Isaiah 30:27-29 NLT
“27 Look! The Lord is coming from far away,
burning with anger,
surrounded by thick, rising smoke.
His lips are filled with fury;
his words consume like fire.
28 His hot breath pours out like a flood
up to the neck of his enemies.
He will sift out the proud nations for destruction.
He will bridle them and lead them away to ruin.
29 But the people of God will sing a song of joy,
like the songs at the holy festivals.
You will be filled with joy,
as when a flautist leads a group of pilgrims
to Jerusalem, the mountain of the Lord—
to the Rock of Israel.”
We continue in our “in that day” theme, this time reading about the fate awaiting His enemies, “proud nations” who He will “lead … away to ruin”. The Lord, we are told, is angry, furious, and “His words consume like fire“. As we read in Hebrews 10:31, “It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God”. But we notice in verse 28 today that the Lord will “sift out the proud nations for destruction”. Does that mean He will destroy whole nations, including all their inhabitants, good and bad alike, or will He separate them as Jesus taught in His parable of the sheep and the goats. We read, “All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left” (Matthew 25:32-33). We look around the world today and notice that even in totalitarian nations such as China or North Korea, there are God’s people, the “sheep”, and we know that God will protect them when He sits on His “glorious throne”. God is the ultimate righteous Judge, and He will do what is right.
So who are God’s enemies, the ones He is coming to destroy? In Scripture, the enemies of God include spiritual forces of evil, unrepentant human rebellion, and physical death itself. We can start with the devil, seeing Jesus’ description of him during a conversation with the Pharisees, “For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). But it will not end well for the devil, his forces in heavenly places and all who follow his ways. Revelation 20:10, “Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulphur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever“. On earth, another category of “enemies of God” can be found in Romans 8:7, “The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so”. Sadly, a lot of our fellow countrymen and women fall into this category. Then we have all those who are “friends of the world”, “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4). We should take note that James was not writing to unbelievers, but to Christians.
Another group of God’s enemies include who we pilgrims were before we became Christians. Romans 5:10, “For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” Paul wrote to the Philippians, “For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things” (Philippians 3:18-19). Again we note that this letter was written to Christians.
As previously mentioned, God is a righteous Judge, and He sees into the innermost parts of a man or woman. Nothing will escape His gaze. We continue in our verses today, leaving the “proud nations” to their ultimate fate. The next word is “But”. We must watch for this word when we read Scripture, because we know something important is about to follow. The most profound source of a “But” must be Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”. This is a verse upon which we should spend much time in meditation. God could see down the ages to you and to me, and He died for us so that one day we could live in His presence. What love!
In our reading today we read, “But the people of God will sing a song of joy”. Will they be the people Jesus described as being “sheep” in Matthew 25:34, “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 creation of the world'”? I’m sure they will be, because being blessed by God will be a place of joy. And we also picture the pilgrims led by a flautist, heading for Jerusalem, their Heavenly home. There they will be filled with joy as they worship their wonderful Heavenly Father. Will we be with them? Of course we will. Where else would we be?
Dear Heavenly Father. With praise and worship we come into Your presence today. We reflect upon how You love us and care for us as we go about our daily lives, and we head into the day, assured that Your love will continue. Thank You, Lord. Amen.
