There are two passages assigned for today!

SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 13
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
Terror will seize them, pain and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame. See, the day of the Lord is coming –a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger– to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. [Isaiah 13:8-9]
The image of a woman writhing in labor pain suggests a purpose and a goal for the suffering.
Jesus uses this same imagery to describe the final day of the Lord.
When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains. [Mark 13:7-8]
The goal in childbirth is obvious, the precious gift of new life.
The pain is not easy, but it is soon forgotten to the joy of holding the newborn child.
So what is the goal of the day of the Lord?
Is it not also new life, new beginnings, the joy of a new creation?

I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless. [Isaiah 13:11]
We may wonder why God has to employ such violent means to accomplish His purpose.
We read this next verse and we wonder – is this a good God?
Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be looted and their wives ravished. [Isaiah 13:16]
But we need to remember that God is not introducing these things, or making people do them.
These are examples of the “wicked sins” that were commonly practiced among the nations, but most surprisingly among God’s own people – this is why He is so angry.
We have grown accustomed to a measure of peace and order in our world, but we need to remember that this is a relatively recent phenomena – and there are still parts of the world where such evil is practiced.
Human nature is the problem, and history is full of infants being dashed, houses being looted and women being ravished.
In this passage, God is finally punishing His people for joining in the wickedness; He is allowing them to experience what they were guilty of themselves.

Then why doesn’t God just get rid of the bad people, and leave the innocent people alone?
But this is where the real problem lies, there are no innocent people.
If God were to just wipe out the guilty people, no one would remain; we all share a part of the responsibility for the world being what it is.
We need a radical solution, not just a minor adjustment.
The cross is the ultimate symbol of that radical solution, opening the way for an alternative ending to the story – life and not death.
All of history is God’s effort to get our attention, to call us back to Himself, to get us to repent and seek God’s help for becoming the people He originally created us to be.
God is birthing a new world, and though the process is long and painful, at the end of the day (of the Lord) it will result in new life, new beginnings, the joy of a new creation.

PRAYER:
Lord, I wish it didn’t have to be this way. But it is. I will trust You as You work through the agony of birthing a new world, but please may it be done soon.