A Word for Today | Isaiah 26:20
It did not take long for the internet to start buzzing with the news that God specifically prophesied our current pandemic in Isaiah 26:20. To many, the close connection between this verse and our current circumstances indicates that He did: “Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by.”
It is helpful to know that the prophecies of the Old Testament do not have direct reference to detailed events in our personal lives. Rather, the prophets looked forward to God’s great redemptive events in history as they advance toward or from the coming of Jesus as our Savior. Isaiah 26 is part of what is called “The Apocalypse of Isaiah,” which foretells the destruction of the earth at the time of Christ’s return. It begins: “Behold, the Lord will empty the earth and make it desolate” (Isa. 24:1). Bad as the coronavirus pandemic is, it does not threaten to empty the earth of all inhabitants. Therefore, following the important principle of interpreting Scripture verses in context, it seems extremely unlikely that Isaiah 26:20 was written with the pandemic of 2020 in mind.
This is not to say, however, that there is no message for us in Isaiah 26:20. The reason we have this pandemic and other catastrophe is the same reason the earth will be made desolate at the end of the age. Second Peter 3:7 tells us: “the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” In anticipation of this ending, Jesus foretold an unending series of troubles in history by which God restrains evil and calls people to repent: “nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places” (Mt. 24:7). Jesus called events like our pandemic “the beginning of the birth pains” (Mt. 24:8), meaning that they tell us that something greater will someday come.
The overarching theme of Isaiah 24-27 is God’s deliverance of his people in days of judgment. Chapter 26 begins with a word of hope for believers: “We have a strong city, he sets up salvation as walls and bulwarks” (Isa. 26:1). It contains the beloved verse, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you” (Isa. 26:3). Yes, the great pandemic of judgment will one day fall upon the whole earth. When it does, God’s people will be safe in their chambers and will pass through His fury. The reason for this future hope is also a great comfort to us now: “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock” (Isa. 26:4).
In Christ’s Love,
Pastor Phillips
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