God Is More Powerful Than the Nations

Note from today’s Bible reading: Isaiah 13-20

In the midst of a section of the book of Isaiah in which God addresses several nations around Israel and the judgment that was coming against them, a statement is made that is true for every nation.

The “uproar of many peoples” and the “rumbling of nations” is likened to the “roaring of the seas” and the “rumbling of many waters” (Isaiah 17:12). The statement in the next verse, “The nations rumble on like the rumbling of many waters” (Isaiah 17:13), emphasizes their power and the inability that any one person has to control or stop the direction the nations are going.

Yet God is powerful enough to do this: “But He will rebuke them and they will flee far away… At evening time, behold there is terror! Before morning they are no more” (Isaiah 17:13-14). The reason God would do this was because of their sin. In this case, their sin involved plundering and pillaging the people of God (Isaiah 17:14).

Those who are faithful to God can take comfort in the fact that He sees what is being done and is able to hold the guilty accountable. Those who would harm others – no matter what position they hold – will not escape the judgment of God.

So remember that God is more powerful than the nations. Even if we face oppression, injustice, and persecution, we can put our trust in God. In the end, He will punish the wicked and deliver the faithful.