Day of Vengeance
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Laura and I have quite distinct tastes in movies. We fit the stereotype - where she is much more likely to pick a “chick-flick” and I’m going to pick a war movie or other action flick. It so happened that Laura & I were talking about the Trojan war this week, and I convinced Laura to try and watch the Hollywood movie version of the story with me (totally inaccurate by the way!). You’re better of just reading the Illiad.… but i digress.
Anyway, where I was quite comfortable with the scenes of battle and the rising tension of the storytelling. Laura was quite predictably not keen. Even though we both knew that the story ended with the trojans bringing the Greek horse sculpture inside the city (not realising that there were soldiers hiding inside), and that Troy would fall to the Greeks. Even though we knew the end of the story, the reality of the blood and guts and broken families and ruined lives was too much for Laura. It was an interesting contrast, as I considered how unmoved I often am when watching films of great destruction and war.
Now I don’t share this story to embarrass Laura, I love the fact that she has a low threshold for violence and human suffering. I just thought that it was a great object lesson as we approach this passage.
All Christians know how the story ends. We know that Jesus wins. We know that judgement day is coming. Some of us gravitate towards the vivid descriptions of the coming wrath of God and are unmoved by the graphic descriptions of ruin and yet some of us are overwhelmed by this language and talking about God’s wrath and we shy away from thinking about this too much.
Unfortunately for many of us, we were discipled in churches that shied away from God’s judgment and wrath. It can of course go the other way, where there is an unhealthy focus on this stuff, but for most of us that’s not the case. What’s more likley is that we have not spent enough time coming face to face with the wrath of God and his promised vengeance.
For some of us, we’re happy to take the love and mercy of God, but it’s uncomfortable to think too long about God’s wrath, so we just pass over it like passing over a war movie on the shelf. We don’t want to have to think about it too long.
Jesus is the person in the Bible who talks most about hell, and the the New testament, especially Revelation, is replete with examples of the Justice, Judgement, Wrath and Vengeance of God. We need to become very comfortable with it, because this is the God we worship. This is the God we love and serve. Our merciful and loving God is just and full of wrath toward evil.
If we are uncomfortable with this, then we need to grow in our faith. We do not want to be guilty of making a God in our own image that suits us.
We’re in Isaiah
Name means YHWH is Salvation
2700 years ago
In Judah
Finished our 6 woes, and now we move into a 2-chapter section on Judgement and Salvation
The LORD’s wrath against the Nations (v1-3)
The LORD’s wrath against the Nations (v1-3)
This passage begins with a call to all the world to listen
A Call to all the nations, but we will see it play out specifically in Edom shortly
Draw near, O nations, to hear, and give attention, O peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that fills it; the world, and all that comes from it.
We’re not just talking about Judah anymore with the particular circumstances around their political affairs, but about the whole world.
The Lord sets the boundaries of nations (doesn;t mean they don’t move), but each nation just like each individual, has a responsibility to be loyal to God and to act righteously
God will hold the nations to account:
For the Lord is enraged against all the nations, and furious against all their host; he has devoted them to destruction, has given them over for slaughter.
GOd is furious. Unlike our anger, God’s anger is always justified. He is not “lost” in his anger like we can be, he has perfect rage against the sinful nations that are doing wicked things. Like what?
Oppressing the poor and vulnerable
False worship - including idol worship, child sacrifice, etc.
Unjust wars against their neighbours,
etc.
Remember the conquest of Canan? Just as the Israelites were to devote to destruction some of the peoples and their belongings because they were utterly contemptible to the Lord, so these rebellious and wicked nations will be devoted to destruction, harem. They will be consumed.
The will receive a fair reward.
The imagery is not pleasant:
Their slain shall be cast out, and the stench of their corpses shall rise; the mountains shall flow with their blood.
This is a scene that would not be nice to see. Rivers of blood, disgusting stench in the air around piles of bodies.
When God brings his judgement on the earth, it will not be fun or pleasant or “nice”. But it will be good. All the LORD does is good.
All he does is right.
All he does is worthy of praise.
An we will praise our God who says “Vengeance is mine, I will repay”
So, what is the application?
All nations hear the Word of the LORD: Our God comes in Judgement. He will not delay forever, he will come and give you what you deserve.
But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
God’s delay is for your repentance! So turn, turn away from sin and evil and turn to the Righteousness of the Living God. Turn to the only Saviour, Jesus Christ.
God can save individuals, and nations. Nations may serve God. God save our nation!
The LORD’s wrath against the Host of Heaven (v4)
The LORD’s wrath against the Host of Heaven (v4)
The text switches to talk about not only the humans involved in these rebellious nations but the spiritual beings who were involved too.
Background on the Host
The Bible talks about the idea that there are spiritual beings, some of whom are given special authority and responsibilities over nations and peoples.
Many of them have rebelled. And God has promised to judge them in Psalm 82. Like men you will die.
This passage says the same thing:
All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall fall, as leaves fall from the vine, like leaves falling from the fig tree.
The host were associated with the stars. The stars were associated with divine beings in heaven. And so the sky being rolled up, and the stars falling is a picture of these diving beings, angels, being thrown out of heaven.
They were behind the nations, and so they will be judged too.
They will fall like leaves in autumn, fall to the ground and die.
Take comfort! the LORD will bring justice in heaven and on earth.
Jesus came to overthrow the power of the rebelious angels. He triumphed over them, putting the to open shame!
The LORD’s wrath against Edom (v5-8)
The LORD’s wrath against Edom (v5-8)
Who was Edom?
The judgement on Edom specifically is emblematic of the judgement coming on all the nations.
For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction. The Lord has a sword; it is sated with blood; it is gorged 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, a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
From heaven to earth
Harem, Sacrifice
Blood spilled in payment
For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
The Judgement of God is for the benefit of God’s people - the Holy City
The LORD will make Edom a Wilderness (v9-17)
The LORD will make Edom a Wilderness (v9-17)
And the streams of Edom shall be turned into pitch, and her soil into sulfur; her land shall become burning pitch. Night and day it shall not be quenched; its smoke shall go up forever. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it forever and ever.
Once more they cried out, “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”
But the hawk and the porcupine shall possess it, the owl and the raven shall dwell in it. He shall stretch the line of confusion over it, and the plumb line of emptiness.
Unclean creatures possess the land
v11 - Same words as Gen 1:2 - Empty and Formless. God will unmake Edom (& the nations)
Seek and read from the book of the Lord: Not one of these shall be missing; none shall be without her mate. For the mouth of the Lord has commanded, and his Spirit has gathered them.
Even the justice of God has particular intentional ends.
So What?
So What?
Judgement Day is coming for the whole world!
All nations hear the Word of the LORD: Our God comes in Judgement. He will not delay forever, he will come and give you what you deserve.
God’s delay is for your repentance! So turn, turn away from sin and evil and turn to the Righteousness of the Living God. Turn to the only Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Jesus came to overthrow the power of the rebelious angels. He triumphed over them, putting the to open shame!
