Daily Devotions
Isaiah
"My sword shall be bathed in heaven"
Text: Isaiah 34:5
THE SWORD OF THE LORD
In this judgment of the LORD against all the nations of the world, the divine sword of God would be used in battle. This sword represents the LORD’s personal involvement in this global conflict.
“For My sword shall be bathed in heaven;
Indeed it shall come down on Edom,
And on the people of My curse, for judgment.
The sword of the LORD is filled with blood,
It is made 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.
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 saturated with fatness.”
Isaiah 34:5-7
1. Judgment concerning Edom.
a) Edom is the other name of Esau.
b) Esau and Jacob were twins at birth.
i) Esau became Edom.
ii) Jacob became Israel.
c) Edom became one of the bitterest enemies of Israel.
d) God called Edom, “the people of My curse”.
e) It will suffer divine judgment!
f) This was a solemn word from God Himself against a nation that had been very cruel towards Israel (Cf. Obadiah).
2. A sacrifice in Bozrah.
a) Bozrah was a pastoral city of Edom.
b) It was located quite near the Dead Sea.
c) The judgment of Edom is well depicted in the destruction of Bozrah.
d) The description was compared to an animal sacrifice to the LORD.
i) Goats and lambs.
ii) Kidneys of these animals.
iii) These were slaughtered as sacrifices.
iv) This was descriptive of the many who would be slain in Edom.
3. Other animals described.
a) Wild oxen were not sacrificial animals.
b) These were used to describe the powerful nations that would also be destroyed
in this global war that would be waged in the future.
i) Wild oxen
ii) Young bulls
iii) Mighty bulls
c) All would be sacrificed.
i) The land would be filled with blood.
ii) The dust would be saturated with fat of these animals.