Sharper Iron — The Fifth Evangelist - Isaiah 34:1-17: Vengeance for the Cause of Zion

The LORD calls upon all the nations to listen as He speaks His fury against all those who have set themselves against them. The judgment upon such unbelief is coming, and it will not be pretty. The LORD says that His sword will bring condemnation particularly upon Edom, which had a history of animosity toward the LORD and Israel. All such peoples who are not joined to the cause of Zion can expect the LORD to make their land a waste. In this way, the LORD’s Word stands as a warning against all who do not look to Him for salvation.

Rev. David Appold, pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Paducah, KY, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Isaiah 34:1-17.

“The Fifth Evangelist” is a series on Sharper Iron that goes through Isaiah 1-39. The prophet proclaims to the people of his day and throughout history that the Holy One of Israel alone is exalted. Those who put their trust in the strength of man will be brought low, but those who trust in the LORD will see that He is their Immanuel. Jesus is God with us who reigns over the kingdom of God forever and ever!

Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God’s Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen. Submit comments or questions to: listener@kfuo.org

Sharper Iron is underwritten by Lutheran Church Extension Fund. Together in faith, LCEF helps to start, sustain and strengthen LCMS ministries through financial and strategic partnerships. Visit lcef.org.

Isaiah 34:1-17

Judgment on the Nations

34 Draw near, O nations, to hear,
    and give attention, O peoples!
Let the earth hear, and all that fills it;
    the world, and all that comes from it.
²For the Lord is enraged against all the nations,
    and furious against all their host;
    he has devoted them to destruction,^[a] has given them over for slaughter.
³Their slain shall be cast out,
    and the stench of their corpses shall rise;
    the mountains shall flow with their blood.
⁴All the host of heaven shall rot away,
    and the skies roll up like a scroll.
All their host shall fall,
    as leaves fall from the vine,
    like leaves falling from the fig tree.

⁵For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens;
    behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom,
    upon the people I have devoted to destruction.
⁶The Lord has a sword; it is sated with blood;
    it is gorged with fat,
    with the blood of lambs and goats,
    with the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
    a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
⁷Wild oxen shall fall with them,
    and young steers with the mighty bulls.
Their land shall drink its fill of blood,
    and their soil shall be gorged with fat.

⁸For the Lord has a day of vengeance,
    a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
⁹And the streams of Edom^[b] shall be turned into pitch,
    and her soil into sulfur;
    her land shall become burning pitch.
¹⁰Night and day it shall not be quenched;
    its smoke shall go up forever.
From generation to generation it shall lie waste;
    none shall pass through it forever and ever.
¹¹But the hawk and the porcupine^[c] shall possess it,
    the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.
He shall stretch the line of confusion^[d] over it,
    and the plumb line of emptiness.
¹²Its nobles—there is no one there to call it a kingdom,
    and all its princes shall be nothing.

¹³Thorns shall grow over its strongholds,
    nettles and thistles in its fortresses.
It shall be the haunt of jackals,
    an abode for ostriches.^[e]
¹⁴And wild animals shall meet with hyenas;
    the wild goat shall cry to his fellow;
indeed, there the night bird^[f] settles
    and finds for herself a resting place.

¹⁵There the owl nests and lays
    and hatches and gathers her young in her shadow;
indeed, there the hawks are gathered,
    each one with her mate.
¹⁶Seek and read from the book of the Lord:
    Not one of these shall be missing;
    none shall be without her mate.
For the mouth of the Lord has commanded,
    and his Spirit has gathered them.
¹⁷He has cast the lot for them;
    his hand has portioned it out to them with the line;
they shall possess it forever;
    from generation to generation they shall dwell in it.

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Footnotes

Isaiah 34:2 That is, set apart (devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction); also verse 5
Isaiah 34:9 Hebrew her streams
Isaiah 34:11 The identity of the animals rendered hawk and porcupine is uncertain
Isaiah 34:11 Hebrew formlessness
Isaiah 34:13 Or owls
Isaiah 34:14 Identity uncertain

Rev. Timothy Appel

Although a mathematics degree may not be incredibly helpful to (proudly born-and-raised Texan) Rev. Timothy Appel while hosting Sharper Iron, his love of CFW Walther and the season of Easter will come in handy. His Call is shepherding the flock at Faith Lutheran Church in Godfrey, Illinois, and he’s also husband to wife Kristin and dad to their growing basketball team of children. When he’s not carrying out pastoral duties, you may find him reading “The Lord of the Rings,” snacking on Reese’s peanut butter cups, playing dominoes with his boys, or studying up on Texas history (including Sam Houston, of course).