For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Isa 34:1-4

1 Come near, you nations, and listen;
    pay attention, you peoples!
Let the earth hear, and all that is in it,
    the world, and all that comes out of it!
2 The Lord is angry with all nations;
    his wrath is on all their armies.
He will totally destroy them,
    he will give them over to slaughter.
3 Their slain will be thrown out,
    their dead bodies will stink;
    the mountains will be soaked with their blood.
4 All the stars in the sky will be dissolved
    and the heavens rolled up like a scroll;
all the starry host will fall
    like withered leaves from the vine,
    like shrivelled figs from the fig-tree.

A. Find Out

1. Who is to listen to this next prophecy? v.1
2. What does the Lord feel about whom? v.2a
3. So what will He do with them? v.2b
4. How extensive will this be? v.3
5. What will happen in the heavens? v.4

B. Think:

1. How extensive is the judgment spoken of here?
2. What will this judgment entail?

C. Comment:

In the previous chapter the focus has been on Zion – Jerusalem (see. 33:20-) – but now the prophetic vision extends dramatically and rapidly to cover the whole earth (v.1). Isaiah is quite specific and so that means all the people of the earth. At this stage this is not a separating out of righteous from unrighteous – that will come later and has come before – it is just simply a general warning of a destruction that will be worldwide.

The reason for this destruction is only partly given here (this is just a general warning at this stage) and it is that the Lord is angry with the peoples of the earth (v.2a) and so great is His anger that He will completely and utterly destroy them all (v.2b). The reason for His anger is not given at this stage. Very simply the awfulness is displayed, sufficiently terrible as to catch our attention perhaps.

To emphasise it, Isaiah pictures the dead being piled up in heaps with the awful smell of corrupting dead pervading everything (v.3), and even the mountains will be covered in the blood of the slain – there will be no place that people can escape to, where judgment will not come.

Finally there is a terrible picture of even the heavens being rolled up (v.4) – whether this is literal or is meant to mean heavenly hosts of evil, or even leaders of the world, is unclear. Time alone will tell. All we know from this is that there will be a catastrophic world-wide judgment by God which must be the Last Day.

D. Application:

1. The unredeemed sinner will have nowhere to run.
2. The redeemed will rely on the Cross on that day.

Passage: Isa 34:5-10

5 My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens;
    see, it descends in judgment on Edom,
    the people I have totally destroyed.
6 The sword of the Lord is bathed in blood,
    it is covered with fat –
the blood of lambs and goats,
    fat from the kidneys of rams.
For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah
    and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 And the wild oxen will fall with them,
    the bull calves and the great bulls.
Their land will be drenched with blood,
    and the dust will be soaked with fat. 8 For the Lord has a day of vengeance,
    a year of retribution, to uphold Zion’s cause.
9 Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,
    her dust into burning sulphur;
    her land will become blazing pitch!
10 It will not be quenched night or day;
    its smoke will rise for ever.
From generation to generation it will lie desolate;
    no one will ever pass through it again.

A. Find Out

1. On whom is judgment now focused? v.5
2. Where will be sacrificed? v.6
3. What will fall? (note carefully) v.7
4. What is the Lord doing and why? v.8
5. What is the extent of the destruction of Edom? v.9
6. How long will its effect continue? v.10

B. Think:

1. How extensive is this judgment?
2. What indications are there of that?
3. What appears its cause?

C. Comment:

From looking at judgement on the whole world, the focus now turns to Edom (v.5), a nation that came from Esau and was always in contention against Israel , the epitome of a rebellious, godless people. When the Lord says “I have destroyed” it means it is as good as done – it is certain.

The language of verse 6 is the language of sacrifice and the parts mentioned are those parts reserved in the sacrificial system for the Lord. Bozrah is the capital of Edom , and it has the same impact as when a TV hero says of a criminal to be taken, “He’s mine!” i.e. that one is to be left to me for special attention.

Bear that sacrificial language in mind when you come to verse 7 for bulls and bull calves were part of the appropriate animals to be sacrificed but wild bulls were not, so this is a prophet’s way of saying God will deal with everyone, all the ‘big people’ will be included in this ‘sacrifice’.

These are the specifics of a day that the Lord has planned (v.8) when, for Israel’s sake, He will deal with Edom , the ever-present enemy. It will be a total destruction of the land (v.9) and it will be so devastating that the land will continue to be uninhabitable for generations to come. This is a devastating picture of God’s judgement on ungodly people.

D. Application:

1. If God brings judgement it is only after frequent warnings.
2. If God brings judgement it is a last resort and well deserved. Understand every judgment in this light.

Passage: Isaiah 34:11-17

11 The desert owl and screech owl will possess it;
    the great owl and the raven will nest there.
God will stretch out over Edom
    the measuring line of chaos
    and the plumb-line of desolation.
12 Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,
    all her princes will vanish away.
13 Thorns will overrun her citadels,
    nettles and brambles her strongholds.
She will become a haunt for jackals,
    a home for owls.
14 Desert creatures will meet with hyenas,
    and wild goats will bleat to each other;
there the night creatures will also lie down
    and find for themselves places of rest.
15 The owl will nest there and lay eggs,
    she will hatch them, and care for her young
    under the shadow of her wings;
there also the falcons will gather,
    each with its mate.

16 Look in the scroll of the Lord and read:

None of these will be missing,
    not one will lack her mate.
For it is his mouth that has given the order,
    and his Spirit will gather them together.
17 He allots their portions;
    his hand distributes them by measure.
They will possess it for ever
    and dwell there from generation to generation.

A. Find Out

1. Who will possess the land? v.11a
2. What will the Lord be doing? v.11b
3. Who will no longer be seen in the land? v.12
4. Who will replace them? v.13-15
5. How is this confirmed? v.16
6. For how long? v.17

B. Think:

1. What is the point of the creatures being mentioned?
2. What is the final picture of the land?

C. Comment:

In verse 10 the Lord had indicated that Edom would be desolate for generations to come but again and again in prophetic Scripture the Lord speaks a statement but then paints a picture to graphically ensure that that statement is well and truly indelibly imprinted in our memories. The verses here now are like that, a graphic picture to help us take in what the Lord has just said.

The Lord has just said the land will be desolate but now He lists off a number (not just one of two) of different sorts of owls that will occupy the land (v.11a). For a number of varieties of bird to take up residence there the habitat has got to be quiet and it will take a long time to bring this sort of habitat about!

God will bring chaos and desolation to this land (v.11b) and of course He has spoken of this before. He will bring about this destruction. Whereas once this land was ruled over by noblemen, princes and kings, (v.12) now there will be no sign of them.

This will be a land devoid of human habitation, a land left to grow into a wildlife wilderness of thorns, nettles and briars (v.13) – and of course that take quite a while – where jackals are at home and owls are at peace, creatures that are normally not at ease in human company. This is a place where wild animals have settled (v.14.15) for the Lord has so spoken (v.16) and has given all these creatures their long term habitat (v.17).

D. Application:

1. The Lord works on the long-term and takes His time.
2. Don’t expect changes to come quickly usually.