OUR FATHER WHOSE ARMY DEVASTATES THE ENEMY BUT WHOSE OFFER OF SALVATION REMAINS OPEN TO ANYONE WHO REPENTS

The book of Joel chapter 2 verse 3 says this;

Fire consumes before it and a flame blazes after it; before it, the land was like the Garden of Eden, and in its wake is a desert wasteland; neither does it have a remnant.

The "it" in this verse is the mighty army of the Lord that has been mustered from every nation to march against the strongholds of darkness.

This army is like none that has ever been amassed before nor will ever be again. The sound of the shofar from Zion summons the army and it begins to traverse the land in a disciplined and orderly way.

As the army travels through enemy territory, a fire incinerates everything in front of it and behind it, a scorched and smouldering  landscape is  left in the aftermath.

Before it is a lush and beautiful land like the Garden of Eden but behind it is left an inhospitable devastation.

But even as the fearsome judgement of God unfolds, the invitation to repent and be redeemed is left open to anyone who would seek the Lord. As Joel chapter 2 verse 13 says;

Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.

Amen.