#983 Isaiah 21 Anguish and Hope

 

The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea.

As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,

it comes from the wilderness,

from a terrible land.

2 A stern vision is told to me;

the traitor betrays,

and the destroyer destroys.

Go up, O Elam;

lay siege, O Media;

all the sighing she has caused

I bring to an end.

3 Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;

pangs have seized me,

like the pangs of a woman in labor;

I am bowed down so that I cannot hear;

I am dismayed so that I cannot see.

4 My heart staggers; horror has appalled me;

the twilight I longed for

has been turned for me into trembling.

5 They prepare the table,

they spread the rugs,

they eat, they drink.

Arise, O princes;

oil the shield!

6 For thus the Lord said to me:

“Go, set a watchman;

let him announce what he sees.

7 When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,

riders on donkeys, riders on camels,

let him listen diligently,

very diligently.”

8 Then he who saw cried out:

“Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,

continually by day,

and at my post I am stationed

whole nights.

9 And behold, here come riders,

horsemen in pairs!”

And he answered,

“Fallen, fallen is Babylon;

and all the carved images of her gods

he has shattered to the ground.”

10 O my threshed and winnowed one,

what I have heard from the Lord of hosts,

the God of Israel, I announce to you.

11 The oracle concerning Dumah.

One is calling to me from Seir,

“Watchman, what time of the night?

Watchman, what time of the night?”

12 The watchman says:

“Morning comes, and also the night.

If you will inquire, inquire;

come back again.”

13 The oracle concerning Arabia.

In the thickets in Arabia you will lodge,

O caravans of Dedanites.

14 To the thirsty bring water;

meet the fugitive with bread,

O inhabitants of the land of Tema.

15 For they have fled from the swords,

from the drawn sword,

from the bent bow,

and from the press of battle.

16 For thus the Lord said to me, “Within a year, according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end. 17 And the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of Kedar will be few, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.” Isaiah 21 ESV

Isaiah 21 Fallen, Fallen is Babylon

1-10. Concerning the wilderness of the sea - The prophet casts this burden concerning Babylon. It was a place of great plains, rivers and lakes, a lot of flat, grazing and farming land. 

“And the title of the sea might well be given to the waters of Babylon, because of the great plenty and multitude of them… the name of sea being given by the Hebrews to every great collection of waters.” (Poole)

As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on - Some interpret the Negeb as "south", but in Biblical times, Isaiah's listeners would relate to this as a particular geographical location. The root means "to be dry", and this is the parched land south of Judah, so it would bring up a definite image in the minds of his Judaic listeners in what is now called Yehuda. Sweeping through as though there was no opposition to this oracle "burden". It is of interesting note that the Negeb region has archeological sites predating this time that reveal a land that was much more populated back then. The current arid conditions described in the name would not have been sufficient to support such large societies, persuading many to believe that there was a climate change that occurred in this region some time after the patriarchs. 

16So Joshua took this entire region: the hill country, all the Negev, all the land of Goshen, the western foothills, the Arabah, and the mountains of Israel and their foothills,17from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, as far as Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and struck them down, putting them to death.… Joshua 11: 16-17

From a terrible land - The land of the Medes, a very fierce people. The seat of Babylon would be in modern day Iraq, and Persia would be modern day Iran.

The destroyer destroys - Elam and Media are the names for the people of Persia. God will use one instrument of His wrath against the previous instrument. Isaiah is foretelling the Persian overthrow of Babylon.

All the sighing she caused - Babylon had oppressed many people during her reign, and the outcry of her victims, their despair, was going to be answered. God was bringing an end to the suffering under Babylonian rule.

Like the pangs of a woman in labor - A woman in child labor knows what is coming, she knows why she is in pain. The prophet is not just talking but feeling a physical sign of Babylon's terror. I don't think they are without knowledge of this, as this was prophesied by Isaiah long before that day, and Daniel and other prophets lived in Babylon. 

They prepare the table - Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you may die; this is all they know, this life and it's many indulgences. Judgment is certain as the writing on the wall, but they will stoically go on as before, throw a party, and look to the bottle, for they are physically alive but still spiritually dead.  

As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.

5 Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. 6 His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking. Daniel 5: 4-6

Arise, O princes oil the shield - They anointed their shields, some say making them more slippery, and to keep them from rusting. This is a sudden and quick turn around from the party, some preparation for battle.

Go, set a watchman, let him announce what he sees - This could well mean a prophet, as well as the plain sense of what the person on the tower would hear. 

Fallen, fallen is Babylon - When the horses come, so comes the news, as in the end times, and the times of Noah, they would be eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage. Her labor pains do not end in the joy of a child, but rather the joy comes to those she has oppressed.

The same panic and terror the people of Babylon felt when that great city was conquered by the Medes and Persians will be seen again. When the LORD strikes the world system, both spiritual Babylon and commercial Babylon, the world will be terrified and mourn the same way (Revelation 18:9-19). But God’s people rejoice over the fall of Babylon (Revelation 18:20). 

And all the carved images of her gods - God, by the army of Cyrus, has destroyed what Babylon thought to be gods, yet none could deliver her. She, who stood proud, has been brought low.

11-12. Burden of Dumah - What follows is very vague to me right now, maybe there is more in a later book. They had suffered under the Babylonians as well, so maybe the continual inquiry and encouragement to come again, was a desire to know the outcome of Babylon, and an expectation of the Medes and Persians.

a. Dumah was another ancient name for the kingdom of Edom, in the mountainous region of Seir. The Edomites descended from Esau, the brother of Jacob (Israel). They settled in the land to the south-east of Israel and were the sometimes enemies of Israel. - Enduring Word

13-17. The burden against Arabia - The Dedanites, merchant traders, would not be housed in the cities but rather in the thickets, the wild areas of Arabia, and the Arabs would be fugitives from the Assyrian invaders, which would happen in a year. War would leave many refugees.