CHAPTER 2 | Verses 18 - 22
Verse 18: “The idols, all of them, will pass away.”
Verse 19: “Let them go into the caves of rocks and into the holes of ground let them go. Let them flee in terror of the Lord and because of the glory of His majesty.”
Go into the caves: Revelation 6:15-17
Verse 20: “On that day a man will cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold which he made for himself to bow down to. To the moles and bats.”
That day: Repetition shows emphasis. Over and over we see this phrase being used. It is only after judgment that the Kingdom of God can be eatablished on earth.
Cast away his idols: People are going to realise how worthless their idols are.
Moles and bats: Unclean animals.
Verse 21: “Go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the crags of the boulders, because of the terror of the Lord, because of the splendor of His majesty when He rises up to bring terror to the earth.”
Note: These verses punctuate, over and over again, that God’s judgment is going to come.
Verse 22: “Cease from a man, whose breath is in his nostrils. With what will he be thought of?”
Cease from a man: The implication is that we should get away from an idolatrous man. We should separate ourselves from him – 2 Corinthians 6:17
Breath is in his nostrils: This is a Hebrew idiom for one who is very angry. When cartoons are drawn of an angry man, he is depicted with smoke coming out of his nostrils. This is the same concept here. This is speaking about an individual who has an angry spirit. The joy of the Lord is not in him. They are angry because they are frustrated. They are trying to exalt themselves, but it has proved to be futile.
With what will he be thought of?: This kind of man will be given no consideration in the Kingdom. He will be a forgotten man among the congregation of the Redeemed. When we understand the reality of the Kingdom of God we are going to live very differently. We will
pursue the things of the Kingdom and will not engage in anything that is false or idolatrous. The praise (exaltation) should never go to us, but all glory and praise needs to be given to God.
The Mighty God: They realize that true power is with God.