Here's my talk....

I'm sure all of us, as young school children, got into trouble in one form or another. And, invariably, we would get in trouble with a friend or two, because of all of us decided to do something foolish as a group. Now, if you are the adult present, say a teacher, what would you do? Is it fair to punish only the child you know best? Well, since it is was a group dicision made by these young ones, no doubt you would assign an appropriate amount of discipline to each of the children.

We have a similar situation in tonight's bible reading, where we read about the nation of Damascus being judged because of its alliance with the sinful 10 tribes of Israel. These two nations, working together, foolishly tried to conquer Judah. What was Jehovah's response, and how did he deal with those nations? He made the appropriate amount of discipline occour. And that amount of discipline applies, not only for Damascus, but for all nations that create problems for Jehovah's people and oppose his soverignty. Let's read about what the judgement was against Damascus in Isaiah 17: verses 1-14.

READ

Describing the fate of national groups that are opposed to God’s sovereignty, the Bible states that they will be “like a thistle whirl before a stormwind.” (Isa. 17:13) Considering the thistle can be very beneficial. One scientist was quoted as saying that, while it starts out as a flower, this apparently innocent plant becomes a prickly monster, its leaves and flowers being covered with sharp thorns. In summer, the plant begins to dry up, but it appears so firmly rooted and so threatening that it seems impossible to get rid of it. When the thistle is fully developed, something strange takes place underground between the stalk and the roots: a cellular separation occurs, and it requires only the least breath of summer wind to sweep away the whole plant.” And so, just like this thistle, which seems fearsome but which the wind can so easily sweep away, those who oppose divine sovereignty will be swept away. The Biblical comparison “like a thistle” is accurate, showing how all nations that seem so powerful to us today are really nothing when compared to Jehovah and the way he will rid the earth of these people.