Isaiah 30:27-28: God's Burning Wrath

Behold, the name of the LORD comes from a remote place;

Burning is His anger and dense is [His] smoke;

His lips are filled with indignation

And His tongue is like a consuming fire;

His breath is like an overflowing torrent,

Which reaches to the neck,

To shake the nations back and forth in a sieve,

And to [put] in the jaws of the peoples the bridle which leads to ruin.

— Isaiah 30:27-28 (NASB 1995)

Context

The little nation of Judah, which was already in a state of both military and spiritual weakness, must reckon with the looming threat of the mighty Assyrian empire. The Assyrians were a cruel, brutal enemy, such that even choosing to resist them was an enormous gamble. The tortures and miseries that the Assyrians applied to their defeated foes was savage even for that time in history. And they were seemingly unstoppable. There was a lot of pressure, among the yet unconquered nations, to either ally with Assyria, or to unite in an alliance against them. The leaders of Judah hoped to save themselves through an alliance with Egypt, a rival to Assyria.

In verses 1 through 6, however, ʏʜᴡʜ warns that the alliance with Egypt was sinful because it was done without consulting ʏʜᴡʜ, and as an alternative to trusting in ʏʜᴡʜ. The people had rebelled against God and preferred to believe the lies of false prophets rather than follow God's instructions (vv. 7-11). Their rejection of God's word would bring sudden destruction (vv. 12-14) and their lack of trust in ʏʜᴡʜ would bring shameful defeat (vv. 15-17).

Rather, God's people should put their trust in his word. ʏʜᴡʜ is eager to show compassion to those who look to him. The prophet foretells of a time when the nation will repent, and God will show them grace, giving provision, prosperity, and protection to the nation (vv. 19-26).

Little Judah feared the wrath of the nations, and especially Assyria. But the prophet foretold that God's wrath would come on the nations (vv. 27-30) and God would punish Assyria (vv. 31-32).

Analysis

In verses 27 and 28, the coming of God's wrath against the nations is pictured as the dramatic arrival of an angry warrior. In verse 27, "the name of the LORD comes". In Scripture, referring to the "name of the LORD", or שֵׁם־יְהוָה, is often meant as a way of referring to the "full being and power of Yahweh" (HALOT). In this passage, שֵׁם־יְהוָה is an "interchangeable expression for Yahweh" (HALOT).

The expression "name of the Lord" always means the full revelation of himself that the Lord has granted to men. In the fulness of his divine being he appears on the scene for judgment. — Leupold, p. 480

God's judgment comes from a "remote place" ( מִמֶּרְחָק). Compare similar passages, such as Isaiah 10:3, where judgment ("devastation") comes "from afar". Isaiah 13:5 describes "his instruments of indignation" (זעם) coming "from a far country" (מארץ מרחק). Likewise in Jeremiah 5:15 God brings a nation "from afar" for judgment against Israel and Judah. Here, we are dealing with the God's judgement against "the nations". Their destruction would come, not from local circumstances and threats, but God would bring it to them from a far away place. Therefore, it would be an unexpected and unlooked-for judgment.

These verses emphasize that it is ʏʜᴡʜ himself who brings the judgment. The coming of ʏʜᴡʜ is likened to the coming a fierce, angry warrior. Except, instead of coming with sword or with spear, only his mere words, and his battle cry, is enough to melt his enemies and to destroy the wicked. And instead of the weak arm of flesh, he has the great power to shake the nations and to lead them all at once to ruin.

Two Hebrew words are used here for anger. The first is אַפּוֹ, translated as "anger" in the phrase "burning is his anger". This word emphasizes the emotion of anger. Literally the word means nose, nostrils, or face (see TWOT) and is likely connected to the idea of anger because of the heavy breathing or the flaring of the nostrils that can occur during intense anger. We must understand that God is not passive in his attitude toward evil, such as injustice, corruption, oppression, abuse, and so forth; nor is evil simple an abstract concept to God, like one variable in the cold calculations of some cosmic supercomputer. But rather God hates evil and God is deeply and powerfully angry about it.

The other Hebrew word is זַעַם, which is translated "indignation" in the NASB 1995. This word, though involving the experience of anger, has more of an emphasis on the expression of anger. TWOT, discussing the verb form, explains:

The verb is used to indicate both the state of being indignant and the activity giving expression to that state. [...] Isaiah foretells a day when God's "indignation" will be experienced by Israel's enemies (Isa 66:14).

In Numbers 23:7, the word is used in the context of Balaam cursing, or rather failing to curse, Israel. It is translated "denounce" in the NASB 1995 and in many other translations, and is rendered as "curse" in the more recent NASB 2020.

God not only feels anger, but brings his wrath to bear on the wicked. Though it may seem like a strange picture to us, God's anger is likened here to "a hot breath of indignation flaming forth from his mouth to consume the enemy" (Leupold). God's anger is further compared to an overflowing torrent of water. When large amounts of water are moving quickly and hitting the entire body, even the strongest men will be pulled under.

In another dramatic image, God is said to shake the nations back and forth in a sieve. Sieves were, in ancient times, cups or baskets made out of strings or reeds, or sometimes just a normal cup with small holes poked in it, similar to our strainers today. Matter was shaken in the sieve so that the smaller particles or liquid would fall out the bottom. The focus in the illustration is not on the straining, but rather on the shaking. The inhabitants of the world are, as it were, put into one enormous sieve, and they are shaken about chaotically, bruised and battered into pieces.

We think of the many "peoples" or nations on the earth, and the thought of controlling them all is a idea difficult to imagine, even for the most ambitious of politicians or tyrants. But to God they are all together like one horse, and God simply puts in the bridle and leads them all in one direction - to destruction.

Application

First, we must understand that God is deeply angered by evil — his violence of wrath towards evil far exceeds our own shallow hatred of it. When God allows abuse, oppression, injustice, and so forth to continue, it is not because he cares not, or that he is powerless to deal with it, but only that he has other purposes to fulfill, and that the time is not yet ripe for judgment.

Second, we should remember that the great powers of the world, including wicked politicians, bloody tyrants, and all those who threaten God's people and work against God's purposes, are headed toward destruction. Though they may seems like unchecked and unstoppable forces today, it is only a short time until God puts in the bridle and leads them down into the fire.

I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! — Jesus (Luke 12:5, NASB 1995)

Third, we should remember that God's judgment of evil comes not in a way that we expect, but rather "from a remote place". You may feel secure because you think you have your life under control, and all the circumstances are lined up the way you want them to be. But God has a way of crashing into our lives unexpectedly and shaking up everything that we think we can rely on.

But God offers grace, forgiveness, and healing to those who turn to him. His son Jesus, on the cross, absorbed all the awesome wrath of God. We need only recognize our sinfulness and believe in Jesus — putting our trust in what he has done for us.