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Isaiah 14:9 "Sheol beneath is a stirred up to meet you when you come, it rouses the shades to greet you, all who were leaders of the earth; it raises from their thrones all who were kings of the nations." This is what the House of Jacob will say to the king of Babylon once the tables are turned and God has brought them home, says Isaiah.

 

God will always rescue His people. He allows us to undergo sufferings, sometimes very great ones like the exile, as crosses that bring us closer to Him, and sometimes as chastisements, but in the end, He saves us. When the time of our salvation comes, our persecutors will be called to task for how they treated us. They will feel Sheol stirred up beneath them, getting ready to greet them. It's kind of amazing that they could have ignored the possibility of Sheol for so long, but they will definitely think of it when when the people they persecuted end up with power over them (Isaiah 14:2). Even then, though, the persecutors still have the chance to repent and be forgiven, but their time is running out once Sheol starts rousing its shades.

 

As we continue in this time of injustice, when truth is beginning to come out, but so many fight so hard against it, we can become disheartened. It sometimes seems justice will never come for the worst orchestrators of wickedness and suffering, many of whom remain in positions of comfort, if not power. This reminder from Isaiah is helpful when we feel that way. God will have justice, He will not delay (and we have to remember that only He knows who acted with malice rather than misinformed zeal). The ones who are culpable are surely beginning to feel Sheol stir under their feet. We should pray that they repent before they meet the shades being roused to greet them.