Isaiah 2

“Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?”  Isaiah 2:22 (ESV)

It is hard to imagine a greater contrast than that between the two pictures portrayed in today’s chapter.  One is of unprecedented blessing, and the other of fearful judgment.  Little wonder that the chapter ends with a plea to give up on man.  It literally means, “Stop trusting in man.”

The verse is worthy of closer examination because it summarizes the burden of the prophet: “Put no more trust in man, WHO HAS ONLY the breath in his nostrils.  Of what account is he?”  

The words "trust" and "of what account" correspond exactly to the words “rejected” and “esteemed” in Isaiah 53.

“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”  Isaiah 53:3 (ESV)

Israel (not all Jews, but the vast majority) gave up on the very One they should have relied upon: Messiah.  Throughout history, the sinner’s epitaph (Jew or Gentile) is that they trusted in everything (and everyone) except God’s Way.  

Isaiah has depicted the glories and woes that are coming for Israel.  Could the same be predicted for the Church-at-Large today?  That really is the big question, isn’t it?  There are those who will make their way to a celebration in “Zion;” they are the redeemed of the Lord.  But there are others who have rejected Jesus, God’s Messiah (anointed One), to their doom.  Salvation is offered to Jews and Gentiles alike through Messiah Jesus, just as damnation awaits all who reject Him, Jew or Gentile.  The determining factor in salvation (or damnation) has nothing to do with genetics: Who's your daddy?  Rather, salvation is by God’s grace when we faithfully believe on Messiah: Who's your Father?

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV)

The wise will sit up and learn the lesson:

“O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” Isaiah 2:5 (ESV)

Are you walking in His Light?  Have you chosen to trust Him Who was rejected by men yet accepted by God?  He Who was of no account to men, yet is esteemed by God, graciously imputes His righteousness into the bankrupt spiritual accounts of all who will receive Him.