Isaiah 34:1-17

There are things about God with which we are not comfortable.  It is hard for us to comprehend the gravity and totality of the coming judgment upon the earth and all of the nations of the earth.  We are comfortable with a loving and forgiving God but an angry and vengeful God does not sit well with us.  The truth is that God is both loving and angry, forgiving and vengeful.   In reality, our difficulty to understand should be much more about how He could save any of us and not about how He will judge some.  All of mankind has rebelled against God and despite His repeated warnings and attempts to reconcile men to Himself the multitudes have continued to reject Him and preferred their sinful lives.  God’s delay in judgment should surprise us much more than the severity of His judgment.

GOD WILL JUDGE ALL THE NATIONS: Just as there will be representatives from every nation that will worship God in heaven for all of eternity; there will be representatives from every nation that will be judged by God for all of eternity.  This judgment will be more severe and more complete than the devastation caused by any of the wars or all of the wars combined.  The stench of rotting flesh will fill the air and the flow of blood will fill the steams.  The wrath of God has been stayed in part because of sacrifices that have been offered for the sins of men, but the blood of goats and lambs will not satisfy the sword of the Lord forever.  There is coming a day in the history of this world that the sword of the Lord will strike the inhabitants of the earth and the devastation will be horrifying but completely just.


GOD WILL JUDGE ALL OF EDOM: Edom has been a nation that has consistently practiced idolatry and sought the destruction of God’s chosen people.  Since Isaiah is writing to readers in Israel, a special mention is made of this longtime nemesis.  Edom may prosper for a long time but a day of complete devastation is on the way.  The land will be completely destroyed.  The people will all be killed with the sword of the Lord.  The only thing that will inhabit that land will be the wild animals and birds that feast of flesh.  The only plant life that will survive will be thorns.  This judgment will include all men and livestock from every level of society.  God is a righteous, holy and thorough Judge.  We may not be comfortable with thinking of God in this way but we had better be prepared through faith in Christ to avoid experiencing this judgment first hand.  

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