Judgment: War, Pestilence, and Final Consequences

Now the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was a descendant of the king in Edom. … And God raised up another adversary against him, Rezon the son of Eliadah, who had fled from his lord, Hadadezer king of Zobah. So he gathered men to him and became captain over a band of raiders, when David killed those of Zobah. And they went to Damascus and dwelt there, and reigned in Damascus. He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon (besides the trouble that Hadad caused); and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria. Then Solomon's servant, Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zereda, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow, also rebelled against the king.

(1 Kings 11:14-26)

War represents another form of judgment that God brings upon nations. In most instances, nations experiencing this judgment face invasion from external sources—other nations attacking them. However, this is not the only way God implements this form of judgment. He also allows nations to experience internal wars through rebellions breaking out in various parts of the country.

The passage quoted above describes three different rebel leaders who rebelled against King Solomon during his reign, and we see that God raised up all three. God allowed these rebel leaders to challenge Solomon's reign because Solomon had begun leading Israel away from serving the Lord. His many foreign wives introduced pagan worship into the nation of Israel. In judgment of Israel, God raised up various rebel leaders to wage war against the nation.

Another form of this rebellion occurs when social unrest breaks out through riots and similar disturbances. All these different forms of violence against a nation's citizens—war, rebellion, and rioting—fall under the umbrella of God's judgment by the sword. When we see a nation plagued by wars, rebellion, or rioting, we can be assured that nation is experiencing God's judgment, and only their repentance will prevent further judgment.

As with economic judgment, there are instances when God chooses to judge all the nations of the world with the sword because of their wickedness. Examples of this type of global judgment include both World Wars of the last century, which impacted most nations worldwide.

"Go and tell David, 'thus says the Lord: "I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you." ‘“So Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, "Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days' plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me." And David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man." So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died.

(2 Samuel 24:12-15)

Pestilence represents another judgment that God brings upon nations. In this passage, we see that God presented David with a choice among all three judgments we have discussed, and David chose the plague. This particular plague killed seventy thousand people over just three days, clearly demonstrating that this was an extremely deadly disease that struck Israel's population.

Scripture gives the reason for this particular judgment falling on Israel: the nation had angered the Lord because of their wickedness (2 Samuel 24:1). The full account reveals that David interceded with the Lord on behalf of the nation, and God stopped the plague after three days had ended.

As with other judgments, there are instances when God chooses to judge all nations of the world with pestilence because of their wickedness. An example of this type of global judgment would be the Spanish Flu pandemic of the 20th century, which infected about one-third of the world's population and resulted in an estimated 50–100 million deaths.

Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord. And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God; but he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord God of Israel. Moreover all the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the Lord which He had consecrated in Jerusalem. And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy. Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand.

(2 Chronicles 36:11-17)

God is merciful, and His desire is for nations to walk in peace and prosperity. When nations begin to rebel against His ways, His first step is to send messengers to counsel them to repent and begin walking in His statutes once again. However, if those nations refuse to hear the messengers He sends, the Lord escalates His warnings by allowing certain judgments to begin falling on that nation, such as reducing the size of their borders.

Nevertheless, if a nation continues to resist God's counsel, the time finally comes when God pronounces final judgment on that nation, bringing an end to it. The passage above clearly reveals this truth, stating that Judah consistently rejected God's counsel until they reached the point where there was no more remedy. In other words, they had reached a point of no return, and God's wrath was poured out on that nation. God accomplished this by bringing the Chaldeans against them to conquer them and remove them from the land of Judah, causing them to cease existing as a sovereign nation.

Then He said to him, "I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it." … Then He said to Abram: "Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete."

(Genesis 15:7-16)

This passage confirms that God extends grace to nations, giving them time to repent of their wicked ways by not judging them immediately. God revealed to Abraham that the nations then inhabiting the land of Israel had not yet reached the point of no return—the sins of the Amorite nation were not yet complete. God would continue to speak to those nations and pronounce various judgments to encourage their repentance, but eventually the time would come when God would pronounce their final judgment, allowing Israel to conquer them and remove them as sovereign nations.

God's timeline is noteworthy: He spoke of these nations reaching their final judgment four hundred years in the future. This demonstrates God's extreme patience in giving nations time to repent. Sadly, because nations are not judged immediately when they sin against God, many assume that either God excuses their behaviour or that He does not require an account for their actions. Nevertheless, this scripture plainly reveals that every nation choosing to consistently reject God's standards will eventually be judged by Him and cease to exist as a nation on earth.

Michael E.B. Maher

The Church and the State

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