Nations – Page 3 – Praying Pint

13.v. “Worship the King, the Lord of hosts”

Zechariah 14:16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain; there shall be the plague with which the Lord afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths.

Revelation 11:15-17 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.

Romans 11:26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;

The millennium time is a bit of a mystery. A thousand-year reign with Christ as King. A time of peace and no wars. A time of being in the physical presence of Jesus Christ. Do you ever wonder why there would be people who do not want to or see the need to worship Jesus during this time? Is it possible that we are no different? Do we come to Jesus when convenient and other times we just can’t find the time or make the time? What drives us to come to Him and worship Him? Is it forgiveness of sin? Is it His sacrifice for us? Is it His promise of eternity? Is it His blessings on the work of our hands? Is it the blessings of our family? Is it the blessings of the indwelling Holy Spirit? Is it a peace that passes all understanding? Is it comfort in the storm? Is it courage in the face of whatever we are battling? Is it the understanding of grace, mercy, and love He showered on us? Is it the promise that He will never leave or forsake us? Is it …..? The point is that when we seek and desire Him with all of our heart, mind, and soul, and strength, worship will flow from our heart and mind and soul for Him. When we give the world any place in our heart, mind, and soul it seems to take the worship of Jesus Christ captive and releases our self-centered, self-reliant, self-serving desires. Take a look at your worship of Jesus Christ and place it first above all else.

13.u. “Behold, a day is coming for the Lord”

Zechariah 13:7 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me,” declares the Lord of hosts. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones. In the whole land, declares the Lord, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive. And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’;and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”

Zechariah 14:1 Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward.

Zechariah 14:9 And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.

In this prophecy from Zechariah we see a clear picture of Jesus Christ, the Shepherd was struck (crucified) and the scattering of the sheep took place when persecution fell on those in Jerusalem. Act 8:1 And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. We also see those who will be alive at His return to earth for the millennial reign, and the death of those who were striving to destroy Israel and His followers who came to an understanding of and trusted in salvation and redemption through Him during the tribulation period and were alive at His coming. “His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives.” Those that come against Him will surely perish. Those that trust in Him will surely live and they will reign with Him on earth for 1000 years.

There is more definition to the timing and what will occur in Revelation about the tribulation period when the wrath of God is poured out on all mankind for their rejection of Jesus Christ and His grace, mercy, and love. We know that man has both physical and spiritual makeup. The physical dies but the spirit is eternal. Those who have rejected Jesus Christ will die physically but spiritually they will live in torment, Hell, totally separated from Jesus Christ. This is not something to be taken lightly. I recently had a conversation with a relative who said when he dies he knows he is going to hell and he said that he will only take up a small portion there. I told him he is still alive and while he still has breath there is time to change that outcome. How is it that people can take Hell so lightly? It is because they make the sacrifice, redemption, and salvation of Jesus Christ his offer of grace, mercy, and love lightly. I don’t know how it works, but Jesus Christ can soften hearts and harden hearts with the same offer of redemption, and salvation. Look at Paul the leader of and the one who carried out great persecution on the early church yet his heart was softened. Look at Pharaoh who in the light of all of the wonders displayed hardened his heart like stone. Look at your own life and how self-centered, self-absorbed, and self-satisfied you were and somehow the Word of God softened your heart to the Good News of Jesus Christ. Obviously it was not a work of your own thinking but the work of the Holy Spirit of God opening up your mind to understand the need and offer of redemption. Only God knows how this works. He is all-knowing, Holy, and just. Somewhere in all of this is a free will choice that is made deep within the heart and soul of every person. All I can say is that if the Holy Spirit of God is revealing the need and offer of redemption and salvation, do not reject it. Your eternal destiny is based on this choice.

12.i.”And the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”

Habakkuk 2:15 “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk, so that he can gaze on their naked bodies! You will be filled with shame instead of glory. Now it is your turn! Drink and let your nakedness be exposed! The cup from the Lord’s right hand is coming around to you, and disgrace will cover your glory.

Jeremiah 25:15    Thus the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.

Revelation 17:2     with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.”

Revelation 18:3    For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”

We read of drunkenness both literally and metaphorically in Scripture. When consumption of alcohol is used to dull the senses to the point of affecting reason, this is bad. When alcohol is used literally a person becomes void of reason and allows a person to do what they would normally not even consider doing. When inhibitions are lost there is a host of sins just waiting to come to life and produce the fruit of the sinful nature. This sin has no bounds or limits. How many families do you know of that has been affected by the use and abuse of alcohol? It is not that alcohol is bad but there is a fine line that can be stepped over very easily. People say and do things under the influence of alcohol that they would not even dare think or do sober. It seems alcohol is used to dull senses and replace the need for prayer, reliance on Jesus Christ, and hearing the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit of God. In this dullness, there appears to be a reprieve of what troubles the soul. How many TV or movie shows do see where after something bad or taxing has happened they reach for a bottle of whiskey or some other strong drink to calm their concerns. They would have us believe this is the normal thing to do rather than calling out to God for help. “Come unto me all who are heavy laden and I will give you rest”. This comes from God alone and not a bottle.

Metaphorically drinking is used to show uninhibited drunkenness with power, luxurious living, and sexual immorality. People as well as nations fall because of this. Remember the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah, in the prosperity they drank from the cup of sexual immorality and as well from the cup of the Wrath of God. When God is removed from the heart and soul a person’s mind will be filled with uninhibited sinful desires. Some of these will manifest themselves with things we can see and other things we cannot. The cup they blindly choose to drink from is filled with worldly sinful passions and will result in also drinking the cup of God’s wrath. The end result is separation from the One and True God who is able to save, comfort, and encourage us now and throughout eternity.

12.f. “He cannot save himself by his treasure and his prosperity will not endure.”

Habakkuk 2:6 “Will not all of them taunt him with ridicule and scorn, saying, “‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods and makes himself wealthy by extortion! How long must this go on?’ Will not your creditors suddenly arise? Will they not wake up and make you tremble? Then you will become their prey. Because you have plundered many nations, the peoples who are left will plunder you. For you have shed human blood; you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.

Job 20:15-23 He will spit out the riches he swallowed; God will make his stomach vomit them up. He will suck the poison of serpents; the fangs of an adder will kill him. He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream. What he toiled for he must give back uneaten; he will not enjoy the profit from his trading. For he has oppressed the poor and left them destitute; he has seized houses he did not build. “Surely he will have no respite from his craving; he cannot save himself by his treasure. Nothing is left for him to devour; his prosperity will not endure. In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him; the full force of misery will come upon him. When he has filled his belly, God will vent his burning anger against him and rain down his blows on him.

God addressed the greedy man, and told him that he was ripe for judgment. The greedy man did his best to protect himself (set his nest on high), yet all his best defense would come to nothing. The greedy man thinks in terms of nothing but gain, but ends up losing his own soul. Luke 12:16-21– 16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 “And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 “So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 ‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, [and] be merry.” ‘ 20 “But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ 21 “So [is] he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Pride and greed are tempters of all. they equally find home in the rich and in the poor. Pride and greed will never object to where they reside. They are sticky like glue and can attach to the surface of our hearts, minds, and souls with ease.

The Word of God exposes these life sucking leeches within our heart and mind. The Word of God will set us free from the bondage of their grip in our lives. The Word of God in a humble servant will do more good in this world than money from all the richest men combined.

12.e. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

Habakkuk 2:5 “Moreover, wine is a traitor, an arrogant man who is never at rest. His greed is as wide as Sheol; like death he has never enough. He gathers for himself all nations and collects as his own all peoples.”

Proverbs 27:20     Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and never satisfied are the eyes of man.

Ecclesiastes 2:10-  And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil.  Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

1 John 2:16    For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

I was intrigued by the verse: “His greed is wide as hell, and like death, he never has enough” Two things are said to be never satisfied, death and sin. The appetites of the carnal mind for profit or pleasure are always desiring more. Hell and destruction are never full; the grave devours all the bodies which are put into it, and is always ready to receive and devour more and more without end. The eyes of man are never satisfied – As the grave can never be filled up with bodies, nor hell with souls; so the restless desire, the lust of power, riches, and splendor, is never satisfied. Out of this ever unsatisfied desire spring all the changing fashions, the varied amusements, and the endless lusts for money and things of this world, prevalent in every age, and in every country.

Those whose eyes are ever toward the Lord, are satisfied in Him. And yet, while we know this, attractions and temptations of this world still try to get us to glance away. Satan knows if he can get us to take our eyes off Jesus Christ his battle is won. It won’t be long before our sinful nature takes hold and rationalizes what we are doing and convinces us that it is ok. The change is very subtle and slow but rest assured it’s end is never satisfying and leaves us wanting more and more. It is a dangerous path to take in life. The moment the Word of God is neglected something else will fill that void. We become complacent, careless, and content in things of this world. Look around at what is happening in the US right now. What is driving the actions of government officials? What is driving the protesting? Will any of them be happy if they got what they were trying to acquire? Maybe for a short period but then there would always be something more. More power, more money, more and more, yet never satisfied. People are grabbing onto the hand of Satan and he is leading them straight to hell. It is not as though they are unaware of Jesus Christ and the gift of God, but they choose to deny what He has to offer in eternity for something temporal here and now. The Word of God is the bread of life and the Holy Spirit is the living water indwelling us to feed and water our lives on earth until we are reunited with our Lord, Redeemer, Savior, King of Kings, Jesus Christ. Let us hunger for this bread and thirst for this living water like never before and live and speak in such a way that Jesus Christ is honored and glorified and praised, and worshiped.

11.w. “Kings they scoff, and at rulers they laugh and God says, “All your fortresses are like fig trees with first-ripe figs”

Nahum 3:12 All your fortresses are like fig trees with first-ripe figs— if shaken they fall into the mouth of the eater. Behold, your troops are women in your midst. The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire has devoured your bars.

Habakkuk 1:10     At kings they scoff, and at rulers they laugh. They laugh at every fortress, for they pile up earth and take it.

Isaiah 19:16   In that day the Egyptians will be like women, and tremble with fear before the hand that the LORD of hosts shakes over them.

Jeremiah 51:30    The warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting; they remain in their strongholds; their strength has failed; they have become women; her dwellings are on fire; her bars are broken.

Psalms 107:16    For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron.

Isaiah 45:1-2     Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: “I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron,

As people, we build fortresses around ourselves to protect us. The better the fortress the more secure we get the impression and sense of impregnable protection. We can see this in nations that build armies and weapons systems as virtual fortress walls of protection. We can see it in the ancient Walls of China. We can see it in security and alert systems. All of these virtual and physical “fortresses” are designed to give us peace of mind against the outbreak of wars, lawlessness, and other acts of violence. They have been needed and used since the fall of mankind. As individuals, we too, build fortresses. Our homes are protected by deterrents like door locks, deadbolts, security cameras, fences, walls, and alarm systems. These are designed to give us protection and warning against intruders, looters, and violence. Some will open carry or conceal and carry firearms where allowed. Their fortress is the firearm. We build other fortresses too. We build financial fortresses where we amass money/savings for security in the future. There are other items we buy and store to complete our fortress of security. Are they necessary? I would have to think it is. Until the return of Christ, there will continue to be those whose hearts and minds are bent on doing evil. They are intentional in this choice of sinful behavior. The problem with fortresses is we soon become more and more reliant in them. When this occurs our reliance and focuses on Jesus Christ seems to change. We rest in our fortress and confuse this needed safety with no need for Jesus Christ in our lives, we will fall to the belief that we have power, self-reliance, and self-security. Pride in our fortress replaces the need for Jesus Christ in our daily lives. The warnings given in scripture warn us against this potential pitfall. When we are secure in our fortress(es) more than our need for Jesus Christ we are open to all kinds of temptations of neglect and complacency of God’s Word, humble service, seeking His will, seeking His guidance, listening for His quiet small voice, following and obeying, trusting and relying on and in Jesus Christ. God has demonstrated and communicated His anger against all who rely more on their fortresses/pride/power than humbly serving, thanking, worshiping, praising, honoring, and glorifying Him. This goes for individuals and nations. He will break down the iron bars of our fortresses and show us how feeble our attempts are at self-security, self-reliance, and self-preservation. Fortresses are not bad but the reliance on them over Jesus Christ is very bad and leads to all kinds of sinful thoughts and actions.

11.u. “There is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.”

Nahum 3:1 Woe to the bloody city, all full of lies and plunder— no end to the prey! The crack of the whip, and rumble of the wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot! Horsemen charging, flashing sword and glittering spear, hosts of slain, heaps of corpses, dead bodies without end— they stumble over the bodies! And all for the countless whorings of the prostitute, graceful and of deadly charms, who betrays nations with her whorings, and peoples with her charms.

Ezekiel 22:2-3   “And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then declare to her all her abominations.  You shall say, Thus says the Lord GOD: A city that sheds blood in her midst, so that her time may come, and that makes idols to defile herself!

Ezekiel 24:6-9    “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose corrosion is in it, and whose corrosion has not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece, without making any choice.  For the blood she has shed is in her midst; she put it on the bare rock; she did not pour it out on the ground to cover it with dust.  To rouse my wrath, to take vengeance, I have set on the bare rock the blood she has shed, that it may not be covered.  Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great.

Habakkuk 2:12    “Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity!

Zephaniah 3:1-3     Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, the oppressing city!  She listens to no voice; she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the LORD; she does not draw near to her God.  Her officials within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves that leave nothing till the morning.

Isaiah 42:24     Who gave up Jacob to the looter, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned, in whose ways they would not walk, and whose law they would not obey?

Hosea 4:2     there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.

Nahum, proclaiming God’s Word against Nineveh, reveals the heart and soul of that city and the people who lead it. Lies and plunder and killing are used to charm their people into thinking what they are doing are good, right, and without consequences. Nineveh is not alone in these acts of defiance as recorded over and over again in scripture. When God is removed from the hearts and minds of young and old children and adults their hearts will turn to what seems right in their own eyes. When God is removed who is to say what they are doing is wrong when the masses are charmed into joining in and believing the enticements of their lies. Their satisfaction and sense of well being come from blindly following their leaders. When the fear of God and worship of Him is willfully abandoned false hopes and self-assurance/reliance will take firm root. No warnings seem to have been listened too. No plead to repent and turn away from their sinful actions will be listened too. No urgent need will be seen. God is just and His justice is always right and true. His anger, wrath, and judgment will not be withheld. Our responsibility as children of God is to be proclaimers of the Good News of Jesus Christ. God’s Word will never return void. Sometimes it will be used by the Holy Spirit to convict a person into repentance and the love and worship of God, and sadly it will also harden a heart into hate and defiance of God. The point is we are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ and proclaim the Love of Jesus Christ. We may never see the fruit of our discipleship but fruit there will be. Currently, we can see some of the moral character of our nation crumbling before our very eyes. When more and more people demand God be removed from school, work, and government what can we expect? Likewise, when more and more Christians proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ there is hope and we can expect God to do mighty work in our country.

11.b. “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.”

Micah 5:15 And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance on the nations that did not obey. Hear what the Lord says: Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth, for the Lord has an indictment against his people, and he will contend with Israel. “O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me! For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.”

Deuteronomy 32:1    “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.

Luke 19:40    He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Jeremiah 22:29    O land, land, land, hear the word of the LORD!

Isaiah 1:2   Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.

Give ear creation for God is proclaiming His anger against disobedience. God asks a very good question, “How have I wearied you?” “What have I done to you?” He is asking them what part of life is detrimental when following and obeying God? What part of being in the protective, powerful, and loving arms is bad for their life on earth? What part of promised eternal life with Him is not worth giving Him all our hearts, minds, and souls? What part of His provisions is so bad that we want to turn away and shun Him? If we give this any thought at all and look into how we are living our lives we might be ashamed of how we honor, glorify, follow, worship, obey, trust, and rely on Him.

11.

Micah 4:9 Now why do you cry aloud? Is there no king in you? Has your counselor perished, that pain seized you like a woman in labor? Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you shall go out from the city and dwell in the open country; you shall go to Babylon. There you shall be rescued; there the Lord will redeem you from the hand of your enemies. Now many nations are assembled against you, saying, “Let her be defiled, and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.” But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor.

Jeremiah 30:6-7     Ask now, and see, can a man bear a child? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor? Why has every face turned pale?  Alas! That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be saved out of it.

Isaiah 13:8   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.

Jeremiah 22:23    O inhabitant of Lebanon, nested among the cedars, how you will be pitied when pangs come upon you, pain as of a woman in labor!”

Isaiah 21:3    Therefore my loins are filled with anguish; pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman in labor; I am bowed down so that I cannot hear; I am dismayed so that I cannot see.

Hosea 13:10-11     Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities? Where are all your rulers— those of whom you said, “Give me a king and princes”?

Time and time again people of God have forsaken their love and devotion to Him. He sends prophets to speak the truth, warnings, and righteousness expected. What do they do? They still choose to disobey and turn their ears deaf to His calling to them. Time and time again. It is not as though they have not heard of the anger of God being displayed against people who have forsaken Him in the past. Yet in their time of prosperity and peace, they choose to go down paths that are away from God. They first become complacent and then neglectful and then disobedient. It is not as though one day they woke up and said “Let us be disobedient to God. It is a small step up on a small step upon a small step. Our growth in Jesus Christ is word upon word, line upon line, and precept upon precept. When we allow ourselves to become neglectful and complacent we are not adding word upon word, line upon line, or precept upon precept. We are though, taking small steps away from God and it does not take many of these steps to lose your way and/or influence others to lose their way too. We do well to search God’s Word for truth for our soul We do well to search it for meaning in our lives. We do well to seek and desire it with all our hearts, minds, and souls. In it, we will find soul-deep satisfaction. In it, we will find living water that will continue to purify our sinful nature. In it, we will become aware of sin in our lives. In it, we will find hope for today and tomorrow. In it we will be more than conquerors, we will be God-honoring faithful, trustful, and obedient followers.

10.i. “For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations.”

Obadiah 1:10 Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever. On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin; do not boast in the day of distress. Do not enter the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; do not gloat over his disaster in the day of his calamity; do not loot his wealth in the day of his calamity. Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives; do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress.

For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head. For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so all the nations shall drink continually; they shall drink and swallow, and shall be s though they had never been. But in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape, and it shall be holy, and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions. The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble; they shall burn them and consume them, and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau, for the Lord has spoken.

The Edomites were the descendants of the biblical Esau, who was the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham. Deuteronomy 23:7 You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a sojourner in his land. The Israelites and Edomites were descendant brothers. They were expected to treat each other as brothers. The Israelites were rejected passage through Edom while in the wilderness. Numbers 20:14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: “Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the hardship that we have met: how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time. ^fAnd the Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers. And when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. And here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, or drink water from a well. We will go along the King’s Highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.” But Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you.” The Edomites eventually disappeared from history. “and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau, for the Lord has spoken” And so it is. They lived in rebellion to God. They lived in pride and arrogance. They despised God and His chosen. They fought against God’s chosen. They even captured and turned over those who had escaped during the Babylonian attack and destruction of Jerusalem. “As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head.“

Like the Edomites, there is no hope for those who reject the offer of salvation and redemption through Jesus Christ. Their end is the same, destruction, torment, and eternity in hell, which has been reserved for those who not only reject salvation but despise it and God.