Ostrich And Jackal
Isaiah 34:9-10
And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.
It is one of my favorite texts that always involves the creatures, all of them. From nothing is something to be had. Out of the barrenness shall the blessing come. For the lack will there be provision. For all there is a blessing to be had. You can talk about the locust and the devouring worm all you please. Notice how God has made this situation as food for the hungry, a feast to be had. All created things both small and great will be provided for with none left out. Some of you have borne with my complaint for long enough. Then again, I know some of you are saying 'but I thought they were meant to encourage your faith.' So did I but have you ever met the test meant to destroy you. See, this land sure has. Even now, it sits empty and wasted just as God said. See, no matter how long, God always keeps his Word. No matter how long, God always fulfills.
It is a technical term which means to do what he said. Not so long ago the conversation was about the windows of heaven. Wherever on earth would you get such a land from much less find it empty. Yet here it sits a burning waste fresh from the judgment of God. I can hear some of you now moaning about 'whatever became of the people.' If God could spare the land, could he not also take care of them as well. Some of you need only have a little faith. Remember, it need not be much for God to use you. Even the grain of mustard seed did just fine for growing a mighty tree from the Gardener's front yard. Now consider all the creatures whom God is fixing to bless. Could it be that so often in this life we lack Heaven's point of view. Try, if you will, looking down on earth during a time such as Jacob's trouble. You watch with bated breath as one angel after another comes out with bowls, sensors, and trumpets to fling them out onto the earth. So also, consider the experience of those on earth as sinners in the hands of an angry God. For is he not very, very angry. Now into the desolation creeps a jackal followed by another; these hungry scavengers are searching for anything they find.
They are almost like my little wild dog that currently inhabits my living room. Playful, equally destructive, sometimes a terror but always cute.
Anyone who knows a thing about wildlife at all will tell you the jackal always comes last. No longer are they disregarded, relegated to the outskirts and mere scraps of bones and things. Yet here they are among the first of the wild beasts and peaceful even. Again, a repetition of this text is seen in Isaiah 43:19-21 which finds them mentioned alone and by name. Then again, the text finds them closely accompanied also by the ostriches. These are they of little discernment who chose to hide from the danger rather than flee. For all who know, their method really is quite peculiar. You see, the situation is as follows. Sometimes I switch on my Google maps and it shows a location of over two hours away by foot. But it is only seven minutes by car. God's people do equally funny things. How often we imagine what could have been had we only listened to the Lord. But at the end, each will finally raise their heads as if to say 'my, isn't God good.'