Contrinutor: Isekhua Evborokhai
INTRODUCTION
Today’s study of Chapter 47 concerns the fall of Babylon, personified as a woman, referred to as "the virgin daughter of Babylon", "daughter of the Chaldeans", no longer to be called "the Lady of Kingdoms" or "a Lady for ever". God’s punishment of Babylon was a righteous one that no one can condemn. Although as we have seen through the scriptures, God often permits wicked kings and nations to prevail against His people; but those who cruelly oppress His people will be punished. Today’s study also serves as a warning to us today against the sin of pride.
Verses 1-3: Babylon, represented as a woman, is humbled.
“Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no more be called Tender and delicate. Take the millstones and grind meal. Remove your veil, Take off the skirt, Uncover the thigh, Pass through the rivers. Your nakedness shall be uncovered, Yes, your shame will be seen; I will take vengeance, And I will not arbitrate with a man.”
The prophet Isaiah pictures proud Babylon as a humiliated woman, who shall no more be called tender and delicate. Stripped of her fine clothing and forced to march into a foreign land (pass through the rivers). The humiliation God will impose on Babylon is exactly the humiliation she put upon Judah and Jerusalem. God’s decision to humble Babylon, was Him taking vengeance that no one can talk Him out of. Rev.17:5-6 says:
“5 There was a name written on her forehead which had a secret meaning. It said, “The big and powerful Babylon, mother of all women who sell the use of their bodies and mother of everything sinful of the earth.” 6 I looked at the woman. She was drunk with the blood of God’s people and those who had been killed for telling about Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered very much.”
Sin may look pleasant on the outside but it’s always destructive. Those who trust in the way of sin will be shamed when the pleasant exterior crumbles.
Verse 4: The LORD of hosts is glorified.
“As for our Redeemer, the LORD of hosts is His name, The Holy One of Israel.”
As for our Redeemer: Seemingly, Isaiah cannot help himself – when he sees how God will take vengeance on this enemy of God’s people, he praises God and boasts in his Redeemer.
Verses 5-7:Why God will humble Babylon.
“Sit in silence, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; For you shall no longer be called The Lady of Kingdoms. I was angry with My people; I have profaned My inheritance, And given them into your hand. You showed them no mercy; On the elderly you laid your yoke very heavily. And you said, ‘I shall be a lady forever,’ So that you did not take these things to heart, Nor remember the latter end of them.”
Babylon thought that she conquered Judah and Jerusalem through her own power. But she really conquered them because God was angry with His people, and therefore used Babylon
as an instrument of His work. God says, “You didn’t know that I had given them into your hand.”
As an instrument in God’s hand, Babylon enforced their wickedness in their attack on God’s people. Even though God allowed it and used it, they still should have shown mercy to God’s people. We are always safe when we take the path of mercy.
And you said, “I shall be a lady forever”: Babylon was blind, Babylon was cruel, and now Babylon is shown to be proud and presumptuous. For all these reasons, God promised to humble Babylon.
Verses 8-9:Why sudden humiliation comes to Babylon.
“Therefore hear this now, you who are given to pleasures, Who dwell securely, Who say in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, Nor shall I know the loss of children’; But these two things shall come to you In a moment, in one day: The loss of children, and widowhood. They shall come upon you in their fullness Because of the multitude of your sorceries, For the great abundance of your enchantments.”
In these verses, God brings the first charge against Babylon. But it is a charge that applies to anyone and everyone today: those who are given to pleasures, who have a false sense of security and who say in their hearts ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, Nor shall I know the loss of children’ Because pride goes before a fall (Proverbs 16:18). Proverbs 27:1 also warns us not to boast about tomorrow.
Babylon was famous as a founding place and breeding ground for occult arts and practices. This was the basis of the second charge God brought against them. For the multitude of their sorceries and their enchantments.
Verses 10-11: Babylon is rebuked for her pride and arrogance.
“For you have trusted in your wickedness; You have said, ‘No one sees me’; Your wisdom and your knowledge have warped you; And you have said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me.’ Therefore evil shall come upon you; You shall not know from where it arises. And trouble shall fall upon you; You will not be able to put it off. And desolation shall come upon you suddenly, Which you shall not know.”
You have trusted in your wickedness: Proud sinners usually trust in their wickedness and schemes to cover the tracks of their previous sin. They are clever, but their wisdom in wickedness has warped them Your wisdom and your knowledge have warped you. Proverbs 21:7 says: “The violence of the wicked will destroy them, Because they refuse to do justice.”
Therefore evil shall come upon you: And it did for Babylon, the near fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy occurred when Babylon was suddenly conquered in one night when they believed all was safe and secure (as recorded in Daniel 5). The far fulfilment is seen in Revelation 18:1-24. Emphasis on verses 7-8
“Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow; I will never mourn.’ 8 Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.”
The rebuke of Babylon’s pride is a simple fulfillment of a principle repeated three times in the Scripture: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5).
1 Corinthians 10:11 says:
“These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come”
We are therefore admonished to steer clear of pride because it sets us on a collision course with the Almighty!
Verses 12-15: A challenge to the stargazers and sorcerers of Babylon.
“Stand now with your enchantments And the multitude of your sorceries, In which you have labored from your youth—Perhaps you will be able to profit, Perhaps you will prevail. You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels; Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, And the monthly prognosticators Stand up and save you From what shall come upon you. Behold, they shall be as stubble, The fire shall burn them; They shall not deliver themselves From the power of the flame; It shall not be a coal to be warmed by, Nor a fire to sit before! Thus shall they be to you With whom you have labored, Your merchants from your youth; They shall wander each one to his quarter. No one shall save you.”
God challenged the sorcerers of Babylon to save the people from His judgment. After all, if they had real spiritual power, they should be able to. But their weakness in the face of the Lord’s judgment would be exposed.
CONCLUSION
There is an ultimate judgment that the whole world must face. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment (Heb. 9:27). Unfortunately, many people underestimate the blazing strength of God’s judgment! It is the same tragic thinking we see in our days among those who joke about going to hell. The Bible talks about the power of the flame; not like coal to be warmed by, nor a fire to sit before!
The final sentence in this chapter is quite a sobering one. This is true for all who will not find their salvation in the LORD; if you will not look to Him and be saved, then certainly no one shall save you.
Revelation 18:15 says “The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn”
Revelation 18:17 says “. . . Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off.”
There are many people in the world today, agents of Satan with evil agendas instigating a rebellion against God by justifying insolence, and encouraging all manner of defiance. They call it different names and identify it with different themes: freedom of speech, freedom of expression, inclusion and diversity, etc. They have become blinded to the truth given to different levels of depravity and foolishness. Some of them have now identified themselves as animals. But one day God’s judgment will come down on those deserving of it, and when it does, everyone will steer clear! We know better not to join forces with ignorant fools (Psalms 14:1) because according to Proverbs 11:21a “Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished:”
