Read Isaiah Chapter 13
Sometimes as Christians, we want to gloss over the wrath of God and the consequences for not choosing His mercy. But there are consequences to not having Jesus as Lord of your life. Isaiah Chapter 13 brings those costs to vivid light. This chapter is a prophecy concerning what would happen to Babylon but is also prophecy about the symbolic Babylon on The Day of The Lord and what will happen to the people on that terrible Day of Judgment when the Lord deals with them once and for all.
We see The Lord as The God of Hosts, The God of Angel Armies as He calls His angels into service to make war on the evil nation of Babylon. In verses 1-3, a signal is raised and the army gathers.
Verses 4-5 read,
“The sound of a tumult is on the mountains
as of a great multitude!
The sound of an uproar of kingdoms,
of nations gathering together!
The Lord of hosts is mustering
a host for battle.
5 They come from a distant land,
from the end of the heavens,
the Lord and the weapons of his indignation,
to destroy the whole land”
Even coming together will be an event that strikes terror into people. The sound itself will be frightening. Verses 6-8 describe the fear,
“Wail, for the day of the Lord is near;
as destruction from the Almighty it will come!
7 Therefore all hands will be feeble,
and every human heart will melt.
8 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.”
The chapter continues with a gruesome look at the God’s wrath and some of what He will do. Verse 9 says His anger will be directed at sinners. They will try to get away but will not. Not one will be spared. Everything they cared for will be destroyed in front of them. Their families, their riches, their glory will be devastated. Everything and everyone will be wiped out.
I occasionally watch a show called Forgotten Planet which shows cities around the world that for some reason or another have been abandoned. It points out that the world keeps moving whether people are there or not. It shows the smallness of man in comparison to nature. Nature overtakes the ghost towns. Animals live where people once did. Plants grow and crumble the buildings that once stood. Weather demolishes what the plants don’t. Verses 20-22 paint that picture of Babylon after the Lord has His vengeance.
“It will never be inhabited
or lived in for all generations;
no Arab will pitch his tent there;
no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.
21 But wild animals will lie down there,
and their houses will be full of howling creatures;
there ostriches will dwell,
and there wild goats will dance.
22 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.”
The lost do not want to hear this. The Followers of Christ don’t like to think about it. But it is a fact we need to keep in mind. The wages of sin is death. The wrath of God is horrific. The choice is Jesus and eternal life or self and the wrath of The Almighty God. His love is too great to let the wickedness of the world go unpunished. Vengeance is His and it is dreadful.
You can make a difference. You can tell people the truth and let them choose the grace and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. The time is close at hand.
Sometimes as Christians, we want to gloss over the wrath of God and the consequences for not choosing His mercy. But there are consequences to not having Jesus as Lord of your life. Isaiah Chapter 13 brings those costs to vivid light. This chapter is a prophecy concerning what would happen to Babylon but is also prophecy about the symbolic Babylon on The Day of The Lord and what will happen to the people on that terrible Day of Judgment when the Lord deals with them once and for all.
We see The Lord as The God of Hosts, The God of Angel Armies as He calls His angels into service to make war on the evil nation of Babylon. In verses 1-3, a signal is raised and the army gathers.
Verses 4-5 read,
“The sound of a tumult is on the mountains
as of a great multitude!
The sound of an uproar of kingdoms,
of nations gathering together!
The Lord of hosts is mustering
a host for battle.
5 They come from a distant land,
from the end of the heavens,
the Lord and the weapons of his indignation,
to destroy the whole land”
Even coming together will be an event that strikes terror into people. The sound itself will be frightening. Verses 6-8 describe the fear,
“Wail, for the day of the Lord is near;
as destruction from the Almighty it will come!
7 Therefore all hands will be feeble,
and every human heart will melt.
8 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.”
The chapter continues with a gruesome look at the God’s wrath and some of what He will do. Verse 9 says His anger will be directed at sinners. They will try to get away but will not. Not one will be spared. Everything they cared for will be destroyed in front of them. Their families, their riches, their glory will be devastated. Everything and everyone will be wiped out.
I occasionally watch a show called Forgotten Planet which shows cities around the world that for some reason or another have been abandoned. It points out that the world keeps moving whether people are there or not. It shows the smallness of man in comparison to nature. Nature overtakes the ghost towns. Animals live where people once did. Plants grow and crumble the buildings that once stood. Weather demolishes what the plants don’t. Verses 20-22 paint that picture of Babylon after the Lord has His vengeance.
“It will never be inhabited
or lived in for all generations;
no Arab will pitch his tent there;
no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.
21 But wild animals will lie down there,
and their houses will be full of howling creatures;
there ostriches will dwell,
and there wild goats will dance.
22 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.”
The lost do not want to hear this. The Followers of Christ don’t like to think about it. But it is a fact we need to keep in mind. The wages of sin is death. The wrath of God is horrific. The choice is Jesus and eternal life or self and the wrath of The Almighty God. His love is too great to let the wickedness of the world go unpunished. Vengeance is His and it is dreadful.
You can make a difference. You can tell people the truth and let them choose the grace and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. The time is close at hand.
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