Isaiah 13
Today’s Passage: Isaiah 13
Isaiah 13 opens with an “oracle concerning Babylon.” If you know your Bible, you’ve heard of the Babylonian Exile. This is the period where God temporarily displaced Israel from the Land because of disobedience. Personally, I think the Babylonian Exile is the most important Old Testament event, second only to the Exodus. It’s a super important aspect of Israel’s history.
However, the odd thing about Isaiah’s mention of Babylon here is that Babylon is about a century and a half from coming into its own as an imperial power. Assyria was the dominate power of the day. It was Assyria that God used to punish the northern kingdom of Israel. And, it was later that Babylon arose over Assyria and, ultimately, God used to bring the judgment to Israel that we read about in today’s passage.
Looking at verses 4–5, the Babylonian army is fearsome. It’s described as a great multitude and the Lord’s weapon of his indignation. As Isaiah continues, there’s so many descriptive words that should rattle the reader—“all hands will be feeble,” “human hearts will melt,” “they will look aghast at one another.”
The Lord’s judgment on Israel will come suddenly and be terrible in its destruction. However, God will not let the guilty go unpunished. God’s divine hand will bring victory to Babylon, but it will also bring its demise.
It’s very possible that verses 2–16 might be eschatological—it’s describing a future judgment that hasn’t yet taken place. After all, Babylon is often used in a generic sense as the enemy world-power to God.
The reason that I think this passage refers specifically to Babylon and the Exile is because of verse 17. God raised up the Medo-Persian empire as the next great world power after Babylon. Ultimately it was the Medo-Persians that crushed Babylon exactly as Isaiah described. That’s true history that God declared over a hundred years before it happened.
So, what do we do with this? There are a few things that should give us pause and make us think, but the thing that comes to mind is our perspective on winning and losing isn’t always the same as God’s perspective on winning and losing. As the Babylonian Empire gained momentum and dominated the world, they looked like winners. They certainly didn’t look like pawns in the hands of Israel’s God. By defeating Israel, they looked like they had defeated Israel’s God. To all the world, Babylon looked like winners all the while storing up wrath upon themselves to be carried out by the Medo-Persian empire.
If the Babylonians looked to the world like they were winning, what does that mean for those who continue in sin as if we won’t face consequences? A lack of punishment doesn’t mean sin doesn’t bring punishment—it doesn’t mean that person is winning. From God’s perspective, the one who looks like they’re winning is often headed toward losing big.
Additionally, a person who looks like they’re losing may not have the perspective to see how God is at work in their lives. Isaiah 14:1 proclaims the Lord’s restoration of Israel to the Land. Even in seeming devastation, God was at work. You may be going through something now, but you can rest assured, God is at work in you too.
Written By: Tyler Short
Isaiah 13 opens with an “oracle concerning Babylon.” If you know your Bible, you’ve heard of the Babylonian Exile. This is the period where God temporarily displaced Israel from the Land because of disobedience. Personally, I think the Babylonian Exile is the most important Old Testament event, second only to the Exodus. It’s a super important aspect of Israel’s history.
However, the odd thing about Isaiah’s mention of Babylon here is that Babylon is about a century and a half from coming into its own as an imperial power. Assyria was the dominate power of the day. It was Assyria that God used to punish the northern kingdom of Israel. And, it was later that Babylon arose over Assyria and, ultimately, God used to bring the judgment to Israel that we read about in today’s passage.
Looking at verses 4–5, the Babylonian army is fearsome. It’s described as a great multitude and the Lord’s weapon of his indignation. As Isaiah continues, there’s so many descriptive words that should rattle the reader—“all hands will be feeble,” “human hearts will melt,” “they will look aghast at one another.”
The Lord’s judgment on Israel will come suddenly and be terrible in its destruction. However, God will not let the guilty go unpunished. God’s divine hand will bring victory to Babylon, but it will also bring its demise.
It’s very possible that verses 2–16 might be eschatological—it’s describing a future judgment that hasn’t yet taken place. After all, Babylon is often used in a generic sense as the enemy world-power to God.
The reason that I think this passage refers specifically to Babylon and the Exile is because of verse 17. God raised up the Medo-Persian empire as the next great world power after Babylon. Ultimately it was the Medo-Persians that crushed Babylon exactly as Isaiah described. That’s true history that God declared over a hundred years before it happened.
So, what do we do with this? There are a few things that should give us pause and make us think, but the thing that comes to mind is our perspective on winning and losing isn’t always the same as God’s perspective on winning and losing. As the Babylonian Empire gained momentum and dominated the world, they looked like winners. They certainly didn’t look like pawns in the hands of Israel’s God. By defeating Israel, they looked like they had defeated Israel’s God. To all the world, Babylon looked like winners all the while storing up wrath upon themselves to be carried out by the Medo-Persian empire.
If the Babylonians looked to the world like they were winning, what does that mean for those who continue in sin as if we won’t face consequences? A lack of punishment doesn’t mean sin doesn’t bring punishment—it doesn’t mean that person is winning. From God’s perspective, the one who looks like they’re winning is often headed toward losing big.
Additionally, a person who looks like they’re losing may not have the perspective to see how God is at work in their lives. Isaiah 14:1 proclaims the Lord’s restoration of Israel to the Land. Even in seeming devastation, God was at work. You may be going through something now, but you can rest assured, God is at work in you too.
Written By: Tyler Short
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