God’s Word for You
Isaiah 2:12-16 The truest humility
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Wednesday, December 11, 2024
12 For there is a day coming for the LORD of Armies,
a day against everyone who is proud and arrogant,
against everyone who is exalted.
They will be humbled.
13 Against all the cedars of Lebanon, so tall and lofty,
against all the oaks of Bashan,
14 against all the high mountains,
against all the lofty hills,
15 against every high tower,
against every fortified wall,
16 against all the ships of Tarshish,
and against all the great ships.
Isaiah turns completely now to the final judgment. This is the day, which he calls “the day for the LORD of Armies.” The totality of the judgment is expressed with ten things that the Lord will be “against” (Hebrew ‘al, עַל). Ten is the number usually depicting completeness in the Bible (Ten Commandments, the “ten days” of Revelation 2:10; the “ten rulers” of Ecclesiastes 7:19, and so on). So the symbol here is of God condemning all creation, the totality of the creation, on account of the stain of sin, which affects mankind (the proud and the exalted, vs. 12), the trees (cedars of Lebanon, oaks of Bashan, vs. 13), the mountains and hills (vs. 14), structures of man (towers and walls, vs. 15) and inventions of man (ships of various kinds, vs. 16). Notice that when men are mentioned directly, “the proud and arrogant… the exalted,” an extra judgment is included: “they will be humbled.”
For more than poetic reasons, Isaiah includes a description with each of the ten items. Each one of these suggests either the arrogance of man or a potential refuge which will not avail him. Man himself is proud, arrogant, and exalted (an incidental example of Isaiah’s habit of extending a pair into a triplet; something the prophet has in common with the book of Jude in the New Testament). The trees of Lebanon, like arrogant men, are “tall and lofty,” and the trees of Bashan are not just any trees, but oaks—renowned for their sturdiness and strength. But it will not help on judgment day (recall Adam trying to hide under the trees in the Garden).
Not just mountains and hills, but high mountains and lofty hills, the highest of the high, will be of no use for refuge or protection against the Lord’s judgment on that day. In Daniel 11:36-45, the King Who Exalts Himself (the Antichrist) will pitch his tents on a mountain, but he will not escape the judgment on that day, for “no one will help him” (Daniel 11:45).
So, too, with the defenses man builds; even high towers and fortified, reinforced, walls. None of this will help on judgment day. Recall the arrogance of man trying to build the Tower of Babel (perhaps as an attempt to avoid the ravages of a flood like the one Noah survived).
Finally, the ships will not provide any escape. The “ships of Tarshish” were the sturdiest vessels that sailed the farthest. Tarshish was as far west as man knew about; today it is called Spain. And the city of Tarshish seems to correspond with even the most distant part of that distant land, ancient Gades (Cadiz) on the Atlantic coast, some fifty miles north of the Straight of Gibraltar. But there is nowhere for man to run to, nowhere for man to hide on that day.
The other ship in verse 16 is less certain to us. The word for “ship” there is sakiyah (שְׂכִיּוֹת), which might be related to words like sukkah “harpoon” or sakkin “knife.” Gish-ma is also a word for wooden sailing ship in the Akkadian and Sumerian languages. These might suggest a slender ship, even whaling ship or a fighting warship of some kind. The descriptor is less helpful. This is hemdah (הַחֶמְדָּה) “beautiful; sleek.” Perhaps in this context, is could be taken to mean the best of ships.
The reader may have noticed that for all of this talk of judgment, it is the proud, the arrogant, the exalted who must be brought low. But we must be careful that we Christians do not become smug about this distinction, for as soon as we do the Devil pulls on his string and pop! goes the trap and we are caught being proud and arrogant ourselves, and we find that we have exalted ourselves, even if only in our minds. We can say with Anne Boleyn, “‘Tis better to be lowly born, and range with humble livers in content than… wear a golden sorrow” (Henry VIII, II:3), but if we think that a humble birth is virtuous of itself, we are wrong. True Christian humility is a status in the heart, not in one’s address or circumstances of life. True humility places Christ first and the needs of others ahead of one’s own needs. True humility keeps the word of God out of thanks to Christ for what he has done, not to earn or to coerce anything from him.
True humility does not envy the tree its towering height or its great strength. True humility sees the blessings God gives even to a tree. We praise God for such blessings, and notice that God has blessed us with still more. True humility does not envy the mountains because they are even taller and stronger and mightier and more ancient than the trees, but praises God that he has given trees and mountains to men to use, to delight in, and to be blessed with.
True humility does not look on the inventions of mankind—towers, walls, ships, and so on—and think, how could I put such things to use for my own benefit? True humility either thinks, how can I use such things for the benefit of God’s kingdom, or else says, praise God that such things can benefit so many!
The truest humility asks for whatever blessing God gives, and is content with it no matter how small it seems to be. The truest humility rejoices in the forgiveness of sins, and to all other blessings, says with perfect sincerity: “Crumbs, crumbs are enough.” Our Lord comes again to judge, and to bless those with faith. Come, Lord Jesus!
Behold, he comes.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.