25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says, “Behold, I am going to punish Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh, and Egypt along with her gods and her kings, even Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26 I shall give them over to the [v]power of those who are seeking their lives, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of his [w]officers. Afterwards, however, it will be inhabited as in the days of old,” declares the Lord.
27 “But as for you, O Jacob My servant, do not fear,
Nor be dismayed, O Israel!
For, see, I am going to save you from afar,
And your descendants from the land of their captivity;
And Jacob will return and be undisturbed
And secure, with no one making him tremble.
28 “O Jacob My servant, do not fear,” declares the Lord,
“For I am with you.
For I will make a full end of all the nations
Where I have driven you,
Yet I will not make a full end of you;
But I will correct you properly
And by no means leave you unpunished.”
God closes out His words about Egypt with three last thoughts. First is just a bit of a summary, that Egypt will be punished, along with “those who trust in him (Pharaoh).” This echoes what was said previously about Israel putting their trust in Egypt instead of God, and I won’t rehash that. Second, we have a promise to Israel that God will save them from the “land of their captivity… with no one making him trembled.”
Though many Israelites returned from captivity about seventy years afterward, and though they now have their own nation again today, I don’t think we can say that they are undisturbed. Especially right now, there is a conflict sparking every so often in the Middle East with the war on Iran. Though the defenses are strong, no doubt some are trembling, and I think this promise is still for the future.
The last verse carries on from there, but with perhaps a surprising twist. God promises, “Yet I will not make a full end of you; but I will correct you properly and by no means leave you unpunished.” What a promise! On one hand, they could have hope for the future, but it isn’t very encouraging that God wouldn’t leave them unpunished.
Yet… it should be, since Solomon wrote, “For whom the Lord loves He reproves (disciplines), even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.” (Proverbs 3:12) The writer of Hebrews (12:6) echoed that with, “For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.” No, I don’t suppose that makes the discipline much easier, but it reminds us that there is a purpose behind it.
Or put another way, it isn’t just judgment like Egypt was about to receive. Rather, the punishment of Israel was because they were God’s chosen people and He would not give up on them. When we mess up, we shouldn’t just expect that “grace will be enough” and nothing more. God’s grace certainly is enough, it is for that we are not destroyed, much like Israel.
However, God isn’t going to just leave us the way we are. The song says “come as you are”, but He doesn’t leave us there. Discipline is a necessity, and the writer of Hebrews said, “It is for discipline that you endure…” and that if we aren’t disciplined then we are frauds. Such people are not children of God, for God corrects His children when they get off track and disobey.
So again, it isn’t nice, or fun, but God’s correction reminds us that we belong to Him, and that He has greater things in store.