In the early 5th century AD, the great Christian theologian and philosopher, Augustine, wrote one of his seminal works, The City of God. In it, he saw in history two different cities battling each other on infinitely unequal terms: the City of Man, represented by Rome; and the City of God, represented by the true Christian church.

In chapter 2, Isaiah presents a similar contrast. He looks forward to the coming kingdom in vv. 2-4, and he describes the idols that would pull us away from God’s Kingdom in vv. 6-21. Is there an answer? Is there a hope? Indeed there is, and Isaiah details that as well.

By the way, Rome fell in 410 AD, which is one of the main things that led Augustine to begin his work on The City of God. The city of man will always disappoint and ultimately fail. The city of God is eternal, however, and is the source of our ultimate satisfaction, a truth we saw clearly in this Sunday’s message.