Isaiah is filled with prophecies about Israel and also her enemies. Whole nations are described, and their rise or fall is ultimately dependent upon God. He lifts up one and puts down another, all according to His ultimate agenda and their responses to Him.
In my reading today in Isaiah 16-18, God describes in Isaiah’s day what will happen to Moab (which is now the southern part of Jordan, directly to the east of Israel.) It was not a pretty picture. It is a prophecy of judgment that would occur during the time of Isaiah.
What is fascinating about every prophecy in the Bible about lands and nations and individual people is that it was prophesied before it happened, and it all came true in human history. What God prophesied was accomplished in each generation with stunning accuracy, thus reminding us that we live before the God-Who-Sees.
The advantage for the one who knows God and listens to His word is not only that they have seen these prophecies fulfilled, but they see the “why” behind them. It is never merely physical but always has a spiritual design. Further, it is always driven by the twin traits of God’s astounding lovingkindness, but also His faithful and accurate judgments.
What is the point of these prophecies? They were warnings in each prophet’s day to the nations and always a merciful call to repentance. God was giving each man and nation a chance to respond to their Creator. He pleads with them and calls them. But we also see the sovereignty of God. He rules over all, even though kings rant and rave. God’s purposes will always be ultimately accomplished.
I have a dear friend in Israel who was our guide recently on a trip there. Eliav is a Messianic Jew, a godly, wonderful believer with a precious wife and two young daughters. I am talking with him every few days to find out how we can pray. He has been deployed and is now in Gaza.
Yesterday, he asked me to pray for his dear friend, also a Messianic Jew, who had both of his legs blown off in combat and was horribly burned. He almost died, and his life and future still hang in the balance. This war has become very personal as I hear these firsthand reports from the front.
I know from a Biblical perspective that God has purposes for Israel and all her enemies. Just as it has unfolded according to His plan in the past, so it will in the future, and He has designs for the people and the land of Israel all the way to the end of time.
I pray for my friend, Eliav, and his family and friends and would ask you to join me. I pray for the peace of Israel and the cessation of war, but I know that they are always in Satan’s crosshairs, for the Devil hates God and will continue to try to destroy Him and keep the promises of God from being fulfilled.
But I also pray for the people of every nation--lost and saved--that God will be merciful and many will come to Him, for the ultimate for each man awaits in eternity. I have a close relative whose family serves among the Arab population in that area of the world, giving their lives to see them come to Christ. I join him in that passion. Our personal concern is about people from every tongue, tribe, and nation.
Palestinians who come to Christ, as well as Israeli’s, will be with us in heaven. All who hear the gospel and come to Christ in faith and repentance will be saved. It is our great task to pray and share the truth about Jesus with everyone. And, during this time of war in Israel, we should pray that the intensity of conflict would lead thousands to see the brevity of life and their need for salvation that can only be found in a personal relationship with Jesus.
