Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; in the coastlands (islands, NIV) of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

How does the Philippines figure in this verse? Well, it said the verse refers to islands in the east giving glory to God, and which country, made up of many islands, is the only Christian country in Asia? What Biblical wisdom! Yes, the only country in Asia which boasts 90 percent of its population as “Christian,” but which is reputed to be one of the most corrupt in Asia, and in the world, in fact. (The airwaves are bombarded with an almost daily barrage of bribery, embezzlement, murders and other scandals involving extremely high government officials, but no one that I know of has ever been charged and jailed.)

In context, Isaiah 24 is an apocalyptic telling us how God would destroy all his wicked enemies in the end, then replace them with his people – Jews and Gentiles – from all the nations in joyful worship. We read this prophecy in many other places in the Bible, among them:

that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other (Isa 45:6).

For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations (Mal 1:11).

Thus, when the Bible talks about “coastlands” or “islands,” it’s talking about Gentile places distant from the land of Israel, not about the Philippines or Tahiti.

Or Hawaii, as some people at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church think. A few years ago, I stumbled upon its “Hula Ministry.” which has for its basis Isaiah 42:12,

Let them give glory to the Lord, and declare his praise in the coastlands (islands, NIV).

Apparently, Isaiah had a vision of dancers in grass skirts in some distant tropical paradise, 2,700 years into the future.

This reminds me as well of a little book in praise of Filipinos’ spirituality that an American missionary showed me about ten years ago. His “hexegesis” went like this: the etymology of the word “Pilipino” is from a combination of two Tagalog words. “Pili” means “to choose,” so Filipinos are God’s chosen people! And “pino” means “fine,” so Filipinos are “fine” people! Flattery or joke, it’s amusing.

So much for “only in the Philippines.” Filipinos don’t have a monopoly of “hexegesis.” Americans also do it with gusto!