Isaiah 34 Devotional

Not One Word Will Go Missing

“Search and read the scroll of the LORD: Not one of these will go missing, not one will lack her mate, because He has ordered it by His mouth, and He will gather them by His Spirit.”Isaiah 34:16 (BSB)

Isaiah 34 is among the hardest chapters in the book. The nations are summoned to hear that the LORD is angry with them, and the picture is unsparing: unburied dead, mountains running with blood, and the sky rolled up like a scroll (34:1-4). Edom becomes the chief example. Its land turns to burning pitch and is left to owls, jackals, and thorns (34:9-15). The chapter does not explain the horror away, and neither should we.

What it does give is a reason. The LORD has a day of vengeance on behalf of Zion (34:8). Then comes an unusual invitation to search the LORD's scroll and check that not one of these creatures goes missing, because his own mouth has ordered it (34:16). God's word is exact, in warning as well as in promise. Paul tells believers not to take revenge but to leave room for God, who says repayment belongs to him (Romans 12:19). Because God's justice is sure, you can set down the work of settling scores.

To think about: What wrong done to you are you still trying to settle yourself, and what would it mean to leave it with God?