Continuing through Isaiah, chapter 46 contains a lovely word for those of us advancing in years (I turn 80 in December):

…even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save. (Isaiah 46.4, ESV)

There’s another diatribe against idols (Isaiah 46.5 – 7), then a reminder of God’s power:

Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it. (Isaiah 46.8 – 11, ESV)

And God will use his power against Babylon:

Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no more be called tender and delicate…Sit in silence, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for you shall no more be called the mistress of kingdoms. I was angry with my people; I profaned my heritage; I gave them into your hand; you showed them no mercy; on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy. You said, “I shall be mistress forever,” so that you did not lay these things to heart or remember their end. Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely, who say in your heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me; I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children”: These two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day; the loss of children and widowhood shall come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the great power of your enchantments. (Isaiah 47.1, 5 – 9, ESV)

Evil is temporary. We don’t yet know the outcome of the current Middle East war, but for sure, Ayatollah Khamenei is dead.

This much is clear: Ayatollah Khamenei will not be a part of that future. Any way you look at it, that’s good news. These massive attacks have forced open a door for a new future in Iran. Let’s pray that the right leadership emerges to point the Iranian people through that door. – Al Mohler, World Magazine, March 2, 2026

It is not a given that “right leadership” will emerge in Iran. It’s a challenge because of lack of “institutions” in the Middle East. My friend Mike Metzger writes in his essay “Tactics without Telos:”

It’s hard to imagine [“right leadership”] ever happening in Iran under Islam. Which is why, while I see merit in removing a murderous regime, my concern is that it is merely tactics without telos. The real losers will be Iranians who, like the Lebanese since 2005, have had their hopes raised, only to be dashed because Islam is not ruled by reliable institutions. Mike Metzger, March 4, 2026.

I told Mike that in a culture that eschews institutions for one powerful leader, the only cure is not democracy but a benevolent dictator. Unfortunately, those are hard to come by since “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

We’re back to reliance on God:

I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose…” (Isaiah 46.9, 10, ESV)

Jesus is our benevolent dictator!

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4.18, 19, ESV)