Yahweh is Coming
As part of his book, Isaiah By The Day, Alec Motyer provides his own translation of Isaiah from the original Hebrew. His translation has been quite helpful for me in understanding the original intention of Isaiah, which, although often times quite different than our typical ESV/NIV translations, brings to life Isaiah’s original language in a way that I haven’t been exposed to before. His section on Isaiah 2: 5-21 was especially striking to me in that it caused me to reflect on how prescient his words are to the events going on in our time and place. Let these words from God’s prophet from several thousand years ago serve as a warning against worldliness in all of the evil forms it may take.
Isaiah 2: 5-21 (translated by Alec Motyer)
House of Jacob,
Come,
Let us walk in Yahweh’s light.
For you have abandoned your people,
The house of Jacob,
Because they are full from the east,
And go fortune telling like the Philistines.
And with the children of foreigners they shake hands,
And their land has become full of silver and gold,
And there is no end to their treasures,
And their land has become full of horses,
And there land has become full of no-gods,
To the work of their hands they bow in worship,
To what their fingers have made!
And humankind is humiliated,
And each individual is demeaned-
Impossible that you should forgive them!
Go into the rock,
And hide yourself in the dust,
Because of apprehension of Yahweh,
And from the splendour of his eminence.
Humankind’s haughty looks will be demeaned
And the cockiness of individuals brought down,
And Yahweh alone will be exalted in that day.
For Yahweh of Hosts has a day
Against everything eminent and lofty,
And against everything uplifted,
And it will be demeaned:
Against all the cedars of The Lebanon
Those lofty and uplifted ones,
And against all the oaks of The Bashan,
And against all the lofty mountains,
And against all the uplifted hills
And against every tall tower,
And against every fortified wall
And against all the ships of Tarshish,
And against all coveted craft.
And the haughtiness of humankind will be humiliated,
And the cockiness of individuals will be demeaned,
And Yahweh alone will be exalted in that day.
And the no-gods will totally pass away.
And they will go into the caves in the rocks,
And into the holes in the dust
Because of apprehension of Yahweh
And from the splendour of his eminence
When he rises to terrify the earth.
In that day
Humankind will throw away
Each his no-gods of silver and his no-gods of gold,
Which they made each for himself in order to bow in worship,
To the mice and to the bats,
To go into the tunnels in the rock
And into the clefts in the cliffs,
Because of apprehension of Yahweh
And from the splendour of his eminence,
When he rises to terrify the earth.
If you will allow me a bit of liberty with this one I’d like to “update” this text so it’s easier to understand for the 21st century reader. I do not seek to alter the unchanging nature of God’s Word; I only want to show how we have fallen into the same trap that God’s people did when Isaiah prophesied to them.
Tim’s version:
House of Abraham (children of God by faith!)
Come,
Let us walk in the light of Yahweh’s presence,
For Yahweh has turned you over to the lusts of your hearts,
The children of Abraham,
Because they chose rather, the dim light of the world,
And the wisdom of Big Tech and the mainstream media.
And they joined hands with unbelievers to accomplish God’s commands,
And their land has been “blessed” by the gods of this world,
And there is no end to their treasures (those to be consumed by fire, moth, and rust),
And their land has become full of luxury vehicles,
And there is no end to their playthings,
And their hearts have become full of man-made gods,
To these gods they bow in holy reverence,
To what their minds have concocted, or rather, what their hearts esteem!
And all mankind is rightfully humiliated by their behavior,
And from the lowest to the highest, each human should be ashamed-
Do not forgive these transgressions, Yahweh!
Go into a cave,
And stick your face in the ground where it belongs,
Because of your fear of the Holy One-Yahweh,
And from the majesty of His Presence.
Mankind’s arrogance will be destroyed,
And the cockiness of the individual torn down,
And the Supreme Ruler of the universe-Yahweh-alone will be exalted.
For The Day of Yahweh is impending,
Against all works of sin,
And against everything the world holds dear,
And it will be utterly destroyed,
All of your expensive cars,
And the Instagram stars you so highly regard,
Against all the bulwarks of the welfare state,
All of the “promises” of the government,
Your 401k,
Your financial planner,
All of the preparation you have done apart from Yahweh,
And the might of your military to protect your life.
The arrogance of mankind will be brought low,
And the cockiness of the individual will be torn down,
And Yahweh alone will stand and be worshiped.
And the gods of man will die to the uttermost.
People will hide wherever they can,
Even in the pits of the earth
Because of their fear of the terrible Yahweh
And from the majestic splendour of his presence,
When he returns to terrify everyone on planet earth.
In that day
Mankind will rid themselves of their idols,
The idols they each made out of pleasure and lust to worship instead of Yahweh,
They will cast them down into the trash heap for the roaches to feast on,
And down into the sewers where the filth of humans belong,
Because of real and present fear of Yahweh,
And the majestic presence of their Creator,
When Yahweh returns to terrify and punish all sin and wrongdoing.
You know God’s Word is true, Christian. He is going to return and expose all the evil deeds of man. Turn from your idols, cast them into the trash where they belong, while you still have time. For the works of our hands are a poor comfort when our Creator pulls the veil of darkness off our hearts to expose what each man has wrought during his short pilgrimage on this earth. Trust not in the wisdom of the world, your money and investments, your insurance plan, your cushy existence, or your country’s military capability. None of those can withstand the terrible presence of Yahweh. Find your insurance and assurance in the Word of God alone. ‘Turn you eyes upon Jesus; look full in his wonderful face’-not by your emotions or personal preference, but by the Emmaus way:
“They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’” Luke 24:31