Isaiah 25-27
A tale of two cities…
In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
Isaiah 26:1-6
“We have a strong city;
He sets up salvation
as walls and bulwarks.
Open the gates,
that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.
You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on You,
because he trusts in You.
Trust in the LORD forever,
for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.
For He has humbled
the inhabitants of the height,
the lofty city.
He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,
casts it to the dust.
The foot tramples it,
the feet of the poor,
the steps of the needy.”
There is the strong city where the LORD sets up salvation as walls and bulwarks. The righteous live there, those who keep faith and who trust in the LORD. And there is the lofty city, with its proud inhabitants, whom the LORD humbles. He lays this city low to the ground, casts it to the dust so that even the poor and needy can trample it underfoot.
I have yet to read Augustine’s The City of God, so I am a bit reluctant to bring it up, but speaking from ignorance has not stopped me before. Let’s just say that Augustine describes two systems at war with one another. One is holy, the other unholy. One is the City of God, the other the Earthly City. One is the work of the LORD, the other the work of man.
We see this conflict throughout our reading today. The LORD is extolled for making one city a heap of ruins, never to be rebuilt. (Isaiah 25:2) But He is a stronghold for the poor and needy. (Isaiah 25:4) We see the LORD laying out a feast for all peoples on “this mountain” (presumably Zion, Jerusalem). (Isaiah 25:6) But we see Moab trampled down in judgment. (Isaiah 25:10-12) We see the path of the righteous made level and the world learning righteousness. (Isaiah 26:7-9) But we see that the wicked do not so learn. (Isaiah 26:10-11)
Two different “cities”. Two different ways of relating to the LORD. Two different destinies.
In which city are you living?