46–49 Falls / Restored

Introduction:

The historical setting for chapters 40-55 is Israel’s captivity in Babylon (6th century B.C.). Remember, Isaiah himself lived a century prior to these prophecies, which makes him unique among the prophets. Most prophets will look to the future to inform the present. Isaiah, looks to the distant future to inform the near future as well as the present.

Unlike every other prophet that looks to the future, Isaiah also speaks from the future. For instance, Isaiah looks to the coming of the Messiah and the Day of the Lord to inform Israel’s present experience under the 8th/7th century B.C. threat of . But the prophet also looks to the more distant future to address Israel in the not-so-distant future of the (605 B.C.). From Isaiah’s point of reference the Babylonian had not yet occurred—it was more than a hundred years in the future. It is as if Isaiah folds prophecy in on prophecy and in the process shows the Lord’s sovereignty, wisdom, and power to predict and fulfill the future. It’s hardly a wonder that the has been the source of much scholarly debate and consternation through the years!

Set against this yet future 6th century B.C. backdrop, Isaiah prophesies the coming destruction of Babylon at the hands of , leader of the and Persians. Much more, however, is woven into the text as Isaiah continues to lay out his themes of Israel’s stubbornness and rebellion. Isaiah speaks of God’s faithfulness and redemption to His broken people. The prophet declares that the challenging idols and demons are no match for God’s majestic wisdom and strength. Only God can explain the events of the past, predict the events of the future, and cause them to come to pass.

In chapters 46–50, Isaiah deals not only with the historical power of Babylon, but at every point he counters the weakness of her idols, which speaks speaks simultaneously to the weakness of the demons behind those idols. Isaiah predicts the fall of Babylon—a theme that John picks up six centuries later in Revelation 17-18 as the destruction of Satan’s kingdom just prior to the Second Coming of the Messiah.

Through Isaiah, the Lord warns His people, “Leave Babylon!” In the same way, John cries, “Come out of her, my people!” It is hard to imagine a more relevant message preached to God’s people today. We live as the children of God—the bearers of His kingdom—in a time that precedes His Second Coming. We live in a time when the Kingdom of God stands in stark contrast to the kingdom of darkness—a period when “darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples.” It’s at this time when we are called to live as children of God in love, truth, righteousness, and justice.

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I. (Chapter 46) The God who carries his people is superior to the idols/gods in every way.

A. (vs. 1‐2)The Lord contrasts Himself with the Babylonian gods

1. The Babylonians carry their gods during their New Year’s Festival a) Called the “akitu” festival b) The gods, (Bel) and (scribal god of wisdom) were paraded on mules around the city walls and brought to the temple in Babylon

Bel and Nebo are two of the chief gods of Babylon. Bel, or “lord,” was a title originally given to Enlil, the so-called father of the gods whose center was at Nippur. But Marduk, the city god of Babylon and hero of Enuma Elish (the Babylonian creation epic), eventually became the chief god of southern Mesopotamia, and the title became his (see Jer. 50:2; also 51:44). Marduk’s son Nebo (or Nabu), the god of the scribe and of intellectual pursuits, had his seat at Borsippa, some 10 miles south of Babylon. In view of the prominence of Nabu in the names of the key figures in the Neo-Babylonian Empire (Nabopolassar, Nebuchadrezzar, Nabonidus), it is likely that Nabu was the titulary god of that empire and its rulers. These were not only the most prominent of the Babylonian gods but also especially appropriate for the prophet’s diatribe because their images were carried in the annual New Year’s Festival procession in Babylon. This picture of the worshipers carrying their gods would fit in well with the point the prophet is trying to make in this section… The phrase haya le, have gone to, could also be translated “have become,” and I suspect that the writer is engaging in some double entendre here. His main point is that these beautiful images, so recently paraded with reverent pomp, are now a matter for oxcarts and donkeys. What a decline—how the mighty gods are humiliated and ashamed. But one wonders if the prophet is not also suggesting that the idols are now seen for what they really are: simply part of creation, even human creation; no better and no more significant, indeed nothing other, than the patient beasts of burden that must carry them.1

2. Babylon’s gods are weak

(Isa 46:1‐2 / ESV) 1 Bel bows down; Nebo stoops; their idols are on beasts and livestock; these things you carry are borne as burdens on weary beasts. 2 They stoop; they bow down together; they cannot save the burden, but themselves go into captivity.

1 John Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah. Chapters 40-66, The New International Commentary on the (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1998), 228.

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a) Isaiah uses graphic terms to paint a picture of gods who are not mighty and majestic, but rather lowly, unable to help themselves, and a burden to their worshippers. b) The text distinguishes between the images and their gods. (1) (vs. 1) “Their” refers to the gods/demons, while the “you” refers to the worshippers. (2) (vs. 2) Verse 2 confirms this understanding of the gods/demons unable to support their idols. The gods/demons cannot save the burden, but they (the gods/demons) will themselves go into captivity.

“…it is important to note the indications here that the author does distinguish between the images and the gods themselves. In v. 1 their images parallels the things you carry. If one accepts that the MT is correct here, then “their” must refer to the gods, while “you” refers to the worshipers. This is further confirmed in v. 2, which states that they (the gods) are unable to deliver the burden (the images), but must themselves (Heb. napšām) go into captivity.”2

B. (vs. 3‐4) Listen! In contrast, God bears and carries His people.

1. Unlike the gods of Babylon who are carried by the worshippers, the Lord has carried His people since conception (vs. 1, 3, 4, 7). a) The Lord brought them out of . b) He formed them into a nation. c) He brought them into the Promised Land. d) He bore their continual sin and rebellion.

2. (vs. 4) Even still, He is a God who will continue to sustain His people.

C. (vs. 5‐7) How can the trust in hand‐fashioned idols rather than in the living god?

1. Therefore, the idols and other gods are useless. a) There is no one like the living god. b) Inanimate idols form no comparison.

2. And as such, it highlights that the gods/demons are quite weak.

2 John Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah. Chapters 40-66, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1998), 229.

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D. (vs. 8‐10) Remember!

1. (vs. 8) The Lord brings Israel’s remembrance back to His past actions for them. a) His Creation may be in view b) His forming Israel as a nation may be in view c) His redeeming Israel from Egypt is probably in view

2. (vs. 9) “I am God, and there is no other” a) This statement is made in the face of Israel’s idolatry that caused her to be brought into Babylon—which is the center of all idolatry b) The Lord is not simply making this point to His people in captivity, but it is being proclaimed to all the nations c) Further, this point is also being made in the face of Babylon’s demons

E. (vs. 11‐13) Coming Salvation

1. (vs. 11) The Lord predicts the coming of Cyrus the Great, who will set the Israelite captives free

2. (vs. 12) Listen! Stubborn Israel!

3. (vs. 13) Coming Righteousness/Deliverance a) The Lord’s deliverance (salvation) is coming soon—for the Israelites it comes in the person of Cyrus b) But ultimately in the coming of the Messiah c) Who comes in righteousness—remember that righteousness and justice are key thoughts throughout Isaiah—it’s the original charge brought against the nation in the opening chapters of the book.

II. (Chapter 47) Fall of Babylon—Fall of Satan’s Kingdom

A. (vs. 1‐4) Isaiah predicts the historical destruction of Babylon

1. (vs. 1‐3) The virgin daughter of Babylon will be exposed a) Note the sexual references and sarcasm b) Babylon is not a “virgin,” but a shameful prostitute

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2. (vs. 4) This destruction comes at the hands of the Lord, the “Redeemer” of Israel a) Note the Messianic references here to Christ (Redeemer) b) It’s an important observation because John picks the theme up in Revelation with the destruction of Babylon at the Second Coming of the Messiah (Revelation 17‐18).

(Gübeºret / ְגּ ֶ ֖בֶרת ) ”mother “queen a to likened is Babylon 5‐7) B. (vs.

1. (vs. 5) She will no longer be called the queen of the kingdoms. a) She is one who desires to rule in place of the Son of God. b) Notice Satan’s counterfeit—rather than the Son, he presents the woman.

2. (vs. 6) God gave His people over to her because of their sin, but Babylon mistreated the Jews. a) Babylon was used to discipline Israel because of her own idolatries. b) In essence, the Lord used the “gates of hell” to discipline His stubborn people. c) But, Babylon went beyond what the Lord had decreed.

3. (vs. 7) She said she would be an eternal queen. a) She is one that intends to rule forever (c.f. Daniel 2 and the eternal kingdom of God—Satan’s is a counterfeit). b) But instead, she will be destroyed in a day (Cyrus took the city in a day in 539 B.C.)!

C. (vs. 8‐9) Babylon claims to be the preexistent one (“I am”), but she will come to a quick end.

1. Babylon is condemned for its witchcraft and sorceries.

2. Here is a clear glimpse that we are dealing with more than historical Babylon—we are also dealing with the spiritual forces centered there

3. Again, compare Babylon the Prostitute of Revelation 17‐18 that leads the kings of the world astray through her sorceries

D. (vs. 10‐15) Despite her sorceries, Babylon will fall.

1. She felt secure and claimed to be preexistent.

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2. She felt secure.

3. Her wisdom and knowledge led her astray (c.f. Exek. 28).

4. Evil will come on her quickly.

E. Revelation 17‐18

1. One must not miss the NT parallel with Babylon the Great.

2. Babylon is the headquarters of Satan’s kingdom.

3. She stands in eternal opposition to Christ and His Kingdom.

4. She has led the world, not just Israel, astray.

5. She practices sorceries.

6. She will be defeated at the coming of Israel’s Redeemer—Jesus the Messiah.

III. (Chapter 48) My people, leave Babylon!

A. The main point…

But this is to miss the point of the prophet’s argument here. The central crisis of the Israelite faith not only in the exile but at least as far back as the exodus was, Who is God? The crisis reached its climactic point in the confrontation with the Mesopotamian powers (ca. 750- 550 B.C.), because of their seeming dominance of the events of world history. Thus the issue is: Who controls history—the transcendent Lord or those gods who, by being a part of the cosmos, can be represented by it? Isaiah tries to show by means of predictive prophecy that these “gods,” which are the product of human dexterity (both mental and physical), are not gods at all. They are merely part of the system; products, not rulers. Thus vv. 4 and 5, far from being a later addition by some small-minded person who failed to understand the great prophet, are at the very heart of what chs. 40—48 are all about.3

B. (vs. 1‐11) Israel needs to hear and obey God’s Word, but Israel remained stubborn.

1. (vs. 1) Israel confesses to be God’s people, but do not follow in truth or right.

2. (vs. 2) They call themselves God’s people—from , His holy City—and say they trust in Him, but they do not.

3 Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah. Chapters 40-66, 258.

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3. (vs. 3‐5) Because of Israel’s stubbornness, the Lord predicted this captivity before it occurred (remember, Isaiah is writing 100‐150 years before these events) lest Israel credit her idols instead.

4. (vs. 6‐8) Israel cannot say that her idols told her these things, or that she knew them in advance—the Lord is proving to His people that He alone in God.

5. (vs. 9‐11) The Lord protects His own glory and shares it with no one. a) (vs. 9‐10) But God deferred His anger for His own sake… (1) Lest He destroy Israel for its disobedience (2) Yet, the Lord has refined and disciplined Israel through the Babylonian Captivity b) (vs. 11) The Lord gives His motives for the actions He has taken. (1) He explains why He has delayed His wrath. (2) He explains why He sent Israel into captivity in Babylon. (3) He will protect His own glory and will not share it. (a) He will not share it with His stubborn people. (b) He will not share it with their idols.

C. (vs. 12‐22) The Lord will set Israel free.

1. (vs. 12) The Lord alone is preexistent (the first and last).

2. (vs. 13‐15) The Lord calls heavens and earth as witnesses. a) (vs. 13) He is the true Creator. b) (vs. 14) God assembles heaven and earth as witnesses (1) That He has declared all things (2) That the Lord still loves Israel (3) And that the Lord will destroy Babylon c) (vs. 15) God has called Israel and will make the nation prosper again—which is a sign of His blessings.

3. (16‐17) The Lord will accomplish Israel’s deliverance through the coming Redeemer/Messiah and by His Holy Spirit. a) (vs. 16a) The Lord has not spoken in secret, but has declared what will be in advance (showing He alone is God).

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b) (vs. 16b) The Lord has sent “me” (Isaiah) by His Spirit to declare these things. (This is a difficult set of verses to determine who is speaking.)

The difficulty is in identifying the speaker. It clearly cannot be God, yet there is no indication of a change. Does this mean that the speaker in the first part of the verse is, despite initial impressions, not God? Four basic positions have been taken. (1) The subject of the entire verse is the prophet (e.g., Whybray); (2) the subject of the first three cola is God, and the subject of the last bicolon is the prophet (e.g., Calvin); (3) the subject of the last bicolon is the Messiah (e.g., Young); (4) the last bicolon is disarranged from some other place, either accidentally or on purpose (e.g., Torrey). I see no way in which the subject of the first part of the verse could be the prophet. The things said there can be said only by God. What, then, is the meaning of the final bicolon? This is surely another case of the close identity between God and the prophet. God has been speaking through the prophet. He calls the people to listen because of all he (God) has said in the past, and how he (God) has revealed himself in the events of their lives. Now, the prophet says, God is speaking again through me (the prophet) whom he (God) has inspired with his (God’s) Spirit. To be sure, God is saying some shocking things, but if past experience teaches anything, it ought to teach you to stop quibbling and believe what I, the inspired prophet, am saying.4

c) (vs. 17) Explains why Israel should listen to God. (1) Israel should listen because of who He is—the Lord, the Redeemer, the Holy one of Israel. (2) He teaches them to live successfully (profit) and who leads them in the way they should go.

4. (vs. 18‐19) If only Israel had listened! a) In other words, the recent problems were not because of God’s doing, but because of Israel’s stubbornness. b) They would have prospered and not gone into captivity.

5. (vs. 20‐21) Leave Babylon! a) This is a call for the remnant to return from Babylon to the Promised Land. b) The Lord has redeemed Israel. c) (vs. 20) Flee Babylon!

4 Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah. Chapters 40-66, 278.

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(1) In Revelation 18:4 the Lord commands His people to come out from Babylon—to be separated from the destruction of Satan’s kingdom at the end of the Tribulation. (2) The Lord has provided redemption (for Israel and also for believers in Christ) d) In a real sense, this cry should also apply to the church today— leave Babylon (that is, leave the sin of the world and be holy as God is holy)! (1) We are already citizens of God’s kingdom (Eph 2:19; Phi 3:20). (2) We are called from all the nations as a holy people (1 Peter 2:9). (3) We are the living embodiment of what is to come—before it yet arrives in full. (4) So, we are constantly in struggle with the things of this world (Romans 7), but we are called to live as the righteous (Gal. 3:11).

.( ֵאין ָשׁלוֹם) wicked the for peace no is There 22) vs.) .6

IV. (Chapter 49) My Servant, gather My people!

A. A new section…

With this chapter a new section of the book begins. While the language of captivity and deliverance continues, neither Cyrus nor Babylon is mentioned again. While “servant” continues to be a dominant theme, it is no longer the passive servant of chs. 40- 48 whose mere existence is to be evidence of the helplessness of the gods. Rather, it is that servant who was introduced at the beginning of the previous section (42:1-9), who will be God’s agent to bring his covenant to the people and his justice to the nations. In subtle but nevertheless clear ways the focus has shifted from the physical captivity of the Judeans to the moral and spiritual captivity of Israel and the whole world. God has said that the lives of his servants, Israel, would be the evidence to the world that he alone is the Holy One. The section 48:17-22 brings that thought to its climactic expression. But how is that possible? Will God simply ignore the sin that projected Israel into slavery in the first place? How will the blind, deaf, rebellious servant Israel be any different just because Cyrus has sent them home? The answer is: the Servant, ideal Israel, will give himself to be for and in Israel what Israel could never be in itself.5

5 Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah. Chapters 40-66, 286-7.

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B. (vs. 1‐7) Presentation of the Servant

1. (vs. 1) The entire earth, not just Israel, is summoned in this first verse. The Servant’s ministry will affect the entire world.

2. (vs. 2) Unlike Cyrus, the Servant will accomplish the Lord’s will by the proclamation of His Word (“He made my mouth like a sharp sword”).

3. (vs. 3) The reference to “Israel” in parallel with “Servant” shows the function of the Servant is to do that which Israel was supposed to accomplish (but didn’t). a) The single figure of the “Servant” versus corporate nation of Israel as “servant”

“The prophetic voice of vv. 1b‐3 (‘Yahweh called me’) has not only been designated as servant, but he has been designated as Israel. In place of the corporate nation Israel, which up to this point has always borne the title, ‘my servant’ (41:9; 42:1, 19; 44:1; 45:4), a single figure now carries the title and even office.”6

“First, it is important to note that the term Israel is used not so much as a name as it is a parallel term to servant. It is as though the Lord had said, “You are my Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” Thus it is the function, not the identity, of Israel that is emphasized. This Servant is going to function as Israel. What was Israel’s task, as indicated throughout the entire book, from ch. 2 onward? To be the means whereby the nations could come to God. But how could a nation that could not find its own way to God, a blind, deaf, rebellious nation, show anyone else the way? This is the dilemma that the Servant has come to solve.”7

b) What’s the significance of this interpretation? (1) The person of the Messiah (Jesus) is presented in such a way that He is intertwined with the nation of Israel. (2) Israel as the servant of the Lord has been unfaithful and unsuccessful as a light to the Gentiles. (3) The Messiah faithfully accomplishes what the nation of Israel has failed to do.

6 Brevard S. Childs, Isaiah, 1st ed., The Old Testament Library (Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001), 384.

7 Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah. Chapters 40-66, 291.

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(4) It is as if in the mystery of prophecy, God is presenting the Messiah purposefully in this passage as both Person (Jesus) and nation (Israel). He is the embodiment of Israel and will accomplish what Israel did not.

4. (vs. 4) The Servant’s sense of failure may foreshadow the rejection that will come as Jesus heads toward the cross. a) Yet, notice that He nonetheless places His trust in the Lord. b) Jesus wrestling in the Garden before His betrayal may be a good illustration of this sense. (Mat 26:42)

(Mat 26:42 / ESV) 42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done."

5. (vs. 5‐6) The mission of the Servant a) (vs. 5) Raise up the tribes of b) (vs. 6) Bring salvation to the entire earth

6. (vs. 7) This verse serves as a conclusion to verses 1‐6. It lists the appellations of the Lord in praise to who He is and what He accomplishes.

C. (vs. 8‐26) The restoration of Israel through the ministry of the Servant

1. (vs. 8‐13) Ministry of the Servant a) (vs. 8) He will be the embodiment of the covenant with Israel (1) He is the incarnate fulfillment of God’s promises. (2) He is a covenant to the people to: (a) Establish the land (b) Apportion the desolate heritages (3) He does what Joshua failed to accomplish. b) (vs. 8‐12) He will bring deliverance to Israel and free her from captivity. He will gather Israel from all the nations. (1) Remember the historical setting is the Babylonian Captivity (2) But, the eschatological setting is the gathering of Israel from all the nations during the Tribulation c) (vs. 13) Joy to the World! For the Lord comforts His people.

2. (vs. 14‐26) The Lord will champion the cause of Israel

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a) (vs. 14) There is a change of voice in the text at verse 14—very typical in this type of literature—it’s one of the things that makes it so hard to interpret (1) Israel/”” now speaks (2) She has felt abandoned by the Lord b) The Lord will champion the cause of His people (1) He has not forgotten them (2) The deliverance will come through the Messiah (Servant)

Conclusion:

God is superior to all the idols, which are the physical representation of the powerless gods/demons. Unlike the gods of the Babylonians who are a burden to the people as they are carried around, the Lord will carry His own people and will lift their burdens.

Babylon will fall. Satan’s kingdom will come to ruin. So the Lord calls for His people to come out from Babylon. They are to be a holy people gathered to Him. In the Revelation, John prophesies the same thoughts with the fall of Babylon (Rev. 17–18) and the cry for the Lord’s people to come out from her.

The deliverance and restoration of Israel comes through the person of the Servant, the Messiah, who re-gathers God’s people, but who also brings salvation to the nations.

We have looked at the first two of the four . Next week we will examine all four Servant Songs in more detail.

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