Their Wives Ravished

Their Wives Ravished (Is 13:16)

“Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished.”

Jesus endured God’s wrath for us. What we deserve, even the ravishing of our wives, that horrible thing of loss and humiliation, the Lord suffered for us, when He was made to be sin - (II Cor 5:21) “For he has made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

All that we should endure, He took to Himself in love. We DESPISE the Son naturally, and He saves us from sin by bearing our consequences and rebellion, being made sin for us. Before God, He became guilty, so that before God, we would be righteous by faith. The justification of the ungodly, and the imputation of sin to Christ are the same: we became what we are not, by faith, and God’s Son became what He was not (sin) by an act of sovereignty and submission, whereby Christ obeyed God’s right to save.

The Lord is honored by what He endured, which makes His throne so great. His agony lifts Him up and unfolds His beauty. Likewise, what we suffer is for good also.

We may weep now in many ways, but today’s heartbreak fixes my eyes on Christ, so that I can live by faith, rather than strength in myself. Paul said, “when I am weak, then am I strong”, because the Son said, “my strength is made perfect in weakness”, so that when we have nothing but faith, then we bring the fruit of the Spirit, rather than ministering from flesh (II Cor 12:9-10).

A believing preacher, without trials, will be of no use to his congregation, for it is written, “Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted by God”, so that I comfort by what comforts me, and if I’m not comforted, if the gospel is merely head knowledge and study, then I can’t reach the heart of the church (II Cor 1:4).

God’s elect are sinners and afflicted, so believers suffer these things too, so that we have something to say. We don’t preach Christ to meet your needs, as much as we preach the Christ who helped us, and He helps you too.

The gospel declares a suffering and glorified Savior. He bore our sins, so that we could bear His righteousness before God.