ISAIAH’S DAY OF THE LORD

Isa. 13:9-13, “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.   For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.   And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.  

I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.   Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.”

The day of the Lord is used twenty-five times in twenty-three verses. Most often we find the meaning at looking at the character of the times, the condemnation against a nation or nations, and the completion or annihilation of that enemy.

Zeph. 1:14-16, “The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.   That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.” 

Jer. 46:10, “For that day belongs to the Lord GOD of hosts, A day of vengeance, so as to avenge Himself on His foes; And the sword will devour and be satiated And drink its fill of their blood; For there will be a slaughter for the Lord GOD of hosts, In the land of the north by the river Euphrates.”

Ezek. 30:3, 4, "For the day is near, Even the day of the LORD is near; It will be a day of clouds, A time of doom for the nations. "A sword will come upon Egypt, And anguish will be in Ethiopia; When the slain fall in Egypt, They take away her wealth, And her foundations are torn down.”

Joel 3:12-16, “Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.   Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.  Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.   The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.   The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” 

This valley of decision in the book of Joel is the same as the valley of Jehoshaphat, the place where God is to execute judgment on his enemies.

1 Thess. 5:1-4, “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.   For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.   For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.   But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.”

I. THE CHARACTER OF THE TIMES

Isa. 13:1, “The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.”  Isaiah is prophesying against Babylon and their fall by the Medes and Persians

Zephaniah’s day of the Lord has to do with the destruction that will come against Jerusalem and the wrath of the Chaldeans against them. Jeremiah’s day of the Lord in 46:10 centers on the vengeance that God takes against the Egyptians for killing Josiah. The Judaean king Josiah refused to let the Egyptians pass. The Judaean forces battled the Egyptians at Megiddo, resulting in Josiah's death and his kingdom becoming a vassal state of Egypt in 609 B.C.

Ezekiel’s prophecy (Ezek Ezekiel’s prophecy (Ezek. 30:3, 4) relates to the conquering of Egypt by the king of Babylon. Joel’s day of the Lord is a further commentary on the church being build in Jerusalem, and the gospel reaching out into other nations. We note this from Peter quoting from Joel 2:28- 32; Acts 2:16-21.

Paul’s comment on the day of the Lord in 1 Thess Paul’s comment on the day of the Lord in 1 Thess. 5 speaks of the final day of judgment.

II. CONDEMNATION

“Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it” (Isa. 13:9).  The key is found in those two words: desolate, destroy.

“For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.”  This verse is to be taken metaphorically. We are speaking about the fall of Babylon. It will end up being desolate. A place with no light, no hope, and no comfort.

Some take it that these heavenly bodies being darkened speak of the rulers being taken captive or killed. It is this preacher’s belief that the language is used simply for the purpose of showing the completion of the condemnation against a nation or people.

In Joel 3:15 the expression is used to speak of the church and its influence on the world. Matt. 24:29, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.” This speaks of the fall of Jerusalem. Hence, we can conclude that the metaphorical statement aims at devastating events in biblical history.

III. COMPLETION

The Day of the Lord is about completion The Day of the Lord is about completion. Whether it be the complete destruction of the temple (Matt. 24), the complete annihilation of Babylon (Isa. 13), or the complete destruction of the world (1 Thess. 5).

“And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.   I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.   Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.”

The completion in every case is aimed at PUNISHING THE WICKED!

“I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.” There would so few men left that their worth would be more than fine gold.

Ophir was a country to which the vessels of Solomon traded, and which was particularly distinguished for producing gold. 1Kings 9:28, “And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.” 1Kings 10:11, “And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones.”

1Kings 22:48, “Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber.” Ophir was either in India, Arabia, or Africa.