Isaiah 2:12, commentary and pictures

The day of the Lord of hosts will come upon everyone who is proud and lofty and lifted up, and will bring them low until human haughtiness is bowed down and the Lord alone is exalted. That humbling reaches everything high in creation and in human work, and it utterly abolishes idols, so that men cast away their gods of silver and gold and hide in rocks and caves for fear of the Lord and the glory of His majesty when He arises to shake the earth. The great day is certain and near at hand, a day of terror and judgment for the wicked when all classes from kings and nobles to rich and poor alike will bow under His judgments amid increasing war and confusion of nations. Therefore it calls for turning to the Lord now with all the heart in repentance and humble obedience, ceasing from man whose breath is in his nostrils and walking as a separate and holy people who study His Word earnestly and obey Him with heart and soul.

Humbling of Human Pride

The day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty and upon every one that is lifted up, and he shall be brought low. That coming meets the proud and the arrogant and the powerful and the self-confident, leaving none of the exalted untouched. In that day lofty looks of men are humbled and the haughtiness of men is bowed down, while the Lord alone is exalted. The wicked are overwhelmed with terror before His presence and majesty and seek shelter from it.

The humbling reaches everything that is high and lifted up both in creation and in human work. It comes upon the cedars of Lebanon and the oaks, upon the mountains and the hills, upon every high tower and every fenced wall, upon the ships of Tarshish and upon all pleasant pictures, bringing them low. Idols shall be utterly abolished in that day. Men shall cast away their idols of silver and of gold, even casting them to the moles and to the bats, and shall enter into the rock and hide in the dust and go into the holes of the rocks and the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth. This shows that man, whose breath is in his nostrils, is not to be accounted of, and men must cease from man and look not to men but to God.

In Isaiah's time this warning met pride and love of display that had grown alongside oppression and wealth. The Lord's day of judgment was declared against all who displayed their wealth and status and lifted themselves up.

Near Final Judgment

What is outlined will certainly come to pass, and the great day is at hand and near, so it is to be studied carefully now before it is too late. The nearness calls for earnest attention while there is still time to understand what is coming upon the world.

It is a day of terror and judgment for the wicked, who are overwhelmed by fear of God's presence and majesty and seek shelter from it. The proud and powerful are brought low while the Lord alone is exalted, and in that confrontation the arrogant and exalted cannot stand.

All classes will bow, from kings and nobles to rich and poor alike, and God's plagues and judgments will fall upon them. No rank exempts from the humbling, for human pride and loftiness are brought down together.

Its fulfillment comes amid increasing war and bloodshed and confusion of nations, each seeking to outdo the other for the benefits of possession. This grows out of an intensifying warfare between those carrying out Satan's planning and those upholding God's will, preparing for the last great battle. The warning speaks to those who had great light yet chose unbelief until they cannot tell light from darkness.

Call to Humble Obedience

The coming of the day upon everyone that is proud and lofty and lifted up to bring him low is a summons to turn to the Lord with all the heart with fasting and weeping and mourning and with a rent and broken heart. The ground of that turning is that He is gracious and merciful and slow to anger. In the last days the same day calls for walking in obedience to His will, maintaining loyalty uncorrupted as a separate and holy people who show forth His praises.

It directs believers to make the Word of God their earnest study. It directs them to look not to men but to God, and to obey Him with heart and soul, and it is to be read together with verses 19-22. It applies to all whose hearts remain unhumbled and whose high looks have not been brought down, including the proud and self-confident who will be brought low.