SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 17
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
Oh, the raging of many nations– they rage like the raging sea! Oh, the uproar of the peoples– they roar like the roaring of great waters! [Isaiah 17:12]
Isaiah is describing a time of chaos and mayhem among the nations, a time when God’s people will also be judged for their rebellion and immorality.
Jesus similarly describes such a time of judgment: Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. [Luke 21:10-11]
But as hard as this time will be, God will not leave Himself without a people who will represent Him.
Yet some gleanings will remain, as when an olive tree is beaten, leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches, four or five on the fruitful boughs,” declares the Lord, the God of Israel. [Isaiah 17:6]

As world events degenerate towards the end, it will get harder for Jesus’ followers.
The faithful remnant who persevere, who look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel [Isaiah 17:7], will witness to God through the chaos and mayhem.
But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. This will result in your being witnesses to them. [Luke 21:12-13]
Both Jesus and Isaiah are warning their followers about the danger of forgetting God [Isaiah 17:10] and the judgment that will follow.
They are urging their followers to be faithful, to persevere through coming days of judgment and to witness to God and Jesus as Saviour and Lord… no matter what.

As they persevere and witness through the chaos and the mayhem, He will protect them.
Though for a season it may seem that the oppressors have the upper hand, their day will come.
Be faithful, trust in God as Your Rock and Jesus as Your Saviour, and He will keep you to the very end!
You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. All men will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life. [Luke 21:16-19]
Apparently, while the nations are in uproar, Jesus’ followers may be put to death, but they will not perish; by standing firm through the chaos and mayhem, they will gain life.
Those who stand firm are the “gleanings” that Isaiah is talking about.

What is the lesson in all of this?
I believe that Jesus’ followers must be prepared for the time when things get worse; though we have experienced a time period of relative peace in the west (the last 50 years at least), a time is coming when chaos and mayhem will come – maybe even in this generation.
I am not a doomsayer, I am just facing the real possibility that the world as we know it may not last.
We should not be surprised if this happens; rather we should be prepared to stand firm, to look to God as our Rock, to remember our Maker.
And through whatever comes our way, we need to be prepared to witness for Him, like Isaiah did.
We may suffer, we may die, but we will not perish… we will gain life!!!
Am I preparing myself now in the Lord to face the days of judgment that may come?

PRAYER:
Lord, I do not want to face days of judgment, I do not want to be persecuted or face death. But if that season comes, help me to remember You, look to You as my Rock, stand firm and to witness for You!