This chapter can be divided into three sections. Verses 1-4 describe the glorious Millennium Kingdom that the Lord Jesus Christ will establish, with Jerusalem as the center of worship for the whole earth. This promise of Israel’s coming glory leads the prophet to exhort his people in verses 5-9 to “walk in the light of the LORD” instead of walking in idolatry. And then in verses 10-22 the prophet announces the terrible judgments that would precede the coming kingdom because of man’s pride and idol worship. Before the Lord Jesus Christ can sit upon His throne and rule the nations He must humble those who, in their pride, rebelled against Him. Verse 12 says, “For 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.”

How will the ungodly react to God’s judgment? Let’s read verse 10, along with verses 19-21 to answer that question. These verses read, “Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty…And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into 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. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth.” In a word, men will forsake their useless idols and try to hide from God and His wrath. Three times we read that they seek shelter “for the fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty.” They are struck with terror, realizing that their glory days are behind them and that the glory of God is now being revealed. In verses 11 and 17 it is said, “the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.”

This prophecy of impending judgment, when God will arise “to shake terribly the earth,” is spoken of by many of the Old Testament prophets, but the Apostle John was also made to write of this same judgment while imprisoned on the isle of Patmos. Listen to his words in Revelation 6:12-17, “And I beheld when He had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” With graphic detail John echoed the words of Isaiah, showing that men will indeed seek refuge from God’s wrath in the rocks and the caves of the earth. But it will do them no good, for they themselves will ask the question, “who shall be able to stand?” knowing full well that the answer is, NO ONE SHALL STAND!

Will you be there, seeking shelter “from the wrath of the Lamb?” If you are still in your sins, we would plead with you to “seek shelter at the cross of Calvary.” At the cross God’s wrath fell upon His beloved Son, the Lamb of God, and He now bids sinners to take refuge there. If you will come to Christ in true repentance and faith, believing that He took your place in death and judgment, you will have no fear of the coming judgment, for THERE WILL BE NO JUDGMENT FOR YOU! The Lord Jesus Himself assures the believer in John 5:24, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (NASB).  (183.9)  (DO)