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Chapter 13 (ESV)

1 The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.

² On a bare hill raise a signal;
cry aloud to them;
wave the hand for them to enter
the gates of the nobles.
³ I myself have commanded my consecrated ones,
and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger,
my proudly exulting ones.

⁴ The sound of a tumult is on the mountains
as of a great multitude!
The sound of an uproar of kingdoms,
of nations gathering together!
The Lord of hosts is mustering
a host for battle.
⁵ They come from a distant land,
from the end of the heavens,
the Lord and the weapons of his indignation,
to destroy the whole land.

⁶ Wail, for the day of the Lord is near;
as destruction from the Almighty it will come!
⁷ Therefore all hands will be feeble,
and every human heart will melt.
⁸ They will be dismayed:
pangs and agony will seize them;
they will be in anguish like a woman in labor.
They will look aghast at one another;
their faces will be aflame.

⁹ Behold, the day of the Lord comes,
cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,
to make the land a desolation
and to destroy its sinners from it.
¹⁰ For the stars of the heavens and their constellations
will not give their light;
the sun will be dark at its rising,
and the moon will not shed its light.
¹¹ I will punish the world for its evil,
and the wicked for their iniquity;
I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant,
and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.
¹² I will make people more rare than fine gold,
and mankind than the gold of Ophir.
¹³ Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,
and the earth will be shaken out of its place,
at the wrath of the Lord of hosts
in the day of his fierce anger.

REFLECTION:

1. Read slowly this passage a couple of times and let the language and imagery sink in.
2. What was your emotion as you read this passage? How would “the day of the Lord” in this passage compare with your notion of the day when Jesus comes back?  Are they different?  How so?  And why?
3. How would reading this passage alert you of the immensity of God’s power and his judgment when Jesus comes back?

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

HYMN:

Even So Come – youtu.be/4s0Zb189Sco