Isaiah 34
GOD WILL DESTROY HIS ENEMIES
The story is told of Franklin Roosevelt, who often endured long receiving lines at the White House. He complained that no one really paid any attention to what was said. One day, during a reception, he decided to try an experiment. To each person who passed down the line and shook his hand, he murmured, "I murdered my grandmother this morning." The guests responded with phrases like, "Marvelous! Keep up the good work. We are proud of you. God bless you, sir." It was not till the end of the line, while greeting the ambassador from Bolivia, that his words were actually heard. Nonplussed, the ambassador leaned over and whispered, "I'm sure she had it coming."
Why is it that people so often will try to give the impression they are listening to what is being said, but their mind is miles away? The people of Judah were no less guilty. God spoke to them often, in many ways, clearly and distinctly as well as in symbolic ways. But hardly anyone ever listened and paid attention to His message. How sad. Today’s section in Isaiah opens with a plea to listen to God. It shows us how the people were faced with a choice: listen to God and follow His directions, or listen to the king of Assyria. Which are they going to choose?
Please remember, as always, that these passages from the Old Testament apply as much to us today as they did when Isaiah wrote them around 700 B.C. Please don’t think they were only meant for the Jews 2,700 years ago.
Let’s begin by looking at Isaiah 34:1 NAS:
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.
Could God’s call to listen be any more obvious? He is not only speaking to the Jewish people, but also to all the earth, to any nation or people that will hear Him. God’s grace and love call us to listen to Him.
Under King Ahaz, Judah had become a vassal (a servant state) to Assyria, paying tribute and doing in effect whatever Assyria demanded. Dependence upon Assyria had become necessary because Judah was once again vulnerable to the Edomites and the Philistines. Although Isaiah knows that invasions by foreign nations are part of God’s plan for punishing Judah, he is also aware that these nations are acting from their own selfish and evil motivations, and that God will ultimately bring about their destruction as well. Therefore Isaiah pronounces God’s judgment against several nations at this and later times.
The sinful world will be judged
Israel’s ancient enemy Edom is singled out in verses 5 and 6, but this judgment of God will come upon the whole world, not just Edom. Edom is only one example of God’s judgment on the unbelieving nations because of what they’ve done to Israel. “For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion” (Isaiah 34:8). We find that this passage is also talking about the end times. Nations that have mistreated Israel and attempted to take her land (Joel 3:1–17) will be repaid by God for their actions. “Zion’s cause” may not get much support among the nations today, but God is going to come to their defense and make their cause succeed. I would suggest the United States be very careful in suggesting to Israel that they turn over any of their territory to foreign nations as part of a peace process.
Isaiah 34:1-4 NAS:
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.
Isaiah begins with a military picture of the armies on the earth and in Heaven (verse 4). The enemy armies on earth will be slaughtered, the land will be drenched with blood, and the bodies of the slain will be left unburied to rot and to smell. This is a vivid description of the battle of Armageddon (Revelation 19:11–21), the humiliating defeat and destruction of the armies of the world that dare to attack the Son of God. “The hosts of heaven” will also be affected by vast cosmic disturbances.[fn] What a day that will be![fn]
Isaiah 34:5-8 NAS:
5 For My sword is satiated[fn] 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[fn] 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.
God’s slaughter of Edom by His sword is pictured as a great sacrifice in Bozrah (Isaiah 63:1), which today is called Buseirah and lies about 25 miles southeast of the Dead Sea. Edom here is simply representative of all the nations who come against Israel. God’s reason for judging Edom is that He must uphold Zion’s cause on the day of vengeance. Having promised to bless His Chosen People, God must fulfill His promises. Therefore when they are attacked He goes to their aid.[fn] At the end of the Tribulation, Jesus will appear in the sky as the nations of the world look on.
9 Its streams will be turned into pitch, And its loose earth into brimstone, And its land will become burning pitch.[fn]
10 It will not be quenched night or day; Its smoke will go up forever.[fn] From generation to generation it will be desolate; None will pass through it forever and ever.[fn]
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.[fn]
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.[fn]
As a result of God’s sword of judgment on Edom, her land will seem to be ablaze with sulfur and burning pitch, a tar-like substance that is unable to be extinguished. The land will lie desolate for many generations. God’s judgment is to reduce the nations to nothing more than volcanic ashes. Edom’s cities and territories will be inhabited by wild birds and animals, which do not normally inhabit populated villages and towns. These animals will thrive because there won’t be any people living there. Edom’s defenses will be overgrown with thorn bushes. The prophecies of God will be fulfilled with 100% accuracy just as they were regarding Christ‘s first coming. God has set Edom aside just as He once did Canaan (Numbers 26:55,56; Joshua 18:4-6) and given it to the wild animals.
While all this seems pretty bleak and depressing, we once again find in verses 16 and 17 an invitation and a glimpse of the character of God. We hear the invitation to look into God’s Book and see that God always keeps His promises. God is faithful. God has promised this land to the children of Israel and verse 17 assures them that they will one day “possess it forever” and “dwell in it.” This is the transition into the promises of chapter 35, promises of the Millennial Kingdom.
[fn] Matthew 24:29; Joel 2:10, 30–31; 3:15; Revelation 6:13–14.
[fn] Wiersbe, W. W. 1996, c1992. Be comforted. An Old Testament study. Victor Books: Wheaton, Ill.
[fn] A custom to soak one’s sword in a solution to harden it and brighten it so it would glitter.
[fn] God’s sword will spare no one.
[fn] Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. 1983-c1985. The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures . Victor Books: Wheaton, IL
[fn] Refers here to Edom and to the world during the end times.
[fn] Edom’s destruction is final and forever.
[fn] This is also a reference to Hell and eternal damnation, not just a single military defeat. The fire of eternal Hell will never be quenched. The book of Revelation predicts this destiny for the final end-time world empire.
[fn] Leviticus 17:7. Jewish legend told of a night monster who was reported to fasten on to anyone sleeping in a room alone, and steal new-born infants from their beds at night.
[fn] Edom and all nations like it will be gone forever and ever.
