Isaiah The Book of Burdens The Fall of Babylon ~ Part 2 Isaiah 13:

Transcription

1 Isaiah The Book of Burdens The Fall of Babylon ~ Part 2 Isaiah 13: I admit while I no longer teach using the King James Version I still appreciate the language. But once in a while the translation comes up with some very strange verbiage. The KJV comes up with this translation of 13:21-22: But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged (Isaiah 13:21-22). This leads to an interesting analysis and application of the passage by Dr. McGee. Satyrs shall dance there. Satyrs are demons. Satyrs shall dance in Babylon. If you want to go to the dance of the demons, Babylon is the place to go. I hear of folk here in Southern California who worship Satan. One young fellow who claims to belong to a church that worships Satan came to me after a meeting and attacked me in a very vitriolic manner. He insisted that demons are real, and he worshiped them. I agreed that demons are real, but I cautioned him about worshiping them. Then I asked him if He had ever danced with demons. He looked at me with amazement and said, No! So I told him where their dance hall is. I told him that demons dance in the ruins of Babylon. I said to him facetiously, Why don t you go over there? Brother, if you are going to go halfway, go all the way. Babylon was the headquarters for idolatry in the ancient world. Apparently demons have this spot as a rallying place. 1 Well, I don t know if this is the case. After all, the NIV translates the verses there the wild goats will leap about. But there is no question Babylon biblically refers to both a political power and a symbol for an idolatrous and rebellious system that is linked to Satan and his demonic kingdom. And this section presents the fall of both. I Introduction II God s Warriors Verses 1-5 III The Day of the Lord Verses 6-16 IV God s Agents The Medes Verses V Compassion for Israel Verses 1-2 VI Relief for Israel Verses 3-8 VII The King of Babylon Verses 9-15 VIII The Fall of King and Kingdom Verses IX Conclusion 1 McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, Vol. 3, Isaiah, Thomas Nelson Inc., Nashville, TN 1982, p. 232.

2 Introduction: As we saw last time the most important messages of this section of Isaiah are: 1. God s absolute justice, the fact He will hold every nation accountable for its actions. 2. Prophecy serves as a confirmation of God s Word. And this section dealing with the Burden of Babylon is a prime example. Regardless of how it relates to the fall of Babylon under the hand of the Medes and Persians, it also has future implications as it relates to the Day of the LORD, which the NIV Dictionary defines as: DAY OF THE LORD An eschatological term referring to the consummation of God s kingdom and triumph over his foes and deliverance of his people. It begins at the Second Coming, and will be accompanied by social calamities and physical cataclysms (Matt 24; Luke 21:7-33). It will include the millennial judgment (Rev 4:1-19:6) and culminate in the new heaven and the new earth (Isa 65:17; 66:22; Rev 21:1). 2 Teacher, they asked, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place? He replied: Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, I am he, and, The time is near. Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away. Then he said to them: Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. This will result in your being witnesses to them. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. All men will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life. When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. 2 Douglas, J. D. and Merrill C. Tenney, editors, NIV Bible Dictionary, Zondervan Interactive Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, ) 154 (

3 He told them this parable: Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away (Luke 21:7-33). Clearly, these events have yet to occur. And since this is Jesus speaking after the fall of Babylon then there must be a second fulfillment which well may be referring to the fall of the Babylonian system as seen in Revelation. A second angel followed and said, Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries. The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, It is done! Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath (Revelation 14:8, 17-19). Verses 6-8: And it is here Isaiah introduces the Day of the LORD in relation to Babylon. Grogan introduces the verses this way. The day of the LORD (v.6) is a frequent prophetic theme (see note at 2:11), emphasizing the certainty and decisiveness of the Lord s historical judgment in the future. It may be conceived in local or in universal terms. 3 And, as you can see in these verses the Day of the LORD it isn t something to be looked forward to. For God s enemies it is a day of ever increasing horror and fear because it is a coming of God s judgment. Verses 9-13: An equally valid translation of this verse, and more consistent with the following verses is found in the RSV. See, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the earth a desolation, and to destroy its sinners from it. It is for this reason this passage can be understood has having a two-fold fulfillment. God s judgment moves from a local one on Babylon, to a world-wide one on a rebellious humanity. His wrath will at last fall on sinners in general. At some point God s patience will end and a final judgment will be carried out cleansing the world of all unrighteousness. Some may want to interpret the references to creation as being poetic and hyperbolae, but in the context of God s judgment on the wicked, best understood literally, this should be seen as God s apocalyptic judgment. 3 Grogan, Geoffrey W., The Expositor s Bible Commentary, Isaiah, Zondervan Interactive Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, ) 155 (

4 Though out scripture, when God was about to bring judgment, there were physical manifestations at a local level. (Joshua 10:11) Here they seem to be universal in nature, reinforcing the fact this is the final judgment. As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the LORD hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites. The result of God s wrath is to drive people to fear and panic. The war going on against Babylon leads to the destruction of men in large numbers Verses 14-16: While obviously the language is figurative, it is not symbolic. Where in prior verses we don t see a human agency, this is consistent with the judgment being universal and from the hand of God. Here Isaiah seems to be returning to a more localized judgment and therefore may be moving back to the fall of the Babylon of his own future days. Again quoting Grogan: Beginning with Tiglath-pileser III, each of the great empires of Mesopotamia followed a policy of transportation and intermingling of peoples. As Babylonia is entered by its conquerors, those living there who have been exiled from their own homelands feel their isolation; and, like hunted or neglected animals, they try to make for home (v.14). Such attempts at survival will be quite fruitless. The bitter enemies of their overlords will make no distinction between the native-born and the unwilling incomer (vv.15-16). This part of the prophecy may well have taken some color from the universal judgment depicted earlier in the chapter, for it shows that the downfall of Babylon will mean the deaths of many from other nations who find themselves within its borders when the blow falls. 4 This certainly seems to be the case as we move into the next five verses. But, verse 16 is a very difficult verse to handle. The destruction of women and children is very harsh. This seems to be the ironic results of war unleashed. Ironic because this typifies the brutalities of Babylon in her actions. Leupold notes: One last bloody and tragic touch is added, the one that refers to the fate of the little children. They will be dashed to pieces before the very eyes of their parents. When once the fury of war is unleashed the most extreme forms of cruelty are the order of the day, no matter how inhuman they may be. The Scriptures mentions this type of cruelty repeatedly (cf. Hos. 13:16; Nah. 3:10). The rest that is mentioned goes without saying: their homes will be plundered and their wives ravished. The last of these indignities was particularly repulsive and is also mentioned as typical in Deut. 28:30; Zech. 14:2. 5 The people of Samaria must bear their guilt, because they have rebelled against their God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to the ground, their pregnant women ripped open (Hosea 13:16). Yet she was taken captive and went into exile. Her infants were dashed to pieces at the head of every street. Lots were cast for her nobles, and all her great men were put in chains (Nahum 3:10). 4 Ibid. 5 Leupold, H. C., Exposition of Isaiah, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1971, p ) 156 (

5 You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and ravish her. You will build a house, but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit (Deuteronomy 28:30). I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city (Zechariah 14:2). Verses 17-22: By the way, since I brought up Satyrs at the beginning of the session, I probably should point out what the NIV Study Bible Notes say of verse 21. wild goats. This term is connected with demons ( goat idols ) in Lev 17:7; 2Ch 11:15. In Rev 18:2 fallen Babylon is described as a home for demons and evil spirits. 6 Not only does Isaiah foretell Babylon s overthrow at the Medes hands, but expands to note the site of the city will be devastated and remain in that condition. Just who are the Medes? THE MEDES Located in what is today northwestern Iran. There was conflict between Assyria and Media during the eighth century B.C. Some, however, relate the fulfillment of this verse to the period when the Medes joined the Babylonians in defeating Assyria in but later united with Cyrus to conquer Babylon in 539. See Jer 51:11,28; Da 5:31; 6:28. Sharpen the arrows, take up the shields! The LORD has stirred up the kings of the Medes, because his purpose is to destroy Babylon. The LORD will take vengeance, vengeance for his temple. Prepare the nations for battle against her the kings of the Medes, their governors and all their officials, and all the countries they rule (Jeremiah 51:11, 28) and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two. So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian (Daniel 5:31; 6:28). Babylon, like may nations who held sway over the world around them, was arrogant and believed it was all-powerful, but its destruction was foreordained. The only question was when, not if, it would be destroyed. As Erlandsson points out, (p. 91), the Assyrian king Sennacherib, who detested Babylon, utterly devastated it in 689 B.C. This was, perhaps, a partial fulfillment of the prophecy given here (vv.20-22), just as some of the messianic prophecies in Isaiah received an anticipatory fulfillment before their final realization in Christ (see comment at 7:14-17). Babylon was quickly rebuilt, and no comparable destruction took place in 539 B.C. The prophecy did find fulfillment, but over a considerable period of time. Darius the Great and Xerxes both issued important decrees of demolition. Alexander the Great apparently had great plans for it, but they did not sur vive his death; and by the close of the first century B.C., Babylon was utterly desolate. So it is today. The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceeding fine. 7 Conclusion ~ Part 2: Babylon has fallen. It has been decimated. Ironside notes: 6 NIV Study Bible Notes, Zondervan Interactive Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, Grogan ) 157 (

6 Even to this day the Arabian refuses to pitch his tent there, thinking that demons prowl by night among the ruins of the city, where owls and lizards (dragons) and other creatures of the night abound. God has decreed that Babylon shall never rise again. 8 But we know from Revelation that while the city of Babylon won t rise again, another Babylon will. The Babylon of the Apocalypse is a symbolic picture of the great religious-commercial organization of the last days which will become fully developed after the true Church has been caught up to be with the Lord. Its doom, like that of the ancient city, will soon be consummated and it too will fall, never to lift itself up again against God and His people. 9 And so once again the message of God s sovereignty and judgment goes out, here against two Babylons. Today we live in a culture that sees the world as a broad spectrum of grays. Post-modernism believes there are no absolutes. But our response is the opposite: there are still absolutes, standards that cannot be violated. God is the one who requires perfection and He will judge all who fail to meet these standards. God will judge, people are lost, and there is a hell. But even as much of what we see here seems harsh and judgmental, the real message is one of hope and salvation. God knows all are headed for judgment because of their own sins, but He provided a payment for sin, the shed blood of Christ. This is the message we have to get out to those around us. Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born (1 Corinthians 15:1-8). We can t be concerned with being politically correct. We can t be concerned with the lie that faith is a personal matter and we need to keep it to ourselves. We can t be concerned that the gospel will be offensive and isn t acceptable in a pluralistic society. By the way, although the gospel is offensive, we re not to be. So, what is our responsibility? We have to love the Lord enough to be obedient to His command to give out the Gospel. We have to love people enough to be more concerned for their salvation than what they think of us. This is our call. Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:18-20). 8 Ironside, H. A., Isaiah, Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., Neptune, NJ, 1952, p Ibid. ) 158 (

7 Isaiah The Book of Burdens The Fall of Babylon ~ Part 2 Isaiah 13: I Introduction II God s Warriors Verses 1-5 III The Day of the Lord Verses 6-16 IV God s Agents The Medes Verses V Compassion for Israel Verses 1-2 VI Relief for Israel Verses 3-8 VII The King of Babylon Verses 9-15 VIII The Fall of King and Kingdom Verses IX Conclusion Introduction: (Isaiah 13:21-22; Luke 21:7-33; Revelation 14:8, also see Matthew 24; Revelation 4:1-19:6; Isaiah 65:17; 66:22; Revelation 21:1) III The Day of the Lord: Verses 6-8: Verses 9-13: (Joshua 10:11)

8 Verses 14-16: (Hosea 13:16; Nehemiah 3:10; Deuteronomy 28:30; Zechariah 14:2) Verses 17-22: (Jeremiah 51:11, 28; Daniel 5:31; 6:28 also see Leviticus 17:7; 2 Chronicles 11:15; Revelation 18:2) Conclusion: (1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Matthew 28:18-20) Personal Application: Be open this week to opportunities to share the Gospel with those around you. Prayer for the Week: Lord, may Your Spirit direct us to some who needs the message of salvation. In Jesus name, amen.