In the chapters of Isaiah leading up to our reading for this morning, God is speaking words of judgment against Egypt and Cush, Babylon, Tyre and Sidon and Jerusalem itself. But here, in our reading for this morning, God lets us know that His judgment will not be limited to the nations surrounding His people. It will extend through all the earth, pouring out upon every nation and making no distinction of class or caste. All the world will stand before the judgment of God and all men who are found faithless will face the same destructive power of God’s justice. The wrath of God will devour the priest and the layman, the slave and master alike. It will devour the buyer and seller alike. The high and the low will be equally torn apart and no songs of joy, no wine of gladness will be found in any of their camps.
This is a stern warning to all of us. Your money cannot save you. Your poverty cannot save you. Your power cannot save you. Your victimhood cannot save you. Your earthly failures cannot save you. Your earthly triumphs cannot save you. The only thing that can save you from the wrath of God is God Himself. The only thing that has spared you from God’s wrath is the Son of God who received His Father’s wrath upon the cross and who drank the cup of judgment for you.
And because of this, then in Isaiah’s words can be more than just a stern warning to us. They can also be a beautiful picture of what the day of judgment is going to look like for those who believe.
What will happen on that day? Those who were torn apart by a thousand earthly divisions will be made one in Christ, lifted up from the grave by the same Savior, clothed in the same shining robe of His righteousness. On that day, pastors and their sheep will share the same priestly garments, slaves and their masters will embrace each other as brothers in Christ. Buyers and sellers will put down their mammon and equally share the eternal riches of Christ’s forgiveness. On that day, the high and low will together be brought higher than high, lifted up into the eternal kingdom of the Lord who melted the nations of this earth to give us an eternal nation where His love and salvation will never stop flowing. May God grant us faith in Jesus Christ, our King, so that we may receive His kingdom on that great and glorious day.