Isaiah
34 reminds me of the big scare; the silence, the lump, the lie, the
cough, or the sudden pain. We do not always have advanced warning
that devastation is upon us. With great emotion, Isaiah shouts,
“Come
near, you nations, and listen… Let the earth hear… The LORD is
angry with all nations… He will give them over to slaughter“.
Isaiah is saying loud and clear, act now, do not ignore this.
“Their
slain will be thrown out… the mountains will be soaked with their
blood… the stars in the sky will be dissolved and the heavens
rolled up like a scroll… the
starry
host will fall like withered leaves“.
He is describing the great tribulation, when God’s judgment will
be poured out on heaven and earth. And he is addressing a specific
group, “My
sword has drunk its fill in the heavens…
it
descends in judgment on Edom“.
Literally, Edom is the neighboring nation of Israel, the descendents
of Esau, the brother of Jacob, the son of Isaac. Spiritually, he is
talking to all of us that have so little concern for our birthright
that we trade it away without a thought. Those that resist the
authority of God, “away
from the dew of heaven… You will live by the sword… you grow
restless, you will throw His yoke from off your neck”
(Genesis 27:39-40). Being a rebel is fun until the moment of terror.
“The
sword of the LORD is bathed in blood… a
great
slaughter in the land of Edom… the wild oxen will fall with them…
Their land will be drenched with blood“.
Now is the time to prepare for the scare.
Isaiah
presents the inevitable outcome, “For
the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution… her land
will become blazing pitch! It will not be quenched night or day…
it will lie desolate“.
Destruction and isolation combine to create hopelessness. There is
nothing random in the result, “God
will stretch out over Edom the measuring line of chaos and the plumb
line of desolation“.
We turn to doctors and lawyers and counselors, but in the midst of
judgment, “all
her princes will vanish away… She will become a haunt for jackals,
a home for owls… Desert creatures will meet with hyenas“.
So what is your prognosis?
Isaiah
offers an alternative to those that listen, “Look
in the scroll of the LORD and read: None of these will be missing“.
God is our healer, God is our hope, and God can make all things new.
“For
it is His mouth that has given the order, and His Spirit will gather
them together“.
Romans 10:8-9 gives us God’s guarantee “The
Word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,
that
is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare
with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that
God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved“.
Isaiah concludes that God’s healing is eternal, “They
will possess it forever“.
Do you know someone unaware? Romans 10:14 asks you “How,
then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how
can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard?”
Friend, please don’t ignore the warning. The love of God is a
breath away.