Isaiah 24 And The Cost Of Pride

The world loves a simple story where we fix everything, take the credit, and move on. Isaiah 24 won’t let us do that. We open a hard chapter that describes the earth mourning, joy going dark, and pride collapsing, and we ask a direct question: what happens when people keep taking God’s gifts while refusing God Himself? Pastor Carl connects Isaiah’s warning to our own moment, including the temptation to say, “It was us, not God,” as if wisdom, breath, and time were self-made. 

We also slow down and talk about the deeper roots beneath the headlines: the curse that began with the fall, the way sin defiles what we touch, and the danger of “changing the rules” to serve ourselves. At the same time, the message keeps pulling back to the gospel. God has spoken, warned, invited, and made a way through Jesus, and even when we frustrate the covenant through unbelief, the invitation remains open to “whosoever will” repent and trust Christ. 

Then the tone turns in a surprising direction. Isaiah shows a remnant that lifts their voice and sings for the majesty of the Lord even as judgment unfolds, because God’s justice also means evil will not rule forever. We trace the images of fear, the pit, and the snare, touch the parallels with Revelation, and remember the flood as a global judgment that reshaped the world, pointing ahead to what Scripture says is still coming. 

If you want a Bible study on Isaiah 24 that’s honest about judgment but anchored in grace and mercy, come listen. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs hope with backbone, and leave a review with the biggest question you’re still carrying.

Come On Up is the radio ministry of The Mountain Cross in Waynesville North Carolina. To learn more about us please visit: TheMountainCross.com. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, and we shall walk in his paths.

SPEAKER_02 0:13

Welcome to Come On Up, the radio ministry of the Mountain Cross in Waynesville, North Carolina.

SPEAKER_01 0:20

He blesses and he blesses and he blesses, and yet we turn away from him, and yet we shake our fists at him as mankind. May Lord have mercy on us. And he does. That's why this hasn't happened yet. He's long-suffering, not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to a knowledge of him. And those that do have a knowledge of him, that they would fully surrender again and again, rededicate their lives and serve him wholeheartedly. That is the heart of the Lord.

SPEAKER_02 0:49

If a woman keeps turning down a guy's advances and his proposal, eventually he might find himself losing interest and deciding to move on. Now, just take a moment to consider all those millions of folks out there who continue to turn away from Jesus. Have you ever thought about why Jesus never gives up on them? Today, Pastor Carl tells you about God's love. His grace and mercy overflow for you, all stemming from the deep love God has for you. He'll never give up on you. And now, here's Pastor Carl.

SPEAKER_01 1:28

Well, we're back in our study of Isaiah. We'll be in Isaiah chapter 24, and beginning at verse 1, it says, Behold, the Lord makes the earth empty, and makes it waste, distorts its surface, and scatters abroad its inhabitants. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest, as with the servant, so with the master, as with the maid, so with her mistress, as with the buyer, so with the seller, as with the lender, so with the borrower, as with the creditor, so with the debtor. The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered, for the Lord has spoken this word. The Lord has spoken, the Lord has warned, the Lord has invited, the Lord has made a way, the Lord came to earth, he became a man, he died for us on the cross, he paid for the sin of all mankind, and he rose again on the third day. That's what we celebrated. And for all who believe, they could walk in that blessing. But for all that don't, judgment is around the corner. And here we see when this happens, it'll affect the whole world. It doesn't matter how rich you are, it doesn't matter how powerful you are, it doesn't matter if you're rich or poor, if you're the buyer or seller, it's gonna affect the whole world. Verse 4, the earth mourns and fades away, the world languishes and fades away. Haughty people of the earth languish. The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant, and therefore the curse has devoured the earth, and those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore, all the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and a few men are left. This is devastating. This is and you see in verse six, this is a cause, a natural outpouring of what happens when we continue walking in the curse. What curse? The curse from the very beginning. The very beginning where Adam and Eve bit of the forbidden fruit. And so humans, mankind, have fallen. They've fallen and the earth has been cursed as a result of what they have done. And if we continue walking in that fallness and not repent and not turn and not accept the grace of God that He's given us, then this is a natural outpouring of what's going to happen. This is a result of the haughty minds, the sinful man, and how the sin devours the earth. The curse is devouring the earth. And the earth is mourning and fading away in verse 4 because of this. The world languishes and fades away, and haughty people of the earth languish as well. The haughty, the proud. Recently, this week, an official from a state that I'm not going to mention was commenting on how the curve is going down in our fight against the virus. And he said something along the lines of, it was not God that is turning this around. It was not faith. It was not wishful thinking. It was us. And the work that we've done. That's haughtiness. That's haughtiness. Now, you could say, we didn't just sit there and pray on the couch. We did stuff. And that is faith. As God guides you and directs you into doing things, you go do the things that He's called you to do. You use the wisdom that He's given you to find what are the wise things to do in this situation. And doing some of these mitigations that we've been doing around the world have helped cut the number down. Yes. However, we need to acknowledge that God has given us brains. God has given us wisdom. And God has given us a breath to breathe and mouths to speak, to communicate with one another. If you look at it directly or indirectly, God is still involved in everything that's happened in bringing this virus down. I believe it's the prayers of God's people that have been asking God to turn this thing around and He's been gracious to turn it around. But He's been using people that are using these measures. We're not meeting because we we think it's it's wise not to meet, and it's wise also to obey the governing authorities. But when we say, hey, God had nothing to do with this, it was all our doing. We're in a dangerous place, ladies and gentlemen. The haughtiness of this world, the haughty people of the earth will languish. And what does languish mean? It means to be weak, to droop, to be or grow feeble. Haughty folks usually think they're strong. And I say they because we don't want to consider ourselves haughty, but the truth is we are to some degree. We have pride in our lives that we still fight with. We say, I could do this and I can make it happen. And we ignore the Lord, don't we? Well, maybe you don't, but at times I do, and the Lord points it out, and sometimes I don't even notice I'm doing it. And I have to pray and say, Lord, I'm sorry. I can do nothing without you. He said, I can do nothing without you. But with everything I could, and with you, I can do all things. And so we need to be careful. The haughtiness, the strength, the might we think we have, we have not built ourselves, we have not created ourselves. God has given us everything that we have. Every person, if they're serving God or not, has the power to live thanks to the grace of God. Because he holds all things together by the power of his word. If we acknowledge it or not, better for us to acknowledge it so we can walk in his blessing and know him and fellowship with him. But please don't say that when God is bringing healing on this world, that he's not bringing healing on this world. The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants. It isn't God necessarily that's destroying the world, we are. And then this is interesting because we'll talk about this later, but we go from one extreme to another. We blame it all on God, but then we say, we need to be careful on how we do things in the world because we can destroy the world, thinking that we can actually destroy the world. We can do a lot of damage, but God holds all things together. We can't destroy the world, that's pretty haughty, too. But we can make a mess so that the earth is defiled under its inhabitants, because why? They have transgressed the laws. The laws given to us by God because He has this for our good in mind. We changed the ordinances, we we played, we changed the rules in order to benefit us or me. You know, we we we say we care about everybody else, but we really only care about ourselves, especially in our fallenness, that is what I'm talking about. You know, look out for number one, right? And they've broken the everlasting covenant. They've transgressed the laws, they've changed the ordinances, they've broken the everlasting covenant. Another word for broken is they frustrated it, they make it ineffective. Because you can't break an everlasting covenant, but you can frustrate it, you can cause it not to work to the degree that it should work, right? And which covenant are we talking about? Well, the truth is there are many covenants in the word that were described as an everlasting covenant, and I believe this is a uh a culmination of them all. It's this is are we trusting God for what He has agreed to do with us? I mean, the new covenant in his blood is, you know, I'm gonna take on the sins of the world, I'm gonna fulfill the law because you couldn't. And in me, you're perfect, in me, you get the righteousness of God. Now that's the ultimate covenant that all the other covenants lead to, right? And so we break that covenant by not accepting it. But it it doesn't make the covenant void. The covenant still is, whosoever will. If we trust God, he's made a way, he's the way maker, right? And and if we we trust him, we obey him, we walk in his ways, then we will experience this forgiveness and this wholeness. But if we don't, if we frustrate it, it's gonna affect our lives, right? And it's gonna affect those around us, and as we can see here, it affects the whole world. But it doesn't break the covenant, the covenant is still intact and it's still good for whosoever will repent and turn to Jesus. He is there for us, and he desires to work. Therefore, the curse has devoured the earth, and those who are who dwell in it are desolate. Why? Because they've broken the covenant, they frustrated the covenant, they made it ineffective in their lives. And that's what we're seeing in these verses. Verse 7 says, The new wine fails, the vine languishes, and all the merry-hearted sigh, the mirth of the tambourine ceases, the noise of the jubilant end, the joy of the harp ceases, they shall not drink wine with a song. Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it. The city of confusion is broken down, and every house is shut up, so that none may go in it. There's a lot here, but it's basically saying the celebrations end. The celebrations without God end. The celebrations that say, hey, let's live it up, let's party, let's have a good time, let's sing some songs, because songs bring joy and peace and wonder, but let's ignore God in the midst of this. Are we not in that place in our world today? We just want to party, we just want to celebrate life without the life giver. Because the life giver doesn't like my lifestyle, because the life giver and those who follow that guy are just judgmental and they just shake their finger at us. So we're gonna drink, we're gonna party, we're gonna do our own. And the city of confusion is the place that they live. Their lives are full of confusion because they think that they're doing what's right, what they're allowed to do, what they want to do. And the truth is they're believing a lie, and ultimately it's broken down, and everyone is stuck in their house. Which again is a picture of what we're going, what we're doing today, right? Um, I I believe that again this is a a sign of the Lord saying, please listen, come and and let's reason together. You know, your your sins are as are as a scarlet, but let's I have a way to make them white as snow. Do you not realize the direction that you're headed in as a society? Do you not recognize that you're pushing me away? But I'm gonna allow some things to happen in order for you to stop and think and maybe reconsider the direction that you're going. As we're locked up in our house, in our houses, may we take the time to slow down and ask God, what have I missed? Lord, how am I not trusting you? How am I rebelling against you? Please forgive me and change my heart. Verse 11 says, There's a cry for wine in the streets, all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone, the city of desolation, in the city desolation is left, and the gate is stricken with destruction, 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 gone. When the vintage is done. Everything is going to be used up. When when uh you go and you harvest grapes, um it's like the uh the vine is shaken and all the grapes are gone and nothing is left. There's no joy, there's no no desire, there's no there's no celebration anymore, and people are longing for it. They're they're crying for wine, but there is no wine. We're crying for toilet paper, but there's no toilet paper. But the deal is this is what happens when when we make an idol out of something that is not God. When we lift up these false gods in our lives where where we look for fulfillment in life in these things, in these attitudes, in these celebrations, and yet we totally ignore the Lord. It leads to desolation, it leads to nothingness, it leads to you know a life that the Lord wants to bless. And he blesses and he blesses and he blesses, and yet we turn away from him, and yet we shake our fists at him as mankind. May Lord have mercy on us. And he does, that's why this hasn't happened yet. He's long-suffering, not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to a knowledge of him. And those that do have a knowledge of him, that they would fully surrender again and again, rededicate their lives and serve him wholeheartedly. That is the heart of the Lord. And then something interesting happens. Uh I have a tendency to see the evil that's ahead, and I have a tendency to call it out. And a lot of times um it seems like overkill, what I say and what I do. And I miss how God is working in the midst. God is working all around us in the midst of judgment. His grace and his mercy is there and alive. He's keeping people alive. The sun is still coming up, the plants are still blooming. You know, nature is continuing on. And God is continuing to draw hearts to himself. He's not giving up on us. He loves us. And in this time, there will be a group of people that uh recognize the truth of who Jesus is and the truth of what's going on in the situation. And in verse 14, it's these people, they shall lift up their voice and they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord. These people, this remnant that would be in this time of the great tribulation that came to faith after the church was taken away, these people recognize the hand of the Lord at work. And these people who recognize who Jesus is and recognize the judgment that is happening, they will praise God. Why do we praise God for judgment coming? Well, don't we always ask why does God allow all this evil in the world? Well, at some point he won't. At some point, the evil will be done away with. And that's what's happening in this part of our story here. That's what's going to happen in the future. When judgment comes, it's part of removing evil completely from the world. And the people of God will celebrate and say, God, you are good. God, you are accurate, God, you said this would happen, and it's happening. And you are saving those who trust in you, and you're destroying the evil one and those who follow Him. They shall lift 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. People all over the world will be here that recognize the Lord and that praise him for the goodness of who he is. In the midst of this darkness, in the midst of these plagues, in the midst of the judgment that's poured out by the wrath of God, there will be people here praising God. And even now, in the midst of what's going on in our world, we definitely can stop and say, Glory to the righteous. The Lord, you are you are holy, you are the God of creation, you are the majestic Lord, and and and you love us and you're at work and and you're drawing hearts to yourself. So we praise you. We praise you that you haven't given up on us and just completely destroy us with one fail swoop. Because you would be right and just to do so. But because you're full of mercy and full of righteousness and and grace, you have mercy on us, and you're working. And may you draw other people to you during this time, Lord. Because your ways are not our ways, your ways are higher than our ways, your thoughts are higher than our thoughts. We trust you and we thank you for the work that you're doing. It it affects our lives, it affects you know our plans, and yet God is doing something so much greater than we can ever imagine. Don't get caught up in all the bad that's happening. I'm talking to myself now. But look at what God is using for good. Look at how he's using it to draw people to himself, look at how he's using it to differentiate between evil and good. God is righteous, he alone is holy. We should worship him, he deserves it. We deserve something else, don't we? Verse 17 but I said, I am ruined, ruined, woe to me. This is actually part of 16 still. The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously. Indeed, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously. He wanted to make this. I mean, I think Isaiah has the same problem. He sees the goodness of God, he sees working, but there's still evil happening. Look, we're talking about all this thing, we're talking about how good God is and what he's about to do, and yet, and yet they continue. They continue to go down this path. Why haven't they woken up? Treacherous, another word for that is traitorous or or deceivers. The deceivers have deceived themselves. They continue to believe the lie. Oh Lord, would you open up eyes to see and ears to hear that you are true? You are faithful. There is none beside you. Oh, we need you, Lord. Now verse 17. Fear and the pit. Fear and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitants of the earth. And it shall be that he who flees from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit, and he who comes up from the midst of the pit shall be caught in the snare, for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth are shaken. Here's an idea that, you know, and he's he's referring to an unbelieving world here. They see all the things, these things coming at them, and they and they try to hide themselves from it. They try to do something else to save themselves from the things that are happening, and yet they go one place, they get caught in another place. We cannot escape our own sin. The only place we find safety is in the Lord. He is our merciful Savior, He is our strong tower, He is our safety net, He's the One that we go after. And yet, if you're not trusting in the Lord, if you believe there is no God and we did this, then you're going to fall into more traps and fall into the pit. And as we go through this, there are a lot of pictures of similar passages that we see in Revelation. And in Revelation, who comes out of the pit? None other than the dragon. So you have the dragon, you have the Antichrist, you have Satan indwelling these people or creatures or whatever it is. There's a lot of pictures going on in the book of Revelation. But the fact is that the enemy comes out and he deceives many. And yet he shall be caught in the snare. He will not be victorious in this, even though he leads so many astray. He will be caught. And the last part of this verse is very interesting. For the windows from on high are open, and the foundation of the earth are shaken. Does that sound familiar? Do you remember the first time that there was a global judgment? Do you remember the flood? Do you remember some of the terminology about when the rain started? What happened? The heavens were open. And the foundations of the earth were split apart and water was gushing from everywhere. That's what caused the flood. And what did God promise after the flood? He would no longer flood the earth, right? He didn't say he would no longer judge the earth, but he wouldn't judge them with a flood anymore. But now, as you see in the book of Peter, fire is the judgment that's coming in the end. But these same sort of things, the windows from on high will be open and the foundation of the earth will be shaken. The world will not be the same after this judgment. The world was not the same after the flood. And the earth as we know it will not be the same.

SPEAKER_02 24:15

Isaiah is an important book for us to read in the Old Testament because this is where we read many prophecies about the coming Messiah. While we now know Jesus as our one and true Messiah, the people who originally read Isaiah's prophecies did not know when the promised Savior would arrive. So while the book of Isaiah calls the nation of Israel to repentance, it also inspires its readers to have hope in the coming Messiah who will establish a new heavenly kingdom on earth. Well, if you would like to learn more about what it means to follow this Messiah we know as Jesus, we have some resources online to help get you started. Just visit us at themountaincross.com and head to our How to Know God tab. You can also find a link to our podcast feed in case you want to catch up on past teachings from Pastor Carl. If you'd like to get connected with us in person, we'd love to have you join us here at the Mountain Cross. We meet every Sunday at 10 a.m. at the Smoky Mountain Cinema in Waynesville, North Carolina. We also host a Faith Film Night on the first Monday of each month. To learn about our next film, visit us online or search for Faith Film Night on Facebook. Thanks for tuning in today. Well, that's all for today. Come on up to the mountain with us again next time as we seek to learn more from the Lord through His Word. Come on Up is sponsored by the Mountain Cross, a Calvary Chapel fellowship.