Isaiah 13:1-16

Trying to understand the relationship between God and the Gentiles in OT times is kinda difficult because... God must've created them too - I mean, God created human beings to begin with. Why abandon some and love only the chosen ones? And the destructions prophesied through these prophets seem so... destructive. Isn't God full of love and mercy?

God spoke through Isaiah of the forthcoming destruction of Babylon, even before Babylon became a world power. God knows of the sins of Babylon, and cares enough (?!) about Babylon to punish it for its sins. Ezekiel 33:11 says "...As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live." Through all the victories and downfall of Israel (and also those of the surrounding enemies), and through all the blood that ensued, God was simply sending out the message to the hardened hearts abroad - that He is the only God. Israel was supposed to be a guiding light to the surrounding nations.

Arrogance can take place in spiritual realms, too. Israel became proud and sent Jesus to the cross. Spiritual haughtiness looks down on others struggling to follow Christ. For me, it's a lot easier to be critical of the fellow Christian brothers and sisters than my non-Christian friends. There are proper situations for rebukes, but I need to be on the lookout more opportunities to be encouraging - rather than seeking the right moment to bring rebukage. I also realized that pride can be found in sharing testimonies - if the testimony is embellished with spiritual arrogance to make it sound more "blessing", it actually has the opposite impact on the listeners.

How can I be the light? What can I do to take the first step in faith, to break down the wall of spiritual pride?

Since I want to be more encouraging, I'll say one encouraging thing to each person I meet... if there's an opportunity. (Wow. I actually had to think hard about this application before I wrote this out. But I'll give it my best. I thought, simply asking how their day is going, or just saying "good morning, how are you?" will be encouraging enough. I don't wanna take it too far at work coz that could put me in trouble. Oh, and my boss is an exception - it'd just be weird.)