ISAIAH 12-13: “
By
1.
INTRO
1.1.
In our last study we looked
at more of Isaiah’s prophesy concerning the coming Messiah. Isaiah told us that a ‘root’ and a ‘shoot’
shall come forth from Jesse, how the natures of both man and animals will be
changed during the Millennial Reign of Christ, and how that there will be a
second remnant that will be raised up of God’s faithful, however this remnant
will be a remnant of all Israel which will come from all corners of the earth
to Israel
1.1.1.
We saw how that Isaiah
continues His theme of the coming Messiah, as we saw that the Messiah will be
descended from Jesse
1.1.1.1.We also saw how that He is anointed by the Holy Spirit
1.1.1.2.We saw how that He will be just, fair, and righteous
1.1.2.
The natures of man and
animals to be changed must only occur during the Millennial Reign of Christ
1.1.3.
The faithful remnant of
Israel which returns must be that which occurred when Israel became a nation in
1948, and then when all Israel shall turn to Christ and be saved during the 7
year Tribulation of the book of Revelation
1.2.
In our study today we are
going to look at the song of praise and thanksgiving which the redeemed remnant
of Israel will sing when they are brought back from the four corners of the
earth to the land of Israel, and then we will also begin to look at the
judgment of the nations of the earth which the Lord said He would carry out,
starting with Babylon
1.2.1.
We will look at the origin
and significance of Babylon
1.2.2.
We will look at the
fulfillment of prophesy against Babylon
1.2.3.
We will look at
2.
VS 12:1-3 - “1 Then you will say on that day,
“I will give thanks to Thee, O Lord; For although Thou wast angry with me,
Thine anger is turned away, And Thou dost comfort me. 2 “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust
and not be afraid; For the Lord God is my strength and song, And He has become my
salvation. 3 Therefore you will joyously
draw water from the springs of salvation.”” - Isaiah tells us the song that the redeemed
remnant will sing when they return to the land
2.1.
In chapter 11, we saw that once again a
faithful remnant would return to the land, and that this remnant would consist
of both the northern and the southern kingdoms, and it would return from all of
the four corners of the earth. We saw
then that this remnant could only be interpreted as the return of the nation of
2.2.
Here in this chapter, we see the song that
this redeemed remnant will sing when they return to the land.
2.3.
This song is a song of salvation, for the
Lord has turned away His anger from this remnant and extended salvation to
them.
2.3.1.
The Lord says that He ‘was angry’ with them,
but now He comforts them.
2.3.2.
God is now the God of their salvation.
2.3.3.
When the Lord quits judging a people and
brings them salvation, they then learn to trust in the Lord and not live in
horrifying fear of the Lord.
2.3.4.
The Lord has now become the ‘strength and
song’ of this redeemed remnant that has returned to the
2.3.5.
They joyfully draw water from the springs of
salvation.
2.3.5.1.This
seems to be an intimation of the filling and anointing of the Holy Spirit in
the remnant’s lives.
3.
VS 12:4-6 - “4 And in that day you will say,
“Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name.
Make known His deeds among the peoples;
Make them remember that His name is exalted.” 5 Praise the Lord in song, for He has done
excellent things; Let this be known
throughout the earth. 6 Cry aloud and
shout for joy, O inhabitant of
3.1.
Coming to salvation is always an incentive to
worship for God’s people, for when He saves them they cannot help themselves
but to worship the Lord for what He has done for them.
3.2.
The newly redeemed remnant are called to
worship Him by:
3.2.1.
Giving thanks
3.2.2.
Calling on His name
3.2.3.
Making known His deeds
3.2.4.
Praising the Lord in song
3.2.5.
Crying aloud and shouting for joy
4.
VS 13:1 - “1 The oracle concerning
4.1.
The next several chapters of the book of
Isaiah record the Lord’s judgments that are to be poured out upon all of the
nations. The Lord is not only filled
with mercy and love, He is also a God who is righteous and just. We need to realize that because God is
righteous and just, sin has to be punished.
This is essential for a proper understanding of the Bible as well as the
gospel message itself. We cannot
appreciate Jesus coming and dying upon the cross for the sins of the world
unless we also realize that had Jesus not done this, each and every one of us
would have had to face the full fury of God’s wrath against us because of our
sins. In fact, Jesus death upon the
cross was unnecessary and horribly cruel therefore if men were not going to
face the full fury of God’s wrath against their for their sins if Jesus didn’t
die upon the cross for them. Also,
unless a person receives Christ as his Lord and Savior in this life, he is
going to face the full fury of God’s wrath against him for eternity in hell
because of his sins which he has committed.
4.1.1.
Today, most churches do not teach about the
wrath of God, or the justice of God, or hell, because they think that people
will be turned off if they do. However,
in doing so they are not preaching a gospel that has any power to save the
souls of men. They are teaching a false
gospel, giving people false hope, and they are deceiving and leading astray the
souls of men for which they will incur God’s anger in judgment themselves.
4.2.
4.3.
Our translation has ‘oracle’ for the Hebrew
word that most translations have as ‘burden’. ‘Burden’ is actually a good translation of
this Hebrew word. There is a ‘burden’
which Isaiah will pronounce against each of the nations whom the Lord shall
judge.
4.3.1.
It is a ‘burden’ because it deals with
judgment from the Lord.
4.3.2.
It is a ‘burden’ because Isaiah is overcome
with grief for those who will come to judgment.
4.4.
We will see eventually that the Lord is going
to judge all of the nations on the earth, for all have spurned Him and turned
away from Him.
4.5.
It is fitting that
4.5.1.
It was the first of the nations to exist,
therefore it should be listed as the first to fall by the judgment of the Lord.
4.5.1.1.We
read in Genesis that the people had built a big tower in
4.5.2.
4.5.2.1.
4.5.2.2.We
see in Revelation chapters 17 and 18 we see that during the 7 year Tribulation
of the book of Revelation that there will be the fall of religious Babylon,
which symbolizes all of the false religions of the world, and then of
commercial Babylon, which symbolizes all of the corruption of business and
commerce throughout the world.
4.5.2.2.1.In
Revelation 17:5 we see the name
that is given to religious Babylon as being the mother of all of the
abominations of the earth, “5 and upon her forehead
a name was written, a mystery, “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF
THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.””
4.5.2.3.
4.6.
What we have to come to grips with as we study
chapter 13, as well as chapter 14, is when in the course of time Isaiah was
foreseeing judgment that would happen to
4.6.1.
Most people tend to take the view that there
is probably going to be an in initial and a later fulfillment of the judgments of
these prophesies in these chapters.
5.
VS 13:2-3 - “2 Lift up a standard on the bare
hill, Raise your voice to them, Wave the hand that they may enter the doors of
the nobles. 3 I have commanded My
consecrated ones, I have even called My mighty warriors, My proudly exulting
ones, To execute My anger.” - Isaiah tells the people to lift a standard or
signal on the hills to tell
5.1.
Some translations have ‘banner’ translated
for this Hebrew word translated ‘standard’ here. The meaning is the same, Isaiah is telling
the people to raise a flag, banner, or whatever to signal to everyone that
5.2.
Again, as we saw earlier in a previous
chapter, the sovereignty of the Lord is seen in that He is choosing to use a
wicked people or nation to execute His wrath upon a nation.
5.2.1.
Previously, the Lord had used Assyria to
humble the nations, including the northern and southern kingdoms of
5.2.2.
The Lord can do what He wants to do in the
world, and in His doing so no one is exempted from their own responsibility for
their sin.
6.
VS 13:4-5 - “4 A sound of tumult on the
mountains, Like that of many people! A
sound of the uproar of kingdoms, Of
nations gathered together! The Lord of
hosts is mustering the army for battle.
5 They are coming from a far country From the farthest horizons, The
Lord and His instruments of indignation, To destroy the whole land.” - Isaiah tells us that kingdoms
and nations are coming from far away to destroy
6.1.
Judgment will come upon
6.2.
The Lord promises through Isaiah that He is
going to destroy the whole land.
6.3.
This judgment that was prophesied against
6.3.1.
Warren Wiersbe
writes the following about the destruction and decline of
6.3.2.
When we see that religious Babylon and
commercial Babylon are to be destroyed during the 7 year Tribulation of the
book of Revelation, chapters 17 and 18 respectively, we have to ask the
question of whether or not the city itself will be rebuilt for that judgment to
occur, or whether Babylon in those chapters is only symbolic of rebellious man
and thus there is not meant to be a literal fulfillment of the prophesy.
6.3.2.1.The
ruins of the city of Babylon lie in modern day Iraq, and Sadam Hussein, the
leader of Iraq has in the past made some statements about rebuilding the city
and of he being the head of a resurrected Babylonian empire, however it does
not appear that in the last several years that he has made a serious attempt to
rebuild Babylon. If he does end up
rebuilding the city, then I believe we will be seeing a literal fulfillment of
those chapters in Revelation fulfilled in the city of
7.
VS 13:6-9 - “6 Wail, for the day of the Lord
is near! It will come as destruction
from the Almighty. 7 Therefore all hands
will fall limp, And every man’s heart will melt. 8 And they will be terrified, Pains and
anguish will take hold of them; They
will writhe like a woman in labor, They will look at one another in
astonishment, Their faces aflame. 9
Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To
make the land a desolation; And He will
exterminate its sinners from it.” - Isaiah describes the emotional composure of
the citizens of
7.1.
This prophesy against Babylon is a ‘burden’
upon Isaiah, and he declares to the people to ‘wail’ because of the ‘day of the
Lord’, or the day of judgment from the Lord, which is near and will be a day of
complete destruction.
7.2.
Isaiah describes the emotional composure of
the people of
7.2.1.
They will be terrified
and that pains and anguish will take hold of them.
7.2.2.
They will be besides
themselves in their moment of agony, just like a woman
writhing in labor to have a child.
7.2.3.
They will be astonished and
embarrassed.
7.2.3.1.Their
faces will be ‘aflame’ with embarrassment when they see their once mighty city
(and nation) being destroyed.
7.2.4.
They will be complacent
as there will be no spirit within them to fight and to defend themselves
against their enemies all about, for Isaiah writes that ‘all hands will fall
limp and every man’s heart will melt.’
7.3.
As I have mentioned before, judgment is that
work of the Lord that is called, ‘His strange work’, for the Lord much prefers
to reveal His love, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, etc. However, one day the Lord will rise up and
judge all people who in defiance finally and completely refuse to submit to His
lordship and rule in their life.
7.3.1.
When the Lord finally begins to judge
unrepentant men, His judgment is described here by Isaiah as being ‘cruel, with
fury and burning anger’.
7.3.2.
The Lord will have no compassion when He
finally begins to judge the nations.
7.3.3.
The Lord promises here that ‘He will
exterminate its sinners from it’, for there will be none who are unrighteous
who will enter the kingdom of heaven.
7.3.3.1.In
Hebrews 12:14, the author of that book
writes about how that without ‘sanctification’ unto the Lord that there will be
no one who will ‘see the Lord’, or in other words who will be brought to
salvation and be in heaven with the Lord, “14 Pursue
peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the
Lord.”
8.
VS 13:10-13 - “10 For the stars of heaven and
their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises, And the
moon will not shed its light. 11 Thus I
will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of
the proud, And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless.12 I will make mortal man
scarcer than pure gold, And mankind than the gold of Ophir. 13 Therefore I shall make the heavens
tremble, And the earth will be shaken from its place At the fury of the Lord of
hosts In the day of His burning anger.” - Isaiah tells us that when the Lord begins to
judge the nations that there will be signs in the heavens
8.1.
Someone once pointed out that the heavens
work in sympathy with the Lord and that we see this when the sky blackened as
Christ writhed in agony upon the cross of Calvary, and we also see this when
the Lord begins to judge the nations of the world who have in defiance rebelled
and turned completely away from Him, as the heavens are darkened and tremble.
8.2.
In Matt. 24:29-31,
Jesus taught us that at the end of the 7 year Tribulation of the book of
Revelation that very similar signs in the heavens would occur as described here
by Isaiah, “29 “But immediately
after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will
not give its light, and the stars will fall
from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken,30 and then
the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of
the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of
the sky with power and great glory.31
“And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from
the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”
8.2.1.
These events will be occurring as the Lord is
judging the nations.
8.3.
The heavens will be darkened, including the
sun and moon, the heavens will tremble and the earth will shake, and this will
occur because the Lord is going to judge the arrogance, pride, and haughtiness
of man during this judgment of
8.4.
When we study this chapter and the next, we
are confronted with a few questions as we look at what is prophesied against
8.4.1. How literal is this description of the events that
are to occur when
8.4.1.1.It
must be the literal city of
8.4.2. Is this judgment going to be only against
8.4.2.1.Babylon
is the first of the nations whom Isaiah tells us will be judged, however after
telling us about Babylon’s destruction, Isaiah will tell us about the
destruction of the Medes, and on and on, and eventually he will reveal that all
of the nations will be judged by the Lord for all have rebelled against Him.
8.4.2.2.The
description of the darkening of sun and mon, and the trembling of the heavens
and the shaking of the earth, seem to be signs that would have to be global,
and therefore perhaps we would have to say that the final and complete
fulfillment of this prophesy could not occur except during the judgment that is
going to come against all of the nations during the 7 year Tribulation of the
book of Revelation.
8.4.3. Are these events to be fulfilled in the future, or
were they fulfilled in the past? Could
there be a dual fulfillment that will occur?
8.4.3.1.We
will see in the next chapter that the destruction of Babylon is described as
being a complete destruction and that after this destruction Babylon will never
again be inhabited, however history reveals to us that Babylon was never really
completely destroyed as described by Isaiah, and that a small city has always
dwelt on her ruins. Therefore, I believe
that there must be a dual fulfillment of this prophesy, the first by the
Assyrians, and that it is most likely that the city of
9.
VS 13:14-16 - “14 And it will be that like a
hunted gazelle, Or like sheep with none to gather them, They will each turn to his own people, And
each one flee to his own land. 15 Anyone
who is found will be thrust through, And anyone who is captured will fall by
the sword. 16 Their little ones also
will be dashed to pieces Before their eyes;
Their houses will be plundered And their wives ravished.” - Isaiah describes for us how
that none in
9.1.
Isaiah tells us of the horrors of war and
that there will be nowhere to turn or escape for the Babylonians when the Lord
begins to judge them.
9.1.1.
When the Lord turns to judge a people there
is nowhere for them to turn, for they will be like a boxed in gazelle who is
being ‘hunted’ and who is constantly being pursued at every turn that it makes.
9.1.2.
In vain, the Babylonians are looking for
refuge from their own people, and many are trying to flee to their original
homeland.
9.1.3.
Their judgment is assured for they will be
‘thrust through’, all who are captured.
9.1.4.
Again we see that when the Lord begins to
judge that He will have no compassion, for we see here that the Lord’s judgment
will include even having the Babylonian’s children, their ‘little ones’, dashed
to pieces.
9.1.5.
Houses and households will be plundered, and
the women raped.
10.
VS 13:17-18 - “17 Behold, I am going to stir up
the Medes against them, Who will not value silver or take pleasure in gold, 18
And their bows will mow down the young men, They will not even have compassion
on the fruit of the womb, Nor will their eye pity children.” - Isaiah tells us that the
Medes will come against
10.1.
The
Medes refers to
10.2.
Isaiah tells us that the Assyrians do not
merely want the goods and valuables of the Babylonians, they want to obliterate
every single one of them, including women and children. Their intention is to kill their young men,
their children and even their babies (within and without the wombs of their
mothers).
10.3.
Interestingly, after Isaiah wraps up his
description of the destruction that is going to come against Babylon at the
hands of the Assyrians (the Medes), he starts up his description of the
judgment that is going to occur against the Medes, and Babylon will come back
from its destruction and be the one who conquers the Medes, performing the
judgment of the Lord against her.
11.
VS 13:19-22 - “19 And
11.1.
Again, we see Babylon in these verses as
being more than just a city (or even a nation) but something of a symbol, for
Isaiah tells us that it is ‘the beauty of kingdoms the glory of the Chaldean’s
pride’.
11.2.
As a symbol of man’s defiance and rebellion
against the Lord, the Lord must be sure to humble and abase her in the greatest
sense.
11.3.
We see here that Babylon is described after
this judgment that was to come as never being inhabited again from generation
to generation, and yet we see that there has always been a small city on the
ruins of the city, and that it’s decline really occurred gradually, aside from
the destruction in 689 B.C. by Sennacherib and the Assyrian army, yet even
after that defeat the city was rebuilt and eventually used by the Lord to judge
Assyria. This is the main reason that
most Bible scholars have concluded that the destruction of
11.4.
It has been the case throughout history
subsequent to
11.5.
It is also been said that throughout the
centuries since Babylon’s decline that Arabs will not pitch a tent on the ruins
of the city of Babylon because out of superstition it is feared that they are
possessed by evil spirits.