Judgment

Isaiah 34

"The one who sins will die" (Ezek 18:4).

"Vengeance is Mine; I will repay" (Deut 32:35; Rom 12:19).

"I will not let the guilty go unpunished" (Ex 34:7).

Isaiah 34: 1      Draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples!
         Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it.
               2      For the LORD’S indignation is against all the nations,
         And His wrath against all their armies;
         He has utterly destroyed them,
         He has given them over to slaughter.
               3      So their slain will be thrown out,
         And their corpses will give off their stench,
         And the mountains will be drenched with their blood.
               4      And all the host of heaven will wear away,
         And the sky will be rolled up like a scroll;
         All their hosts will also wither away
         As a leaf withers from the vine,
         Or as one withers from the fig tree.

               5      For My sword is satiated in heaven,
         Behold it shall descend for judgment upon Edom
         And upon the people whom I have devoted to destruction.
               6      The sword of the LORD is filled with blood,
         It is sated with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats,
         With the fat of the kidneys of rams.
         For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah
         And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
               7      Wild oxen will also fall with them
         And young bulls with strong ones;
         Thus their land will be soaked with blood,
         And their dust become greasy with fat.
               8      For the LORD has a day of vengeance,
         A year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

     9      Its streams will be turned into pitch,
         And its loose earth into brimstone,
         And its land will become burning pitch.
     10      It will not be quenched night or day;
         Its smoke will go up forever.
         From generation to generation it will be desolate;
         None will pass through it forever and ever.
     11      But pelican and hedgehog will possess it,
         And owl and raven will dwell in it;
         And He will stretch over it the line of desolation
         And the plumb line of emptiness.
     12      Its nobles—there is no one there Whom they may proclaim king—And all its princes will be nothing.
     13      Thorns will come up in its fortified towers, Nettles and thistles in its fortified cities; It will also be a haunt of jackals And an abode of ostriches.

               14      The desert creatures will meet with the wolves, The hairy goat also will cry to its kind; Yes, the night monster will settle there And will find herself a resting place.
               15      The tree snake will make its nest and lay eggs there, And it will hatch and gather them under its protection. Yes, the hawks will be gathered there, Every one with its kind. 

               16      Seek from the book of the LORD, and read:
         Not one of these will be missing;
         None will lack its mate.
         For His mouth has commanded,
         And His Spirit has gathered them.
               17      He has cast the lot for them,
         And His hand has divided it to them by line.
         They shall possess it forever;
         From generation to generation they will dwell in it. 

34: 1 Draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples! Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it.
   2 For the LORD’S indignation is against all the nations, And His wrath against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them,  He has given them over to slaughter.
   3 So their slain will be thrown out, And their corpses will give off their stench, And the mountains will be drenched with their blood.
   4  And all the host of heaven will wear away, And the sky will be rolled up like a scroll; All their hosts will also wither away As a leaf withers from the vine, Or as one withers from the fig tree.

Universal Condemnation (vv. 1-4)

34: 1 Draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples! Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it.
   2 For the LORD’S indignation is against all the nations, And His wrath against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them,  He has given them over to slaughter.
   3 So their slain will be thrown out, And their corpses will give off their stench, And the mountains will be drenched with their blood.
   4  And all the host of heaven will wear away, And the sky will be rolled up like a scroll; All their hosts will also wither away As a leaf withers from the vine, Or as one withers from the fig tree.

Universal Condemnation (vv. 1-4)

34: 1 Draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples! Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it.
   2 For the LORD’S indignation is against all the nations, And His wrath against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them,  He has given them over to slaughter.
   3 So their slain will be thrown out, And their corpses will give off their stench, And the mountains will be drenched with their blood.
   4  And all the host of heaven will wear away, And the sky will be rolled up like a scroll; All their hosts will also wither away As a leaf withers from the vine, Or as one withers from the fig tree.

Universal Condemnation (vv. 1-4)

34: 1 Draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples! Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it.
   2 For the LORD’S indignation is against all the nations, And His wrath against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them,  He has given them over to slaughter.
   3 So their slain will be thrown out, And their corpses will give off their stench, And the mountains will be drenched with their blood.
   4  And all the host of heaven will wear away, And the sky will be rolled up like a scroll; All their hosts will also wither away As a leaf withers from the vine, Or as one withers from the fig tree.

Universal Condemnation (vv. 1-4)

5 For My sword is satiated in heaven, Behold it shall descend for judgment upon Edom And upon the people whom I have devoted to destruction.

Edom as Typical (v. 5)

Abraham

|

Isaac

                   /         \

        Jacob               Esau

             |                        |

        Israel               Edom

               5      For My sword is satiated in heaven,
         Behold it shall descend for judgment upon Edom
         And upon the people whom I have devoted to destruction.
               6      The sword of the LORD is filled with blood,
         It is sated with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats,
         With the fat of the kidneys of rams.
         For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah
         And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
               7      Wild oxen will also fall with them
         And young bulls with strong ones;
         Thus their land will be soaked with blood,
         And their dust become greasy with fat.

Sacrifice Repayment (vv. 5-7)

8 For the LORD has a day of vengeance,

    A year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

9 Its streams will be turned into pitch,

     And its loose earth into brimstone,

     And its land will become burning pitch.

10 It will not be quenched night or day;

     Its smoke will go up forever.

     From generation to generation it will be

     desolate; None will pass through it forever and ever. 

Opposite of Human Flourishing (vv. 8-15)

8 For the LORD has a day of vengeance,

    A year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

9 Its streams will be turned into pitch,

     And its loose earth into brimstone,

     And its land will become burning pitch.

10 It will not be quenched night or day;

     Its smoke will go up forever.

     From generation to generation it will be desolate;

     None will pass through it forever and ever. 

Opposite of Human Flourishing (vv. 8-15)

11 But pelican and hedgehog will possess it, And owl and raven will dwell in it; And He will stretch over it the line of desolation And the plumb line of emptiness.

12 Its nobles—there is no one there Whom they may proclaim king—And all its princes will be nothing.

13 Thorns will come up in its fortified towers, Nettles and thistles in its fortified cities; It will also be a haunt of jackals And an abode of ostriches.

14 The desert creatures will meet with the wolves, The hairy goat also will cry to its kind; Yes, the night monster will settle there And will find herself a resting place.

15 The tree snake will make its nest and lay eggs there, And it will hatch and gather them under its protection. Yes, the hawks will be gathered there,                           Every one with its kind. 

Opposite of Human Flourishing (vv. 8-15)

11 But pelican and hedgehog will possess it, And owl and raven will dwell in it; And He will stretch over it the line of desolation And the plumb line of emptiness.

12 Its nobles—there is no one there Whom they may proclaim king—And all its princes will be nothing.

13 Thorns will come up in its fortified towers, Nettles and thistles in its fortified cities; It will also be a haunt of jackals And an abode of ostriches.

14 The desert creatures will meet with the wolves, The hairy goat also will cry to its kind; Yes, the night monster will settle there And will find herself a resting place.

15 The tree snake will make its nest and lay eggs there, And it will hatch and gather them under its protection. Yes, the hawks will be gathered there,                           Every one with its kind. 

Opposite of Human Flourishing (vv. 8-15)

11 But pelican and hedgehog will possess it, And owl and raven will dwell in it; And He will stretch over it the line of desolation And the plumb line of emptiness.

12 Its nobles—there is no one there Whom they may proclaim king—And all its princes will be nothing.

13 Thorns will come up in its fortified towers, Nettles and thistles in its fortified cities; It will also be a haunt of jackals And an abode of ostriches.

14 The desert creatures will meet with the wolves, The hairy goat also will cry to its kind; Yes, the night monster will settle there And will find herself a resting place.

15 The tree snake will make its nest and lay eggs there, And it will hatch and gather them under its protection. Yes, the hawks will be gathered there,                           Every one with its kind. 

Opposite of Human Flourishing (vv. 8-15)

               16      Seek from the book of the LORD, and read:
         Not one of these will be missing;
         None will lack its mate.
         For His mouth has commanded,
         And His Spirit has gathered them.
               17      He has cast the lot for them,
         And His hand has divided it to them by line.
         They shall possess it forever;
         From generation to generation they will dwell in it.

A Sure Thing (vv. 16-17)

"...on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Jesus Christ" (Rom 2:16).

God's judgment is part of the gospel.

God's judgment is needed.

God's judgment is needed.

God's judgment shows we matter.

God's judgment is needed.

God's judgment shows we matter.

God's judgment allows us to forgive and love.

God's judgment is needed.

God's judgment shows we matter.

God's judgment allows us to forgive and love.

God's judgment invites us to seek shelter.