THE FALL OF BABYLON IS CERTAIN ISAIAH 47:1-15

1 THE FALL OF BABYLON IS CERTAIN ISAIAH 47:1-15

2 Text: Isaiah 47:1-15, THE FALL OF BABYLON IS CERTAIN ISAIAH 47 1. Fall down! Sit in the dirt, O virgin daughter Babylon! Sit on the ground, not on a throne, O daughter of the Babylonians! Indeed, you will no longer be called delicate and pampered. 2. Pick up millstones and grind flour! Remove your veil, strip off your skirt, expose your legs, cross the streams! 3. Let your private parts be exposed! Your genitals will be on display! I will get revenge; I will not have pity on anyone, 4. says our protector the Lord who commands armies is his name, the Holy One of Israel. 5. Sit silently! Go to a hiding place, O daughter of the Babylonians! Indeed, you will no longer be called Queen of kingdoms. 6. I was angry at my people; I defiled my special possession and handed them over to you. You showed them no mercy; you even placed a very heavy burden on old people. 7. You said, I will rule forever as permanent queen! You did not think about these things; you did not consider how it would turn out. 8. So now, listen to this, O one who lives so lavishly, who lives securely, who says to herself, I am unique! No one can compare to me! I will never have to live as a widow; I will never lose my children.

3 9. Both of these will come upon you suddenly, in one day! You will lose your children and be widowed. You will be overwhelmed by these tragedies, despite your many incantations and your numerous amulets. 10. You were complacent in your evil deeds; you thought, No one sees me. Your self-professed wisdom and knowledge lead you astray, when you say, I am unique! No one can compare to me! 11. Disaster will overtake you; you will not know how to charm it away. Destruction will fall on you; you will not be able to appease it. Calamity will strike you suddenly, before you recognize it. 12. Persist in trusting your amulets and your many incantations, which you have faithfully recited since your youth! Maybe you will be successful maybe you will scare away disaster. 13. You are tired out from listening to so much advice. Let them take their stand the ones who see omens in the sky, who gaze at the stars, who make monthly predictions let them rescue you from the disaster that is about to overtake you! 14. Look, they are like straw, which the fire burns up; they cannot rescue themselves from the heat of the flames. There are no coals to warm them, no firelight to enjoy. 15. They will disappoint you, those you have so faithfully dealt with since your youth. Each strays off in his own direction, leaving no one to rescue you. (NET) Introduction:

4 Isaiah 47 is a continuation of the prophecy of the destruction of Babylon. The Lord is the Redeemer of His people. He brought Babylon down because of her cruelty to the Jews and because of other sins also. They were full of pride; they were a carnal or worldly society. Their trust was in their own wisdom. But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments. For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me. (Isaiah 47:9-10) God promised to bring sudden and unexpected destruction upon them. Their astrology and magic arts could not foresee the destruction that was coming; neither could they do anything to prevent their fall. Babylon was a kingdom given to arrogance and to pleasure. (Isaiah 47:7-8) They had no room for the true and living God. As we observe Babylon, we are reminded that sin leads to destruction. People should repent of every sin in their lives and run quickly away from it! One of the weaknesses of Babylon was that they had abused their authority. They had reached a point of thinking that they ruled the world. God had been left out of their thoughts. The people of Babylon thought that they would never be defeated. However, things do not always go according to our plans. They had all their plans; they thought they controlled the future, but, they were wrong, very wrong! Like many, Babylon had left God out of its life. Never forget that there is a God in heaven. He is powerful, Almighty and He is deeply interested in His people. Like Babylon, when we think that we are in control, we have a tendency to forget our accountability to God. God gave some serious warnings concerning following astrology. He said, Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and

5 save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. Salvation is not with those who practice astronomy; nor is it with the wealthy merchants of the land. Our salvation and our hope are in none other than Jesus Christ. (Matthew 1:21)

6 Commentary: Isaiah 47:1-3, Fall down! Sit in the dirt, O virgin daughter Babylon! Sit on the ground, not on a throne, O daughter of the Babylonians! Indeed, you will no longer be called delicate and pampered. Pick up millstones and grind flour! Remove your veil, strip off your skirt, expose your legs, cross the streams! Let your private parts be exposed! Your genitals will be on display! I will get revenge; I will not have pity on anyone, (NET) Babylon would surrender her royal power and sit in the dirt Isaiah 47:1-3: God told Babylon that things were about to change. Babylon had been powerful, delicate and untouched, but soon that royal power would all be taken away. The idea of sitting in the dust is a figurative description of the humiliation that Babylon would face under the hand of Cyrus, king of Persia. God said that Babylon was sitting in the dirt because there is no throne. The expression there is no throne was a prediction that the Babylonian Empire would be finished; they would never again rule over others. Babylon would no longer be in a position of power. They would not rule over other cities or daughters. Babylon had been so powerful, but under Cyrus that power was destroyed. They would now be servants, like they had forced others to be. Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. (Isaiah 47:2) They would no longer dress like the refined ladies of Babylon. They would be servants both in dress and in action. It would be God who brought this vengeance upon them. He would not meet them as a man; rather they would suffer total shame and defeat. No man could argue with God concerning his plan for the destruction of Babylon.

7 Isaiah 47:4-6, says our protector the Lord who commands armies is his name, the Holy One of Israel. Sit silently! Go to a hiding place, O daughter of the Babylonians! Indeed, you will no longer be called Queen of kingdoms. I was angry at my people; I defiled my special possession and handed them over to you. You showed them no mercy; you even placed a very heavy burden on old people. (NET) Babylon received no mercy from God, because she showed no mercy to the Jews Isaiah 47:4-6: The holy God of Israel was called Redeemer because He would deliver the children of Israel from Babylonian captivity. God said, Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms. (Isaiah 47:5) After Cyrus delivered the Jews from Babylon, Babylon would never again be called, The lady of kingdoms. Babylon would no longer be the capital city ruling over other nations. No longer will nations accept you as their queen. God was angry with the Jews because of their sins. He allowed them to be taken into Babylon where they were disgraced. It was not unusual for God to allow one wicked nation to punish another wicked nation. The people of God deserved punishment for their sins. However, the people of Babylon were very cruel and heartless, especially to the elderly. God used Babylon to punish His people. Sadly, they persecuted and afflicted the Jews for their own pleasure. They exceeded the bounds of justice and of what God expected them to do to His people. Now it was time for them to face their punishment for such evil deeds, especially their cruelty to the older Jews. Isaiah 47:7-10, You said, I will rule forever as permanent queen! You did not think about these things; you did not

8 consider how it would turn out. So now, listen to this, O one who lives so lavishly, who lives securely, who says to herself, I am unique! No one can compare to me! I will never have to live as a widow; I will never lose my children. Both of these will come upon you suddenly, in one day! You will lose your children and be widowed. You will be overwhelmed by these tragedies, despite your many incantations and your numerous amulets. You were complacent in your evil deeds; you thought, No one sees me. Your self-professed wisdom and knowledge lead you astray, when you say, I am unique! No one can compare to me! (NET) Babylon thought she was all-powerful and could do whatever she wanted Isaiah 47:7-10: The people of Babylon were boastful and arrogant. The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. (Daniel 4:30-32) They thought they would rule the world forever. Babylon felt that she would be Queen forever. The Babylonians did whatever they wanted and it never entered their mind that they would be held accountable for their actions. The haughty spirit of Babylon was seen when she said in her heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children. (Isaiah 47:8) Babylon cared only about pleasure

9 and corrupt living; she said Babylon will never become a desolate or deserted place. Their boast was that there would always be citizens in Babylon. God predicted that the people of Babylon would be taken away and the nation would be desolate. But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments. (Isaiah 47:9) Their strength and charm would fail; they would have no magical power or strength to preserve themselves. The people of Babylon hid behind their wickedness like a person hiding behind a shield. They thought no one would see what they really were. Sadly, they were simply self deceived. They were fooled by their own wisdom into thinking that they were in control of Babylon and the nations. How wrong they were! Isaiah 47:11-15, Disaster will overtake you; you will not know how to charm it away. Destruction will fall on you; you will not be able to appease it. Calamity will strike you suddenly, before you recognize it. Persist in trusting your amulets and your many incantations, which you have faithfully recited since your youth! Maybe you will be successful maybe you will scare away disaster. You are tired out from listening to so much advice. Let them take their stand the ones who see omens in the sky, who gaze at the stars, who make monthly predictions let them rescue you from the disaster that is about to overtake you! Look, they are like straw, which the fire burns up; they cannot rescue themselves from the heat of the flames. There are no coals to warm them, no firelight to enjoy. They will disappoint you, those you have so faithfully dealt with since your youth. Each strays off in his own direction, leaving no one to rescue you. (NET)

10 Babylon would fall quickly because their trust was in the wrong thing Isaiah 47:11-15: God promised Babylon that: (1) Evil would come upon them, (2) That mischief would fall upon them, and (3) That desolation would come upon them. This would happen suddenly! Babylon would turn to enchantment and sorceries for answers and deliverance. Of course, there was no help there. God challenged Babylon saying, Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. (Isaiah 47:13) The so-called wise men of Babylon could not do any good to help themselves or others. They were like straw in a hot burning fire. They cannot warm or help anyone who stood before them. Babylon s situation was hopeless. The leaders of Babylon would call to them those with whom they had labored. They would ask the soothsayers and these merchants for help. They could offer no help. They cannot even save themselves. Instead of attempting to help, they recognized their helpless state, so they just turned and went home. People must learn that the only help and the only hope is in the true and living God. Conclusion: Let us get rid of our pride, humble our hearts and be obedient to God. Let us remember that God is the Almighty and Powerful God; He is in control. This should encourage our love and obedience to Him. We are allowed to choose evil or good. If we choose evil, certain punishment will come our way. If we choose righteousness, then salvation in heaven can be ours. One result of fearing the Lord is that a person does his best to avoid sin. If we will be faithful to God, there is nothing that can stand in the way of our eternal victory!

11 By Charles Box, Walnut Street Church of Christ, 306 Walnut St., Greenville, Alabama 36037

12 Questions on Isaiah 47:1-15 1. Isaiah 47 is a continuation of the of the of. 2. Why was Babylon destroyed? 3. What would come upon Babylon in a moment? 4. to bring and destruction upon Babylon. Their and could not foresee the that was coming; neither could they do to their.

13 5. was a given to and. They had no room for the and. leads to. 6. Like, when we think that we are in, we have a tendency to our to. 7. What did God say about astrologers, stargazers and monthly prognosticators? 8. Things were about to for. had been, and, but soon that would all be. 9. What was meant by the expression, sitting in the dust? Contrast Babylon s condition before and after they sat in the dust.

14 10. Babylon would suffer and which they unquestionably deserved. 11. Why did Babylon receive no mercy from God? 12. Give examples of God s allowing one wicked nation to punish another wicked nation. 13. The of were and. 14. What happened to Nebuchadnezzar because of his boastful arrogance?

15 15. The thought they would the. They never thought they would be for their. They cared only about and. 16. Babylon relied on a multitude of and an abundance of. Their superstitions could not save them. 17. The were. They thought no one would see what they. 18. What did God promise Babylon? 19. What challenge did God issue to Babylon? 20. The leaders of Babylon asked the soothsayers and rich merchants for help. What did these soothsayers and rich merchants do?

16 21. Let s get rid of our, our and be to. 22. God is, and in. This should us to and him. 23. We are allowed to or. If we, certain will come our way. If we, then in can be ours. 24. One who the does his to. 25. is certain if we remain ever to.