#974 Isaiah 13 Concerning and Concerned

 

The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.

2 On a bare hill raise a signal;

cry aloud to them;

wave the hand for them to enter

the gates of the nobles.

3 I myself have commanded my consecrated ones,

and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger,

my proudly exulting ones.

4 The sound of a tumult is on the mountains

as of a great multitude!

The sound of an uproar of kingdoms,

of nations gathering together!

The Lord of hosts is mustering

a host for battle.

5 They come from a distant land,

from the end of the heavens,

the Lord and the weapons of his indignation,

to destroy the whole land.

6 Wail, for the day of the Lord is near;

as destruction from the Almighty it will come!

7 Therefore all hands will be feeble,

and every human heart will melt.

8 They will be dismayed:

pangs and agony will seize them;

they will be in anguish like a woman in labor.

They will look aghast at one another;

their faces will be aflame.

9 Behold, the day of the Lord comes,

cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,

to make the land a desolation

and to destroy its sinners from it.

10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations

will not give their light;

the sun will be dark at its rising,

and the moon will not shed its light.

11 I will punish the world for its evil,

and the wicked for their iniquity;

I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant,

and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.

12 I will make people more rare than fine gold,

and mankind than the gold of Ophir.

13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,

and the earth will be shaken out of its place,

at the wrath of the Lord of hosts

in the day of his fierce anger.

14 And like a hunted gazelle,

or like sheep with none to gather them,

each will turn to his own people,

and each will flee to his own land.

15 Whoever is found will be thrust through,

and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.

16 Their infants will be dashed in pieces

before their eyes;

their houses will be plundered

and their wives ravished.

17 Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them,

who have no regard for silver

and do not delight in gold.

18 Their bows will slaughter the young men;

they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb;

their eyes will not pity children.

19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,

the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans,

will be like Sodom and Gomorrah

when God overthrew them.

20 It will never be inhabited

or lived in for all generations;

no Arab will pitch his tent there;

no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.

21 But wild animals will lie down there,

and their houses will be full of howling creatures;

there ostriches will dwell,

and there wild goats will dance.

22 Hyenas will cry in its towers,

and jackals in the pleasant palaces;

its time is close at hand

and its days will not be prolonged. Isaiah 13 ESV

Isaiah 13

1. The oracle concerning Babylon - Isaiah is giving history before it occurs. He is prophesying as the oracle of God, a message of weight against a nation that has not yet reached it's fullness as a world power. 

Isaiah finished his prophetic career in 685 B.C., almost 100 years before Judah finally fell before the Babylonian Empire (586 B.C.). At the time of this prophecy, Babylon was a significant nation, but they were definitely behind the Assyrian Empire in status. Yet the LORD who knows the end of all things can speak of the judgment on the pride of Babylon hundreds of years before the judgment comes. - Enduring Word

2-8. I myself have commanded my consecrated ones - Babylon is in it's infancy when Isaiah writes. God has shown that He will use Babylon to punish the wickedness in Judah, but now we look even beyond this to the destruction of Babylon by the Persians and even further to the final Babylon. These have been made vessels both of and unto destruction. As "consecrated", they represent God's hand against Babylon. 

My proudly exulting ones - Pride is the original sin, the creature elevating itself against the words of the Creator. Lucifer wanted to ascend to the throne of the most high, and then he deceived Eve in the garden by getting her to question not only what God said, but also the integrity of what God said. It is interesting that those being brought to judge the pride and sin of Babylon are themselves guilty of the same, which looks forward to their own judgement. 

And every human heart will melt - Everything that they believed in pride, all their security, their strength, none of it will hold. They go into shock, writhing like a woman in labor, pain that will not lessen, anxiety that grips tightly and shakes them to the core. They stare at each other in amazement, what they didn't think possible is now upon them. They have seen the writing on the wall.

King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand.

2 Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. 3 Then they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. 4 They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

5 Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote. 6 Then the king's color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together. 7 The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared[b] to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” 8 Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. 9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his color changed, and his lords were perplexed.

10 The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, “O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change. 11 There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers, 12 because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.”

Daniel Interprets the Handwriting

13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, “You are that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah. 14 I have heard of you that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. 15 Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not show the interpretation of the matter. 16 But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. 18 O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. 19 And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. 20 But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. 21 He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. 22 And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, 23 but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.

24 “Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. 25 And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. 26 This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; 27 Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; 28 Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

29 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

30 That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. 31  And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old. Daniel 5 ESV

9-16. Behold, the day of the Lord comes - What happens to Babylon should assure future generations that God has spoken to this prophet, and what God says will happen, must. There is a near future (within 100 years) fulfillment of this prophecy that will elevate the still future aspect of Messiah's return to judge the nations. Day of the Lord. Every knee will bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. 

…28Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. 29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.… Matthew 24: 28-30

17-22. Who have no regard for silver - You won't buy them off; they can't be paid to leave you alone. They want power and control; they're here to conquer and devastate. 

Their bows will slaughter the young men - I remember from history that though many peoples during this time had bow and arrow, the Persians had developed the technology further with lamination. This aloud them to set up archers further away, before the other force could get into range. Technology has played an important role in many wars. The discovery of gun powder, the rifle, cannon, six shooter, machine gun; these all gave an advantage. The atomic bomb was so devastating that nations clamored for the technology, people sold out their country as traitors for prophet. Nations came to talks of peace when considering the reality of an all out nuclear war. Even China has considered but passed on this because it's use would leave the conquered land undesirable. Immature leaders have given nuclear potential to terrorist states like Iran. There is chemical warfare, economic, biological; men drunk with the taste for power will stop at no lengths.  

Of particular note were the soldiers of the Achaemenid Empire. Also known as the first Persian Empire (550 BC – 330 BC), the Achaemenid dynasty was known for its elite force of warriors named by Herodotus - ‘The Immortals’.

The Powerful Achaemenid Composite Bow

The bow used by the archers of the Achaemenid Empire is known as the composite bow. It is said that this weapon was developed by Central Asian nomads during the 2nd millennium BC. The body of this bow was constructed using horn and wood laminated together using animal resin. When the resin dried, a bond would have been formed between the horn and the wood, thus giving the body of the bow enough strength to withstand the immense pressures placed on it when the bow was drawn. To provide the bow with explosive power, sinews from animal tendons were then laminated to the outside face of the bow. It has been speculated that the construction of the composite bow might have taken up to 18 months to complete, and the end product was an immensely powerful weapon. - Ancient Origins

Will be like Sodom and Gomorrah - God spoke against Israel in this same fashion. When we see sin prevalent then know that God is still just. The end times will be like the time before the flood, eating, drinking and giving in marriage. People become sedated by their comforts, and as I sit here eating my burrito bowl, I have to look back on history and say what is so different now? The weapons are massive, and they are at the press of a button. I hear my friends say that will never happen to us, God will never judge us like that, but show me a country anywhere that meets God's moral standard. He dealt with His own first, for their sin and apostasy. The American church, for the most part, avoids all such talk of God's Holiness and judgement. We sacrifice our children, have corrupt leaders that we do not speak out against until it affects our own comforts. What God has called sin we think falls under some other sort of dispensation, and much of the church looks more disgusting than the world. It is filled with false prophets and teachers, entertainers, but few shepherds. Repent.