Isaiah 13-14
-Devotion by Daniel Smead (MN)
Grim language and violence dominate Isaiah 13 and 14. The prophecies it contains mix references to “the day of the Lord” and comments about the conquest of Babylon by the Medes – two tough times. We can see these prophecies as partly about letting suffering people know God is paying attention, and that their situation will change.
The day of the Lord has been described as about judgment for the wicked, and rescue for the oppressed. It is discussed in several Old Testament texts. One way we may easily think of this event is that it comes like a thief in the night (2 Peter 3:10). We link it with Christ’s return at the end of this age.
Babylon’s defeat is a classic example of ‘the mighty fallen,’ which involves Babylon being treated terribly by its conquerors – much like Babylon treated the peoples it conquered. I need to remind myself that Isaiah’s message for Babylon isn’t
“now this, and this, and this will happen to your people”
But
“now this, and this, and this will happen to your people.”
Or, perhaps more clearly:
“now these things you have done to others will happen to your people.”
As part of this process Babylon also loses the power to keep harming others. However, perceiving this doesn’t remove all the discomfort I get when reading these chapters.
It also is helpful to recall that God saying a thing will happen doesn’t mean God approves of the event / how it happens. In 2 Kings 8:7-15, Elisha informed Hazael that he would become king of Aram, and almost immediately Hazael betrayed and murdered the king. (Which raises the question: did Elisha’s message prompt the murder?) Aram went on to behave in ways similar to those carried out by the Babylonians and Medes. Elisha wept over what was coming; he explained his tears by saying “I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel” (v. 12). For God’s prophet to describe a thing doesn’t demonstrate approval.
“Wail, for the day of the Lord is near!
It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
Therefore all hands will fall limp,
And every human heart will melt. . . .
I will also put an end to the audacity of the proud
And humiliate the arrogance of the tyrants.
I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold.”
(Isaiah 13:6-7, 11-12a)
The emphasis with the “day” is on the wicked, tyrants, the proud, etc. But multiple texts also say that hardly anyone survives the “day.” (Perhaps the more people are in the world when it starts, the more survivors there can be from it and still give this impression.)
The presence of such tough issues in the chapter, both related to the “day” and to the fall of Babylon, may connect to the oracles acting as warnings. These words were not simply for the benefit of the suffering; they gave sinful people at risk an opportunity to understand their risk and repent. It would be nice to think that some saw the warnings and did repent. In a similar way Deuteronomy 28 warns the Hebrew people of the dangers in abandoning their commitment to God. And among that set of warnings we can see many of the practices Babylon later engaged in against those it conquered – had Deuteronomy been heeded the conflict with Babylon could have been avoided in the first place.
PRAYER
Lord, help us to be cleansed from all that would hold us back from you, so that we can be ready in whatever circumstances arrive, including for your day. Not knowing when that day will be, please aid us in maintaining ourselves, examining the state of our hearts, being honest with ourselves in what we find, and having compassionate openness with another. Amen
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
- Paul tells us that God wants to provide a way out when we are tempted (1 Corinthians 10:13). Do you think that statement is directed only to Christians?
- God is compassionate, slow to anger, and loving in many other ways, but will not leave the guilty unpunished (Exodus 34:6-7). Have you ever thought God was punishing you for unrepented sin? If so, do you still think that was the case?
- In a situation of ongoing sin, how would we distinguish God punishing from God allowing us to experience the results of the wrong behavior? Or how would we distinguish it from the Spirit trying to prompt us to confess and be freed from what is harming us? (Recall, God always wants the best for us – and sin is always harmful.)
Seek Grow Love 