Why do people need to hide themselves? What is the significance of hiding in a cave? Whom are they hiding from? What other scriptures talk about hiding in caves, rock masses or under the mountains? How is what Jesus said at Luke 23:28-30 relevant for us today?
Revelation 6:15-17… And the kings of the earth and the top-ranking ones and the military commanders and the rich and the strong ones and every slave and [every] free person hid themselves in the caves and in the rock-masses of the mountains. And they keep saying to the mountains and to the rock-masses: “Fall over us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
Luke 23:28-30… Jesus turned to the women and said: “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for me. On the contrary, weep for yourselves and for YOUR children; because look! days are coming in which people will say, ‘Happy are the barren women, and the wombs that did not give birth and the breasts that did not nurse!’ Then they will start to say to the mountains, ‘Fall over us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us over!’ Because if they do these things when the tree is moist, what will occur when it is withered?”
Jesus makes mention of the prophecy of Isaiah and how people would hide themselves under mountains begging to hide. People will find it necessary to hide from the wrath of God who is sitting on his throne and from Jesus the Lamb of God.
You might do well in asking why is God angry at mankind? Hiding in a cave is paramount to burying your head in sand, you don’t want to see, and you don’t want to be seen, in a dark place you crouch down hiding, you don’t want the light of truth to reach you, symbolically speaking. Here in Revelation, it mentioned hiding from Gods wrath, as if in some way being able to escape or avoid it. Can we escape the coming judgment of God?
Hebrews 4:13-16… And there is not a creation that is not manifest to his sight, but all things are naked and openly exposed to the eyes of him with whom we have an accounting. Seeing, therefore, that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold onto [our] confessing of [him]. For we have as high priest, not one who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tested in all respects like ourselves, but without sin. Let us, therefore, approach with freeness of speech to the throne of undeserved kindness, that we may obtain mercy and find undeserved kindness for help at the right time.
All things will be made exposed and accountable to God.
Let us turn to the scripture in Isaiah that Jesus was referring to when he talked about hiding under the mountains because of the coming judgment against Jerusalem.
Prophecy About Hiding from God.
Isaiah 2:2-22… And it must occur in the final part of the days [that] the mountain of the house of Jehovah will become firmly established above the top of the mountains, and it will certainly be lifted up above the hills; and to it all the nations must stream. And many peoples will certainly go and say: “Come, YOU people, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will instruct us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For out of Zion law will go forth, and the word of Jehovah out of Jerusalem. And he will certainly render judgment among the nations and set matters straight respecting many peoples. And they will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore. O men of the house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of Jehovah. For you have forsaken your people, the house of Jacob. For they have become full of what is from the East, and they are practicers of magic like the Philistines, and with the children of foreigners they abound. And their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no limit to their treasures. And their land is filled with horses, and there is no limit to their chariots. And their land is filled with valueless gods. To the work of one’s hands they bow down, to that which one’s fingers have made. And earthling man bows down, and man becomes low, and you cannot possibly pardon them. Enter into the rock and hide yourself in the dust because of the dreadfulness of Jehovah, and from his splendid superiority. The haughty eyes of earthling man must become low, and the loftiness of men must bow down; and Jehovah alone must be put on high in that day. For it is the day belonging to Jehovah of armies. It is upon everyone self-exalted and lofty and upon everyone lifted up or low; and upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up and upon all the massive trees of Bashan; and upon all the lofty mountains and upon all the hills that are lifted up; and upon every high tower and upon every fortified wall; and upon all the ships of Tarshish and upon all desirable boats. And the haughtiness of the earthling man must bow down, and the loftiness of men must become low; and Jehovah alone must be put on high in that day. And the valueless gods themselves will pass away completely. And people will enter into the caves of the rocks and into the holes of the dust because of the dreadfulness of Jehovah and from his splendid superiority, when he rises up for the earth to suffer shocks. In that day the earthling man will throw his worthless gods of silver and his valueless gods of gold that they had made for him to bow before to the shrewmice and to the bats, in order to enter into the holes in the rocks and into the clefts of the crags, because of the dreadfulness of Jehovah and from his splendid superiority, when he rises up for the earth to suffer shocks. For YOUR own sakes, hold off from the earthling man, whose breath is in his nostrils, for on what basis is he himself to be taken into account?
Here in this prophecy of Isaiah three times he mentioned people hiding under ground or in a cave, but can you answer why?
God comes to judge the pride of mankind and prove he is the only True God, again we can see this same thought found in:
Hosea 10:4-15… They speak words, making false oaths, concluding a covenant; and judgment has sprouted like a poisonous plant in the furrows of the open field. For the calf [idol] of Bethaven the residents of Samaria will get frightened; for over it its people will certainly mourn, as well as its foreign-god priests [who] used to be joyful over it, on account of its glory, because it will have gone into exile away from it. Even it someone will bring to Assyria itself as a gift to a great king. Shame is what Ephraim himself will get, and Israel will be ashamed of its counsel. Samaria [and] her king will certainly be silenced, like a snapped-off twig on the surface of waters. And the high places of Bethaven, the sin of Israel, will actually be annihilated. Thorns and thistles themselves will come up upon their altars. And people will in fact say to the mountains, ‘Cover us!’ and to the hills, ‘Fall over us!’ From the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel. There they stood still. In Gibeah war against the sons of unrighteousness did not get to overtake them. When it is my craving I shall also discipline them. And against them peoples will certainly be gathered when there is a harnessing of them to their two errors. “And Ephraim was a trained heifer loving to thresh; and I, for my part, passed over her good-looking neck. I make [someone] ride Ephraim. Judah plows; Jacob harrows for him. Sow seed for yourselves in righteousness; reap in accord with loving-kindness. Till for yourselves arable land, when there is time for searching for Jehovah until he comes and gives instruction in righteousness to YOU. “YOU people have plowed wickedness. Unrighteousness is what YOU have reaped. YOU have eaten the fruitage of deception, for you have trusted in your way, in the multitude of your mighty ones. And an uproar has risen among your people, and your own fortified cities will all be despoiled, as with the despoiling by Shalman of the house of Arbel, in the day of battle [when] a mother herself was dashed to pieces alongside [her] own sons. In this way one will certainly do to YOU people, O Bethel, because of YOUR extreme badness. In the dawn the king of Israel will positively have to be silenced.”
What is the shame of Ephraim and what are they guilty of? Who does Ephraim represent today? How do these prophecies apply in our day?
Hosea 11:12… “With lying, Ephraim has surrounded me, and with deception the house of Israel. But Judah is yet roaming with God, and with the Most Holy One he is trustworthy.”
Hosea 12:14… Ephraim caused offense to bitterness, and his deeds of bloodshed he leaves upon his own self, and his reproach his grand Master will repay to him.”
Hosea 13:1-9… When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he himself carried [weight] in Israel. But he proceeded to become guilty in regard to Baal and die. And now they commit additional sin and make for themselves a molten statue from their silver, idols according to their own understanding, the work of craftsmen, all of it. To them they are saying, ‘Let the sacrifices who are men kiss mere calves.’ Therefore, they will become like the clouds of morning and like the dew that early goes away; like chaff that is stormed away from the threshing floor and like smoke from the [roof] hole. “But I am Jehovah your God from the land of Egypt, and there was no God except me that you used to know; and there was no savior but I. I myself knew you in the wilderness, in the land of fevers. According to their pasturage they also came to be satisfied. They became satisfied and their heart began to be exalted. That is why they forgot me. And I shall become to them like a young lion. Like a leopard by [the] way I shall keep looking. I shall encounter them like a bear that has lost its cubs, and I shall rip apart the enclosure of their heart. And I shall devour them there like a lion; a wild beast of the field itself will tear them to pieces. It will certainly bring you to ruin, O Israel, because it was against me, against your helper.
From these three scriptures we understand that God calls out Ephraim as liars, those involved in deeds of bloodshed, and those involved in worshiping Baal.
Ephraim of the past tried to gain control over God’s people. So, it is no different today Ephraim today represents those who try to take the lead over God’s people. They too are being called out by God as the liars, and those involved in deeds of bloodshed, those who continue to worship Baal. If you don’t know who they are they do and so does God because he is going to bring them to their end.
I pray that we do not get involved in idolatry, that we do not bury our heads in the sand asking for the mountains to fall over us, that we should be hiding from our God and our Lord. No, but rather I pray that we would be found holding our light up for our Lord and our God to see. Yes, come Lord Jesus, Amen.
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