Thematic Bible: Of God's judgment
Thematic Bible
Arrows » Illustrative » Of God's judgment
He tips His arrows with fire.
When I shoot deadly arrows of famine at them, arrows for destruction that I will send to destroy you, inhabitants of Jerusalem, I will intensify the famine against you and cut off your supply of bread.
I will pile disasters on them; I will use up My arrows against them. They will be weak from hunger, ravaged by pestilence and bitter plague; I will unleash on them wild beasts with fangs, as well as venomous snakes that slither in the dust. Outside, the sword will take their children, and inside, there will be terror; the young man and the virgin [will be killed], the infant and the gray-haired man. read more.
I would have said: I will cut them to pieces and blot out the memory of them from mankind, if I had not feared insult from the enemy, [or feared] that these foes might misunderstand and say: Our own hand has prevailed; it wasn't the Lord who did all this." Israel is a nation lacking sense with no understanding at all. If only they were wise, they would figure it out; they would understand their fate. How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up? But their "rock" is not like our Rock; even our enemies concede. For their vine is from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are poisonous; their clusters are bitter. Their wine is serpents' venom, the deadly poison of cobras. "Is it not stored up with Me, sealed up in My vaults? Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay. In time their foot will slip, for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly." The Lord will indeed vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants when He sees that [their] strength is gone and no one is left-slave or free. He will say: "Where are their gods, the 'rock' they found refuge in? Who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up and help you; let it be a shelter for you. See now that I alone am He; there is no God but Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal. No one can rescue [anyone] from My hand. I raise My hand to heaven and declare: As surely as I live forever, when I sharpen My flashing sword, and My hand takes hold of judgment, I will take vengeance on My adversaries and repay those who hate Me. I will make My arrows drunk with blood while My sword devours flesh- the blood of the slain and the captives, the heads of the enemy leaders."
I would have said: I will cut them to pieces and blot out the memory of them from mankind, if I had not feared insult from the enemy, [or feared] that these foes might misunderstand and say: Our own hand has prevailed; it wasn't the Lord who did all this." Israel is a nation lacking sense with no understanding at all. If only they were wise, they would figure it out; they would understand their fate. How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up? But their "rock" is not like our Rock; even our enemies concede. For their vine is from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are poisonous; their clusters are bitter. Their wine is serpents' venom, the deadly poison of cobras. "Is it not stored up with Me, sealed up in My vaults? Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay. In time their foot will slip, for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly." The Lord will indeed vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants when He sees that [their] strength is gone and no one is left-slave or free. He will say: "Where are their gods, the 'rock' they found refuge in? Who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up and help you; let it be a shelter for you. See now that I alone am He; there is no God but Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal. No one can rescue [anyone] from My hand. I raise My hand to heaven and declare: As surely as I live forever, when I sharpen My flashing sword, and My hand takes hold of judgment, I will take vengeance on My adversaries and repay those who hate Me. I will make My arrows drunk with blood while My sword devours flesh- the blood of the slain and the captives, the heads of the enemy leaders."