ESOCS Devotional 3 December 2024 – The Day of the Lord
MEMORY VERSE: “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.”Isaiah 13:9 KJV
TEXT: ISAIAH 13:1-13
The burden against Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.
2 “Lift up a banner on the high mountain,
Raise your voice to them;
Wave your hand, that they may enter the gates of the nobles.
3 I have commanded My sanctified ones;
I have also called My mighty ones for My anger—
Those who rejoice in My exaltation.”
4 The noise of a multitude in the mountains,
Like that of many people!
A tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together!
The Lord of hosts musters
The army for battle.
5 They come from a far country,
From the end of heaven—
The Lord and His weapons of indignation,
To destroy the whole land.
6 Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand!
It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore all hands will be limp,
Every man’s heart will melt,
8 And they will be afraid.
Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them;
They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth;
They will be amazed at one another;
Their faces will be like flames.
9 Behold, the day of the Lord comes,
Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger,
To lay the land desolate;
And He will destroy its sinners from it.
10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not give their light;
The sun will be darkened in its going forth,
And the moon will not cause its light to shine.
11 “I will punish the world for its evil,
And the wicked for their iniquity;
I will halt the arrogance of the proud,
And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold,
A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens,
And the earth will move out of her place,
In the wrath of the Lord of hosts
And in the day of His fierce anger.
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The Bible indicates that tremendous events are ahead for the world. Gathered under the expression “the day of the Lord” is a large group of prophetic events predicted in both the Old and the New Testaments.
The day of the Lord is a period of time in which God will deal with wicked men directly and dramatically in fearful judgment. Our text in particular, tells us that “the day of the Lord is at hand and shall come as a destruction from the Almighty” (Isaiah 13:6). It is a period of trembling and fear, sorrow and pain for all those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and personal Saviour. The day of the Lord shall be filled with God’s cruelty, both with wrath and fierce anger, destruction of the land and destruction of sinners (Isaiah 13: 8 – 9).
The Day of the Lord is also a time of deliverance and blessing for Israel. The millennium—the whole kingdom reign of Christ on earth in which Christ personally directs the government of the world is also included in the Day of the Lord. In Zephaniah 3:14-15, by way of illustration, there is a picture of Israel’s blessing on that day, obviously following the time of judgment. The passage sets forth the praise and joy and rejoicing of Israel in the millennium. The Day of the Lord, as revealed in the Old Testament, indicates first a time of wrath and judgment upon a wicked and Christ-rejecting world, which is followed by a time of peace in which Christ shall be in the midst of the earth and will rule over the earth and bring blessing to the nation Israel. The millennium will end with another night of judgment (Rev. 20:9-15).
Today, a man may be a blasphemer of God, an atheist, can denounce God and teach bad doctrine. Seemingly, God does nothing about it. But the day designated in Scripture as “the day of the Lord” is coming when God will punish human sin, and He will deal in wrath and in judgment with a Christ-rejecting world. One thing we are sure of is that God in His own way will bring every soul into judgment.
There’s a need for us to examine ourselves and be sure that we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, and be prepared for the coming of the Saviour so that we shall not be part of those who will be destroyed.
- When you think about the day of the Lord, what comes to your thought? Are you prepared for the day of the Lord?
- Oh Lord, grant me the grace to be prepared for the day of Your coming. Help me live every day of my life for You, as if it is the last so that I will not be caught unprepared, in Jesus name.
Further Reading: Isaiah 1:1–9; Luke 17:20–end; Revelation 14:1-12
ESOCS Devotional 3 December 2024
