The Burden against Babylon
“This is the burden against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz received: Raise a banner on a barren hilltop; call aloud to them. Wave your hand, that they may enter the gates of the nobles. I have commanded My sanctified ones; I have even summoned My warriors to execute My wrath and exult in My triumph.
Listen, a tumult on the mountains, like that of a great multitude! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations gathered together! The LORD of Hosts musters an army for war. They are coming from faraway lands, from the ends of the heavens—the LORD and the weapons of His wrath—to destroy the whole country. Wail, for the Day of the LORD is near; it will come as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will fall limp, and every man’s heart will melt. Terror, pain, and anguish will seize them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look in astonishment at one another, their faces aflame with fear. Behold, the Day of the LORD is coming— cruel, with fury and burning anger— to make the earth a desolation and to destroy the sinners within it.
For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light. The sun will be darkened when it rises, and the moon will not give its light. I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity. I will end the haughtiness of the arrogant and humiliate the pride of tyrants. I will make man scarcer than pure gold, and mankind rarer than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken from its place at the wrath of the LORD of Hosts on the day of His burning anger.
Like a hunted gazelle, like a sheep without a shepherd, each will return to his own people, each will flee to his native land. Whoever is caught will be stabbed, and whoever is captured will die by the sword. Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes, their houses will be looted, and their wives will be ravished.
Behold, I will stir up against them the Medes, who have no regard for silver and no desire for gold. Their bows will dash young men to pieces; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; they will not look with pity on the children.
And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah. She will never be inhabited or settled from generation to generation; no nomad will pitch his tent there, no shepherd will rest his flock there. But desert creatures will lie down there, and howling creatures will fill her houses. The owls will dwell there, and wild goats will leap about. Hyenas will howl in her fortresses and jackals in her luxurious palaces. Babylon’s time is at hand, and her days will not be prolonged.”
It’s a mistake to assume that prophesies only operate on one level. Ostensibly, this prophecy concerns the kingdom of Babylon, a kingdom that was not at all important when Isaiah was alive. At the same time, this prophecy also describes the end of time when the Lord will return to the earth to judge it. Those listening to Isaiah would recognize the descriptions of a vast implacable army that would swoop in, killing people of all ages, even ripping open the wombs of pregnant women. Murder, looting, burning, rape – these were all standard practices for invaders in those days.
But what about these phrases? “For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light. The sun will be darkened when it rises, and the moon will not give its light. I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity. I will end the haughtiness of the arrogant and humiliate the pride of tyrants. I will make man scarcer than pure gold, and mankind rarer than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken from its place at the wrath of the LORD of Hosts on the day of His burning anger.”
People might assume that these descriptions refer to clouds of smoke from a burning city that would obscure the sun, the moon, and the stars. But here God seems to be issuing a far greater warning. These verses appear to be warning mankind in general that God will judge them and that on that day all heavenly light will be extinguished. Part of this warning might have come because many people were worshiping the sun, the moon, and the stars. Here God is reminding them that He is the Creator and therefore he can extinguish the light of the heavenly beings at will.
APPLICATION: People who refuse to believe Biblical prophecy hate these passages. Isaiah began prophesying when King Uzziah died in 740 B.C. and continued until at least 686 B.C., a matter of 54 years. Some sources even suggest that Isaiah prophesied for a total of 64 years, at which point wicked King Manasseh had him murdered. The important thing is this: Isaiah was predicting events that only took place many years after his death. Despite many attempts to claim that someone wrote parts of Isaiah after the events had taken place, many Jewish and Christian scholars firmly believe that Isaiah did write all of this book. (It is sad but true that some of the same people who refuse to believe in Isaiah as a prophet are willing to believe in UFO’s and all kinds of paranormal phenomena. Perhaps the problem is not the prophecies themselves but accepting the God behind the prophecies.)
Sennacherib of Assyria destroyed Babylon in 689 B. C. At that point, the Medes were not even a world power. After Sennacherib’s death, his son Esarhaddon began to rebuild Babylon. After Babylon rebelled against Assyria in 626 B.C., it became a separate kingdom that grew progressively in strength. The Medes and the Babylonians came together in 612 to defeat Nineveh and the rest of the Assyrian empire. The Babylonians took the former Assyrian lands while the Medes took the rest of the empire. Babylon grew to be an enormous city and a world power; however, in 539 B.C., Cyrus King of Persia conquered it, putting Darius the Mede in charge. Subsequently, Babylon rebelled and was eventually destroyed just as Isaiah had prophesied. Wild animals took over the ruins.
In modern times, there has been an attempt to rebuild Babylon. “ In 1978, the president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, began to rebuild some of the ancient buildings of Babylon. Some of the temples have been built again and also a palace, some walls and an amphitheater (Amatzia Baram, Culture, History, and Ideology in the Formation of Ba‘thist Iraq, 1968-89, 1991, p. 47). But today, Babylon is still an empty city. In times of peace tourists can go see the partially rebuilt ruins of Babylon that have remained empty for almost 2,000 years. The city is exactly like Isaiah predicted: “It will never be inhabited, nor will it be settled from generation to generation” (Isaiah 13:20)” (https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/a-prophecy-about-babylon-confirms-the-accuracy-of-the-bible)
It is likely that Saddam Hussein attempted to rebuild Babylon to prove that the Biblical prophesies were wrong; however, Hussein himself wound up dying instead. Was Hussein trying to defy the God of Israel? Possibly. Unfortunately, Hussein failed to appreciate the power of the God whom he was attempting to flaunt.
The test of a prophet is whether or not his/her prophecies come true. Isaiah’s prophecies have stood the test of time. Now it is left for those of us who believe to consider the warnings about God’s wrath and God’s judgement. Jesus himself warned his disciples that he would return at a time that nobody could predict.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 says, “1Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5 You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
At Christmas we celebrate Jesus’ birth. But Jesus is no longer that cute little baby in the manger. Jesus is now King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Soon Coming One who will reign over the entire earth. When John the disciple who was closer to Jesus than anyone else saw Jesus in his vision on the Island of Patmos, he fell down in worship before Him. Let us also worship Jesus – not just a baby – but our Lord and our King!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to know You as You really are – King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Maker and Ruler of the Universe. We confess that we are sinners and that nothing we can do will make up for our sins. Lord, forgive our sins and heal our sin nature. Help us to worship You all the days of our lives. In Your mighty and precious Name, King Jesus. Amen.
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