Isaiah 47
I. (1-39) Condemnation
A. Chapters 1-12—Prophecies against Israel and Judah
B. Chapters 13-23—Prophecies against the Nations
C. Chapters 24-27—Prophecies of the Day of the Lord
D. Chapters 28-35—Prophecies of Judgment and Blessing
E. Chapters 36-39—Historical accounts
II. (40-66) Consolation
A. Chapters 40-48—Israel’s God
1. \\#40:1-31\\ Be comforted by meeting your God
2. \\#41:1-29\\ Be Comforted by Meeting Your Protector
3. \\#42:1-25\\ Be Comforted by Meeting the Servant
4. \\#43:1-28\\ Be Comforted by Knowing Your God’s Desire
5. \\#44:1-47:15\\ Be Comforted by Knowing A Real God
a. \\#44:1-8\\ Future Promise of a great Israel
b. \\#44:9-20\\ The weakness of false gods
c. \\#44:21-45:4\\ A challenge to Israel
d. \\#45:5-19\\ A Conversation with Israel
e. \\#45:20-25\\ A Conversation with the World
f. \\#46:1-13\\ A Comparison between deities
g. \\#47:1-15\\ The Fall of Babylon
This chapter discusses Babylon’s future dominance over Israel and their
subsequent fall. There have been several chapters devoted to this nation
already (Isaiah 13, 14, 21:1-10, 43:14-18). This is a great deal of space given
to a nation which has not risen to power yet. God continues to demonstrate that
He alone is the true God by revealing the future. These events will occur over
a period of time approximately 70 to 140 years into Israel’s future.
Whenever we see prophecies dealing with Babylon, we cannot help but to think
some of them may be endtime. While there may be some fulfillment of these
verses again in the endtime, this section looks to have been sufficiently
fulfilled when Babylon was destroyed by Persia.
I. \\#47:1-15\\ A Prophetic Demonstration
A. \\#47:6\\ An explanation - In order to understand what Babylon
will fall, we must first read \\#47:6\\.
1. \\#6\\ Because God "was wroth with my people…" so He "polluted"
them - Due to Israel’s sins, God will give them into Babylon’s hand.
Of course this is future, happening in approximately 70 year to 80
years.
2. \\#6\\ thou didst shew them no mercy" - The first reason for
Babylon’s
destruction after being given the delicate privilege of chastising
Israel was that they showed them no mercy.
a. The often mentioned pride of Babylon will cause them to be
excessively cruel and oppressive to Israel \\#Jer 50:29, 32\\
\\#Is 14:13-14, 47:10, Dan 5:23\\.
b. The first reason for Babylon’s destruction is their pride and
their exceeding harshness.
c. Additional reasons will be listed in \\#Is 47:9-10\\.
B. \\#1-5, 7-15\\ Babylon’s destruction
1. \\#1\\ Babylon is chided to sit in the dirt for their throne
is removed. (God is seeing the removal of Babylon’s throne
even before He has given it to them.)
2. \\#2-3\\ The Babylonians will be reduced to slaves who work
hard and will lack clothing.
3. \\#3\\ When God exacts His judgment upon this nation, He will
not do so as a man but as the divine God. The notion is that His
wrath will be unlike anything the Babylonians had ever seen.
4. \\#4\\ God asks and answers the question that would one day be on
the Babylonian’s minds,
"Who is this God who will redeem Israel?"
"His name is the Lord God of Israel."
What a shock it must have been to find out that all the nations
they conquered had no gods, but this small nation, Israel, belongs
to the One and only God.
5. \\#5\\ "The lady of kingdoms" - Babylon will now have to sit in the
darkness for their prestigious title has been removed.
a. The fact that Babylon will have a great title does compare with
the Revelation.
b. \\#Rev 17:5\\
Revelation 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE
GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6. \\#7\\ Babylon had thought to keep her title forever, but she
did not "take to heart" the remaining prophecies about Israel.
a. The implication is that if she had really known and considered
what the Bible says, she would have been just in her dealings
with Israel.
b. How much more ought Israel to have paid attention to these
warnings!
7. \\#8-9\\ "hear now this"
a. "I am and none else beside me" - Babylon’s pride is showing.
b. "I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of
children" - Babylon’s arrogance is showing.
c. "these two things shall come to thee in a moment" - Babylon will
now become and widow and lose her children in "one day." This
is a very accurate description. Babylon literally lost every-
thing when the Medes and Persians came under the wall of the
city to conquer the nation. (Daniel 5)
8. \\#9-10\\ Additional reasons for Babylon’s destruction are given:
a. \\#9\\ "for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great
abundance of thine enchantments" - Daniel’s book demonstrates
the Babylon’s reliance upon magicians and soothsayers.
b. \\#10\\ "For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness" - Then again,
Babylon was just plain wicked. Although they abounded in
"wisdom and knowledge," their enlightenment took them away
from God and not to Him. God says it "perverted" them.
c. \\#10\\ "I am, and none else beside me" - Again, Babylon’s
pride is showing. That too caused their fall.
9. \\#11\\ "Therefore shall evil come upon thee" - And because of these
four sins (pride, cruelty to Israel, sorcery, and wickedness), God
will send "sudden" and "indefensible" evil upon them.
10. \\#12-13\\ God challenges Babylon to use its magicians and spells
to save them. Here again, God is demonstrating He alone is the true
God.
11. \\#14\\ "Behold, they shall be as stubble" - But He also declares
that it will be hopeless.
a. Babylon will be stubble to the fire and flame.
b. "there shall not be a coal to warm at" - In fact, God goes so
far as to say Babylon will be nothing but stubble, not even a
lump of coal will be among them. The notion is that a lump of
coal would give at least a few moments of hot fire but Babylon
will not. This to-be great nation will not offer so much as a
decent fight against their aggressors.
12. \\#15\\ "with whom thou hast labored" - And not Babylon alone, but
so all the nations with whom Babylon will have worked. None of
them shall be able to deliver them.
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