Isaiah 2 records two contrasting
prophecies. The chapter opens with the prophet’s wonderful vision of the last
days, a time when a temple, the mountain of the Lord’s house, would be established
in the tops of the mountains. He sees that all nations are drawn to the temple
to worship and be taught (2:2-3). He further describes the great millennial
theocracy of peace that will ensue when the Messiah judges the nations and they
forsake violence and war (2:4).
Isaiah then contrasts that
wonderful vision of a future of peace, hope, and righteousness with the people’s
current spiritual state and practices. He condemns them for looking for
guidance, instruction, and happiness in the teachings and ways of foreign nations
(2:6). He laments their infatuation with wealth and weapons (2:7) and decries
their pride and idolatry (2:8-9). With vivid language and imagery he describes
the panic, fear, and embarrassment that will befall such wicked people in the “day
of the Lord” (2:12). (Terry Ball and Nathan Will, Making Sense of Isaiah:
Insights and Modern Applications [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2009], 14,
emphasis in bold added)