Judgment of Nations

Judgment of Nations. Executing justice upon nations.

Introduction. In the OT, the theme of judgment of nations appears in the broader context of the general portrayal of judgment. God is the one who is in the OT consistently described as a righteous judge (Pss 7:12; 50:6; 75:8; Isa 2:4; Jer 11:20). He executes justice over different subjects such as His people, foreign kingdoms, the earth, and the whole world (Gen 18:25; Ps 82:8; Isa 51:5; Ezek 20:36).

The concept of the judgment of the nations must be studied through lenses of judgment described in the Fall narrative of Genesis 3 and the Flood narrative of Genesis 6–9. These two judgment narratives are the first passages in the Bible about judgment, and they present the foundation for any further study of the judgment of the nations since they develop the concept of God’s justice and morality (cf. Gen 18:25; Deut 10:18). In these two narratives, God’s judgment is described as consisting of two phases, investigation, and execution, and, in this way, the judgment is delineated as just and moral. God is always presented as one who thoroughly investigates the case before executing judgment (Gen 3:9–13; 6:13). It is also important that judgment does not always carry negative connotations and is often described as a positive phenomenon. In their activities, nations are obligated to act righteously, and it is ultimately through God’s judgment that their actions will be accepted or rejected as morally right or wrong. This is usually demonstrated through punishment or reward. Thus, it is not only individuals but also nations as collective entities that are morally obligated to act justly.

Judgment of the Nations in the Pentateuch. One of the first examples of the judgment of the nations in the OT is executing justice over Egypt. This act was first predicted in Genesis 15:14 where God revealed to Abraham that He would “judge the nation whom they [Abraham’s descendants] will serve.” This prophecy was fulfilled after Joseph’s death when God’s people were severely oppressed in Egypt (Exod 1:8–22) and when God delivered them by judging this great nation (Exod 7:4–5). Judgment was executed through ten plagues, culminating in the death of the firstborn. While judging the Egyptians, God protected at the same time the people of Israel (Exod 8:20–22).

Similarly to His treatment of Egypt, God commanded the people of Israel to drive away or destroy nations who occupied the Promised Land: Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and the Jebusites (Deut 7:1–11; cf. Exod 3:17; cf. Ezra 9:1; Neh 9:8). This judgment of the nations should be understood as multifaceted in its nature as it features both rectifying and retributions aspects. The extinction of these nations poses a complex problem. There are several reasons why the judgment over them should not be understood as a cruel and unjust act performed merely for the sake of occupying their land. First, it seems that even when they were able to, the nations did not make peace with the sons of Israel and they preferred battle (Deut 20; cf. Josh 11:19). A good example is the behavior of Amalek who attacked the stragglers when the people of Israel were faint and weary (Deut 25:17–19). Second, these nations are characterized as wicked (Deut 9:5). For instance, they used to offer their children to Molech, practiced incest and bestiality (Lev 18:21–30; cf. 2 Kgs 16:3; 21:6), and did all kinds of abominations (Deut 12:29–31). Also, the iniquity of Amorites had come to its fullest expression at the time of the conquest (Gen 15:16). Third, one has to keep in mind that the main purpose behind the conquest was not the extermination of these nations but rather the destruction of their evil practices that were primarily associated with their religion, and the influence these would have on Israel. This is evident from some clear instructions that God gave to His people (Deut 2). Finally, as it will be shown, the nations would be invited to join the people of Israel and to bring offerings to their God.

Judgment of the Nations in the OT Prophetic Literature. The theme of the judgment of the Canaanite nations in the Pentateuch continues in the Former Prophets—the term that refers to the narrative books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. After Joshua’s conquest, the people of God still had to possess a substantial portion of the land of their enemies (Josh 13:1–7). However, instead of continuing Joshua’s conquest, the people of Israel very often “did evil in the sight of the Lord” and followed and worshiped the gods of other nations (Judg 2:10–13). Persistent failure to fulfill the covenant obligations resulted in God’s giving them into the hands of their enemies (Judg 2:14–15), but when they repented and cried out to God for deliverance, He mercifully “raised up judges” who rescued them (e.g., Judg 2:16–23). Judges such as Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah and Barak, Gideon, Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon and Samson (Judg 2:16–19; 3:10; 4:4; 10:1–5; 12:7–15; 15:20; 16:31) were used by God to judge nations and to drive them out from the land of the people of Israel (Judg 2:16; 3:9–10). The act of judgment of the nations is best summarized by Jephthah who said, “The Lord, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon” (Judg 11:27).

The Latter Prophets, where the concept of the judgment of nations is most prevalent, deserve special attention. The oracles against the nations are prominent in both the earlier and later prophets and usually serve to pronounce judgment over the enemies of the people of Israel (1 Sam 15:2–3; 1 Kgs 20:26–30; Amos 1-2). Assyria and Babylon most often occur as recipients of judgment in the Latter Prophets due to the prominent role they played on the political scene of that time, especially their active involvement in the history of ancient Israel. However, they are not alone: other nations are also repeatedly mentioned as recipients of judgment, such as Tyre and Sidon (Isa 23; Ezek 26–28; Amos 1:9–10), Ammon (Jer 49:1–6; Zeph 2:8–9), Moab (Isa 15–16; Jer 48; Amos 2:1–3), Philistines (Jer 47:1–7; Zech 9:5–8), and Edom (Isa 34:5–15; Jer 49:7–22; Ezek 25:12–17; Obad 1–21).

Among numerous descriptions of judgment over Assyria, there are two that stand out. First, Isaiah 36–37 describes Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem. The prophet insisted that King Hezekiah should not be afraid of Sennacherib since God will “turn you [Assyria] back by the way which you came” (37:7). The fulfillment of this prophecy is recorded in 37:36–38 where Isaiah describes judgment over Assyria by means of an angel who killed one hundred and eighty-five thousand of Assyrian soldiers. Second, the book of Nahum focuses on God’s wrath against Assyria and its capital Nineveh. Reasons for judgment are given in Nahum 3:1–4 and include lies, robbery, bloodshed, harlotry, and sorceries.

At the end of the seventh century BC, Babylon conquered Assyria and became the new empire in the ANE. Soon after, in 587/86 BC, the Babylonian army destroyed Jerusalem with its temple and led God’s people into captivity as previously prophesied by Jeremiah and other prophets (Jer 25:1–14; cf. Isa 39:3–7; Ezek 12:1–16). However, God did not send His people into Babylonian captivity without promising that they would return to their land as a consequence of God’s judgment over Babylon. Probably the most well-known prophecies about this judgment are found in Isaiah 44:24–45:8, where the prophet predicts that God would use Cyrus as His anointed agent to “subdue nations before him” (44:28; 45:1). The prophecy was fulfilled when Cyrus conquered Babylon in 539 BC and issued his decree according to which nations that were brought to Babylon as exiles could return to their homeland (Ezra 1:1–11).

The above-mentioned pronouncements of judgment over Israel’s enemies, however, must be balanced with other passages where God executes judgment over His own people—and in order to do that He often uses foreign nations (e.g., Dan 1:1–2)—as well as with biblical texts about the nations in which prophets describe God’s mercy over them. First, the OT prophetic literature does not describe God as a biased judge, but rather as a righteous one who will equally judge all nations, including Israel. Second, God is characterized as one who desires the salvation of all people, including Israel’s enemies. One of the best examples of this attitude is His treatment of the people of Nineveh (Jonah 3:5–10). The OT prophetic corpus ends with the idyllic portrayal of an eschatological future in which foreign nations will seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem to worship Him. They are described as nations who will ultimately join Israel and be called God’s people (Isa 49:6; 66:22-24; Zech 2:10–13; 8:20–23).

Judgment of Nations in the NT. The theme of the judgment of the nations is further developed in the NT. The judgment was first announced by John the Baptist in Matthew 3:10, even though this verse does not primarily have nations in view. Jesus affirmed the upcoming judgment. In His preaching, He primarily proclaimed judgment of individuals, shifting the focus from communal, emphasized in the OT, to individual (Matt 7:21–23; 25:41–46). However, He also referred to the judgment of nations that will happen at the time of the Second Coming. This is explicitly stated in Matthew 25:32, which asserts that “all the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another.” Some other examples include the rebuking of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum which were compared to Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom in the context of judgment (Matt 11:20–24). Jesus also mentioned the people of Nineveh in a positive context as those who will “rise up in the judgment” to condemn His generation (Matt 12:41). Still, He primarily focuses on the judgment of His own nation of Israel and not other nations (Matt 21:43; 23:36–39). In sum, one of the roles of Jesus in the Gospels is that of a judge (John 5:22): His judgment is righteous (John 5:30; cf. 1 Pet 2:17), and those who confess Him will experience the positive outcome of His judgment (Matt 10:32). While in the OT the judgment of the nations is primarily related to earthly kingdoms, Jesus focused on judgment in relation to establishing His own kingdom (Matt 6:10) and shifted focus from the temporal earthly realm to eternal one.

This judgment of the nations is even further developed in the other books of the NT. Paul, for instance, emphasizes that God will judge justly all nations “for there is no partiality with God” (Rom 2:1–11). However, in the NT the concept of judgment is most comprehensively developed by John. His description of the final, executive judgment after the Millennium in Revelation 20:7–10 is one of the best-known descriptions of judgment. After the Millennium, Satan will “go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth” and he will gather them to battle against God and His saints. The battle will end with God’s victory in which He will destroy the enemies (20:9). In this way, Revelation describes the final judgment as an ultimate climax of all previous judgments of the nations both in the OT and NT. It is important to acknowledge that before this final judgment—more precisely in the period prior to the Second Coming—“every nation, tribe, tongue, and people” will hear the Gospel, assuring that all of them have the opportunity to experience judgment as salvation and not as destruction (Rev 14:6–7; cf. Matt 24:14).

In sum, the NT ultimately develops the OT promise that other foreign nations will join the people of God and worship Him. Even though Revelation 20:7–10 describes judgment over nations, this is not an ethnic judgment. The Gospel will be preached to all the nations (Matt 24:14; Luke 24:47; Rev 14:6–7) so that God’s people are scattered throughout the nations (John 11:52; cf. Acts 10:35). Thus, the final judgment of the nations should be understood as judgment over those who drunk of Babylon’s wine of the wrath of fornication (Rev 14:8; 18:3) and chose to reject the gospel—those among all nations who are not part of the “great multitude . . . of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues” who have experienced judgment as an act of salvation (Rev 7:9; 15:4; 21:24; 22:2). See also Judgment; Investigative Judgment; Lawsuit. 

References

Mein, Andrew, et al., eds. Concerning the Nations: Essays on the Oracles against the Nations in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies 612. London: T. & T. Clark, 2015.

Timmer, Daniel. The Non-Israelite Nations in the Book of the Twelve: Thematic Coherence and the Diachronic-Synchronic Relationship in the Minor Prophets. Biblical Interpretation Series 135. Leiden: Brill, 2015.

Rad, Gerhard von. Holy War in Ancient Israel. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991.