THE LORD WILL JUDGE EDOM ISAIAH 34:1-17

Transcription

1 1 THE LORD WILL JUDGE EDOM ISAIAH 34:1-17

2 2 Text: Isaiah 34:1-17, THE LORD WILL JUDGE EDOM 1. Come near, you nations, and listen! Pay attention, you people! The earth and everything it contains must listen, the world and everything that lives in it. 2. For the Lord is angry at all the nations and furious with all their armies. He will annihilate them and slaughter them. 3. Their slain will be left unburied, their corpses will stink; the hills will soak up their blood. 4. All the stars in the sky will fade away, the sky will roll up like a scroll; all its stars will wither, like a leaf withers and falls from a vine or a fig withers and falls from a tree. 5. He says, Indeed, my sword has slaughtered heavenly powers. Look, it now descends on Edom, on the people I will annihilate in judgment. 6. The Lord s sword is dripping with blood, it is covered with fat; it drips with the blood of young rams and goats and is covered with the fat of rams kidneys. For the Lord is holding a sacrifice in Bozrah, a bloody slaughter in the land of Edom. 7. Wild oxen will be slaughtered along with them, as well as strong bulls. Their land is drenched with blood, their soil is covered with fat. 8. For the Lord has planned a day of revenge, a time when he will repay Edom for her hostility toward Zion. 9. Edom s streams will be turned into pitch and her soil into brimstone; her land will become burning pitch.

3 Night and day it will burn; its smoke will ascend continually. Generation after generation it will be a wasteland and no one will ever pass through it again. 11. Owls and wild animals will live there, all kinds of wild birds will settle in it. The Lord will stretch out over her the measuring line of ruin and the plumb line of destruction. 12. Her nobles will have nothing left to call a kingdom and all her officials will disappear. 13. Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns; thickets and weeds will grow in her fortified cities. Jackals will settle there; ostriches will live there. 14. Wild animals and wild dogs will congregate there; wild goats will bleat to one another. Yes, nocturnal animals will rest there and make for themselves a nest. 15. Owls will make nests and lay eggs there; they will hatch them and protect them. Yes, hawks will gather there, each with its mate. 16. Carefully read the scroll of the Lord! Not one of these creatures will be missing, none will lack a mate. For the Lord has issued the decree, and his own spirit gathers them. 17. He assigns them their allotment; he measures out their assigned place. They will live there permanently; they will settle in it through successive generations. (NET) Introduction: I. Much of the book of Isaiah was written in poetic form. A. Isaiah 34 was written as poetry.

4 4 B. Hebrew poetry was characterized by parallel statements, not by rhyming lines. II. Much of the book of Isaiah was written in figurative language. A. This is true of Isaiah 34. III. Isaiah 34 centers on the devastation that was to befall Edom, the country, and the Edomites, the people. A. Edom, also known as Esau, was the twin brother of Jacob, also known as Israel. B. From the animosity that was experienced between Jacob and Esau grew a lasting, centuries long hostility between their descendants, the Israelite and the Edomites (Edumaeans). (See Nelson s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary.) 1. The entire book of Obadiah is a prophecy against Edom. 2. Ezekiel 35:1-15, The word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, turn toward Mount Seir, and prophesy against it. Say to it, This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against you, Mount Seir; I will stretch out my hand against you and turn you into a desolate ruin. I will lay waste your cities; and you will become desolate. Then you will know that I am the Lord! You have shown unrelenting hostility and poured the

5 5 people of Israel onto the blades of a sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment. Therefore, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will subject you to bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you. I will turn Mount Seir into a desolate ruin; I will cut off from it the one who passes through or returns. I will fill its mountains with its dead; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines, those killed by the sword will fall. I will turn you into a perpetual desolation, and your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord. You said, These two nations, these two lands will be mine, and we will possess them, although the Lord was there therefore, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will deal with you according to your anger, and according to your envy, by which you acted spitefully against them. I will reveal myself to them when I judge you. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have heard all the insults you spoke against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are desolate, they have been given to us for food. You exalted yourselves against me with your speech and hurled many insults against me I have heard them all! This is what the sovereign Lord says: While the whole earth rejoices, I will turn you into a desolation. As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so will I deal with you you will be

6 6 desolate, Mount Seir, and all of Edom all of it! Then they will know that I am the Lord. (NET) 3. Malachi 1:1-5, What follows is divine revelation. The word of the Lord came to Israel through Malachi: I have shown love to you, says the Lord, but you say, How have you shown love to us? Esau was Jacob s brother, the Lord explains, yet I chose Jacob and rejected Esau. I turned Esau s mountains into a deserted wasteland and gave his territory to the wild jackals. Edom says, Though we are devastated, we will once again build the ruined places. So the Lord who rules over all responds, They indeed may build, but I will overthrow. They will be known as the land of evil, the people with whom the Lord is permanently displeased. Your eyes will see it, and then you will say, May the Lord be magnified even beyond the border of Israel! (NET) 4. Genesis 25:21-23, Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. But the children struggled inside her, and she said, If it is going to be like this, I m not so sure I want to be pregnant! So she asked the Lord, and the Lord said to her, Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples will be separated from within you. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger. (NET)

7 Psalm 137:7, Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. They said, Tear it down, tear it down, right to its very foundation! (NET) 6. Obadiah 1:10-14, Because you violently slaughtered your relatives, the people of Jacob, shame will cover you, and you will be destroyed forever. You stood aloof while strangers took his army captive, and foreigners advanced to his gates. When they cast lots over Jerusalem, you behaved as though you were in league with them. You should not have gloated when your relatives suffered calamity. You should not have rejoiced over the people of Judah when they were destroyed. You should not have boasted when they suffered adversity. You should not have entered the city of my people when they experienced distress. You should not have joined in gloating over their misfortune when they suffered distress. You should not have looted their wealth when they endured distress. You should not have stood at the fork in the road to slaughter those trying to escape. You should not have captured their refugees when they suffered adversity. (NET) 7. Amos 1:11, This is what the Lord says: Because Edom has committed three crimes make that four! I will not revoke my decree of judgment. He chased his brother with a sword;

8 8 he wiped out his allies. In his anger he tore them apart without stopping to rest; in his fury he relentlessly attacked them. (NET) 8. Ezekiel 25:12, This is what the sovereign Lord says: Edom has taken vengeance against the house of Judah; they have made themselves fully culpable by taking vengeance on them. (NET) C. It was an Edomite, Herod the Great, who tried to kill the baby Jesus. An Edomite killed the apostle James. An Edomite presided over the mock trial of Jesus. An Edomite murdered John the Baptist. (Coffman) IV. Hailey, et. al. classify chapters 34 and 35 as a unit which sets forth the judgment and destruction of the enemies of Jehovah and His people (chapter 34), and the redemption and glory of the ransomed (chapter 35). A. Smith speaks of Isaiah 34 and 35 as The Second Book of General Judgment which stresses God s sovereignty in judgment and in salvation. V. Coffman wrote that all the wicked nations on earth were to be divinely punished, Edom being a prime example of those to be punished. A. Edom is a symbol of all the nations that are hostile to God. (Broadman Bible Commentary via Coffman) VI. Chapter 34 addresses the enemies of God and His people centering on the Edomites while chapter 35 speaks of the

9 9 blessings enjoyed by God s people following the destruction of their wicked enemies. (See Clarke.) Commentary: Isaiah 34:1, Come near, you nations, and listen! Pay attention, you people! The earth and everything it contains must listen, the world and everything that lives in it. (NeT) I. Come near, you nations, and listen. Pay attention, you people! The earth and everything it contains must listen, the world and everything that lives in it. A. All nations, (all mankind, every person), were told to listen and pay attention to what God has to say. 1. Nothing has changed. God still commands all earth s people to listen and heed what God says, but few listen and heed the word of the Lord. 2. Smith wrote that Isaiah 34 presents two (2) pictures of judgment, one a worldwide catastrophe and one of a specific victim of that judgment; viz., Edom. B. If the nations of the world failed to listen and obey God s word, they would be told to listen to their unspeakably horrible punishment described for them. C. Briley well wrote, The opening verses of this chapter reveal in unmistakable terms that a day will come when God

10 10 will hold all nations accountable for their sins and will inflict a frightening penalty for their rebellion. D. Those who rebel against God and harm his faithful people and refuse to repent are doomed! 1. Coffman wrote that such words as these herald the world-wide importance of the Final Judgment. Isaiah 34:2, For the Lord is angry at all the nations and furious with all their armies. He will annihilate them and slaughter them. (NET) I. For the Lord is angry (indignant) at all the nations and furious with all their armies. He will annihilate (utterly destroy) them and slaughter them. A. Hailey wrote that all nations hostile to the Lord were the objects of his indignation. B. Compare this passage with: Deuteronomy 7:1-4, When the Lord your God brings you to the land that you are going to occupy and forces out many nations before you Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and powerful than you and he delivers them over to you and you attack them, you must utterly annihilate them. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy! You must not intermarry with them. Do not give your

11 11 daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your sons away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will erupt against you and he will quickly destroy you. (NET) 2. Genesis 15:16, In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit. (NET) C. In some versions this verse is expressed in the past tense as something that has already happened. 1. When God promises something it is just as certain to occur as if it had already happened. Isaiah 34:3, Their slain will be left unburied, their corpses will stink; the hills will soak up their blood. (NET) I. Their slain will be left unburied, their corpses will stink; the hills will soak up their blood. A. Hailey stated the picture presented in verses 3 and 4 is a gruesome one employing hyperbole (exaggeration) as strong as can be imagined. B. The language is figurative, but the meaning, the total defeat of God s enemies, is clear. 1. The slain will be left unburied. 2. Their corpses will be left to decay and stink.

12 The hills will soak up the blood of the dead. C. Briley wrote, God s greatest anger is reserved for those who actively oppose his purpose and his people. D. To leave dead bodies unburied, thrown to the dogs and vultures, was regarded as shameful, insulting! 1. Jeremiah 22:19, He will be left unburied just like a dead donkey. His body will be dragged off and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem. (NET) 2. There must have been an horrendous number of corpses making it even difficult to bury so many, all of them. (See The Pulpit commentary.) 3. God s enemies will be punished! You can be sure of that. Isaiah 34:4, All the stars in the sky will fade away, the sky will roll up like a scroll; all its stars will wither, like a leaf withers and falls from a vine or a fig withers and falls from a tree. (NET) I. All the stars (hosts) in the sky (heaven) will fade away,* the sky will roll up like a scroll; all its stars will wither, like a leaf withers and falls from a vine or a fig withers and falls from a tree. A. *NET Footnote: Hebrew And all the host of heaven will rot.

13 Isaiah 24:21, At that time the Lord will punish the heavenly forces in the heavens 0and the earthly kings on the earth. (NET) B. This reminds the reader of the literal end of the world, but here this is a strong metaphor describing the end of the world for the rebellious, heathen nations. (Hailey)... and their luminaries. 1. Isaiah 51:4-6, 16, Pay attention to me, my people! Listen to me, my people! For I will issue a decree, I will make my justice a light to the nations. I am ready to vindicate, I am ready to deliver, I will establish justice among the nations. The coastlands wait patiently for me; they wait in anticipation for the revelation of my power. Look up at the sky! Look at the earth below! For the sky will dissipate like smoke, and the earth will wear out like clothes; its residents will die like gnats. But the deliverance I give is permanent; the vindication I provide will not disappear. I commission you as my spokesman; I cover you with the palm of my hand, to establish the sky and to found the earth, to say to Zion, You are my people. (NET) 2. Isaiah 65:16-18, Whoever pronounces a blessing in the earth will do so in the name of the faithful God; whoever makes an oath in the earth will do so in the name of the faithful God. For past problems will be forgotten; I will no

14 14 longer think about them. For look, I am ready to create new heavens and a new earth! The former ones will not be remembered; no one will think about them anymore. But be happy and rejoice forevermore over what I am about to create! For look, I am ready to create Jerusalem to be a source of joy, and her people to be a source of happiness. (NET) 3. Isaiah 66:22-24, For just as the new heavens and the new earth I am about to make will remain standing before me, says the Lord, so your descendants and your name will remain. From one month to the next and from one Sabbath to the next, all people will come to worship me, says the Lord. They will go out and observe the corpses of those who rebelled against me, for the maggots that eat them will not die, and the fire that consumes them will not die out. All people will find the sight abhorrent. (NET) 4. Matthew 24:19, Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing their babies in those days! (NET) 5. Revelation 19:11-21, Then I saw heaven opened and here came a white horse! The one riding it was called Faithful and True, and with justice he judges and goes to war. His eyes are like a fiery flame and there are many diadem crowns on his head. He has a name written that

15 15 no one knows except himself. He is dressed in clothing dipped in blood, and he is called the Word of God. The armies that are in heaven, dressed in white, clean, fine linen, were following him on white horses. From his mouth extends a sharp sword, so that with it he can strike the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod, and he stomps the winepress of the furious wrath of God, the All-Powerful. He has a name written on his clothing and on his thigh: King of kings and Lord of lords. Then I saw one angel standing in the sun, and he shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying high in the sky: Come, gather around for the great banquet of God, to eat your fill of the flesh of kings, the flesh of generals, the flesh of powerful people, the flesh of horses and those who ride them, and the flesh of all people, both free and slave, and small and great! Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to do battle with the one who rode the horse and with his army. Now the beast was seized, and along with him the false prophet who had performed the signs on his behalf signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with sulfur. The others were killed by the sword that extended from the mouth of the one who rode the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves with their flesh. (NET)

16 16 C. Bailey noted similar language is found elsewhere in scripture. 1. Isaiah 13:10, Indeed the stars in the sky and their constellations no longer give out their light; the sun is darkened as soon as it rises, and the moon does not shine. (NET) 2. Isaiah 24:23, The full moon will be covered up, the bright sun will be darkened; for the Lord who commands armies will rule on Mount Zion in Jerusalem in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor. (NET) 3. Isaiah 34:4, All the stars in the sky will fade away, the sky will roll up like a scroll; all its stars will wither, like a leaf withers and falls from a vine or a fig withers and falls from a tree. (NET) 4. Matthew 24:29, Immediately after the suffering of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. (NET) 5. Romans 8:20-22, For the creation was subjected to futility not willingly but because of God who subjected it in hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of decay into the glorious freedom of God s children. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together until now. (NET)

17 17 D. Coffman gives the following references to the final judgment: Matthew 25:31-46, When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me. Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the king will answer them, I tell you the truth, just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me. Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry and you gave me

18 18 nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger and you did not receive me as a guest, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me. Then they too will answer, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not give you whatever you needed? Then he will answer them, I tell you the truth, just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me. And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. (NET) 2. Revelation 6:12-17, Then I looked when the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and a huge earthquake took place; the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair, and the full moon became blood red; and the stars in the sky fell to the earth like a fig tree dropping its unripe figs when shaken by a fierce wind. The sky was split apart like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place. Then the kings of the earth, the very important people, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They said to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of their

19 19 wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it? (NET) 3. Revelation 14:20, Then the winepress was stomped outside the city, and blood poured out of the winepress up to the height of horses bridles for a distance of almost two hundred miles. (NET) 4. Revelation 18:21-24, Then one powerful angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone, threw it into the sea, and said, With this kind of sudden violent force Babylon the great city will be thrown down and it will never be found again! And the sound of the harpists, musicians, flute players, and trumpeters will never be heard in you again. No craftsman who practices any trade will ever be found in you again; the noise of a mill will never be heard in you again. Even the light from a lamp will never shine in you again! The voices of the bridegroom and his bride will never be heard in you again. For your merchants were the tycoons of the world, because all the nations were deceived by your magic spells! The blood of the saints and prophets was found in her, along with the blood of all those who had been killed on the earth. (NET) 5. Matthew 10:28, Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (NET)

20 Mark 9:43, If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life crippled than to have two hands and go into hell, to the unquenchable fire. (NET) 7. Mark 10:48, Many scolded him to get him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, Son of David, have mercy on me! (NET) 8. Matthew 22:13, Then the king said to his attendants, Tie him up hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth! (NET) 9. 2 Peter 3:10, But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; when it comes, the heavens will disappear with a horrific noise, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze, and the earth and every deed done on it will be laid bare. (NET) 10. Matthew 24:29-31, Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing their babies in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be great suffering unlike anything that has happened from the beginning of the world until now, or ever will happen. And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, Look, here is

21 21 the Christ! or There he is! do not believe him. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Remember, I have told you ahead of time. So then, if someone says to you, Look, he is in the wilderness, do not go out, or Look, he is in the inner rooms, do not believe him. For just like the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. Immediately after the suffering of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (NET) E. The heavens, for distant galaxies, will be rolled up as a scroll, a long parchment. Isaiah 34:5, He says, Indeed, my sword has slaughtered heavenly powers. Look, it now descends on Edom, on the people I will annihilate in judgment. (NET) I. He says, Indeed, my sword has slaughtered heavenly powers,...

22 22 A. God s sword will harm (destroy) (has destroyed) the most majestic, powerful of his enemies. 1. Deuteronomy 32:41-42, I will sharpen my lightning-like sword, and my hand will grasp hold of the weapon of judgment; I will execute vengeance on my foes, and repay those who hate me! I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword will devour flesh the blood of the slaughtered and captured, the chief of the enemy s leaders! (NET) B. Some commentators understand this verse to mean God s sword was prepared in heaven for its work of punishing the wicked on earth. II. Look, it now descends on Edom (Idumea), on the people I will annihilate in judgment (the people on whom God has laid a curse). A. Edom is singled out in particular as representative of all sinful people who rebel against God. (See Hailey.) 1. Amos 1:11-12, This is what the Lord says: Because Edom has committed three crimes make that four! I will not revoke my decree of judgment. He chased his brother with a sword; he wiped out his allies. In his anger he tore them apart without stopping to rest; in his fury he relentlessly attacked them. So I will set Teman

23 23 on fire; fire will consume Bozrah s fortresses. (NET) B. The Babylonians and others were used by the Lord to devastate Israel. 1. Jeremiah 25:15-26, So the Lord, the God of Israel, spoke to me in a vision. Take this cup from my hand. It is filled with the wine of my wrath. Take it and make the nations to whom I send you drink it. When they have drunk it, they will stagger to and fro and act insane. For I will send wars sweeping through them. So I took the cup from the Lord s hand. I made all the nations to whom he sent me drink the wine of his wrath. I made Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its officials drink it. I did it so Judah would become a ruin. I did it so Judah, its kings, and its officials would become an object of horror and of hissing scorn, an example used in curses. Such is already becoming the case! I made all of these other people drink it: Pharaoh, king of Egypt; his attendants, his officials, his people, the foreigners living in Egypt; all the kings of the land of Uz; all the kings of the land of the Philistines, the people of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, the people who had been left alive from Ashdod; all the people of Edom, Moab, Ammon; all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon; all the kings of the coastlands along the sea; the people of Dedan, Tema, Buz, all the desert people who cut their hair short at the

24 24 temples; all the kings of Arabia who live in the desert; all the kings of Zimri; all the kings of Elam; all the kings of Media; all the kings of the north, whether near or far from one another; and all the other kingdoms which are on the face of the earth. After all of them have drunk the wine of the Lord s wrath, the king of Babylon must drink it. (NET) 2. Malachi 1:3-4, and rejected Esau. I turned Esau s mountains into a deserted wasteland and gave his territory to the wild jackals. (NET) 4 Edom says, Though we are devastated, we will once again build the ruined places. So the Lord who rules over all responds, They indeed may build, but I will overthrow. They will be known as the land of evil, the people with whom the Lord is permanently displeased. C. The Edomites had been especially persistently antagonistic to Israel through the centuries. 1. Numbers 20:14-21, Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the hardships we have experienced, how our ancestors went down into Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians treated us and our ancestors badly. So when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and sent a messenger, and has brought us up out of Egypt. Now we are here in Kadesh, a town on the edge of your country.

25 25 Please let us pass through your country. We will not pass through the fields or through the vineyards, nor will we drink water from any well. We will go by the King s Highway; we will not turn to the right or the left until we have passed through your region. But Edom said to him, You will not pass through me, or I will come out against you with the sword. Then the Israelites said to him, We will go along the highway, and if we or our cattle drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We will only pass through on our feet, without doing anything else. But he said, You may not pass through. Then Edom came out against them with a large and powerful force. So Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border; therefore Israel turned away from him. (NET) 2. 2 Chronicles 21:8-10, During Jehoram s reign Edom freed themselves from Judah s control and set up their own king. Jehoram crossed over to Zair with his officers and all his chariots. The Edomites, who had surrounded him, attacked at night and defeated him and his chariot officers. So Edom has remained free from Judah s control to this very day. At that same time Libnah also rebelled and freed themselves from Judah s control because Jehoram rejected the Lord God of his ancestors. (NET)

26 Chronicles 28:17, The Edomites had again invaded and defeated Judah and carried off captives. (NET) 4. Ezekiel 35:5, You have shown unrelenting hostility and poured the people of Israel onto the blades of a sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment. (NET) 5. Amos 1:11-12, This is what the Lord says: Because Edom has committed three crimes make that four! I will not revoke my decree of judgment. He chased his brother with a sword; he wiped out his allies. In his anger he tore them apart without stopping to rest; in his fury he relentlessly attacked them. So I will set Teman on fire; fire will consume Bozrah s fortresses. (NET) 6. Psalm 137:7, Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. They said, Tear it down, tear it down, right to its very foundation! (NET) 7. Lamentations 4:21-22, Rejoice and be glad for now, O people of Edom, who reside in the land of Uz. But the cup of judgment will pass to you also; you will get drunk and take off your clothes. O people of Zion, your punishment will come to an end; he will not prolong your exile. But, O people of Edom, he will punish your sin and reveal your offenses! (NET)

27 Ezekiel 35:10-13, You said, These two nations, these two lands will be mine, and we will possess them, although the Lord was there therefore, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will deal with you according to your anger, and according to your envy, by which you acted spitefully against them. I will reveal myself to them when I judge you. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have heard all the insults you spoke against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are desolate, they have been given to us for food. You exalted yourselves against me with your speech and hurled many insults against me I have heard them all! (NET) D. The Edomites were here representatives of the enemies of God s people in general. (The Pulpit Commentary) Isaiah 34:6, The Lord s sword is dripping with blood, it is covered with fat; it drips with the blood of young rams and goats and is covered with the fat of rams kidneys. For the Lord is holding a sacrifice in Bozrah, a bloody slaughter in the land of Edom. (NET) I. The Lord s sword is dripping with blood, it is covered with fat; it drips with the blood of young rams and goats and is covered with the fat of ram s kidneys.

28 28 A. Hailey wrote, Jehovah is viewed as offering sacrifices. His sword is filled, dripping with blood and smeared with the fat of sacrificial animals, represented by Edom. 1. The animals in verses 6 and 7 are arranged from small to large. (See Hailey.) a. The size and strength of the nations opposed to God did not matter. i. All would be slaughtered because of their sinfulness. 2. Wholesale death would strike the wicked Edomites. 3. The blood and fat of sacrificial animals belonged only to God. 4. These sacrifices were not to benefit sinners. The sinners were actually the sacrifices. (See Briley.) a. 1 Samuel 3:14, Therefore I swore an oath to the house of Eli, The sin of the house of Eli can never be forgiven by sacrifice or by grain offering. (NET) b. Genesis 12:3, I will bless those who bless you, but the one who treats you lightly I must curse, and all the families of the earth will bless one another by your name. (NET)

29 29 II. For the Lord is holding a sacrifice in Bozrah, a bloody slaughter in the land of Edom. A. Bozrah was the chief city of Edom, located approximately twenty-seven (27) miles southeast of the southern end of the Dead Sea and thirty (30) miles northeast of Petra. Bozrah was strongly fortified and considered impregnable, Hailey wrote. 1. Genesis 36:33, When Bela died, Jobab the son of Zerah from Bozrah reigned in his place. (NET) 2. Jeremiah 49:13, For I solemnly swear, says the Lord, that Bozrah will become a pile of ruins. It will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example to be used in curses. All the towns around it will lie in ruins forever. (NET) B. This Bozrah in Edom is not to be confused with the Bozrah (Bostra) in Moab. (See The Pulpit Commentary.) Isaiah 34:7, Wild oxen will be slaughtered along with them, as well as strong bulls. Their land is drenched with blood, their soil is covered with fat. (NET) I. Wild oxen will be slaughtered (fall and perish) along with them, as well as strong bulls. A. The smaller animals, the general population, and the larger animals, the rich, rulers and most influential, would all be slaughtered, experience the wrath of God, Hailey advised.

30 Bloodshed in anger and hatred will return upon the heads of those responsible, Hailey wrote. B. Commentators have ventured their best scholarly opinions as to the identity of these animals and birds, but much uncertainty remains. 1. It is enough to understand the desolation of a land devoid of people, left in ruin and decay, populated by all manner of wild animals, birds and, no doubt, reptiles. II. Their land is drenched with blood, their soil is covered with fat. A. Smith wrote, Yahweh s day of vengeance had come! This was a time for the just recompense of countless hostile acts inflicted by the wicked upon the people of God over the years. B. The fat and blood of sacrifices belonged exclusively to God. Isaiah 34:8, For the Lord has planned a day of revenge, a time when he will repay Edom for her hostility toward Zion. (NET) I. For the Lord has planned a day of revenge, a time when he will repay Edom for her hostility toward Zion. A. Divine revenge, vengeance, awaits sinners who have shown hostility toward God and his people.

31 31 B. God will exact revenge, retribution on those who are hostile toward and mistreat God s people. (See Briley.) 1. Deuteronomy 32:35, 43, I will get revenge and pay them back at the time their foot slips; for the day of their disaster is near, and the impending judgment is rushing upon them! Cry out, O nations, with his people, for he will avenge his servants blood; he will take vengeance against his enemies, and make atonement for his land and people. (NET) 2. Romans 12:19, Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God s wrath, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. (NET) 3. Hebrews 10:30, For we know the one who said, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, and again, The Lord will judge his people. (NET) 4. Isaiah 3:13, The Lord takes his position to judge; he stands up to pass sentence on his people. (NET) C. From the beginning God has committed himself to avenge his people s enemies himself, Briley wrote. 1. This day of recompense is an absolutely certainty. 2. There is no escape for unrepentant sinners.

32 32 D. God s vengeance to the third and fourth generations on those who hate him stands in sharp contrast with his mercy to the faithful. Isaiah 34:9, Edom s streams will be turned into pitch and her soil into brimstone; her land will become burning pitch. (NET) I. Edom s streams will be turned into pitch and her soil into brimstone; her land will become burning pitch. A. This is a picture of complete desolation; streams become pitch, soil becomes Sulphur and her land becomes burning pitch. 1. Pitch reminds us of the fact that certain portions of the Middle East are well known for the abundance of oil. 2. This is a picture of complete destruction. Edom would become like Sodom and Gomorrah after the Lord s wrath fell on those cities. (See Smith.) a. Genesis 19:24-25, Then the Lord rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. So he overthrew those cities and all that region, including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew from the ground. (NET)

33 33 b. Zephaniah 1:1-3, This is the prophetic message that the Lord gave to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. Zephaniah delivered this message during the reign of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah: I will destroy everything from the face of the earth, says the Lord. I will destroy people and animals; I will destroy the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea. (The idolatrous images of these creatures will be destroyed along with evil people.) I will remove humanity from the face of the earth, says the Lord. (NET) Note: Briley advised, Verses 9-17 present a figurative picture of Edom after God s judgment. B. The Pulpit Commentary stated that Edom had no perennial rivers, but they did have torrent-courses (washes, as they would be called in the western United States) which carried off the winter rains Kings 3:20-22, Sure enough, the next morning, at the time of the morning sacrifice, water came flowing down from Edom and filled the land. Now all Moab had heard that the kings were attacking, so everyone old enough to fight was mustered and placed at the border. When they got up early the next morning, the sun was shining on the water. To the Moabites, who were

34 34 some distance away, the water looked red like blood. (NET) 2. These would run with pitch instead of water reminding readers of what happened to wicked Sodom and Gomorrah. (See The Pulpit Commentary.) a. Genesis 19:24, Then the Lord rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. (NET) b. Jeremiah 49:18, Edom will be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah and the towns that were around them. No one will live there. No human being will settle in it, says the Lord. (NET) 3. Isaiah is speaking figuratively of the dreadful vengeance that was to befall all those who oppose God and fail to repent. (See The Pulpit commentary.) Isaiah 34:10, Night and day it will burn; its smoke will ascend continually. Generation after generation it will be a wasteland and no one will ever pass through it again. (NET) I. Night and day it will burn; its smoke will ascend continually. A. This destructive fire will burn perpetually, night and day, with its smoke ascending continually.

35 Isaiah 13:19-22, Babylon, the most admired of kingdoms, the Chaldeans source of honor and pride, will be destroyed by God just as Sodom and Gomorrah were. No one will live there again; no one will ever reside there again. No bedouin will camp there, no shepherds will rest their flocks there. Wild animals will rest there, the ruined houses will be full of hyenas. Ostriches will live there, wild goats will skip among the ruins. Wild dogs will yip in her ruined fortresses, jackals will yelp in the once-splendid palaces. Her time is almost up, her days will not be prolonged. (NET) 2. This makes clear how serious sin really is! 3. The land of Edom would be desolate forever, Smith wrote. 4. Revelation 14:9-11, A third angel followed the first two, declaring in a loud voice: If anyone worships the beast and his image, and takes the mark on his forehead or his hand, that person will also drink of the wine of God s anger that has been mixed undiluted in the cup of his wrath, and he will be tortured with fire and sulfur in front of the holy angels and in front of the Lamb. And the smoke from their torture will go up forever and ever, and those who worship the beast and his image will have no rest day or night, along with anyone who receives the mark of his name. (NET)

36 Revelation 19:1-3, After these things I heard what sounded like the loud voice of a vast throng in heaven, saying, Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, because his judgments are true and just. For he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and has avenged the blood of his servants poured out by her own hands! Then a second time the crowd shouted, Hallelujah! The smoke rises from her forever and ever. (NET) 6. Isaiah 66:24, They will go out and observe the corpses of those who rebelled against me, for the maggots that eat them will not die, and the fire that consumes them will not die out. All people will find the sight abhorrent. (NET) B. Even though much of what is said in this chapter is figurative and hyperbole, exaggeration, the point is clear! (See Smith.) C. The descriptions of the destructions that befell Sodom, Gomorrah and Edom also are fitting descriptions of the final judgment, the end of the world and eternal punishment. II. Generation after generation it will be a wasteland and no one will ever pass through it again.

37 37 A. Edom s sins had been so terrible, their land would be permanently a wasteland, deserted generation after generation. B. Related references: Malachi 1:4, Edom says, Though we are devastated, we will once again build the ruined places. So the Lord who rules over all responds, They indeed may build, but I will overthrow. They will be known as the land of evil, the people with whom the Lord is permanently displeased. (NET) 2. Psalm 127:1, If the Lord does not build a house, then those who build it work in vain. If the Lord does not guard a city, then the watchman stands guard in vain. (NET) C. The Pulpit Commentary states that for over a thousand (1,000) years what was Edom has remained one of the most desolate places on earth. Isaiah 34:11, Owls and wild animals will live there, all kinds of wild birds will settle in it. The Lord will stretch out over her the measuring line of ruin and the plumb line of destruction. (NET) I. Owls and wild animals* (ravens) will live there, all kinds of wild birds will settle in it. A. *NET Footnote: Some take this as another type of bird.

38 Ezekiel 39:16-17, (A city by the name of Hamonah will also be there.) They will cleanse the land. As for you, son of man, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Tell every kind of bird and every wild beast: Assemble and come! Gather from all around to my slaughter which I am going to make for you, a great slaughter on the mountains of Israel! You will eat flesh and drink blood. (NET) B. Wild animals will replace people as the inhabitants of Edom. C. The same God who is the wondrous creator of the heavens, earth and everything good and wonderful is also the God who will punish sinners. Vengeance and retribution will destroy sinners who would destroy what God has done (if they could). (See Briley.) 1. Sinners would inject chaos into the wonderful order of God s creation and work. (See Briley.) II. The Lord will stretch out over her the measuring line of ruin and the plumb line of destruction. A. Referencing the tools of surveyors, the Lord measures the extent of the ruin and destruction which will befall the ungodly Edomites. B. Related references:...

39 Jeremiah 4:23, I looked at the land and saw that it was an empty wasteland. I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished. (NET) 2. Amos 7:7-9, He showed me this: I saw the sovereign One standing by a tin wall holding tin in his hand. The Lord said to me, What do you see, Amos? I said, Tin. The sovereign One then said, Look, I am about to place tin among my people Israel. I will no longer overlook their sin. Isaac s centers of worship will become desolate; Israel s holy places will be in ruins. I will attack Jeroboam s dynasty with the sword. (NET) 3. 2 Kings 21:13, I will destroy Jerusalem the same way I did Samaria and the dynasty of Ahab. I will wipe Jerusalem clean, just as one wipes a plate on both sides. (NET) 4. Lamentations 2:8, The Lord was determined to tear down Daughter Zion s wall. He prepared to knock it down; he did not withdraw his hand from destroying. He made the ramparts and fortified walls lament; together they mourned their ruin. (NET) C. Briley wrote, Every kingdom that asserts itself against God will meet the same end.

40 40 D. The Pulpit commentary states this destruction will come upon God s enemies systematically, in an orderly fashion as surveyors would employ order in the course of their work. Isaiah 34:12, Her nobles will have nothing left to call a kingdom and all her officials will disappear. (NET) I. Her nobles will have nothing left to call a kingdom and all her officials will disappear. A. The nobles and officials of the land of Edom would have nothing left to rule and would themselves disappear from the scene. 1. Their kingdom was no more. Isaiah 34:13, Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns; thickets and weeds will grow in her fortified cities. Jackals will settle there; ostriches will live there. (NET) I. Her fortresses (palaces) will be overgrown with thorns; thickets and weeds will grow in her fortified cities. Jackals will settle there; ostriches will live there. A. Where the wicked once lived opulently in strength (in palaces, defended by fortresses) now is in total ruins overgrown with thickets and weeds and populated by jackals and ostriches instead of people. 1. Amos 1:12, So I will set Teman on fire; fire will consume Bozrah s fortresses. (NET)

41 41 B. Thorns shall come up in her palaces! What more desolate picture can possibly be painted than the one described in this chapter? Isaiah 34:14, Wild animals and wild dogs will congregate there; wild goats will bleat to one another. Yes, nocturnal animals will rest there and make for themselves a nest. (NET) I. Wild animals and wild dogs will congregate there; wild goats will bleat to one another. A. The land as the result of sin has been totally abandoned, populated now by wild animals, wild dogs and wild goats. 1. Sin is totally destructive, in no way constructive. 2. Isaiah 13:21, Wild animals will rest there, the ruined houses will be full of hyenas. Ostriches will live there, wild goats will skip among the ruins. (NET) II. Yes, nocturnal animals* will rest there and make for themselves a nest. A. *NET Footnote: The precise meaning of the Hebrew term is unclear; in context it appears to be some type of wild animal or bird, though some take it as the name of a female night demon based on a similar term in Akkadian (compare NRSV Jilith ).

42 Assyrians believed in such demons. (See the Pulpit Commentary.) 2. Isaiah may have here played on the beliefs of the people to strike even greater fear in the hearts of the wicked. Isaiah 34:15, Owls will make nests and lay eggs there; they will hatch them and protect them. Yes, hawks will gather there, each with its mate. (NET) I. Owls will make nests and lay eggs there; they will hatch them and protect them. A. The desolate land would be populated by an ever increasing number of wild animals, birds and reptiles. 1. There are to be no humans left in the land. (See Coffman.) 2. The Pulpit commentary states the great owl is better translated the arrow-snake. II. Yes, hawks* will gather there, each with its mate. A. *NET Footnote: Or perhaps vultures. B. Each with its mate points to the ever increasing number of wild creatures which would populate the now desolate land.