Isaiah on Tuesday - Prophecy Against Babylon

There are sections of the Bible which are very difficult to read and even more difficult to reconcile with the image I want to have of God. I want to think of a kind and loving father who cares for his children and his children love him. It's an idyllic image and not altogether wrong. Yet, even as God IS a kind and loving father, He is also holy, just and righteous.

I have found in my readings of Isaiah, among others, that God does not tolerate injustice for long. Again and again we see a God who, though loving and kind, is unwavering in His justice. I can't really claim to understand it, but I accept it as true.

In Isaiah 13, the prophet foretells of the destruction of Babylon from the Medes. These were apparently a cruel and ruthless people in war and would completely raze Babylon, killing even infants and women as they attacked. It is the cruelty of man against man that makes passages like these difficult to stomach. That God would allow us in our falleness to be so cruel and merciless and use that sin as a tool in judgment is a quandary that I continue to ponder.

Yet, even today we continue in human cruelty. From torture and genocide to playground bullying, we remain a cruel and sinful people. My hope lies in the transformed heart and the promise of love, peace, hope, joy, faithfulness, goodness, kindness and self-control that is promised to arise from those who submit to God. It is my belief that God desires those things as well and that the judgment and destruction that comes to the likes of the Babylonians is grievous to Him. I can understand that. I have a hard time with even the mild discipline I apply to my son. Still, while I can begin to grasp the edges of these "judgment" passages, they remain troublesome reading for me. I think that is a good thing. If I weren't troubled by it, it may be time for a heart checkup.