17 Terror and pit and snare await you,
    people of the earth.
18 Whoever flees at the sound of terror
    will fall into a pit;
whoever climbs out of the pit
    will be caught in a snare.

The floodgates of the heavens are opened,
    the foundations of the earth shake.
19 The earth is broken up,
    the earth is split asunder,
    the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth reels like a drunkard,
    it sways like a hut in the wind;
so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion
    that it falls – never to rise again.

21 In that day the Lord will punish
    the powers in the heavens above
    and the kings on the earth below.
22 They will be herded together
    like prisoners bound in a dungeon;
they will be shut up in prison
    and be punished after many days.
23 The moon will be dismayed,
    the sun ashamed;
for the Lord Almighty will reign
    on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
    and before its elders – with great glory.

A. Find Out

1. Where does the grape picture occur? v.13
2. What happens across the earth therefore? v.14-16a
3. Yet what does the prophet feel and why? v.16b-18a
4. What does he see happening to the earth? v.18b-20a
5. Why? v.20b
6. So what is he seeing happening? v.21-23

B. Think:

1. What is overall happening in the world here?
2. Yet what signs of hope are there?
3. What is the end outcome?

C. Comment:

This chapter needs to be seen as a whole. We’ve seen that devastation is coming across the whole earth (v.1-12). Yet also so far we’ve seen that there will be a faithful remnant left, as when grapes are picked so there is a remnant left on the trees (v.13).

What we see next is the joy of that remnant (v.14a), a remnant that is found all round the world (v.14b-16). These ones acknowledge the Lord and rejoice in him, BUT the prophet is consumed with the terrible picture that he sees of the destruction of the world, and so great is it that he is unable to join in the celebrations of the saved remnant! He feels like he is wasting away (v.16b) as the treacherous (unbelievers) are destroyed (v.16c-18). We remember the Lord takes no joy in the death of anyone but rather that they repent (See Ezek 18:23,32). Thus there is no joy in this destruction.

But in God’s (final) judgment the earth will suffer upheaval (v.18b-20) because of the rebellion of mankind that prevails (v.20b). On that day the Lord will deal with all – great and small – who are in rebellion, and judgment will come on them, but not until time has passed where, by implication, time is given for them to repent (see v.22 ‘after many days’). There will be signs in the sky (v.23a) but all these things add up to one thing: this is the Lord reigning over all, bringing about His will over this world in rebellion (v.23b,c).

D. Application:

1. God doesn’t delight in bringing death, but it is sometimes necessary.
2. The Lord always gives time for repentance.