Isaiah 24-27 (Part 3): Isaiah 24:2-3 – Isaiah’s Timely Warnings to His Time

 

By Robert E. Cruickshank, Jr. and Daniel E. Harden

Daniel E. Harden (Editor)

Copyright © Robert E. Cruickshank, Jr. (Date, 2025)

All Rights Reserved

 

“And the people will be like the priest, the servant like his master, the female servant like her mistress, the buyer like the seller, the lender like the borrower, the creditor like the debtor. The earth will be completely laid waste and completely plundered, for the Lord has spoken this word” (Isaiah 24:2-3, NASB). 

The modern approach to these verses views Isaiah as predicting a time when “billions of people will be removed off the face of the earth.”  A time when “the rivers and seas” will become “sterile and lifeless.” A time when time will end “in the end time.”[1]

In other words, Isaiah is portrayed as ignoring the context, concerns, and crises of his own time – as he issues warnings about a far-distant time. Warnings about a time completely irrelevant to his audience. Warnings about a time that neither they nor their immediate descendants would ever live to see.

Apparently, Isaiah was confused about when, where, and how his words would come to pass. In short, he simply didn’t know what time it was.[2] Or so they tell us.

With that said, our previous article on Isaiah 24:1[3] left off by emphasizing that Isaiah wasn’t a clueless prophet after all, despite modern claims to the contrary. Focusing on the realities of his day, he spoke with precision and clarity about real judgments, in real places, in real time. His words of devastation, desolation, and dispersion weren’t irrelevant warnings of a nuclear threat 2800 years (or more) down the road. They were present-tense warnings about the upcoming covenant curses to be unleashed by the Assyrians and the Babylonians.[4]

Continuing from the previous discussion, Isaiah 24:2-3 underscores that this judgment was not some distant, still-future event that awaits fulfillment even today. To the contrary, it was a looming and impending reality for God’s Old Testament people.  After introducing the scope of the judgment in verse 1, verse 2 informs the reader that no one, regardless of their status, would be exempt from the coming calamities.
 

As Went the People, So Went the Priest

Isaiah says, “And the people will be like the priest, the servant like his master, the maid like her mistress… (Isa. 24:2a). These words parallel the words of Isaiah’s contemporary,[5] the prophet Hosea: “And it will be, like the people, like the priest. So, I will punish them for their ways and repay them for their deeds” (Hos. 4:9).[6]  The point that both prophets are making is that no one would be exempt from the coming shaking. It would be the great equalizer, affluence wouldn’t matter, and Status would offer no sanctuary.

This is exactly how things played out in history. The language of Isaiah and Hosea was more than mere metaphor; it was a prophetic preview – and history caught up with their prophecies.

When the Assyrians began to encroach upon the land of Israel, The Assyrian king Pul exacted “money from Israel, even from all the mighty men of wealth” (2 Kg. 15:20). The following Assyrian king, Shalmaneser, took Hoshea (king of Israel) as his tribute-paying servant (2 Kg. 17:1-3), and eventually “shut him up and bound him in prison” (2 Kg. 17:4). And the Assyrians also took the priests into exile (2 Kg. 17:27).

Examples such as these dovetail with Hosea 4:9 and Isaiah 24:2. With that said, Hosea goes on to say, “Hear this, O priests! Give heed O house of Israel! Listen, O house of the king! For the Judgment applies to you…” (Hos. 5:1). Priests and kings are called to account. Judgment was about to come upon Israel because “they sacrificed and burned incense on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree” (2 Kg. 16:4), and not even stature and standing would leave any man standing.

 

Enter Babylon: Exile Without Exception

Accordingly, the same can be said of the Babylonian exile – prestige and prominence didn’t provide protection or privilege. Just like Isaiah, Jeremiah also states that affluence  wouldn’t get them off the hook, and social standing wouldn’t shield them from judgment. In Jeremiah 34:18-21, Jeremiah prophesies that kings, officials, priests and people alike would be given over to their enemies, particularly Babylon.^[7]

In fact, in this case, one was better off not being part of the upper echelon. In Nebuchadnezzar’s second incursion (597 BC), he  “led away into exile all of Jerusalem,” including “all the officials and mighty men of valor,” but left behind “the poorest people of the land” (2 Kg. 24:14). Among those taken was “king Jehoiachin,” along with his “mother,” his “wives,” his “officials,” and “the leading men of the land” (2 Kg. 24:15a). Without regard to class or distinction, they were all “taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon” (2 Kg. 24:15b).

And Nebuchadnezzar didn’t stop there. He also took “all the men of valor,” the “craftsmen and the smiths,” all “the strong and fit for war,” and brought “them into exile in Babylon” (2 Kg. 2:16). Once again, rank and reputation offered no refuge, and status shielded no one from being swept away in the flood of the exile.

The fact that priests were caught up in this sweep (as per Isa. 24:2) is evident in the most well-known priest to join the ranks of the displaced – “Ezekiel the Priest” (Ezek. 1:3), who was “by the river Chebar among the exiles” (Ezek. 1:1), having been taken “in the year of King Jehoichin’s exile” (Ezek. 1:2). As Isaiah said, the people and the priest, the servant and the master, the maid and the mistress would all suffer the same fate (Isa. 24:2).

Punishment through exile fulfilled the words of both Hosea (Hos. 4:9), and Isaiah (Isa. 24:2). As went the Northern Kingdom of Israel, so went the Southern Kingdom of Judah. As went the people, so went the priest; none were spared, none were exempt.

 

The Plundering of the Land

In verse 3, Isaiah says, The earth (e’rets) shall be utterly empty (ba’ qaq) and utterly plundered (ba’zaz); for the Lord has spoken this word” (Isa. 24:3). In the previous article,[8] we noted how earth (e’rets) is localized in contexts such as this and does not refer to the entire planet. We also saw how the phrase “utterly empty (ba’ qaq)” is used to refer to the judgment of nations in Old Testament times. In the same manner, “utterly plundered (ba’zaz)” is likewise used.

For example, Amos prophesies against “the sons of Israel, against the entire family” which the Lord “brought up from the land of Egypt” (Amos 3:1). In punishment for their iniquities (Amos 3:2), God proclaims through His prophet: “An adversary shall surround the land (e’rets) and bring down your defenses from you, and your strongholds shall be plundered (ba’zaz)” (Amos 3:11). Amos used the same language as Isaiah, and it pertained to the day when the Lord will punish Israel for her transgressions (Amos 3:14). Prophesying during the reign of “Uzziah king of Judah” and “Jeroboam king of Israel” (Amos 1:1), Amos was a contemporary of Isaiah and Hosea, and he echoed their language.

Fittingly, those same echoes are heard in the words of the later prophet, Jeremiah, concerning the fate of Jerusalem and Judah at the hands of the Babylonians:

 

“Mountain of Mine in the countryside, I will turn over your wealth and all your treasures as plunder (baz), your high places for sin throughout your borders” (Jer. 17:3)

 

Jeremiah uses the noun form for plunder (baz) while Isaiah and Amos use the verb form (ba’zaz). The intent is the same, and the prophets’ language anchors their words to the events of their own time while dislodging them from modern speculations about the end of time.

Despite the modern penchant to read passages like Isaiah 24:3 as if it is speaking of the end of the world, the helpful website Bible Art reminds us that the “context of this verse is also important to consider. The prophet Isaiah is speaking to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, warning them of the judgment that will come upon them due to their idolatry, injustice, and moral decay. The desolation and emptiness that is described in this verse symbolize the devastating consequences of their sin and rebellion against God.”[9]

The language of Isaiah, along with Hosea, Amos, and Jeremiah, forms a cohesive prophetic witness. A witness rooted in the realities of Israel and Judah’s rebellion. A witness testifying to the consequences that would follow. These weren’t abstract warnings or distant doom-and-gloom predictions. They were specific, time-bound declarations of judgment that unfolded just as the prophets said they would. The prophets’ words were given in the context of the history of their own time, spoke to the history of their own time, and played out in the history of their own time.

 

Recap

Like verse 1, Isaiah 24:2-3 presents a sweeping declaration of judgment coming up in the context of the prophet’s own time – not the end of time. Isaiah’s words were not cryptic end-times code language, but vivid present-tense warnings fulfilled in Old Testament history.

In these verses, Isaiah emphasizes that no person, regardless of rank, role, or royalty, would be spared. We see the same sentiment echoed by other prophets, such as Hosea and Jeremiah. This theme was reinforced and realized by the historical realities of the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles. Whether priest or peasant, creditor or debtor, common person or king, all were equal in the face of God’s judgment.

Our next installment will continue to unpack how Isaiah’s words should cause us to look back to ancient Israel’s history to find the fulfillment of his prophecy.

 

Takeaways

As with all Biblical prophecies, Isaiah 24 must be read in its own context. Isaiah’s warnings were rooted in the historical landscape of his time. And that history confirms and validates Isaiah as a true prophet. The modern penchant to miss the prophecy’s fulfillment misses the apologetic value of recognizing that fulfillment and distorts its meaning, intent, and relevance.

As always, however, this does not mean Isaiah’s words are irrelevant for us today.  Isaiah shows us that God’s justice is impartial, and that He shows no favoritism based on social class, monetary wealth, or prestigious positions.

Most importantly, God still calls for faithfulness today. While the judgments in Isaiah 24 were specific to Judah’s covenant violations, the underlying principle remains: God still expects righteousness, obedience, and humility from His people today.

If our own lives seem “emptied” and “plundered,” perhaps God has created that void to show us that we need to fill it with Him? That was the whole point of the exile, and God doesn’t change His style (Heb. 13:8).  The Lord disciplines those whom He loves, so that we can fully experience all the blessings of His love (Heb. 12:6-8).

Let’s “empty” our lives of all that distracts us from the Lord, and “plunder” it of all that robs us of His love, and replace it all with Him!

 

 

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[1]  Keith Lannon, The Global Holocaust witnessed by Isaiah (Isaiah 24:1-13) https://bit.ly/4n7A97m

[2] The Little Apocalypse – I: The Moral Universe in Judgment – SLJ Institute https://bit.ly/3GMNUc3

[3] Isaiah 24-27 (Part 2): Reading Isaiah with Our Eyes Open – The Burros of Berea https://bit.ly/41ry6Te; Isaiah 24-27 (Part 2): Reading Isaiah with Our Eyes Open | It’s about time https://bit.ly/4n2yCzl

[4] After carrying Israel away to exile in the sixth year of Hezekiah’s reign (2 Kg. 18:10-11), the Assyrians turned their attention to Judah in the fourteenth year of his reign (Isa. 36:1). By humbling himself before the Lord, Hezekiah thwarts the attack before the Assyrians make it all the way into Jerusalem (Isa. 37). Eventually, the Babylonians would take the city in 586 BC.

[5] Isaiah prophesied during the reigns of “Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah” (Isa. 1:1). Hosea prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel” (Hos. 1:1).

[6] See: Craig A. Evans and Peter W. Flint, ed., Writing and Reading the Scroll of Isaiah (Langley, British Columbia: Brill, 1997), 365.

[7] The Judean king at the time, Zedekiah, is specifically told that he would “see the king of Babylon eye to eye” and “face to face” (Jer. 34:3). In verse 18, the people are told that they “have transgressed my covenant and not fulfilled the words of the covenant (Jer. 34:18). This recalls Isaiah’s words here in chapter 24 – they “broke the everlasting covenant” (Isa. 24:5). This also reinforces the idea that the various exiles at the hands of the Assyrians and the Babylonians were the direct result of covenant violations. While they had breached the covenant in many ways, Jeremiah highlights their failure to release slaves every seven years (Jer. 34:14; cf. Exod. 21:2; Deut. 15:12).

 

Zedekiah had replaced Jehoichin – the previous Judean King taken into captivity by the Babylonians, see: Jehoiachin and Zedekiah | Reformed Bible Studies & Devotionals at Ligonier.org  https://bit.ly/3HhtyYN

[8] Robert E. Cruickshank, Jr. and Daniel E. Harden, Isaiah 24-27 (Part 2): Reading Isaiah with Our Eyes Open – The Burros of Berea https://bit.ly/4fF5AmT

[9] What does Isaiah 24:3 mean? | Bible Art https://bit.ly/3HqPDEc