Babylon Is Fallen (Revelation 18:1-8)
“This is the burden against the Desert by the Sea: Like whirlwinds sweeping through the Negev, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror. A dire vision is declared to me: “The traitor still betrays, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, O Elam! Lay siege, O Media! I will put an end to all her groaning.” Therefore my body is filled with anguish. Pain grips me, like the pains of a woman in labor. I am bewildered to hear; I am dismayed to see. My heart staggers; fear makes me tremble. The twilight of my desire has turned to horror.
They prepare a table, they lay out a carpet, they eat, they drink! Rise up, O princes, oil the shields! For this is what the Lord says to me: “Go, post a lookout to report what he sees. When he sees chariots with teams of horsemen,
riders on donkeys, riders on camels, he must be alert, fully alert.” Then the lookout shouted, “Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower; night after night I stay at my post. Look, here come the riders, horsemen in pairs.”
And one answered, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon! All the images of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”
O my people, crushed on the threshing floor, I tell you what I have heard from the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel.
The Burden against Edom
This is the burden against Dumah: One calls to me from Seir, “Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?” The watchman replies, “Morning has come, but also the night. If you would inquire, then inquire. Come back yet again.” (“Dumah” is a word play on “Edom” meaning silence. The implication here is that after the Assyrians sweep through, the land of Edom will be totally uninhabited and silent.)
The Burden against Arabia
This is the burden against Arabia: In the thickets of Arabia you must lodge, O caravans of Dedanites. Bring water for the thirsty, O dwellers of Tema; meet the refugees with food. For they flee from the sword, the sword that is drawn, from the bow that is bent, and from the stress of battle. For this is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a hired worker would count it, all the glory of Kedar will be gone. The remaining archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.” For the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.”
Babylon, Edom, and Arabia – three kingdoms with the same impending fate, a fate so terrible that Isaiah says, “Therefore my body is filled with anguish. Pain grips me, like the pains of a woman in labor. I am bewildered to hear, I am dismayed to see. My heart staggers; fear makes me tremble. The twilight of my desire has turned to horror.”
The world is full of self – styled prophets who love to proclaim wonderful blessings while rapt audiences applaud and shout encouragement. But Isaiah is one of the greatest prophets who has ever lived; yet, some of the visions God has revealed are so terrible that Isaiah is at the point of collapse from the horror.
In a single prophecy God shows Isaiah the destruction of three kingdoms by the Assyrians. While other nations merely kill and take captives, the Assyrians lop off heads with captains competing to see who will have the highest head count. The Assyrians flay their victims alive for maximum suffering. While other nations merely take a land and settle it with new people whom they have already captured, the Assyrians pursue a scorched earth policy, leaving only ashes and rocky barren land in their wake.
Here is what the historian Simon Anglin says regarding Assyria: “The Assyrians created the world’s first great army and the world’s first great empire. This was held together by two factors: their superior abilities in siege warfare and their reliance on sheer, unadulterated terror. It was Assyrian policy always to demand that examples be made of those who resisted them; this included deportations of entire peoples and horrific physical punishments. One inscription from a temple in the city of Nimrod records the fate of the leaders of the city of Suru on the Euphrates River, who rebelled from, and were reconquered by, King Ashurbanipal: I built a pillar at the city gate and I flayed all the chief men who had revolted and I covered the pillar with their skins; some I walled up inside the pillar, some I impaled upon the pillar on stakes.” Such punishments were not uncommon. Furthermore, inscriptions recording these vicious acts of retribution were displayed throughout the empire to serve as a warning. Yet this officially sanctioned cruelty seems to have had the opposite effect: though the Assyrians and their army were respected and feared, they were most of all hated and the subjects of their empire were in an almost constant state of rebellion.” (https://www.worldhistory.org/Assyrian_Warfare/)
The Assyrian attack on Arabia will be so terrible that refugees will be hiding in thickets. The term “Kedar” refers to a loose confederation of nomadic Arab states who trace their lineage back to Abraham’s son Ishmael. At times, the armies of Kedar have allied with the Babylonians and others; however, now Isaiah is predicting that those armies will be shattered, never to rise again.
APPLICATION: How do we react when the Will of God forces us to face tragic realities? The last three years, many of us have either had COVID or have friends and loved ones who have suffered with it. Some of us have watched helpless as those most dear to us have died with COVID; others are continuing to struggle with “long COVID” symptoms. The COVID pandemic has brought economic devastation to many economies around the world, leaving the very poor suffering even more than they were before.
Now we are being warned of a COVID resurgence with potentially disastrous implications. Isaiah was prophesying during times of relative wealth for the nation of Judah; however, spiritually, Judah was rotting. The spiritual state of Judah was reminiscent of the live oaks in the city of New Orleans. Streets in the older parts of New Orleans used to be lined with huge live oak trees that spread their branches across the streets, giving shade and coolness. But when a naval base began operating in New Orleans during World War II, ships from Taiwan brought an alarming pest to New Orleans – Formosan termites arrived in wood crates from the Far East. When these termites were at home, their activities were controlled by a harsh climate; however, New Orleans has a semi – tropical climate with very mild winters, allowing the termites to live and work year – round. These termites have adapted readily to these more favorable conditions and have been feasting on trees, particularly live oaks. When Hurricane Katrina blew through New Orleans, many of these live oaks that appeared so strong toppled because they had been hollowed out by Formosan termites.
The constant message that Isaiah continues to present throughout all of his prophecies is this: No empire, no king, no army – nothing can save us apart from reliance on the One True Living God. Watchmen may scan the horizons for approaching armies. Refugees may flee ahead of the fire storms. But in the end, only God can truly rescue us.
All of us face uncertain futures; however, if we will trust in God, He will never leave us or forsake us. For Isaiah, it is this trust in God that allows him to continue to utter gloomy prophecies without succumbing to despair.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Help us to trust in You, knowing that You will never abandon us and that You are our only true Source of help. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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