A Picture of Judgement Day

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word:

 

Isa 10:15 Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, Or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood! 16 Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, Will send leanness among his fat ones; And under his glory He will kindle a burning Like the burning of a fire. 17 So the Light of Israel will be for a fire, And his Holy One for a flame; It will burn and devour His thorns and his briers in one day. 18 And it will consume the glory of his forest and of his fruitful field, Both soul and body; And they will be as when a sick man wastes away. 19 Then the rest of the trees of his forest Will be so few in number That a child may write them.

 

The King of Assyria has been boasting about all of his conquering, oblivious to the fact that he was being used by God to carry out judgment against God’s  people….Israel. The king was like an axe saying to the woodsman, “you are nothing.” But without the woodsman, the axe just lays on the ground useless. I read one commentator who likened such arrogance to a fly on a wagon wheel, musing, “look at all the dust I am making!”

God will use the king of Assyria as long as He needs to carry out His will, but when He is through with him, the king will pay for his arrogance. The king has no idea whom he is dealing with!

 

The Lord of hosts, the Light of Israel (God) will send ill health (leanness) upon the Assyrians. He will kindle a raging destruction likened to a firestorm. The barb wire used for defensive purposes in battle, (thorns and briars) will be of no use against the judgment of the Lord of Hosts.! ; It will burn and devour His thorns and his briers in one day

 

The recent tragic fire in Colorado is a picture of the suddenness and completeness of the judgment of God against Assyria. When all is said and done, so few trees left standing that a child could count them!

When we saw the news reports, we were all stunned by the suddenness of the Colorado fire and the complete devastation. It was a literal hell on earth for those who were caught up in it.

 

This is what we must learn about God’s final judgment. It will be sudden, swift,  and utterly complete. And the only way to escape it is through God-granted faith in Jesus. To play with the judgment of God is to play with fire of the everlasting kind. Learn from this picture painted for us today from Isaiah.

Jesus reminded us in Mt 10:28 "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word.