Today we are going to touch on an important truth briefly, and this brings some additional passages from God’s Word that we need to consider. First, here is today’s key verse:
“But suddenly, your ruthless enemies will be crushed
Isaiah 29:5-6 (NLT)
like the finest of dust.
Your many attackers will be driven away
like chaff before the wind.
Suddenly, in an instant,
I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will act for you
with thunder and earthquake and great noise,
with whirlwind and storm and consuming fire.
A bit of History
Sennacherib was the king of Assyria, a large domain the stretched from northern Iraq to southeastern Turkey. During the reign of Sennacherib, the capital of Assyria was in Nineveh – yep, the city to which God sent Jonah.
Sennacherib conquered the northern kingdom, Israel, whose capital was in Samaria, and soon set siege to Jerusalem in Judah. The prophecy we just read in Isaiah 29:5-6 was likely fulfilled during the time of King Hezekiah when God suddenly and miraculously delivered Jerusalem from Sennacherib’s attack (2 Kings 19:35-36).
Context
If we zoom out from verses five and six and read the whole chapter of Isaiah twenty-nine, we see that God is punishing the Jews. The Israelites had abandoned their love for God, their love of His Word. They had also left their purpose, which was to show God to all nations. Instead, they took refuge in the letter of the Law. If they just mechanically obeyed the commandments, then they could live their lives without living for and with God. So, the prophecy from God was predicting a time of punishment to bring them back to the intent and purpose of the Law of Moses:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. –Deuteronomy 6:4-5
What About Us?
God doesn’t change (Malachi 3:6). Just as God punishes nations, He also disciplines His children. We know this from:
For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights. – Proverbs 3:12 (NLT)
For the LORD disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child. – Hebrews 12:6 (NLT)
Every Christian receives correction from God. If God never corrects us, then we are not His children. Discipline is the responsibility of a father to his child, so it is a blessing when our Heavenly Father corrects us. And, I must say, God is sovereign, political correctness holds no sway over God’s chastening.
We Are Secure
So here is our Good News. Even when we are in the middle of God’s chastening, we remain in His hand. He will “never leave you nor forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)” If attacked, God defends us suddenly! “But suddenly, your ruthless enemies will be crushed…” This is how God works. We are safe in the palm of our God. When the enemy attacks or this world has us on the ropes, we are safe. As the lyrics say in Dottie Rambo’s song, “We are Sheltered in the Arms of God.”
I feel the touch of hands so kind and tender.
They’re leading me in the paths that I must trod.
I’ll have no fear for Jesus walks beside me
For I’m sheltered in the Arms of God.
Jesus redeemed us. As the redeemed children of the Most High God (Daniel 4:2), we should have no fear from this world. For we are pilgrims, “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.” (Hebrews 13:24) The world can injure us but it can not harm us.