A Sieve and a Song

Isaiah 30:27-33 

27 Behold, the name of the LORD comes from afar,
Burning with His anger,
And His burden is heavy;
His lips are full of indignation,
And His tongue like a devouring fire.

28 His breath is like an overflowing stream,
Which reaches up to the neck,
To sift the nations with the sieve of futility;
And there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people,
Causing them to err.

29 You shall have a song
As in the night when a holy festival is kept,
And gladness of heart as when one goes with a flute,
To come into the mountain of the LORD,
To the Mighty One of Israel.

30 The LORD will cause His glorious voice to be heard,
And show the descent of His arm,
With the indignation of His anger
And the flame of a devouring fire,
With scattering, tempest, and hailstones.

31 For through the voice of the LORD
Assyria will be beaten down,
As He strikes with the rod.

32 And in every place where the staff of punishment passes,
Which the LORD lays on him,
It will be with tambourines and harps;
And in battles of brandishing He will fight with it.

33 For Tophet was established of old,
Yes, for the king it is prepared.
He has made it deep and large;
Its pyre is fire with much wood;
The breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone,
Kindles it.

This judgment on Assyria is a picture of God’s judgment on all who oppose Him.  The wrath of God is poured out on (Romans 2:8) them no matter how far they may seem from His arm.  The devouring word f the Lord to hold all accountable for their sin of rebellion against Him will find us all out as it did for the Assyrians.  He will sift the nations and all in them who reject Him and His word, a most unpleasant and unpopular truth which many run from in abject and vocal denial when it is heard, even leading them to blaspheme further and deny there is a aged at all.  Ah, but God’s people have a song in the night to glorify their provider and deliverer whom they worship and fear with great awe and wonder in trust and faithfulness to His word.  It is as a song of worship and as a living sacrifice which the old temple sacrifices foreshadowed for us in the scriptures.  To those at a distance from Him, He makes His voice heard through the former prophets like Isaiah and the final one who is His Son (Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:1).  In the end that revelation will display His wrath against sin with His power to shake the very heavens and earth (Hebrews 12:25-26, 28).  Like Assyria as a picture and shadow of the final judgment, the whole world will so be shaken and struck down by the word of His power (Revelation 19:15, 21).  Yes, just as the end was certain for the enemies of the LORD like Assyria, so has His justice and judgment been prepared for the vessels of wrath who deny and reject Him and His word (Romans 9:22-24) as a short and swift work against the unrighteous on the earth (Romans 9:28).  May we who hear and have been given eyes of our hearts to see take heed and speak His word faithfully as Isaiah and the messengers of God before us (Jeremiah 23:28-29), which is the good news of grace and reconciliation and deliverance from this burning wrath (2 Peter 3:7, 10, 12, 2 Thessalonians 1:8, Matthew 25:41) to come upon the world for disbelief and disobedience.  There is a sieve and a song to consider.  There is a sieve and a song to consider for worship by deliverance of grace or judgment of God’s wrath which we all deserve.  One is judgment and the other is joyful worship of deliverance.