“Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it.” Isaiah 13:9 ESV
Reflection: Why has God not destroyed all evil, sin and sinners from the earth yet?
We are presented with a prophecy in chapter 13, that seems to have elements of past, present and future in it. Most scholars believe that this prophecy was mostly directed to, and fulfilled a couple hundred years after Isaiah saw it, as there are specific references to Medea, which according to Strong was a “land inhabited by the descendants of Japheth; located northwest of Persia proper, south and southwest of the Caspian Sea, east of Armenia and Assyria, and west and northwest of the great salt desert of Iram”. We read “Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold.” Isaiah 13:17 ESV. And, speaking of the destruction of Babylon “Hyenas will cry in its towers, and jackals in the pleasant palaces; its time is close at hand and its days will not be prolonged.” Isaiah 13:22 ESV.
But we also see language that would indicate prophecy not yet fulfilled. We read “Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come! Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt. They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame. Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light. I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.” Isaiah 13:6-11 ESV.
We see language here, equating the time to a woman in labor, similar to what Jesus said “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.” Matthew 24:6-8 ESV. And, of course, it is pretty easy to see by looking around us that the final battle, the complete destruction of Babylon, described in Revelations 18, has not yet taken place. Isaiah saw most likely multiple event horizons, of God’s patience, dealing with sin and sinners, again and again, to bring as many as possible to Him.
So although the prophecy of Isaiah chapter 13 was mostly fulfilled long ago, what can it teach us today? I watched an eerie interview yesterday with an advisor to president Putin of Russia. He was talking about the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons against Germany and the United Kingdom to stop their aggression against Russia. It is very hard to image such events, against any country regardless of our thoughts on a conflict. But, we have of course seen the rapid decline of morality and justice in these countries, where they put people in prison for “thought crimes”, especially targeting Christians. Freedom of speech and religion under direct attack, in many countries. A woman was recently arrested in England for silently praying in front of an abortion clinic.
Would God “stir the hearts” of nations to punish such wickedness, also in our day? Through history, we have seen lands and people destroyed by the anger of the Lord, as also seen by Isaiah about 3000 years ago. We must submit to a holy God, fear Him alone, and follow His ways. And someday, He will put a permanent end to all evil and suffering.