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Isaiah 34 Commentary

Judgment On The Nations

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KEY THOUGHT: For the indignation of the Lord is against all nations [Isaiah 34:2a NKJV]

Kindly read your Bible before going through the commentary!

Isaiah 34 NKJV
Judgment on the Nations

34 Come near, you nations, to hear;
And heed, you people!
Let the earth hear, and all that is in it,
The world and all things that come forth from it.
2 For the indignation of the Lord is against all nations,
And His fury against all their armies;
He has utterly destroyed them,
He has given them over to the slaughter.
3 Also their slain shall be thrown out;
Their stench shall rise from their corpses,
And the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
4 All the host of heaven shall be dissolved,
And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll;
All their host shall fall down
As the leaf falls from the vine,
And as fruit falling from a fig tree.

5 “For My sword shall be bathed in heaven;
Indeed it shall come down on Edom,
And on the people of My curse, for judgment.
6 The sword of the Lord is filled with blood,
It is made [a]overflowing with fatness,
With the blood of lambs and goats,
With the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 The wild oxen shall come down with them,
And the young bulls with the mighty bulls;
Their land shall be soaked with blood,
And their dust [b]saturated with fatness.”

8 For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance,
The year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
9 Its streams shall be turned into pitch,
And its dust into brimstone;
Its land shall become burning pitch.
10 It shall not be quenched night or day;
Its smoke shall ascend forever.
From generation to generation it shall lie waste;
No one shall pass through it forever and ever.
11 But the [c]pelican and the [d]porcupine shall possess it,
Also the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.
And He shall stretch out over it
The line of confusion and the stones of emptiness.
12 They shall call its nobles to the kingdom,
But none shall be there, and all its princes shall be nothing.

13 And thorns shall come up in its palaces,
Nettles and brambles in its fortresses;
It shall be a habitation of jackals,
A courtyard for ostriches.
14 The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the [e]jackals,
And the wild goat shall bleat to its companion;
Also [f]the night creature shall rest there,
And find for herself a place of rest.
15 There the arrow snake shall make her nest and lay eggs
And hatch, and gather them under her shadow;
There also shall the hawks be gathered,
Every one with her mate.

16 “Search from the book of the Lord, and read:
Not one of these shall fail;
Not one shall lack her mate.
For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them.
17 He has cast the lot for them,
And His hand has divided it among them with a measuring line.
They shall possess it forever;
From generation to generation they shall dwell in it.”

Footnotes

a. Isaiah 34:6 Lit. fat
b. Isaiah 34:7 Lit. made fat
c. Isaiah 34:11 Or owl
d. Isaiah 34:11 Or hedgehog
e. Isaiah 34:14 Lit. howling creatures
f. Isaiah 34:14 Heb. lilith

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Isaiah 34 Commentary

The LORD is angry with all the nations; He has condemned them to destruction – the mountains will be red with blood. This is Isaiah’s version of Romans 3:23.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Isaiah has a unique way of painting the consequence of man’s rebellion – death. “He has utterly destroyed them.” Verse 2b.

Isaiah’s vision here has nothing to do with Israel’s punishment by Assyria. Or Jerusalem’s destruction by Babylon. Or indeed, Babylon’s defeat by the Medes – all recorded by the prophet. This one seems special as it involves “all the nations”.

It may involve the destruction of physical elements of creation: The sun, the moon, the sky, and the stars.

Of course, the New Testament puts it plainly. We understand the purpose and are happy because we see the LORD creating “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.” Revelation 21:1.

The mention of Edom is deliberate. He is Jacob’s brother who missed the blessing of the LORD because of ungodliness. So the world suffers exactly because of ungodliness. The holiness of the LORD burns like a fire, destroying all ungodliness in its wake.

Zion stands alone. It is representing the seed with which the LORD starts life afresh – the second Adam. Isaiah provokes several thoughts by popping up concepts from the distant past. Mixing these thoughts with his own time, he talks about his immediate future as well as the distant future. It is a complex presentation but incredibly beautiful.

Zion isn’t the physical space we can visit or construct. It is the person, the office, the ministry, the kingdom, or the presence of the LORD Himself. We saw the concept of the Son – the Son born to us with the government on his shoulders. We saw Immanuel – the Prince of peace, God Almighty. Then the Branch, or the Holy Seed.

The saint is reminded of a day when the LORD upholds Zion’s cause. Verse 8. It is the day of the LORD. The saint can have joy. Eventually, righteousness wins the day. You don’t want to miss it!

The scripture uses the term “vision”. It speaks of visuals, metaphors to explain realities on the ground. You almost always attach the thought, “Not real”. But the virgin did conceive. The “Son” was born. He actually has the government on His shoulder. Ponder.

Loving Scripture….

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25 thoughts on “Home”

  1. It has been exciting learning how God can make things happen to his choosen one, God workout something wonderful and fulfils the promises he made to the father of Joseph.

    God’s words remains true so are his promises and indeed it has been God working out the salvation of man Kind by Grace through Faith alone.

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  11. Profound. My life needs a new introduction to God. Not that I have been right, but because God desires to help me… I see an amazing Grace here. Having broken the first commandment, still God looks for me and helps me to build up with him… And live for him. A littles knowledge of the Lord will ignite my passion and desire to serve him. This morning I pledge to seek, live and serve the Lord Jesus Christ and His purposes everyday of my life.
    Beautiful lesson

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  12. The Lord reintroduces himself and shows Israel, He is all they need. Some boast in horses and others in chariots but we’ll boast in the Lord. He is able and the only one worthy of our trust. Lord teach me how to always look up to you at all times and not focus on my strength or capabilities. This is my prayer

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  14. This far too common today. Just do something that seems like true worship yet it’s intent and actual practice is not even close to the set standard by the Lord. I personally feel challenged of some things we do in our personal lives, the focus of many churches and ministries today. We’ll need to realize the Lord must be worship as he has personally guided. Provides a good start of my reflection today

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  15. In those days when there was no King everyone did as they pleased. This is a good reminder to us that we are on own when the King of Kings isn’t leading our lives we’ll be doing what is not right and the results will show clearly how life without Christ looks like. We thank God that even when it looks like he’s not there, he’s behind the scenes working. I have learnt to trust in the Lord always.

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  16. Iam seeing this being stressed… There was no King in Israel… So lawlessness is the order of the day. This shows how heartless and wicked man can be with out the right King in his life. He can do anything. May the Lord help us to allow Christ in our lives that every aspect of our lives is changed and we yield ourselves to him alone.

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  17. I’m sure as the two daughters in-law stayed in Naomi’s home they learned about the God of Israel and appreciated His works among his people. Ruth’s determination and what she says moves my heart. She’s convinced she must go with Naomi and wants to spend her life with her, this relationship was strong especially between a mother inlaw and a daughter in-law. Yet Ruth stays and how she puts it shows the depth of her heart, I’ll go with with you, your people will be my people, your God will be my God…

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