Word of Encouragement (02/01/2023)
For a fire is kindled by my anger, and it burns to the depths of Sheol, devours the earth and its increase, and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains. 23"'And I will heap disasters upon them; I will spend my arrows on them; 24 they shall be wasted with hunger, and devoured by plague and poisonous pestilence; I will send the teeth of beasts against them, with the venom of things that crawl in the dust. 25 Outdoors the sword shall bereave, and indoors terror, for young man and woman alike, the nursing child with the man of gray hairs. (Deut. 32:22-25)
Here is a brief(!) description of what Israel deserved for provoking God to anger with his idolatry.
See how fierce His anger will be: it is described as a fire that burns (v. 22a). We know how swiftly a wildfire can spread, wreaking havoc and destroying everything in its path without mercy. God’s wrath against sin is described as a fire but it will be fiercer than any fire that has ravaged the land or ever will.
It will also be far-reaching: its fierce heat reaches to the depths of Sheol, the region of death and hell; it devours the earth (or the land) and its increase; it even burns the foundation of the mountains. The things that are mentioned here imply that, when God unleashes the fire of His wrath, no place on earth will be safe. For He is the sovereign Lord of all the earth.
It is be wide-ranging: God will heap disasters upon them, disaster on disaster; He will shower on them all His arrows of wrath until He exhausts them; they will be wasted with hunger as their crops and flocks are devoured by plagues and poisonous pestilence; even animals, driven by their hunger, will come after them and so will venous animals and insects; there will be the threat of the sword outside and terror will reign indoors.
It will be all-inclusive as well: the wrath of God will afflict not only young men and women but also those of gray hairs and nursing children. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. A sinner is a sinner no matter what. Every sinner is liable to God’s dreadful judgment because God is a holy God, pure from anything sinful or wicked.
Of course, even these words cannot do justice to the terror of God’s judgment that all sinners truly deserve. But some may question the validity of this since this is not our daily experience. Throughout history, most people have been spared of such display of God’s wrath. But just because it is rare doesn’t mean that it does not happen or will not happen. Listen to what Jonathan Edwards said about God’s wrath against sinners:
The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present; they increase more and more, and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is given; and the longer the stream is stopped, the more rapid and mighty is its course, when once it is let loose. It is true, that judgment against your evil works has not been executed hitherto; the floods of God's vengeance have been withheld; but your guilt in the mean time is constantly increasing, and you are every day treasuring up more wrath; the waters are constantly rising, and waxing more and more mighty; and there is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, that holds the waters back, that are unwilling to be stopped, and press hard to go forward. If God should only withdraw his hand from the flood-gate, it would immediately fly open, and the fiery floods of the fierceness and wrath of God, would rush forth with inconceivable fury, and would come upon you with omnipotent power; and if your strength were ten thousand times greater than it is, yea, ten thousand times greater than the strength of the stoutest, sturdiest devil in hell, it would be nothing to withstand or endure it” (“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”).
How terrifying this is! That is why we should be so grateful to our Lord Jesus Christ for His redemption. We are forgiven because He bore this terrifying wrath of God in full on our behalf. We will never be able to understand the intensity of His agony He experienced under the full wrath of God. We owe Him eternal praise and more! Let us renew our praise to Him now. If you have not placed your trust in Jesus Christ, let today be the first day of your eternal praise to God!