The Fall of Babylon and the Plan for Those Who Remain (Isaiah 21:1-17)
Rev. Myung-Sin Choi
“1 The burden against the Wilderness of the Sea. As whirlwinds in the South pass through, So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land. 2 A distressing vision is declared to me; The treacherous dealer deals treacherously, And the plunderer plunders. Go up, O Elam! Besiege, O Media! All its sighing I have made to cease. 3 Therefore my loins are filled with pain; Pangs have taken hold of me, like the pangs of a woman in labor. I was distressed when I heard it; I was dismayed when I saw it. 4 My heart wavered, fearfulness frightened me; The night for which I longed He turned into fear for me. 5 Prepare the table, Set a watchman in the tower, Eat and drink. Arise, you princes, Anoint the shield! 6 For thus has the Lord said to me: 'Go, set a watchman, Let him declare what he sees.' 7 And he saw a chariot with a pair of horsemen, A chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels, And he listened earnestly with great care. 8 Then he cried, 'A lion, my Lord! I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime; I have sat at my post every night. 9 And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!' Then he answered and said, 'Babylon is fallen, is fallen! And all the carved images of her gods He has broken to the ground.' 10 Oh, my threshing and the grain of my floor! That which I have heard from the Lord of hosts, The God of Israel, I have declared to you. 11 The burden against Dumah. He calls to me out of Seir, 'Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?' 12 The watchman said, 'The morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; Return! Come back!' 13 The burden against Arabia. In the forest in Arabia you will lodge, O you traveling companies of Dedanites. 14 O inhabitants of the land of Tema, Bring water to him who is thirsty; With their bread they met him who fled. 15 For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, From the bent bow, and from the distress of war. 16 For thus the Lord has said to me: 'Within a year, according to the year of a hired man, all the glory of Kedar will fail; 17 and the remainder of the number of archers, the mighty men of the people of Kedar, will be diminished; for the Lord God of Israel has spoken it.'”
Introduction
Pastor Billy Graham participated in his church’s revival. There was a friend who was a truck driver who was with him and knowing that Graham liked to drive, Graham drove to church revival together with his friend. They participated in the church revival together and they sat in the back the first day. The pastor giving the sermon gave a message on Romans 5:8. The day after, Graham sat in the middle and the next day after that, they sat in the front row. They decided to accept Jesus Christ at the end of the church revival. After four years, Graham decided to attend seminary school. That was how pastor Billy Graham was grown and made. This was the confession that Graham made, “When my friend asked me to drive to the church revival, I only wanted to go so I could drive his truck. But because of my friend and being able to drive that truck, I was able to become a revivalist.” That friend of Graham might have thought that the sermon might have some effect on Graham and later on, the friend saw that it was having some effect because Graham was able to sit up in the front. What allowed Graham to be affected by the sermons? He was able to experience the power of God’s word. God’s word is so important. Last week we spoke about the book of Isaiah, today’s sermon will be about the warning against Babylon.
1. Babylon's Warning
1) Attack from Medes-Persia
Verse 1 - What is this speaking about? It was speaking about the warning of Babylon and how Babylon will be destroyed. We spoke about how Judah continued to rely on other nations instead of God. Because Israel relied on other nations, this caused the destruction of Israel and Egypt. Now, Israel started looking towards Babylon after Egypt was destroyed. God gave them problems so that they could rely on Him alone but Israelites kept on relying on other nations instead. Now, God caused the destruction of Babylon and God was speaking about Babylon’s destruction through Isaiah’s prophecy. What caused the destruction of Babylon?
The reason is seen in 2 Kings 20:12-13 “At that time Berodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 And Hezekiah was attentive to them, and showed them all the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.” Through his disease, King Hezekiah was able to pray before God and this allowed him to live a few more years longer. When the king of Babylon, Berodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, heard of King Hezekiah’s recovery, he sent gifts and a letter to King Hezekiah. As part of his gratitude, King Hezekiah showed everything within his kingdom and possessions. There was a time when Babylon and Judah were both being persecuted so they created an alliance and established a close relationship with each other at that time. But Isaiah rebukes King Hezekiah after what he had done. Because not only did Babylon come and raid the land of Judah but the children of Israel lost everything to Babylon later on. Isaiah was warning King Hezekiah of Babylon but King Hezekiah did not listen. We know that later on, Israel did become captives of Babylon and lost everything. God completely destroyed Israel as a result. Israel who relied on Babylon, God also destroyed Babylon. God only used Babylon as a rod for Israel but now God destroyed Babylon for tormenting Israel.
2) The harsh revelation
Verses 2-4 - Isaiah was looking towards the revelation that was being fulfilled. Surrounding Babylon, there was a huge river that was flowing around it. The river would flow around it where other big rivers would flow through it. This river was so huge that Babylon was not easily destructible by other nations so the Medes and the Persian kings thought of a strategy. They blocked the water flowing to the river surrounding Babylon so the water surrounding Babylon was starting to dry up. After all of the water dried up, the river became a dried land so it was easy for Medes and Persia to attack Babylon. This caused the destruction of Babylon.
Many nations were suffering because of Babylon. After the destruction of Babylon, many nations were cheering that their suffering had stopped. The start and end of Babylon only lasted for 87 years. After Babylon was destroyed, it talks about how much suffering Babylon experienced due to their destruction.
Verse 4 - At that time, Babylon was considered one of the most powerful nations. After King Nebuchadnezzar, it was considered one of the most powerful nations. No other nation would dare to attack Babylon at that time. But in an instant, Babylon was destroyed. This means that when you are in the place with the most amount of power and wealth, that is the most dangerous time. When people are the most successful and powerful, people are in the most dangerous spot and time. When Babylon was thriving, it said that they raised up watchmen and set up feasts. At that time, King Belshazzar had feasts all the time with his generals and armies.
2. The Fall of Babylon
1) Babylon's final feast
Verse 5 - When they went out to war, they weren’t ready for war. Instead of preparing for war, during this time, they set up watchmen and watchtowers. But do you think these watchmen and watchtowers were able to do a good job? There was no nations who was willing to attack them so the watchmen and watchtowers put their guards down and would throw feasts all the time.
Daniel 5:3-4, 25-26 “Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. 4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone. 25 'And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. 26 This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it.' ” - Babylon was challenging God. They would yell and say that they have won against God, and were mocking God. Do you think God just sat still when they did this?
While Babylon was throwing feasts, God wrote something in Daniel 5:25. If you interpret this, it writes, “Counted, Counted, Weighted, and Divided.” Counted means that God was counting the days of Belshazzar’s life and was also counting the days left for Babylon. God was weighing the plate of Babylon and their vessel and weighed it as nothing compared to Egypt. Because their vessel was nothing compared to Egypt, that was how God was able to free His people. God was giving the covenant that He will free His people out of captivity. God’s time was coming near for the Israelites to be freed, but who did God use during that time? Belshazzar was not boasting about God but he was boasting about the god of Babylon. God was saying that Belshazzar was not worthy. Divided means, through the Medes and Persia, God will divide the land of Babylon. Babylon was eventually destroyed. It only took 87 years for Babylon to be destroyed but during that time, Babylon captivated Israel for 70 years. The only conquest that Babylon did was to conquer Judah. This means that God only raised Babylon to captive Judah and after Babylon was destroyed, Israel was freed.
The prophecy that Daniel received, there was a crown of gold. During that time, Babylon was considered a very powerful nation but within that short span of 87 years, Babylon was destroyed. Who was the purpose of Babylon? It was only to fulfill God’s covenant. Everything moves for God’s covenant. As we live our walk of faith, what we must hold onto is so important. God moves the entire world for His covenant. How was Babylon destroyed?
2) Babylon conquered
Verses 6-10 - Many armies and warriors will come and destroy Babylon.
Verse 9 - Armies after armies came and destroyed Babylon. The important message from here is that their gods were broken to the ground. This means that God was the one who was victorious in this war, not the nations who attacked Babylon. These were not the victory cries of the enemy kings but it was the victory cries of the angels from heaven above. They were glorifying God who has fulfilled His covenant by destroying Babylon.
Verse 10 - This was not the message for Babylon but it was a message for Judah. This means that when farmers would build up their land, they would hit their cattle. This was the same thing that God was doing. God was looking for the remaining ones. God has left behind His remaining ones in Babylon. These remaining ones, after 3 years after Babylon’s destruction, returned back to Israel to protect the temple of God. Everything flows towards the direction of God’s covenant and gospel. Are you living for the sake of the gospel? Are you living a life centered on God’s word? This is so important. This is because God’s word will be fulfilled.
3. The Meaning of the Conqueror
1) Warning against Edom and Arabia
Verses 11-17 - God gave a warning to Edom. Edomites were from the lineage of Esau. After Esau separated from Jacob, he failed to return to God’s covenant. The remaining people that Esau had, the Edomities, possessed the pride and ego that they were always better than Jacob and Jacob’s lineage. Since they weren’t in God’s covenant, they were always in the midst of problems and hardships. They were always asking when their suffering would end.
Verse 12 - Are you waiting for the daytime, but God was saying that even though daytime does come, the nighttime will come again. They were waiting for their suffering to end through the light from the daytime. But nothing would change for them. God was telling them that if they want change, they need to return back to God. God was thinking about the Edomites so He was pleading them to return back to God. All God wants is for His people to return back to Him.
Verse 13 - God was giving a warning against Arabia. The Arabians were a nation that were made up of merchants and many riches as a result. They were living in thickets because they were hiding. They had to leave everything behind. What was the reason behind this? They were hiding and fleeing from wars and their enemies.
Verse 16 - Kedar is referring to Ishmael’s second son as well as Ishmael’s lineage. Kedar possessed a very powerful army. They were filled with great riches and a powerful army, but within one year, it was prophesied that Kedar would fall.
Verse 17 - All of the riches, economy, and army that they relied on, God was telling the people of Kedar to rely on Him alone instead of the other things. God was telling them to return back to Him. We need to hold onto the message today. Rev. Kwang-Su Ryu’s message that God gave to us this week, we need to hold onto it as well.
2) True blessings for the conqueror
Who is the true conqueror? It may seem like Babylon and the other powerful nations. Genesis 13:18 “Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the Lord.” - Abraham was experiencing a lot of hardships because of Lot so he told Lot to take whatever he wanted. Abraham settled in the smaller land and gave a worship service to God. The true conqueror is someone who gives worship service. The most important thing within our life is worship. The real blessings come from worship.
Exodus 3:12 “So He said, 'I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.' ” - Who is the most blessed one? The one who is called in the midst of destruction and tribulations. When you are able to hear and experience God’s voice of His proclamation that He will be with you in the midst of tribulations are the ones who are the most blessed.
Psalm 23:1-2 “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.” - Who is the true conqueror? Those who confess that God is their shepherd. Look up to God. Seek after God. When you find your true satisfaction in God alone, then you are the most happy and the true conqueror. All blessings come from this.
Conclusion
Hold onto Isaiah 43:1 “But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.' ” - The reason why we have no choice but to be called a conqueror is because you belong to God. Everything ends with God. God is the one who made and formed you. There is nothing that we need to be afraid of. We need to live for God alone. Enjoy this in the name of Jesus Christ.
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