Did the Lord strike Israel
as he struck the one who struck Israel?
Was Israel killed like those killed by the Lord?
Isaiah 27:7
Observation: As Isaiah talks about the judgment of the Lord, he makes this important distinction ... there is a difference between how the Lord acts against Israel in the midst of their disobedience, and how the Lord acts toward other nations that truly perpetrate evil. Even when Israel and Judah have been sent into exile and defeated - when their land has been removed and their cities burned - there is always a way back to restoration. That is what correction looks like. However, when the nations that have fully rejected the Lord and spread evil, like Babylon and Assyria, are addressed by the Lord's wrath, they do not have a way back. They don't become ruins, they become wasteland.
Application: I have been watching a series on archeology of the bible, and have seen two videos about discoveries at Ninevah. The site of Ninevah actually exists within the suburbs of the modern city of Mosul, however it is a desolate and empty (albeit very large) field ... a barren site outlined by a partial ancient wall that was mostly avoided even as the new city was built ... a place where people don't often go because literally wild dogs roam.
In contrast, Jerusalem was absolutely and intentionally destroyed and fully depopulated as the Lord punished Judah for their disobedience - TWICE - yet it exists today as the center of Israel, the heart of the Jewish people. Its ancient sites still exist and are identifiable.
I know I have been disobedient to the Lord, and it is likely that certain issues in my life have been intended to correct me. At times it felt like my life was in ruins, however that has never, ever been the case ... not even close. I know of truly desolate lives, involving people who have so thoroughly rejected God that every element of their existence falls apart. I am not saying this is because the Lord has struck them or punished them, but I am saying that, without hope in the Lord, there are limited lifelines available to bring an individual back from the pit of desolation.
I do think much of our world is in the midst of being "struck" right now, and soon we will have to understand if this is a correction and our return to the Lord will bring about renewal, or if we are looking at real desolation in our future.
Prayer: Lord, again today I say it, thy will be done. May I spend time today in meditation on these ideas, and on your word in general, as even this comforts me, knowing you are in control. Amen.
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