The Lord comes and reigns
This is the plague with which the LORD will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 On that day men will be stricken by the LORD with great panic. Each man will seize the hand of another, and they will attack each other. 14 Judah too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected—great quantities of gold and silver and clothing. 15 A similar plague will strike the horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.
The plague to strike against the enemies of God’s people will completely disfigure and destroy. This leprosy of punishment will quickly devour the skin. People unclean by their actions will have no choice but to shout out, “Unclean! Unclean!” when their flesh rots. It is a gruesome fact of life to those without Jesus and to those against Jesus.
Job’s hope was, “After my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God” (19:26). When God’s judgment strikes, eyes will be destroyed; tongues will be destroyed. After they are gone, there will be no more chance to see or speak. What a complete and awful punishment! Verse 15 even includes the animals in the plagues. The whole creation is affected and infected.
The panic of verse 13 is also echoed in the book of Revelation: “The agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes a man. During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them” (9:5,6).
On that day!