What other scriptures highlight God's authority to bring desolation upon the wicked? Setting the Scene in Isaiah 14:23 “I will turn her into a place for owls and into swampland; I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of Hosts. The fall of proud Babylon in this verse is not an isolated threat; it reflects God’s consistent right to render a land desolate when wickedness reaches its full measure. Snapshots of Judgments Past • Genesis 7:21-23 — “All living creatures on the face of the earth were wiped out… Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.” God’s flood-waters erased a corrupt world. • Genesis 19:24-25 — “Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah… Thus He destroyed these cities and the entire plain.” A sudden, fiery desolation. • Exodus 12:29-30 — “At midnight the LORD struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt…” Judgment fell on a nation that hardened its heart. • Deuteronomy 29:23 — “The whole land is brimstone, salt, and burning; it is unsown and unproductive… which the LORD overthrew in His fierce anger.” Even the soil bears witness to divine wrath. Songs and Proverbs that Warn • Psalm 9:5-6 — “You have destroyed the wicked; You have erased their name forever… You have uprooted their cities; the very memory of them has vanished.” • Psalm 107:33-34 — “He turns rivers into deserts… fruitful land into salty wasteland, because of the wickedness of those who dwell there.” • Proverbs 2:22 — “But the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be uprooted.” Prophets Echo the Theme • Isaiah 13:9 — “Behold, the Day of the LORD is coming—cruel, with wrath and fierce anger—to make the earth a desolation and to destroy the sinners within it.” • Jeremiah 25:31-33 — “The LORD brings judgment on all mankind and puts the wicked to the sword… those slain by the LORD on that day will be spread from one end of the earth to the other.” • Ezekiel 6:6 — “Your cities will be laid waste… your high places demolished, so your altars will be laid waste and desecrated.” • Nahum 1:8 — “With an overwhelming flood He will make an end of Nineveh; He will pursue His enemies into darkness.” • Zephaniah 1:2-3 — “I will completely sweep away everything from the face of the earth… man and beast… birds… fish… and the wicked will have only heaps of rubble.” New Testament Certainty • Matthew 24:39 — “They were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away. So will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.” • 2 Peter 3:7 — “The present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.” • Revelation 18:8 — “Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and mourning and famine—and she will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.” Threads That Tie It Together • God’s judgments are never random; they respond to entrenched sin and open rebellion. • Desolation can be swift (Sodom), prolonged (Babylon), local (Egypt), or global (future fire), but the underlying authority is the same sovereign Lord. • Each passage underscores that no fortress, empire, or era can shield itself when God “sweeps with the broom of destruction.” Living in Light of Divine Authority Because Scripture plainly records—and future prophecy confirms—God’s right to desolate the wicked, His people are called to trust His justice, heed His warnings, and rest in the assurance that evil will not stand forever. |
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