Isaiah 34:4

God’s judgement affects all that he has created (see my note on Isaiah 33:9).

• People commonly considered objects in the sky to be gods. So the fate of the sun and moon and stars probably refers to God’s action against people who *worshipped them.

• Such events in the heavens will happen on the Day of the *Lord (see Isaiah 13:6 and Isaiah 24:4-6 and my notes; see also Matthew 24:29-30 and Revelation 6:13-14).

God’s judgement against Edom

v5 My sword of judgement has completed its work in the heavens. Now see, my sword will fall upon the people in Edom. I have decided that they shall all die. v6 Blood and fat cover the *Lord’s sword. It is like the blood and fat of young sheep and goats that people *sacrifice as a gift to God. The *Lord is acting in the city called Bozrah like one who offers a great *sacrifice. A huge number of people die in Edom. v7 Wild animals and farm animals alike will die. Their blood will cover the land. The fat of all these animals will be so much that it will make all the ground oily.

v8 The *Lord has fixed the day for his action. He will give the inhabitants of Edom what they rightly deserve. This is because of their evil deeds against the *Lord’s special people. v9 The rivers in Edom will become like rivers of dirty oil. The soil of the land will be so dry that it will be unsuitable for anything. In fact the land will be full of burning oil. v10 The land will continue to burn all day and all night. Smoke will always be rising from it. The land will lie waste (empty) age after age. Nobody will ever travel through Edom again. v11 Only birds and wild animals that eat meat will live in the country called Edom. The *Lord will make it an empty desert. Like the earth was in the beginning, before God created anything. No people will be able to live in Edom. Nor would they want to live in such a place.