Judgment is the natural corollary of the fact that God is king (chapter 33). A king must rule, or he is no king at all, and that means that rebellion must finally be put down. The fact is that God is almost unbelievably patient, but Isaiah is clear that His just anger is a reality to be reckoned with, and we delude ourselves if we think otherwise. Hence the urgent call to listen in verse 1. God has put the world on notice that He will not tolerate insurrection forever.

God’s wrath is expressed every day in a thousand ways. Every morning’s newspaper provides more tragic evidence of the terrible price that the world is even now paying for its rejection of God. But this is nothing compared to what is to come; it is like tremors that precede an earthquake. And it’s the earthquake itself, the final shaking of everything that Isaiah sets before us. The language is concrete and vivid. Divine judgment is no theological abstraction here, but destruction, slaughter, stench, and blood (vv. 2-3). It is the sky rolling up like a scroll, and stars falling from the heavens like leaves from winter trees (v. 4). The end of the world is a reality which we instinctively push to the back of our minds because we find it too difficult to cope with, like the fact of our own approaching death. But the Bible will not allow us to evade these realities; it forces us to face them and live in the light of them.

God is king; that is the bedrock truth on which judgment rests. But He is also a warrior, and in verse 5 we meet His sword. It swings in a mighty arc from heaven to earth and finds its mark in Edom, Judah’s southern neighbor. Edom is representative here then, not of the nations in general, but of the enemies of Israel. And once we grasped that we are in a position to see clearly the purpose of God’s judgment. It is to uphold Zion’s cause (v. 8). The vengeance and retribution which this involves are expressions of God’s commitment to those He has chosen to be His people.

There is no direct correspondence of course, between this and the tragic political and territorial conflicts in the Middle East today. The line between God’s people and their enemies is quite differently drawn this side of the cross, as the rest of the book will make abundantly clear. Zion’s cause in this passage is a quite different thing from modern Zionism. However, there are theological principles which do still apply. From the moment God chose Abraham, the crucial question for others was how they would respond to him. They would be blessed if they blessed him and cursed if they cursed him. Their fate was in their own hands; they could choose their response, but not its outcome. It is the way God has always worked, and still does today. Only the particulars have changed. God now works through Christ and His people, but the same basic choice faces the world as faced ancient Edom.

The judgment on Edom is pictured as a terrible slaughter, but also a sacrifice (v. 6), which alerts us to something very significant about judgment as the Bible understands it. It is not just God acting to vindicate a particular group of people. Sacrifice is about recognizing who God Himself is and giving Him His due. Judgment is not just a judicial or military act; it’s a religious act. It is God acting to claim at last the honor that is due to Him as Creator and Ruler of the world. That is why the Bible ends with a great outburst of praise to God for His righteous judgments, for they mean not only the vindication of His people, but the vindication of God Himself. This is what we ask for when we pray, as Jesus taught us, “Your kingdom come, your will be done.” In its most profound sense it is a prayer for the end of the world.

Isaiah will not let us go until he makes one final point, and the time he takes over it is no doubt calculated to impress us with its gravity: there will be no reprieve from that last and terrible judgment. Edom is set before us as a smoldering ruin, gradually overrun by nettles, brambles and wild creatures, and never rebuilt (vv. 9-17). It is a picture of utter finality. Isaiah never shrinks from his responsibility to set this terrible truth before us. In the last analysis, Isaiah’s vision is a missionary vision, and every great missionary movement has derived its urgency from this truth: the world is in rebellion against God, and without the gospel people will be lost, utterly and eternally. Judgment may be necessary and right, but it is not what God delights in or the goal He is working towards!

Isaiah 34:1-17 Reflection Questions:

What could Edom have done to be the object of such fury on God’s part?

Who are some of Israel’s enemies today? What has recently happened at the United Nations against Israel? What was the United States response?

In what ways are you building a current and active relationship with Christ?