“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. 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.” Isaiah 34:1-2 ESV
Reflection: with the recent war with Iran, is the Lord judging that nation for its atrocities against its people?
If you listen to the “news”, or any opinion program on social media, it might be very difficult to know what to think about what is going on in the world these days. There is so much deception, lack of transparency and truth in reporting, so much propaganda. Hard to know sometimes who the good guys are, and therefore who the bad guys are, even within governments. But most of nations of the world, regardless of political affiliation, tend to agree that an authoritarian rule and government which is oppressing and killing its own people to keep them in line, such as has been the case in Iran, is wrong. Now, what to do about this wrong, including the removal of such evil government, whether that is the responsibility, even an obligation, of the nations of the world, is a point of contention. As a Christian, if you see your neighbor abusing their children, do you just continue to observe, or do you step in to help the children, to stop the abuse? And perhaps a more general question for us is,
What is our responsibility to deal with all the evil around us?
Because. it is not only the wars between nations. We notice perhaps a much greater war going on against faith, against Christians specifically, against morals, against basic freedoms, even against the family and the most vulnerable of our society; the children and the unborn. Anything that is good and right is being targeted. In the end, we know that it really is a war against God. It is nothing new; it has been going on since the fall. In fact, the Old Testament is full of wars, one nation or kingdom going against another. But when we read the various biblical accounts of these wars, we also see what is happening is something much bigger than just physical battles. We see also God using these conflicts to call on people to repent and turn to Him, and to judge nations of their wickedness.
Isaiah chapters 34 and 35 are in a way a summary of prophecies, starting with God’s judgment on the nations of the world. We see the reference in chapter 34 to “Edom”, which refers back to Esau, the older brother of Jacob, who sold his birthright to Jacob for just a meal, to satisfy his flesh (Genesis 25:29-34). But we also see a vision for God’s people of a beautiful future, post judgment of evil. “The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God.” Isaiah 35:1-2 ESV. We have to keep in mind as we read this that there are some imagery in the prophecies that might be seen also in the physical, and some mostly in the spiritual. But in all, we see that God is in control, to fulfill His purpose.
We read a bit later something that should give us great courage, “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. He has cast the lot for them; his hand has portioned it out to them with the line; they shall possess it forever; from generation to generation they shall dwell in it.” Isaiah 34:16-17 ESV It is so comforting to know that, in the midst of all the turmoil in the world, we can read and rely on the word of God. He tells us to “seek and read” from the Bible, that it all will be fulfilled, and therefore we can validate that His word is true.
While it might be storming around us these days at many levels, including between nations, we have nothing to fear because our Lord says “I am watching over my word to perform it.”” Jeremiah 1:12 ESV. God is in control.
