What does Isaiah 2:18 mean?

This passage warns the people of Israel living in Isaiah's time: the day of the Lord is coming (Ezekiel 30:3; Obadiah 1:15; Acts 2:20; 2 Peter 3:10). Isaiah is pointing forward to the time of God's judgment, especially as it will be expressed when the armies of Assyria and Babylon invade their tiny nation.

Isaiah has shown that Judah's citizens are wealthy at this time. The land is full of silver, gold, treasure, horses, and chariots (Isaiah 2:7). The land is also full of idols made by human hands and then worshipped as their makers bow down before their craft projects as if they are gods (Isaiah 2:8). The people of Judah imagine that those idols have provided their wealth instead of the Lord. This leads them to believe that those idols will keep them from destruction, instead of the Lord.

On the day of God's judgment all the idols will pass away. This may be true in two senses. For one, the idols themselves may be physically destroyed by God or the invading armies. Secondly, they will be exposed to all people as completely powerless to stop the destruction from coming (Revelation 6:15–17).