Isaiah 34 (NIV)
1Come near, you nations, and listen;
pay attention, you peoples!
Let the earth hear, and all that is in it,
the world, and all that comes out of it!
2 The Lord is angry with all nations;
his wrath is on all their armies.
He will totally destroy them,
he will give them over to slaughter.
3 Their slain will be thrown out,
their dead bodies will stink;
the mountains will be soaked with their blood.
4 All the stars in the sky will be dissolved
and the heavens rolled up like a scroll;
all the starry host will fall
like withered leaves from the vine,
like shriveled figs from the fig tree.
5 My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens;
see, it descends in judgment on Edom,
the people I have totally destroyed.
6 The sword of the Lord is bathed in blood,
it is covered with fat—
the blood of lambs and goats,
fat from the kidneys of rams.
For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah
and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 And the wild oxen will fall with them,
the bull calves and the great bulls.
Their land will be drenched with blood,
and the dust will be soaked with fat.
8 For the Lord has a day of vengeance,
a year of retribution, to uphold Zion’s cause.
9 Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,
her dust into burning sulfur;
her land will become blazing pitch!
10 It will not be quenched night or day;
its smoke will rise forever.
From generation to generation it will lie desolate;
no one will ever pass through it again.
11 The desert owl and screech owl will possess it;
the great owl and the raven will nest there.
God will stretch out over Edom
the measuring line of chaos
and the plumb line of desolation.
12 Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,
all her princes will vanish away.
13 Thorns will overrun her citadels,
nettles and brambles her strongholds.
She will become a haunt for jackals,
a home for owls.
14 Desert creatures will meet with hyenas,
and wild goats will bleat to each other;
there the night creatures will also lie down
and find for themselves places of rest.
15 The owl will nest there and lay eggs,
she will hatch them, and care for her young
under the shadow of her wings;
there also the falcons will gather,
each with its mate.
16 Look in the scroll of the Lord and read:
None of these will be missing,
not one will lack her mate.
For it is his mouth that has given the order,
and his Spirit will gather them together.
17 He allots their portions;
his hand distributes them by measure.
They will possess it forever
and dwell there from generation to generation.
Reflection:
Recent films like “2012,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” and “Knowing” take us into an apocalyptic world where a catastrophic event of nature destroys modern civilization, as we know it.All the securities of today- homes, finances, technology, military power and food industry- are totally wiped out. And as we read this chapter, Isaiah’s prophecy is one of total desolation; a culmination of the preceding chapters, which were filled with God’s judgment against the opposing nations and people of the earth. All these nations and all that they glory in (which Israel was tempted to trust in instead of God) will one day be turned from streams into desert wasteland.This is a destiny decreed and sealed by the Lord “None of these will be missing…”
Our God is awesome and holy; He rules over and judges all the nations.And one day, everything that is not of Him will share in the same destiny proclaimed here, but for those who trust in Him, their story will be different- a life clothed in His mercy, hope and redemption.
Responding to the Transmission:
Let’s spend some time thanking God for His incredible goodness, justice, and holiness.Let’s also pray that we will learn to walk with Him so that our lives will reflect His mercy and redemption to all those around us.
