Isaiah: Walk in the Light of the Lord
Isaiah 2:5-9 - Let us humbly ascend the gangplank to the first class cabin to His Light, by walking in that Light now!
“Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.
For You have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob,
Because they are filled with influences from the east,
And they are soothsayers like the Philistines,
And they strike bargains with the children of foreigners.
Their land has also been filled with silver and gold
And there is no end to their treasures;
Their land has also been filled with horses
And there is no end to their chariots.
Their land has also been filled with idols;
They worship the work of their hands,
That which their fingers have made.
So the common man has been humbled
And the man of importance has been abased,
But do not forgive them.”
Isaiah 2:5-9 NASB1995
Isaiah begins this next passage with a plea for the house of Jacob to walk in the light of the Lord. This admonition sounds surprisingly like something straight out of the New Testament. Here is what Gotquestions.org has to say about this verse:
To “walk in the light” is a common metaphor within Christian culture. It is often taken to mean “acting correctly” or even “living openly.” Biblically, however, the phrase has the idea of relinquishing sin by following Jesus.
The only Old Testament occurrence of this precise phrase is in Isaiah 2:5, “O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the Lord.” The Psalms contain similar phrases (56:13; 89:15), as does Isaiah (9:2; 50:10-11; 59:9).
In the New Testament, “walking in the light” is directly related to following Jesus, who said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12). While this verse does not directly say, “Walk in the light, i.e., Jesus,” it does pointedly warn of doing the opposite; therefore, those who follow Jesus are “walking in the light.”
To “walk” is, in short, to live one’s life. One’s lifestyle or way of life can be considered a “walk.” The word also indicates progress. Walking is related to growth; it is taking steps toward maturity. “Light” in the Bible can be a metaphor for life, happiness, righteousness, or understanding. The Bible is clear that light comes from the Lord God, the “Father of the heavenly lights” (James 1:17). He is the opposite of evil. Putting it all together, “walking in the light” means “growing in holiness and maturing in the faith as we follow Jesus.”
The apostle John repeatedly used the “light” metaphor in relation to the Messiah. For example, he writes that Jesus is “the true light that gives light to every man” (John 1:9). In 1 John 1:7 he says, “If we walk in the light as He [God] is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” In verse 5, John says that God’s very nature is light. Jesus, then, is the conduit or provider of light to the world.
Our Christian duty is to live in the light God gives: “Now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8). When we walk in the light, we cannot walk in darkness. Sin is left in the shadows as we let our light “shine before men” (Matthew 5:16). It is God’s plan for us to become more like Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:3).
“Walking in the light” means we consider Jesus as “the light” in this world, and we “walk” in that light by following His precepts, living in His power, and growing in His grace.
I love the fact that walking in the light means that we are like the people in the AI image on the path on the left. They are walking up towards the light of Jerusalem and the Lord while those on the path to the right are heading into darkness and are filled with the influences of the east. They are soothsayers, with their land filled with silver and gold, horses and chariots, false idols, and with no end to their treasures.
Enduring Word has marvelous commentary on this entire passage:
a. Oh house of Jacob: After painting the picture of the glory of the Messiah’s reign, Isaiah then challenges Judah (house of Jacob) to live in the Messiah’s reign right now.
b. Walk in the light of the LORD: This means to order your life after God’s truth and God’s ways. The ultimate reign of the Messiah may be many years away, but Jesus can reign in our lives, in our minds, and in our hearts right now. We don’t have to wait for the enforced righteousness of the millennium to have the blessing of Jesus’ righteousness in our lives right now.
c. Walk in the light of the LORD: This means you enjoy the blessings of the Messiah’s reign right now. You don’t have to live a dark, depressing, discouraging Christian life. You can walk in the light of the LORD.
i. What is it that gets you down, that brings darkness into your life? How can it compare to the light of the LORD? Is the darkness of spiritual attack, of unfaithful friends, of bad circumstances, of shame, of guilt, of anything greater than the light of the LORD? It cannot be so.
ii. “You know that, if you were to go to Australia in a good sound ship, you would get there even if you were always to lie down in the hold among the luggage and the rats; but I should like to go in a first-class cabin, and I do not see why you and I, if we are going to heaven, should not go first-class.” (Spurgeon)
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a. They are filled with eastern ways…they are soothsayers like the Philistines…they are pleased with the children of foreigners: Judah had allowed the false gods of foreigners to capture their attention.
i. This was not an anti-immigrant statement. God is not against the cultures and customs of other peoples, except where those customs and cultures honor and worship false gods. Perhaps in the name of “diversity,” the leaders and people of Judah were allowing the worship of false gods.
b. Their land is also full of silver and gold: Judah had allowed the false gods of wealth and materialism to captivate their attention. Because Judah was in a time of economic prosperity (full of silver and gold…no end to their treasures…full of horses…no end to their chariots), they were far more prone to economic idolatry.
i. This was not an anti-wealth statement. God is not against wealth and riches and may choose to bless some with significant resources. This is a rebuke to those who love riches and trust in wealth.
c. Their land is also full of idols: Judah had allowed idols to captivate their attention. Because everyone has an innate tendency to worship themselves (the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made), we are tempted to worship what we have made and accomplished instead of worshipping the One who made us.
i. This was not an anti-work statement. God wants us to work hard, and be pleased with the work of our own hands, and to see the accomplishments that our own fingers have made. This is a rebuke against those who worship what they have made and what they have done.
d. People bow down, and each man humbles himself: There was plenty of worship (bow down) in Judah, and plenty of people humbling themselves. They were simply worshipping the wrong things and humbling themselves before the wrong things!
i. We know how to bow down, we know how to humble ourselves; we just don’t find it easy to direct it properly towards the LORD. We are more than happy to bow down and humble ourselves for something of our choosing but often find it difficult to do it for the LORD.
ii. The application is sobering: Therefore do not forgive them. Their worship of foreign gods, of riches, and of idols was sincere. It may have been ennobling or helpful to society. But it was a rejection of the LORD God and was therefore unforgivable.
Forgive me, readers, but the words from this commentary do so much more to explain this passage than anything I could dredge up. Let’s summarize:
We can walk in the light of the Lord RIGHT NOW and not sit back and worry about the future and the events that are yet to come. It should not be dark and depressing to be in the light of the Lord. We can have the blessing as we speak!
If you don’t go back and read and re-read that comment from Charles Spurgeon, then I don’t know what to say. We can go in a first-class manner to Heaven by how we live our lives now in His Light!
The statements in Isaiah are not anti-immigrant, anti-wealth, or anti-work. They are not anti-worship or anti-humility. They are admonitions against the worship of false gods, the worship of wealth, the worship of the works of our own hands, and the improper worship of the Lord or replacing Him with idols. Those who abase themselves and worship false images and things should not be forgiven by those following the true path to God.
My next devotional examines Isaiah 2:10-12: Hide in the dust from the terror of the Lord.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - Please forgive me for this inadequate devotional and I pray that you can guide me to better insight on future devotionals in Isaiah. Amen.
Citations and Credits;
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org.
Precept Austin was accessed on 08/02/2026 to review commentary for Isaiah 2:5-9.
Gotquestions.org was accessed on 08/02/2026 to answer the question, What does it mean to walk in the light? © COPYRIGHT 2002-2026 GOT QUESTIONS MINISTRIES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Commentary from Enduring Word is used with written permission and without any alteration. ©1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com. At the link referenced, the bibliography used by David Guzik can be accessed.