.JPG)
The Bible Breakdown
Bible reading plan and SOAP guide: www.experiencerlc.com/the-bible
Subscribe to my weekly newsletter: www.brandoncannon.com
The Bible Breakdown
Isaiah 34: Birds Gone Crazy
Ever wondered why birds are often seen as messengers of divine judgment? Join Pastor Brandon in a quirky yet profound exploration of Isaiah 34, affectionately titled "Birds Gone Crazy." We unravel the vivid imagery and symbolism of birds representing God's wrath, particularly against Edom, while reflecting on the universal themes of salvation and judgment. This episode isn't just about flipping through pages—it's about engaging storytelling, humor, and a shared journey into understanding the power and inevitability of God's plans. Listen in as we tackle life's tough questions, like why bad things happen to good people, and how faith offers a new lens through which we can view these challenges.
As we wade through the depths of divine justice and mercy, Pastor Brandon encourages us to confront our preconceived notions about fairness and trust. By examining the inevitability of God's justice and the purpose of extended mercy, we find courage in trusting His unwavering faithfulness, even when it's hard to see beyond our current struggles. Through prayer and reflection, we're reminded of the importance of letting go of control and embracing faith as our guide. With Isaiah 12:2 grounding us, we conclude with a heartfelt reminder that God is our strength and salvation, inviting listeners to hold onto hope and gratitude as we look forward to more insightful conversations together.
SOAP Bible Study Method- https://www.brandoncannon.com/soap/
Bible reading plan- http://www.experiencerlc.com/the-bible/
Free weekly newsletter- https://www.brandoncannon.com/
Social:
Facebook: https://facebook.com/thebrandoncannon
Instagram: https://instagram.com/brandoncannon
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brandoncannon
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theBrandonCannon
The More You Dig. The More You Find.
Well, hello everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon. Today, isaiah, chapter 34, and today's title is Birds Gone Crazy, birds Gone Crazy. I'm just going to be honest with you. I'm going to tell you something. These analogies or metaphors I get those confused sometimes that God uses in using these physical things to display what he's going to do. They just get so funny to me. Just I mean we're talking in this chapter, we're going to talk about owls and buzzards and just all these birds. I mean this is just a chapter about how God's like see these birds, I'm gonna judge you like these birds. It just confuses me, I don't know. This would be just a moment of honesty, real quick, and that is sometimes. There's just so many times when God is just talking about if you'll just turn back to me which, by the way, the overall theme of Isaiah is God, our salvation, if you'll just turn to me, I'm a judge. Everybody, everybody gets a judgment. It's like Oprah with the cars you get a judgment and you get a judge, everybody gets a judgment. Well, isaiah 34 is more about judgment, again, this time with Edom, and it's just birds everywhere, just birds have got bird judgment. That's why I should have called this bird judgment, and we're going to get all of that in just a moment. But, as always, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like share, subscribe to the YouTube channel and the podcast, make sure you leave us a five-star review on the podcast and go to two places Bible Breakdown Discussion on Facebook and TheBibleBreakdowncom. Building this community together.
Speaker 1:We now have people who listen from all over the world and I want to say thank you so much for taking this journey with us, especially through the book of Isaiah. The more we dig, the more we find. Thank you so very much. It is the joy of my life to be able to share my love for God's word with you, because God's word is how he reveals himself to us, even in the bird judgment. Okay, so, if you have your Bible, went up with me to Isaiah 34, you're going to see this. It's all about some birds. Okay, so let's read about bird judgment and about how God be judging the bird with birds, and let's see what we got you ready Isaiah, chapter 34.
Speaker 1:Everybody gets some judgment. Verse one says this Come here and listen, o nations of the earth. Let the world and everything in it hear my words, for the Lord is enraged against the nations. His fury is against all their armies. He will completely destroy them, dooming them to slaughter. Their dead will be left unburied and the stench of their rotting bodies will fill the land. Pause, that's disgusting. Okay, that also means God ain't messing around. Okay, let's keep on going. The mountains will, oh Lord, the mountains will flow with their blood. The heavens above will melt away and disappear like a rolled up scroll. Good heavens.
Speaker 1:Verse 5. Sword has finished its work in the heavens. It will fall upon Edom, the nation I have marked for destruction. The sword of the Lord is drenched with blood and covered with fat oh, my goodness. And then the blood of lambs and goats and the fat of rams prepared for sacrifice. Yes, the Lord will offer a sacrifice in the city of Basra. He will make a mighty slaughter in Edom. Even men as strong as wild oxen will die, and young men alongside the veterans. The land will be soaked with blood and the soil enriched with fat. Let's just pause for a second and just forget about that for a moment.
Speaker 1:Okay, verse 8. For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, the year when Edom will be paid back for all it did to Israel. The streams of Edom will be filled with burning pitch and the ground will be covered with fire. Well, it's better fire than fat, right, all right? Verse 10.
Speaker 1:This judgment on Edom will never end. The smoke of its burning will rise forever. The land will lie deserted from generation to generation. No one will live there anymore. Now, here it goes. It will be haunted by the desert owl and the screech owl, and the great owl and the raven, for God will measure the land carefully and he will measure it for chaos and destruction. It will be called the land of nothing. Who wants to live in the land of nothing? Not me. And all its nobles will soon be gone. Thorns will overrun its palaces, needles and thistles will grow in its forts. Ruins will become a hunt for jackals and a home for owls. More birds, all right.
Speaker 1:Verse 14, desert animals will mingle there, with the hyenas, their howls filling the night. Wild goats will bleat at one another among the ruins, and the night creatures will come there to rest. There. The owl, another owl will make her nest and lay her eggs, which means there'll be more owls. She will hatch her young and cover them with her wings, and the buzzards will come, each one with its mate. Search the book of the Lord and see what he will do. Not one of these birds and animals will be missing and none will lack a mate.
Speaker 1:But the Lord has promised this. His Spirit will make it all come true. He has surveyed and divided the land and deeded it over to those creatures. They will possess it forever, from generation to generation. Well, what in the world does that mean? The bottom line is birds are part of God's judgment. No, what that means is judgment comes to all. Trust God. Judgment comes to all.
Speaker 1:The reason why that's important is one of the things I talk about as a pastor is I talk to people who you know. If they ever struggle with believing in God or trusting in God, can I tell you that, for all the study I have done to be able to try to prove God's existence, based on, you know, combating the idea of evolution and proving God from morality or from space and all these things like proving that God exists because of objective evidence, no one cares about that. It's been so crazy to me that when I've talked to people who don't believe in God or whatever I try to go to these different, they call them, teleological arguments and all these other kinds of arguments and the ontological arguments, all these things Did all this study. Nobody cares, really. Instead, I can't tell you how many times I've talked to people and they said, well, I don't believe in God. And honestly, I'll say, well, why? Well, because if God were real, then why does he? And then they just talk about something they think is unfair, and if I'm in a bad mood, I'll come back and go. Well, why does it matter if you don't believe in God? And they go well, let's just suppose Because the truth is. Can I tell you this and I'm sure they're out there and you may be one of these, and if so, I'm so glad you're listening I have yet to meet someone who is just completely and totally, like, objectively, an atheist. They're out there, but most people don't want to believe in God because they think that God is unfair. Most people believe in some kind of God because they're mad at it and it's because they wonder about justice.
Speaker 1:God, if you're real, then why do bad things happen to good people? And most people it's even closer to that. Why did something bad happen to me? Why did something bad happen to my relative? And there's many, many good reasons.
Speaker 1:There's many things that are called theodicies it's defending God's judgment in different things but the bottom line is we read chapters like chapter 34, and what God assures us is that His justice always comes. That's what he's talking about in chapter 34. He's talking about these nations who have come against Him over and over and over again, and he has tried to have mercy on them over and over and over again. But a time comes when His justice demands that he judge them. And so here's the thing is that many times we think justice should come when we think it should come, like we think it should come in a timely manner according to our judgment. But God is long-suffering. That means God is patient. God will work with us a lot longer than we think he should. Impatient, god will work with us a lot longer than we think he should, but in the end, god's justice always comes.
Speaker 1:So can I say this to you as we get ready to end our time together? It's possible that you are watching or listening to this today and you love God, but you don't always understand why he does what he does. Sometimes you think he's unfair, if we're being honest. Sometimes you think that he should have gone left when he went right. He should have saved this person when he let them pass away, or he let someone live that you thought should have died. You don't always understand, but can I make you this absolute, total promise God is always just and, honestly, he's more just than we are, and so if we think he should have went left but instead he went right, that was the best direction for him to go.
Speaker 1:I've learned over time that anytime someone who loves Jesus dies, it is not because God is unjust. Actually, the greatest miracle we could have is to be with him in heaven, and that is not me saying I want anyone to die not at all. Have is to be with him in heaven, and that is not me saying I want anyone to die Not at all. But we should never look at that as God. Why would you? Instead of it's God, I miss them, which is really what we're thinking, because isn't that what grief is? It's love, persevering.
Speaker 1:And then, when something happens and a bad person is spared, then we think God, look at your wonderful justice, that you are giving them more time to repent. So we have to look through the eyes of God to realize that, in the end, justice always comes. We can trust the Lord and in this chapter, this is what justice looks like when God has had enough and justice comes. It is swift, it is certain and it is complete. So we trust in God. And can I say this to you If you're listening or watching this and you're struggling to trust God, can I tell you from experience God is trustworthy.
Speaker 1:If he is showing mercy in a season, there's a reason. If God is judging someone, if someone is walking out judgment, there's a reason, and it is always for their ultimate salvation. Sometimes God showers us with his kindness, sometimes he allows us to go through judgment, but always for a ultimate salvation. Sometimes God showers us with his kindness, sometimes he allows us to go through judgment, but always for a good reason. Our job is to trust in him. It's not easy, but it is possible.
Speaker 1:Let's pray together, god. Thank you so much for today. Thank you, god, that there are always going to be moments where we love something so deeply that we struggle to trust when things go differently than we had planned. I pray, lord, that even in this moment, lord, that you will bring up, you will bubble up to the surface areas in our life where we have struggled to trust you, lord, you will whisper that you are trustworthy to us and that if we will just let go of that death grip of our own way, we'll realize that your way is always best. We celebrate you in Jesus' name. We pray Amen. And what God's word says in Isaiah 12, verse 2, this is our memory verse. So say it with me as soon as you know it. God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The Lord is my strength and my song. He has given me the victory. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow. For Isaiah, chapter 35.
