NOTES for Isa 2:1-5

In today’s reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah, the Lord tells us three important things that express all our hope. First, He promises to cleanse His people. This is our only hope, because in the final analysis a person is unable to purify his own heart. Of course, purification is also impossible without the person’s own desire and effort. Repentance and fasting can become the point of support through which God fills our desire for purification with strength.

Second, the Lord once again speaks of what He expects from people. “Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and her converts with righteousness.” In this way, God shows us the path of purification and reveals His will for us in a few words.

Third, today’s reading contains Isaiah’s first messianic prophecy, which corresponds almost word for word to the words of his contemporary, the prophet Micah: “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains.” Repentance and purification, righteousness and hope—everything for us is centered on Christ.