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Isaiah 2 … Consider Him, Alone Exalted

The Planting Place
Originally posted: 2/24/2021

The proud look of man will be abased
And the loftiness of man will be humbled,
And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day, (2:11).

What kind of man must Isaiah have been? As the NIV Study Bible states, he was “sometimes referred to as the prince of the prophets.”

Isaiah was conferred the weighty commission of proclaiming God’s impending judgment to a people who had been seduced into the idolatrous practices of the surrounding nations; a people who had rejected God’s truth and standards; a people smug with their position in life, satisfying themselves with their accumulated possessions and acclaiming themselves as safe in the pride of their own strength.

One thing is certain, Isaiah was bold and courageous in his stance against the cultural tide. Surely Isaiah’s fearlessness was founded in what he had been so privileged to see for himself: “The vision of Isaiah…” (Isaiah:1:1).

The writings of Isaiah are not conjecture or speculation on the possibilities of what may transpire. Isaiah had the certainty in what lie ahead, for the Lord had divinely communicated the future to His faithful servant.

And Isaiah’s eyes were opened to see the future, to that day when He Alone would be Exalted, when none would be in a position to dispute.

The proud look of man will be abased
And the loftiness of man will be humbled,
And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day, (2:11).

The pride of man will be humbled
And the loftiness of men will be abased;
And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day, (2:17).

But sill there is promise of hope for those last days, as many will come to the Lord to be taught and learn of His ways.

Now it will come about that
In the last days
The mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established as the chief of the mountains,
And will be raised above the hills;
And all the nations will stream to it.
3 And many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
That He may teach us concerning His ways
And that we may walk in His paths,” (2:2-3).

And I found it striking that not only did Isaiah hear the Word of the Lord, but he saw the Word!

The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, (2:1 emphasis added).

And I wondered, did Isaiah really see the Word? And from the original language I discovered, yes, oh yes he did!

Saw: “2372 דָּבָר Original Word: חָזָה ḥāzāh: to see, perceive, look, behold.”
Word: “1697. דָּבָר dāḇār: A masculine noun meaning word, speech, matter,”
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance

And it hit me; we, like Isaiah, do not have to wait until that day; that day when the pride of man will be humbled, and all the loftiness of men will be abased; that day when all the naysayers, all the atheists, all the pagans, all the skeptics, all the freethinkers, all the unbelievers, and all the heretics will in fact see Him, Alone Exalted.

We do not have to wait for the last days, for we have His Word now, and we too have been granted the privilege to see Him, Alone Exalted, each and every day. And when we see Him, Alone Exalted, we see Jesus!

Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father, (Philippians 2:8-11).

Consider Him, Alone Exalted

because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead, (Acts 17:31).

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world,” (John 16:33).

“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you,” (John 16:13-14).

For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves, (2 Corinthians 4:6-7).

which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come, (Ephesians 1:20-21).

When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades,” (Revelation 1:17-18).

…until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen, (1 Timothy 6:14-16).

How do we respond to Him, Alone Exalted?

While the day is coming when all will see Him as He Is, Alone Exalted, the truth is that from all eternity past, He Was and Is and Will Always Be, Alone Exalted. He does not need anyone to confirm or prove it, for He Himself has done so in His Works and His Word. But He does look for those to whom He can reveal Himself as the One Who Is Alone Exalted. I want to be that one, who sees the Word. I know you do too.

For the sake of Your word, and according to Your own heart, You have done all this greatness to let Your servant know. 22 For this reason You are great, O Lord God; for there is none like You, and there is no God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears, (2 Samuel 7:21-22).

Lord, we don’t want to wait for that day. We ask You to open our eyes today, as we fix our eyes on the eternal hope that we have in You, Alone Exalted.

while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal, (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Lord, we know the enemy is doing everything in his feckless power to blind our eyes from seeing You, Alone Exalted.

 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, (2 Corinthians 4:4).

But oh, how grateful we are that You have given us Your Word to equip and strengthen us that we may live this life always ready for that day, when all will see You, Alone Exalted.

“For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will,” (Matthew 24:34).

And Lord, please may we always be ready to share Your Word, that others would stop regarding self as the help they need for life. Please, Lord, use our lives to share the hope we have in You, Alone Exalted.

Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils;
For why should he be esteemed? (2:22).

but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence, (1 Peter 3:15).

Let’s Grow Together!

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