THE BURDEN OF BABYLON ISAIAH 13:1-22

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 1 THE BURDEN OF BABYLON ISAIAH 13:1-22

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 2 Text: Isaiah 13:1-22, THE BURDEN OF BABYLON 1. This is a message about Babylon that God revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz: 2. On a bare hill raise a signal flag, shout to them, wave your hand, so they might enter the gates of the princes! 3. I have given orders to my chosen soldiers; I have summoned the warriors through whom I will vent my anger, my boasting, arrogant ones. 4. There is a loud noise on the mountains it sounds like a large army! There is great commotion among the kingdoms nations are being assembled! The Lord who commands armies is mustering forces for battle. 5. They come from a distant land, from the horizon. It is the Lord with his instruments of judgment, coming to destroy the whole earth. 6. Wail, for the Lord s day of judgment is near; it comes with all the destructive power of the sovereign Judge. 7. For this reason all hands hang limp, every human heart loses its courage. 8. They panic cramps and pain seize hold of them like those of a woman who is straining to give birth. They look at one another in astonishment; their faces are flushed red. 9. Look, the Lord s day of judgment is coming; it is a day of cruelty and savage, raging anger, destroying the earth and annihilating its sinners. 10. Indeed the stars in the sky and their constellations no longer give out their light; the sun is darkened as soon as it rises, and the moon does not shine. 11. I will punish the world for its evil, and wicked people for their sin. I will put an end to the pride of the insolent, I will bring down the arrogance of tyrants.

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 3 12. I will make human beings more scarce than pure gold, and people more scarce than gold from Ophir. 13. So I will shake the heavens, and the earth will shake loose from its foundation, because of the fury of the Lord who commands armies, in the day he vents his raging anger. 14. Like a frightened gazelle or a sheep with no shepherd, each will turn toward home, each will run to his homeland. 15. Everyone who is caught will be stabbed; everyone who is seized will die by the sword. 16. Their children will be smashed to pieces before their very eyes; their houses will be looted and their wives raped. 17. Look, I am stirring up the Medes to attack them; they are not concerned about silver, nor are they interested in gold. 18. Their arrows will cut young men to ribbons; they have no compassion on a person s offspring, they will not look with pity on children. 19. Babylon, the most admired of kingdoms, the Chaldeans source of honor and pride, will be destroyed by God just as Sodom and Gomorrah were. 20. No one will live there again; no one will ever reside there again. No bedouin will camp there, no shepherds will rest their flocks there. 21. Wild animals will rest there, the ruined houses will be full of hyenas. Ostriches will live there, wild goats will skip among the ruins. 22. Wild dogs will yip in her ruined fortresses, jackals will yelp in the oncesplendid palaces. Her time is almost up, her days will not be prolonged. (NET)

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 4 Commentary: God gave Isaiah an amazing message concerning the destruction of Babylon. Isaiah saw, in a vision, the destruction of Babylon that would occur in the days of Cyrus. The Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem, the Temple, the wall around the city and taken many Jews into captivity. Now, they would be punished for their wickedness, pride and cruelty. Their destruction would be complete, like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The judgment, brought by God against Babylon, would be a terrible and total judgment. God said, Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. (Isaiah 13:6) Even the most courageous in Babylon would lose heart and faint as God brought the destruction upon them. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt: And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. (Isaiah 13:7-8) God specifically named some reasons for their punishment. The world would be punished for their evil; the wicked would be punished for their iniquity. The pride, arrogancy and haughtiness of the cruel and evil would be crushed by the Almighty. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. (Isaiah 13:11) They would experience all the terrible and awful cruelties of a lost war. Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword. Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished. (Isaiah 13:15-16) God would use the Medes as His instrument of destruction against Babylon. The destruction that He would bring would be complete devastation! God s anger against Babylon -- Isaiah 13:1-5: Isaiah felt a burden or a heavy responsibility to deliver God s message of destruction against Babylon. The word burden has to do with a spoken message of utter doom against a people. This is a message of prophecy, but Isaiah saw it in a vision, as if it was

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 5 happening or had already happened. When God called the armies against Babylon He said that they would lift up the banner or the flag over it. Babylon would no longer rule as a powerful city instead, that great city would be destroyed because of her wickedness. The Lord had already summoned foreign nations to bring about this destruction. And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly. (Isaiah 5:26) God is in control of all nations. He is calling nations in judgment against Babylon and it is certain that Babylon would be defeated. The Lord commanded those who had been set apart to fight against Babylon; they would overthrow that wicked city. God s anger is turned against them. A large army was coming to fight against Babylon. The strong army could be heard in the mountains. God gave that army its strength. Babylon was an enemy of God and she would be dashed to pieces. The Lord of Host had called for the destruction of that city. God s indignation or His fierce anger would be brought upon Babylon for the things they had done to His people. The fall of Babylon to the Medes would be total and complete. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness. (Romans 1:18) The description of the fall of a nation Isaiah 13:6-11: In very vivid words, God described the destruction of Babylon. This destruction came from the hand of the Almighty. Observe the expression, The day of the Lord is at hand. This judgment and destruction that was coming upon Babylon was coming from the hand of God. This destruction came from the Almighty. This shows that it was the power of God that was bringing about the total devastation and destruction of Babylon. The overthrow of Babylon was described in a very vivid way. The overthrow of the physical leaders of that city was pictured as heavenly bodies being destroyed. Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. (Isaiah 13:9-10) Remember, this is a picture of the destruction of Babylon; it has nothing to do

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 6 with the end of the world. All of those who are opposed to God would lose courage, their hearts would melt and they would feel faint. Man should know that he can never win in a battle against God. We are again reminded that the destruction coming against Babylon is because of sin! Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. (Isaiah 13:9) The world that God would bring punishment upon is Babylon. They were evil and wicked and now they would face God s punishment. Their pride and haughtiness would cause them to be brought low or destroyed. Pride has been the downfall of many! Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them -- Isaiah 13:12-18: Even though Babylon would be destroyed, God promised to save a few, precious and valuable souls. Those who were saved would be more valuable than fine gold tried in the fire. The shaking of the heavens and the earth being removed out of her place are vivid and powerful illustrations of the overthrow of Babylon and her rulers. The Lord would not be a Shepherd for Babylon; neither would they be His people. All that the people of Babylon could do would be to flee from that city. When the Medes brought the cruel overthrow against Babylon the destruction would be horrible. It would be complete destruction. Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword. (Isaiah 13:15) They were overthrown just as Isaiah s message predicted. It was such a horrible destruction that even their children were destroyed. Children are seldom spared during the devastation of war. Not only were their children killed, but their wives were abused and killed as well. The purpose of the Medes coming against Babylon would not be to have their silver or gold. They would come to bring uttered destruction upon that city. Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children. (Isaiah 13:18) Babylon would be destroyed, never to be rebuilt Isaiah 13:19-22: The city of Babylon would be destroyed; the destruction would be utter destruction. The city would never be rebuilt or inhabited again. The only inhabitants of the city would be wild animals. The city of Babylon was a glorious and powerful city. However, like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, God destroyed that city

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 7 because of her wickedness also. Solomon and Gomorrah were overthrown, among other things, for their homosexuality. Babylon was overthrown because of pride and evil hearts. God does not overlook sin and now the day of reckoning had come for Babylon. God said, It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. (Isaiah 13:20) When Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown nothing was left except desolation. The same was true with the destruction of Babylon. When the day of the Lord came the people in Babylon would be destroyed and only wild animals would be left. These were the kinds of animals that would be repulsive to man. 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) The result of sin is certain misery and pain! Let us get rid of our pride, humble our heart and be obedient to God. Let us remember that God is the Almighty and Powerful God. 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 good, then salvation in heaven can be ours. To be saved you must hear the gospel (Romans 10:17), believe in Jesus (John 8:24), repent of sins (Luke 13:3), confess Jesus as Lord (Matthew 10:32) and be baptized for remission of sins. (Acts 2:38) God will then add you, as a living stone to the church that Christ built. 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! By Charles Box, Walnut Street Church of Christ, 306 Walnut Street, Greenville, Alabama 36037

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 8 Questions on Isaiah 13:1-22 (Questions 1-14 are based on NET text.) 1. Isaiah 13 is a message about that revealed to son of. 2. Of whom was God speaking in verses 2-5? What did he say to these people? 3. To whom was God speaking in verses 6-8? What did the Lord say to them? 4. When and under what circumstances did these things occur?

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 9 5. Describe the Lord s day of judgment as addressed in verses 9-10. Are sun, moon and stars to be taken literally in verse 10? If not, to what do these words refer? Date the Lord s day of judgment. 6. said, I will the for its, and for their. I will put an end to the of the. I will bring down the of. 7. When will or did people become more scarce than pure gold, than gold from Ophir? When will or did God shake the heavens and loose the earth from its foundation? 8. Locate and give as much information as you can about Ophir. 9. Are gold, heavens, the earth and its foundations in verses 12-13 to be taken literally or figuratively? If figuratively, to what do they actually refer?

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 10 10. Who will run as a frightened gazelle or a sheep with no shepherd toward home? 11. According to verses 15-16, how bad would things get? 12. Who would stir up the Medes to do what against whom? When did these things occur? What were the final results? 13., the most of, the source of and, will be by just as and were. 14. According to verses 19-22, what did the future hold for Babylon?

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 11 15. What had Babylon done that led to their destruction? 16. Give proof that God can destroy the most powerful as easily s the weak and the frail. 17. felt a or a to deliver s of against. The word burden has to do with a of against a. This of come to Isaiah as a. 18. The had already summoned under a different or to destroy. 19. is in of all. God called to come in against and it is that would be. was an of and she would

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 12 be to. The of to the would be and. 20. It was by the of that this and came upon. Babylon s came because of its. 21. How complete was Babylon s destruction to be? Did anyone escape being killed? If so, how was this achieved? 22. How great was the destruction of Babylon? How long did it take for Babylon, from its state of independent might, to reach this level of devastation? 23. Let us get rid of our, our and be to. 24. is the and. This should encourage our and to Him. 25. We are allowed to choose or. If we choose, certain will come our way. If we choose, then in will be ours.