PRAISING GOD in the MIDST of JUDGMENT
July 23 Bible Reading: Isaiah Chapters 22-24
PRAISING GOD in the MIDST of JUDGMENT
"When it shall be thus in the midst of
the land among the people, it shall be like the shaking of an olive tree, like
the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done. They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing; for the majesty of
the Lord they shall cry aloud from the sea. Therefore glorify the Lord in the
dawning light, the name of the Lord God of Israel in the coastlands of the sea.
From the ends of the earth we have heard songs: "Glory to the
righteous!" (Isaiah 24:13-16)
The four
chapters from Isaiah 24 to 27 form one continuous poetical prophecy. In
particular, Isaiah 24 is descriptive of the dispersion and successive
calamities of the Jews (vv. 1-12); the preaching of the Gospel by the first
Hebrew converts throughout the world (vv. 13-16); the judgments on the
adversaries of the Church, and the final triumph of the Church (vv. 16-23).
What we can
understand from Isaiah 24:13-16 is that God’s intervention and judgment will not
be dreaded by everyone. The prophecy of gloom and doom is interrupted by the
sound of a distant song of praise by a redeemed remnant as they sing the
praises of Jehovah for His saving grace. From the east to the west (and
everywhere in between) a believing
remnant will glorify God for His righteous actions. Those who had been persecuted and oppressed by the world will rejoice
to see God’s punishment of the wicked.
This passage
in Isaiah is thus a prophetical reference to the fact there will be a righteous
remnant that will remain in this earth who will suffer through the Great
Tribulation. This remnant that remains shall lift up their voice and shall sing
in recognition of God’s divine deliverance of them from the Great Tribulation. The
new song that they sing is in response to God’s act of salvation (see Isaiah
12; 35:6; 42:10–13; 44:23; 49:13; 52:8, 9; 65:14). The reference to the “ends of the earth” (v. 16) emphasizes
the universal nature of the prophecy in this passage. The phrase “glory to the righteous” (v. 16) refers to
the righteous people of God who have lived to please God.
The lesson for us from this passage
is that we should love God and be willing to suffer for the sake of righteousness
to escape the coming judgment of God against the wicked!
We have this wonderful assurance given by our Lord Jesus himself: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matt 5:10) Here’s another prophecy by Jesus concerning the upcoming tribulation: "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened." (Matt 24:21-22)
