Isaiah, Chapters 2 & 3: Is it the end of days already?

Chapter 2

We start off with one of those prophesies that will be so important in the New Testament. In this case, god is going to build a house on top of a mountain that's on top of a mountain. It will be holier than either mountain, and people will climb both of them to worship there. It'll be a kind of school, where people will go to learn about god's laws, but also about peace because they'll beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (v. 4).

Now some criticism of the house of Jacob: they're trading with people in the east, they've turned to soothsaying and hobnobbing with strangers. They've been enriching themselves with gold and horses and worshipping false idols that they made themselves. But of course, god he is a'comin' for some judgin' and punishin'. He advises them to hide their idols in the rocks for the bats and moles to worship.

Chapter 3

God has decided to starve and dehydrate Jerusalem and Judah, and to humiliate them by putting obnoxious babies in charge, because right now they're behaving abominably.

How badly are they behaving? Well, women and children are in charge! Imagine! Not only that, the women are walking around with their heads high, looking people in the eye, shaking their moneymakers, and wearing shoes with bells on. So god is going to give them scalp disease and discover their secret parts (v. 17) whatever that means. He gives a long list of all the baubles and ornaments god is going to take away from these poor women, leaving them smelly and wearing sackcloth. Men are only going to die.