Isaiah 24:14-16: But I said, “I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me!
Isaiah 24:14-16 New International Version 14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the Lord’s majesty. 15 Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; exalt the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea. 16 From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.” But I said, “I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me! The treacherous betray! With treachery the treacherous betray!”
Up until this point Isaiah has written and spoken about the coming judgement of the Lord upon the wicked. But now we see the righteous are rejoicing. They are rejoicing in all directions. When we choose to live for God and His ways, we can stand back and examine society and wonder why it seems the wicked prosper. We are not the first to ask this question or wonder this. But God in His mercy gives the wicked time to repent. God doesn’t take pleasure in the destruction of the wicked. But there is an appointed hour when God will bring judgement and when He does, there will be great rejoicing from those who have held fast to His ways and have chosen to live for Him.
The call to glorify the Lord goes forth to all the earth to lift up and honor His name. The God of Israel is the one true God. Throughout human history man has rejected the worship of the Living God and instead worshipped the creation over the creator. This has led to great wickedness on the earth. But in the end it is the Lord alone who will be worshipped and glorified. It is the Messiah who will rule from Jerusalem with a rod of iron. God gives people time to repent and turn their hearts for Him. What He desires is a relationship and if we are truly saved and in relationship with the Living God, we will make a decision to live for Him.
Isaiah writes from the end of the earth we hear singing. The song is Glory to the Righteous One. God is being praised all throughout the earth. But Isaiah says “I waste away, Woe to me, The treacherous betray, with treachery the treacherous betray”. Isaiah is seeing the suffering and destruction that is coming before God is praised throughout the earth. Before the coming rule and reign of the Messiah the judgement of God will be poured out upon the earth. Those who remain on the earth will not be able to escape that which is coming. Now is a time of God’s grace and mercy. Now is a time in which the gospel is being proclaimed throughout the earth and God has made a way for man to be saved and delivered from an eternity separated from Almighty God.
But sadly many choose to reject it. They love this world and their lives more than the Living God. The way God always separates those that are His from those that are not is based solely on those who respond to the word of the Lord. Some treat the word of God flippantly and fail to understand the beauty, majesty, and power found in God’s word. But when we do respond accordingly and properly to the word of God, it is a work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is a work of God’s grace. In our brokenness and moral bankruptcy this is impossible. But with the Living God nothing is impossible. He has made a way for us to escape the coming judgement and eternal separation that are a result of wickedness and sin. It is all found through His precious Son Jesus Christ.