Isaiah 24

Summary Though Isaiah has observed the failure of Israel, he zooms out and sees the same flaws in the worldwide scene. Now he looks and sees the entire earth has sinned. “The earth suffers for the sins of its people, for they have twisted God’s instructions, violated his laws, and broken his everlasting covenant" (‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭24‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT)‬‬. Like the time of Noah, Isaiah sees the world falling apart because of human evil so God must respond. God We would like to point the finger in blame and think we have progressed - but the human condition remains. God sees how all the evil is spreading and God can see where all the problems lie. God’s ultimate plan is to delete evil from the universe. When judgment comes God is dealing with the problem of evil. The gods/angels in the heavens, the sun, and the moon - worshipped by many as deities and described here as the competition against God - will be punished. This is significant - the real origin of evil is not God, but Satan. Gospel It is good news that God responds to evil. Jesus looked forward also to his return when he would remove evil once and for all. He also used Noah's day as an example of what he is doing: "As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man." Jesus sitting on His throne and coming to establish his kingdom at his return is good news. It is when he removes the evil of this world. It is first about fighting against the evil opposition of the universe - the forces of Darkness. Reflection How does hope in Jesus change your present struggles?