26/07/2020 - WOE TO YOU WHO PLUNDER!

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Woe to you who plunder, though you have not been plundered; And you who deal treacherously, though they have not dealt treacherously with you! When you cease plundering, You will be plundered; When you make an end of dealing treacherously, They will deal treacherously with you..  Isaiah 33:1

Isaiah’s prophecy refers to the Assyrians, a people formed in northern Iraq, whose reign lasted many centuries. They were known as barbarians because they treated their enemies mercilessly. Because of the terror that spread to other nations of the known world at the time, they were respected by all. Apparently that kingdom would have no end, but Isaiah said otherwise.

The prophet’s lament was like a reminder that this empire would soon be over. This began to occur in the days when the Assyrians attacked God’s people. It seems that Isaiah used Assyria to say that the end of Satan’s kingdom in the world was coming. After all, who acted more treacherously against humanity than the devil and his demons? One day Jesus descended into the center of evil and overcame Satan.

No one had to act treacherously against the Assyrians so that they would treacherously attack another nation. His rule increased greatly in the days of Ashurbanipal, which overcame his predecessors in wickedness. It was to the capital of this kingdom, Nineveh, that God sent Jonah to warn her that she would be destroyed by the Lord. At the time, the king and the people were converted by the preaching of the runaway prophet, and the city was spared.

When Assyria had just stripped it would be stripped. This happened with the defeat against the fears. The northern kingdom, which had separated from the house of David, had been defeated by Salmaneser, an Assyrian ruler, and scattered across the face of the earth, to the point of never hearing the fate of the ten tribes of Israel. Years after defeating Samaria, Assyria under Sennacherib decided to do the same with Judah, but was humiliated.

She who defrauded whomever she wanted was defrauded. Fears and Persians took over the world of the time. This is the case with those who do not respect the poor, who have no power to stand up to the rulers. But the Lord, who applies righteousness, judges the actions of men who turn mercilessly against those who have done nothing to them. For evil interests of greatness, many oppress and destroy the defenseless.

Those who deal with others poorly will receive the return of their bad attitudes. They will feel how much betrayal will hurt their hearts and defeat them. You cannot live wickedly toward the helpless and remain unscathed. The acts of divine justice will avenge the evil done against any resource. God rightly judges those who act wickedly.

Live in such a way that these prophetic warnings do not refer to your life. May your deeds be good in the eyes of the Avenger! Otherwise, you will be treated in the same currency as others. In you there should be no reprehension!

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares