The Reality of God’s Wrath
Isaiah 13-23
Let’s turn to Isaiah 13. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand and we’ll bring one to you. Isaiah 13 is on page 576 in the Bibles we are passing out.
In the 1950’s conditions in Russia under Stalin were terrible, with millions imprisoned or starving to death. But Stalin wanted to dupe the West and keep receiving foreign aid, so he set up special areas where there was no evidence of brutality or starvation, where everyone was well-fed and happy. Then he invited Western journalists to come – but he only let them see these special areas. He hid from them the prisons and starvation so they would write good reports about Russia and the foreign aid would keep coming.
That’s what Satan is trying to do to us who are trusting Jesus. If you are trusting Jesus, then God has poured out His love upon you and saved you so you will never experience His wrath. But Satan works hard to keep you from seeing that your neighbor still faces God’s wrath. Because if born-again people think very long about how our neighbors face God’s wrath, we will do all we can to share the Gospel with them so they can be saved. So Satan works hard to keep us from thinking about God’s wrath.
But God loves our neighbors. He loves the world. And so in the Bible he tells us about his wrath so we won’t be blinded by Satan, so we will share the Gospel with our neighbors, so our neighbors will be saved.
Now the reason I mention that is because the next 11 chapters of Isaiah are all about God’s wrath. Isaiah 11-23 contains 11 oracles describing the wrath of God which will come upon 11 specific nations. Now there is a lot of repetition, which is why I am covering 11 chapters in one Sunday.
But still, you might think – a whole Sunday on God’s wrath? Couldn’t we just skip these chapters? But we have to remember what Paul said in I Corinthians 10 – that the Old Testament was not just written for Old Testament Israel – the Old Testament was written for New Testament believers. And one reason God had Isaiah write these 11 chapters about His wrath was so that we New Testament believers could be set free from Satan’s blinding power and see the wrath that our neighbors will face – so we will have our hearts stirred to share the gospel with them.
So let’s look at Isaiah 13-23 and start with this question -- who is going to receive God’s wrath?
First, look at ch.13 vs. 1 – “The oracle concerning Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.” Babylon is located east of Israel. From ch.13 vs.1 through ch.14 vs.24 we read of God’s wrath which will be poured out upon Babylon.
Then in vv.25-27 God says He will punish Assyria, which is to the east of Israel. And in vv.28-32 God says He will punish Philistia, which is just to the northwest of Israel, on the coast.
Then look at ch.15 vs.1: : “An oracle concerning Moab.” Moab is located directly east of Israel. In chapters 15 and 16 God describes how He is going to punish Moab.
That brings us to 17:1 -- “An oracle concerning Damascus.” Damascus is the capital of Syria directly north of Israel. In vv.1-9 God says He is going to punish Damascus, and then from v.10 through the end of ch.18 God tells us how He is going to punish the whole world. Now the ESV heading for ch.18 says it is an oracle concerning Cush, and it is, but it’s not that God punishes Cush; it uses the people of Cush to illustrate how political maneuvering can’t stop God from bringing His wrath.
Then ch.19 vs.1 – “An oracle concerning Egypt.” Egypt is southeast of Israel. And chapters 19 and 20 describe how God is going to pour His wrath upon Egypt.
Then look at ch.21 vs.1: “An oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea.” Where is that? In v.9 we read that this refers to Babylon; after God’s punishment she will be as desolate as a wilderness of the sea. This is the second mention of Babylon, and in vv.1-10 God tells us how He will pour His wrath upon her.
Then in ch.21:11-12 there is a short oracle showing God’s punishment of Dumah – which is an area east of Israel. And in vv.13-23 there is an oracle showing God’s punishment of Arabia – which is south of Israel.
Next, look at 22:1 – “The oracle concerning the valley of vision.” Where is that? Vv.9-10 show that this refers to Jerusalem. Ch.22 describes how God will pour His wrath upon Israel.
And finally, look at ch.23:1 – “The oracle concerning Tyre.” Tyre is one of the main cities in Philistia, and in ch.23 we read how God will pour His wrath upon her.
So in these eleven chapters we read that God is going to pour His wrath upon the nations. But when will this outpouring of wrath happen? As I studied these chapters, I noticed two themes. One is that God will pour out His wrath upon each nation at a specific time in their immediate future; the other is that God will pour out His wrath upon the entire world at the end of history.
You can see both of these themes in what God says about Babylon in chapter 13. Look at vv.17-19 –
17 Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold. [They can’t be bought off by wealthy Babylon.]
18 Their bows will slaughter the young men; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity children.
19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.
Isaiah wrote these words at around 700 BC. At that time Babylon seemed invincible. But 160 years later God did exactly what He said: He stirred up the Medes who attacked and destroyed Babylon just like Isaiah said: young men were slaughtered, children were killed, Babylon ended up completely destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah.
Now when I read this it troubled me that children were killed – especially newborns and infants too young to be blamed for their parents’ sin. But here’s something that helped me. God judges people according to their understanding of God, but newborns and infants are too young to understand. So when newborns and infants die, they are immediately taken into God’s loving arms. I think that’s behind what David says in 2 Samuel 12:23 where David talks about his infant son who has just died. He says there’s nothing he can do to bring his son back to him, but that he, David, will go to be with his son. So all these newborns and infants were immediately taken into God’s loving arms.
But notice that vv.17-19 were fulfilled 160 years after this was written: God raised up the Medes who completely destroyed Babylon. And each of these oracles have some degree of fulfillment in each nation’s immediate future.
But there’s another theme as well. In vv.9-13 we read about a far distant time when God will punish not just Babylon but the whole world –
9 Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it.
10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light.
11 I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.
12 I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger.
Can you see how those verses describe how God will pour His wrath upon the entire world?
So each of these oracles involves two themes: God will pour out His wrath on them in at some point in their immediate future, but God will also pour out His wrath on them and the entire world in the far distant future.
But why? Why will God pour wrath on the entire world? Isn’t God a God of love? Yes, he is. And in a moment we will see that powerfully displayed in these chapters. But the same Bible that says God is love, also says God is just. God is just and must punish sin.
Here’s why God is absolutely just to punish sin. Romans 1 teaches that God has clearly revealed Himself through creation to every single person on the globe. Everyone can look at the wonders of Creation and know that God loves us, cares for us, has power to help us – so the only right response is to look to God for our every need.
So when these nations had needs what did they do? They would not look to God. This is mentioned specifically about Israel in 22:7-11 –
7 Your choicest valleys were full of [enemy] chariots, and the [enemy] horsemen took their stand at the gates. [So they were in deep trouble.]
8 He [the enemy king] has taken away the covering of Judah. [So what would Israel do? Would she look to God? No] In that day you looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest,
9 and you saw that the breaches of the city of David were many. You collected the waters of the lower pool,
10 and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall.
11 You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago.
God revealed Himself to Israel as the One who would take care of her every problem. But when Israel faced a terrible problem, in her pride she would not look to God. That’s what all the nations did.
And as a result, they became evil, sinful, proud, and ruthless. You can see that in 13:11
I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.
See, if we would look to God, we’d have everything we need. God would guide us, provide for us, help us, satisfy us – our needs would be met and we’d be full and we’d overflow in humility and love for others. But when we don’t look to God – our needs are not met, we’re not full, we become proud and ruthless toward others.
This is what every person on the globe has done. And so even though God is loving, yet because he is also completely just, He has to punish sin. The whole world has refused to look to God, to trust God, to depend on God – and look at what God will do in His justice -- v.13 –
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger.
So let this sink in. This is the future of our world. This will happen to this world. This world will receive an outpouring of God’s just wrath against sin; an outpouring of wrath so intense that it will make the heavens tremble and will shake the earth out of its orbit.
Whether someone dies first or lives to see this happen – everyone who is not trusting Christ will experience this. Don’t let Satan blind you. See this. God’s wrath will be poured out upon the whole world forever – and your unbelieving neighbor, your unbelieving work-associate, your unbelieving friend or family member will experience this.
So is there any hope? Yes, there is. These 11 chapters describe God’s wrath against the nations; but they also describe God’s mercy. Let me show you one example in ch.19. From vv.1-18 God says He will completely destroy Egypt because again and again and again Egypt had turned from him and sinned against him.
But now look at what we read starting in v.21 –
21 And the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the LORD and perform them. [So God will supernaturally reveal Himself to Egypt and as a result they will turn to the Lord and worship Him.]
22 And the LORD will strike Egypt [striking them with conviction of their sin so they repent], striking and healing, and they will return to the LORD, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.
23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. [The Assyrians will join in worshiping God!]
24 In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth,
25 whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance."
Now wait a minute. If Egypt and Assyria and Israel have turned from looking to God and deserve God’s cosmic, earth-shaking wrath – how can God reveal himself to them, cause them to repent, and forgive them? Doesn’t their sin have to be punished?
Yes, it does. And it was punished; in Jesus. God the Father sent Jesus His Son to the earth, and as Jesus hung on the Cross, God poured His wrath against Egypt’s sins upon Jesus; He poured His wrath against Assyria’s sins upon Jesus; He poured His wrath against Israel’s and Philistia’s and Moab’s sins and the sins of people from every nation and tongue and tribe upon Jesus. And then Jesus rose from the dead – and is now revealing Himself and changing the hearts of people in Egypt and Assyria and America and every nation.
How does he do that? Through people like you and me. As we preach the Gospel to our family members and neighbors and work-associates he makes himself known to them and strikes them with conviction of sin so they repent and surrender their lives in trust to Jesus Christ.
So what does this mean for us? If you are trusting Jesus, then Satan is doing all he can to blind you to what your neighbors and friends and work associates will face. But because God loves them, and wants to save them, God has given us these 11 chapters to set us free from Satan’s blinding power.
So what will happen to us when we think deeply about the wrath of God that is coming upon the world? Here’s how this affected Hudson Taylor. He wrote this in his journal when he was 33 years old:
“A million a month were dying in [China], dying without God. This was burned into my very soul. I scarcely slept night or day more than an hour at a time, and feared I should lose my reason.
“My wife saw that something was going on, but I felt I must refrain as long as possible from laying upon her a burden so crushing – these souls – and what eternity must mean for every one of them, and what the Gospel might do, would do, for all who believed, if we would take it to them.”
Think about it like this. Imagine that everyone in San Jose was dying of some deadly disease, and you had pills that could cure them. Every single person – dying of some deadly disease. And you have the cure. What would you do? For the sake of love, you would do everything you could to get those pills into their hands.
Everyone in San Jose is not dying of deadly disease – but they face something infinitely worse. And you don’t have pills in your hand – but you have the Gospel – infinitely better. So for the sake of love, do everything you can to share the gospel with them.
And as you share the Gospel with them humbly, lovingly, wisely, with the prayer and support of your home group and other brothers and sisters – you will see God reveal himself to them so they turn and trust Jesus Christ. You will see this.
So let’s take some time to pray right now. Ask God to free you from Satan’s blinding power. Ask God to give you more compassion for those who are not believing. Ask God to show you what next step to take with your friend or neighbor.
Let’s pray together right now.