Topical Bible: Mountains: God: Makes Waste

◄ Mountains: God: Makes Waste ►

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In the biblical narrative, mountains often symbolize strength, stability, and the presence of God. However, they also serve as a testament to God's supreme power and authority over creation, including His ability to make waste of these mighty structures. This theme is woven throughout Scripture, illustrating God's capacity to humble the proud and bring low the exalted.

Divine Power Over Creation

The Bible frequently emphasizes God's sovereignty over the natural world, including mountains. In Isaiah 40:4 , it is written, "Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain." This passage highlights God's ability to alter the landscape, demonstrating His control over even the most formidable parts of creation.

Judgment and Destruction

Mountains are often depicted as places of refuge and strength, yet they are not immune to God's judgment. In Nahum 1:5 , the prophet declares, "The mountains quake before Him, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles at His presence—the world and all its dwellers." This imagery underscores the futility of relying on natural fortresses when faced with divine wrath.

Similarly, in Jeremiah 51:25 , God pronounces judgment on Babylon, saying, "Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, you who devastate the whole earth, declares the LORD. I will stretch out My hand against you, roll you off the cliffs, and make you a burnt mountain." Here, the metaphor of a mountain is used to describe a powerful empire, which God promises to reduce to waste.

Symbol of Human Pride

Mountains can also symbolize human pride and self-reliance, which God opposes. In Isaiah 2:12-14 , the prophet warns, "For the Day of the LORD of Hosts will come against all the proud and lofty, against all that is exalted—it will be humbled—against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up, against all the oaks of Bashan, against all the tall mountains, against all the high hills." This passage illustrates God's intention to bring down human arrogance, often represented by towering mountains.

Restoration and Renewal

While God has the power to make waste of mountains, He also promises restoration and renewal. In Isaiah 41:15-16 , God reassures His people, "Behold, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff. You will winnow them, and a wind will carry them away; a gale will scatter them. But you will rejoice in the LORD; you will glory in the Holy One of Israel." This promise of transformation and victory over obstacles reflects God's redemptive purposes.

Conclusion

Throughout Scripture, mountains serve as a powerful symbol of God's ability to make waste of the seemingly indestructible. Whether as a demonstration of His judgment, a humbling of human pride, or a promise of renewal, the imagery of mountains being laid low underscores the ultimate authority and power of God over all creation.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Isaiah 42:15
I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Hillis -- God the Unwearied Guide
... What if the farmer's field was only a waste of thorns ... God is round about every home
as the mountains are round ... and it is the sense of need that makes God near. ...
/.../various/the worlds great sermons volume 10/hillis god the unwearied.htm

The Unrevealed Future of the Sons of God
... I. The fact of sonship makes us quite sure of the future ... The white mountains keep
their secret well; not until we have ... say, 'Now are we the sons of God, and it ...
/.../expositions of holy scripture ephesians peter/the unrevealed future of the.htm

The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New
... who will destroy and destroy till he makes himself obeyed. ... of the mountains; and
said to the mountains and to ... end as it began, by revealing a God who, however ...
/.../kingsley/the gospel of the pentateuch/sermon xi the god of.htm

The Greatest of These is Love.
... Even tho I had faith so that I could move mountains, and had not love, I ... Faith unites
us with God; hope lifts us up to God; but love makes us conformable ...
/.../kuyper/the work of the holy spirit/xxiii the greatest of these.htm

Elijah
... unto mount Carmel.' The tyrant's guilty conscience makes a coward ... before the wild
man out of the mountains, who has ... in being an honest and a God-fearing man. ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/town and country sermons/sermon xix elijah.htm

Demonstration xvii. --Of Christ the Son of God.
... that is needed for his son; then he makes the marriage ... of Saul, for Saul was killed
in the mountains of Gilboa in ... he said in the next verse:"O God, abide for ...
/.../aphrahat select demonstrations/demonstration xvii of christ the son.htm

Jewish Rejecters and Gentile Receivers
... messengers turned from them without further waste of time ... God makes us lonely that
He may Himself be our ... geographers, the way led over savage mountains; but the ...
/.../jewish rejecters and gentile receivers.htm

Christ Teaching Liberality
... This rain makes the rills start from the sides of the mountains. ... away its water for
hundreds and thousands of years, ever since the day when God made it. ...
/.../newton/the life of jesus christ for the young/christ teaching liberality.htm

Providence
... And if God makes the earth work so well that it ... though the earth be moved, and the
mountains carried into the ... dwell in the land, and work where God has placed ...
/.../kingsley/sermons for the times/sermon xiii providence.htm

Shod for the Road
... God does not turn people out to scramble over rough mountains with thin ... in itself;
the electric beam is the swift energy of God, which makes us 'light in ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture f/shod for the road.htm