Isaiah: Lesson 5 (10-15-23)

Overview

Reading the Lenses of Isaiah

A key skill in reading Isaiah is recognizing that the prophet shifts lenses. One moment he addresses Assyria; the next, he points to the coming Messiah; then he turns to Babylon. Chapters 13–23 form what is often called the "Gentile oracles," in which God speaks judgment against the surrounding nations. The first and most prominent target is Babylon. To understand why, we look back to Genesis 11:1-9, where humanity gathered on the plain of Shinar to build a tower and "make a name for themselves." That declaration of independence from God became the seed of the Babylonian empire—a monument to human pride that would later crush Jerusalem in 586 BC.

Babylon as the Symbol of a World Opposed to God

Isaiah declares that Babylon, "the glory of kingdoms," will fall like Sodom and Gomorrah (Isaiah 13:17-22; Isaiah 14:22-23). But notice the wider scope in Isaiah 13:11: "I will punish the world for its evil." This is not Babylon alone—it is everyone who identifies with the proud powers of the world. By the time we reach Revelation, Babylon has become the great symbol of human pride, ungodly independence, and rebellion against Christ (Revelation 14:8; Revelation 16:19; Revelation 18:2). The hope embedded in these oracles is sure: the world system that sides with Satan will not stand forever. God will bring it to an end, and Christ will come again.

Controlled Strength: A Word on Christian Witness

Because we know how the story ends, our witness in difficult days should not be brash, coarse, or impulsive. There is such a thing as righteous indignation—but our indignation must actually be righteous. Jesus says, "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth" Matthew 5:5. Meekness is not weakness; it is controlled strength. When unbelievers see Christians simply mirroring the world's anger and coarseness—online, in conversation, or in tone—they conclude there is nothing different about us. A soft answer turns away wrath. We are called to speak with the joy of Christ and the confidence that He still holds every day in His hands.

Refuge for the Spiritually Poor, and the Sin of Forgetting God

Woven through these oracles of judgment is mercy. "The Lord has founded Zion, and the needy among his people will find refuge in her" Isaiah 14:32. This is grace (God giving what we do not deserve) and mercy (God withholding what we do deserve). Those who recognize their spiritual poverty find rest there—exactly what Jesus promises in Matthew 5:3-4: "Blessed are the poor in spirit… Blessed are those who mourn." Yet Isaiah names the besetting sin of God's people: "You have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the rock of your refuge" Isaiah 17:10. We are most tempted to forget God not when life is hard but when life is easy—when the wind is at our back and we feel no need. Psalm 65 calls us back: God is the one who answers prayer, forgives transgression, and is the hope of all the ends of the earth. Remember Him in the good times, and take refuge in Him in every time.

Transcript

Good morning. 3s

Let's pray, please. 5s

Holy and gracious God would enjoy to be on this your house, on this your day. 7s

And we ask, O Lord, for your blessing, we open up the pages of Scripture, confident, 14s

that the voice that we hear will be your voice. 20s

So bless our study now. 23s

In Jesus' name, amen. 24s

Well, we continue on in our study of Isaiah. 27s

And I just want to review some major themes here of where we have been as we have been 31s

studying this great book, just to help get our, get our moorings here. 37s

Remember Isaiah was a prophet of God called to confront the sin of the people of, of Judah. 43s

And no other prophet is quoted more in the New Testament than the prophet Isaiah. 50s

We talked about how he prophesied the threat from Assyria that would come, the sign of Emmanuel 59s

that had two meanings that God was going to take care of that threat. 68s

And also the Messiah that would come. 74s

We sing that the great advent, camel, come, Emmanuel based off of Isaiah. 77s

We took a look further at the prophecy of the coming of Messiah, specifically the descriptors 83s

of the Messiah in Isaiah, the ninth chapter. 89s

We also examined how God had his hand outstretched, desiring of the repentance of the people, with 92s

the people would not repent and turn away from their sin. 98s

But God promised a remnant and we are part of that, of that remnant. 103s

A key thing as one is moving through Isaiah is to realize that Isaiah changes lenses, 110s

changes pictures. 119s

And you'll, you'll see him prophesying about the Assyrians, then all of a sudden he'll 121s

switch the lens and all of a sudden it's the prophecy of the Messiah that come. 127s

We're going to see the lenses switch today. 132s

So Isaiah can be confusing if you don't ask yourself what lens is on here. 135s

Whereas he's moving because he seems to be, he seems to bounce from the prophecy here 141s

to the prophecy of the Messiah. 146s

Now we're going to go and we're going to talk about the Babylonians here. 148s

We're going to see that prophecy that's coming. 151s

So that's a key in terms of the interpretation of the book of Isaiah. 154s

As we get into, we're going to look today at chapters 13 to 17. 160s

chapters 13 to 17 is part of the section that really is called the Gentile oracles. 164s

It goes from 13 to 23. 169s

And here God is speaking against the Gentile, the non-Jew nations. 173s

He's speaking against them and convicting of their of their sin. 180s

In 722 BC, Samaria, which was the capital of the Northern Kingdom, 185s

Samaria was destroyed by the Assyrians and the people were led into captivity. 192s

Judah, the southern kingdom, survived as an independent nation. 201s

But another power would arise and that's what we're going to study a little bit. 208s

Today, let's get some background with regard to this other power. 214s

And let's go to Genesis, the 11th chapter. 220s

Genesis, chapter 11. 223s

We'll pick up in verse 1, Genesis 11. 226s

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 234s

And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plane in the land of 239s

Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, 244s

Commlet us make bricks and burn them thoroughly, and they had brick for stone and 248s

bitumen for mortar. Then they said, Commlet us build ourselves a city and a tower with its 253s

top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, otherwise we shall be scattered abroad 260s

upon the face of the whole earth. The Lord came down to see the city and the tower which 266s

mortals had built. And the Lord said, Look, they are one people, and they have all one language, 272s

and this is only the beginning of what they will do, nothing that they propose to do will now be 278s

impossible for them. Come. Let us go down and confuse their language there so that they will not 285s

understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of 293s

all the earth and they left off building the city. Therefore it was called Babel, 299s

because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth, and from there the Lord scattered 306s

them abroad over the face of all the earth. What the people wanted to do is they wanted a 313s

prestigious place in all of history. And by their actions here they were declaring their 324s

independence from God. They wanted to honor themselves instead of the Creator. 331s

And the Tower of Babel stood on the plain of Shindhar. It was a monument to the sinfulness 340s

of humanity. Centuries later the plain of Shindhar would be the center of what was understood 351s

as the Babylonian Empire. And that's what Isaiah addresses in our text for today. The Babylonians 360s

would wind up routing the Assyrians. And you remember how fierce the Assyrians are. The Babylonians 371s

would wind up routing them. And in 586 BC Jerusalem is crushed. Absolutely destroyed. 378s

So the first prophetic word here in this section of 13 to 23, the first prophetic word in these 389s

Gentile oracles here is against Babylon. So you see how he pains here? You see how he's dealing with 397s

a Syria that is coming and this is what's going to happen and the Messiah is going to come and now 406s

all of a sudden we're 586 BC as he's prophesying this. When you look at the prophecies of course this 411s

simply substantiates the truthfulness and the reliability of scripture. You just see all this just 419s

play out historically. And what we're going to see is we get farther into Isaiah. We're going to 425s

prediction with regard to the people being released from Babylonian captivity. And Isaiah is going 432s

to name a king, king Cyrus, and a nation, nation Persia, which was responsible for the 440s

hat under the God's direction. And this was obviously before Cyrus was ever born. It was even 446s

before the nation of Persia even existed when the prophecy is occurring. I mean Isaiah is a 452s

testament to the reliability of Holy Scripture. So the first prophetic word here in this Gentile 459s

oracles is against Babylon. Like a Syria, Babylon was going to be a tool of God as God exercised 467s

his judgment upon the sinful people. And like a Syria, Babylon was also going to be the recipient 478s

of the judgment of God for their idolatry and their rebellion. Let's go to Isaiah. Chapter 13, 490s

Isaiah 13, we'll pick up in verse 17. 500s

And here we see the completeness upon which God is going to judge the Babylonians. 519s

So 13 will pick up at 17. See, I'm stirring up the needs against them. We have no regard for silver 526s

and do not delight in gold. Their bows will slaughter the young men. They will have no mercy on the fruit 533s

of the womb. Their eyes will not pity children. And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and 541s

pride of the Caldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them. 549s

It will never be inhabited or lived in for all generations. Arabs will not pitch their tents there. 556s

Shepherds will not make their flocks lie down there. But wild animals will lie down there and its 562s

houses will be full of howling creatures their ostriches will live and their goat demons will dance. 570s

Aeneas will cry in its towers and jackals in the pleasant palaces. Its time is close at hand 577s

and its days will not be prolonged. The judgment of God then was going to come upon the Babylonians. 584s

Let's go to chapter 14, verse 22. 597s

I will rise up against them, says the Lord of hosts, and we'll cut off from Babylon name and remnant, 603s

offspring and posterity, says the Lord. And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog and 611s

pools of water. And I'll sweep it with the broom of destruction, says the Lord of hosts. 618s

Let's back up to Isaiah 13, 11. 627s

I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. 635s

I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant and lay low the insolence of tyrants. 643s

Notice the phrase here, in 11, where it says, I will punish the world, the world for its evil 650s

and the wicked for their iniquity. We can conclude then that in this reference here, 659s

it's not just the Babylonian empire that is being addressed exclusively. 670s

But it's anyone who identifies with the world powers. 676s

When John writes Revelation, we see that application here of Isaiah so very clearly. 683s

By the time you get to Revelation in the writing by John, Babylon has become a symbol that represents 692s

the pride of human power and ungodly independence. It becomes a symbol of the overthrow 702s

of God's rule. It becomes a symbol of the renunciation of the Lord Jesus Christ. 713s

Babylon then becomes a symbol of a world opposed to God. Let's take a peek at that in Revelation 722s

chapter 14. Revelation chapter 14, very last book. Revelation 14 will pick up in verse 6. 731s

When Isaiah 13 says the world is going to be judged here, that's just a precursor to how Babylon 748s

becomes a symbol of the world and rebellion with regard to God. Revelation 14, verse 6. 754s

Then I saw another angel flying in mid-Heaven with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who 764s

live on the earth to every nation and tribe and language and people. He said in a loud voice, 770s

fear God and give him glory for the hour of his judgment has come and worship him who made heaven 776s

and earth the sea and the springs of water. Then another angel, the second followed, saying, 783s

fallen, fallen is Babylon the great. She has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her 790s

fornication. We're going over into Revelation 16, verse 19, 16, verse 19. 799s

The great city was split into three parts in the cities of the nation's fell. 812s

God remembered great Babylon and gave her the wine cup of the fury of his wrath. Or let's go over 818s

into Revelation 18, verse 2. He called out with a mighty voice, fallen, fallen, 827s

his Babylon the great. It has become a dwelling place of demons, a haunt of every foul spirit, 841s

a haunt of every foul bird, a haunt of every foul and hateful beast. For all the nations have 847s

drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication and the kings of the earth have committed fornication 854s

with her. As the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxury and my podium 861s

is literally coming apart here as we as we speak. Just a minute here, I got to do a little repair 871s

if you wouldn't mind. We'll just do a little, we'll go this way here. 877s

And that is the extent of my being handy, right there. 889s

So back here to God's use of Babylon here and the image here, to represent here the wickedness 897s

of the world turned away from God. The word of hope though, the word of hope is that the world 906s

system that sides with Satan and that is opposed against God will not stand forever. The world 918s

system understood here as Babylon here will not stand forever that God is going to call to a halt 928s

and bring destruction. As we live in the days in which we live, which are difficult days of which we 940s

see obviously the sin of the world so very rampant. We must be a people that live in light of the 951s

fact that God is still in control, that the Lord Jesus Christ will come again and that we know 960s

how all this ends. We must live in the confidence of God and what God will do in the second coming of 970s

of Christ and His Christians I think. We need to be careful with regard to our witness, 980s

not in the sense of shirking our witness or being quiet with regard to our witness. 989s

But in our desire to be bold for the faith, we must be a people that don't become 997s

the same, or unwholesome, or impulsive, or impolite, or impolite, or impolite. As one person 1005s

put at one author, he said, there is indeed righteous indignation. Absolutely. There is 1017s

what angers God should anger us. There's righteous indignation. 1025s

but our indignation must be righteous. You would have what a helpful distinction 1030s

in understanding that is. A challenge, I think, for the church nowadays is to 1038s

remember this, because as you as you look at responses that unbelievers are 1048s

giving with regard to their assessment of the church, they don't like what they see. 1056s

They don't like how the church acts and how it talks. And they see a church that is 1063s

really in so many ways in terms of its communication and sometimes in their lifestyle. 1074s

They see a church that simply mirrors the world. And so the unbeliever knows that there's 1080s

something wrong with the world. And when they hear the church acting and speaking with 1088s

a brashness and a coarseness in the language, under the motive of wanting to be bold in their 1096s

faith, they're turned off by it. And their ears are even more stopped up on that. And so as we live 1106s

in these days in which we can be tempted to become frustrated, we can be tempted, indeed, 1117s

to say, what's the world coming to here? There must be people that remember the one to whom we 1125s

worship holds the days. The one to whom we worship will live out every single promise. The one 1133s

whom we worship will come again. And all of this gets rolled up when Christ comes again. And we 1141s

must be a people of a gentle, enjoying expression of the love of Christ that is in us. So the world 1150s

does not look upon us and say, if that's a Christian, I don't want anything to do with it. 1161s

I want anything to do with it. We must be careful amidst the days we live in, not to become 1169s

brash and coarse and angry. For we have the greatest, greatest message to share. I love the image in 1178s

Matthew, the fifth chapter. Let's turn there, please. Matthew chapter five, verse five. 1190s

In Jesus here, of course, in the great sermon on the Mount, and verse five, he says, 1206s

blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. So often we interpret meek as being milk 1212s

toasty, not what the word means. The word there means controlled strength, controlled strength. 1219s

That by God's grace made that form the church that amidst all of the screaming and the yelling 1230s

and all of that, which is so apparent in our society. May we have be a people of controlled 1242s

strength where we speak with the controlled strength and the word of God with the joy of Christ 1251s

and the understanding that he is still fully in control and will live out all of his promises. 1260s

And in that gentleness, may we speak. What is the Scripture remind us that a soft answer, 1267s

a soft answer turns away wrath. And so when we get on Facebook, we must be careful for the 1276s

witness we're making, because we're not anonymous. We can't on the one side talk about our faith in 1289s

the Lord Jesus Christ and then become a different person on Facebook and we are on Sunday morning. 1297s

See? The church is in a place where controlled strength and that kind of witness of the joy 1306s

that is within us is so appealing. So the word world can see the difference and not say, 1317s

Hmm, looks like the world to me. So as we live in these days, may we be careful in our witness. 1329s

In these chapters, I desire then addresses various nations and amidst the expression of judgment 1339s

that he gives in these Gentile or oracles, and for the sake of time, we're not going to go through them all. 1346s

There are incredible words of mercy that's also embedded and shown in these words. 1353s

Remember, there's a difference between the grace of God and the mercy of God. The grace of God 1361s

is that God gives people what they don't deserve. And the mercy of God is that God does not give us 1367s

what we deserve. So the grace of God then is giving people what they don't deserve. And the mercy 1378s

is not giving what we deserve for our sin. Let's go to 14 verse 32, Isaiah 14 verse 32. 1386s

A 1400s

What will one answer the messengers of the nation? 1406s

The Lord has founded Zion and the needy among his people will find refuge in her. 1410s

The picture here is God establishing Zion his church. And those who recognize their spirit 1419s

poverty take refuge there. It's this beautiful picture. I missed all of the conversation here 1428s

with regard to judgment and the just judgment of God and revealing the sinfulness of the people 1437s

that God here speaks of the establishment of the church. And as we recognize our spiritual 1441s

poverty there, we have rest there. And don't we? Let's go back to Matthew, the fifth chapter again. 1449s

Matthew chapter 5 1459s

and verse 3 1464s

Jesus says, blessed are the poor and spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. See, 1469s

that's where we recognize our spiritual poverty. As for the law does for us, we recognize how far 1476s

we have fallen away from God. We recognize our need for a Savior. And so, blessed are we, or a way 1482s

to translate, blessed is more than happy. More than happy are we when we understand our spiritual 1491s

poverty. Verse 4, blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. What's not being 1497s

referred to here is grief that we all experience. But the mourning here is the mourning over the 1503s

reality of our sinfulness. So, blessed are those who mourn over our spiritual poverty and our 1509s

sinfulness. Because the good and merciful word is what God does for us in the Lord Jesus Christ. 1515s

Let's go to Isaiah 17 now, Isaiah 17, and it reveals to us a sin of the people, Isaiah 17 verse 10. 1524s

For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the rock of your refuge, 1538s

therefore, though you plant pleasant plants and set out slips of an alien God, 1545s

though you make them grow on the day that you plant them and make them blossom in the morning that 1553s

you sow, yet the harvest will flee away in a day of grief and incurable pain. You see here how the 1558s

come the mercy and grace of God, then we also see the just judgment of God upon sin. It's all 1575s

these different pictures, but notice here the sin that is highlighted. You've forgotten the God 1582s

of your salvation. When are we most likely to forget God? We're most likely to forget God when 1587s

things are good, right? Not when it's bad. Because when it is bad, we are driven once again to 1599s

the realization that we are mere human beings, that God controls every beat of the heart and the 1608s

blink of the eye. We are reminded of God amidst the suffering and the difficulties that we go 1615s

through. We can certainly forget Him during those times, if we say, well, if God is God, then why 1624s

doesn't He fix the problem for me, as if God simply exists to be a genie in a bottle here for us? 1632s

All right? We can certainly forget Him amidst times that are bad, but I think the more propensity is 1640s

to be tempted to forget God when things are good. When it's 70 degrees in the winds at your back, 1647s

right? When you've just gotten the promotion at work, or you've seen a wonderful and glorious 1656s

news from a family member, or when there's a wonderful blessing that has occurred, it's amidst 1660s

those times when we can be comfortable in the good times in life and say that we don't need God. 1667s

That was the sin here of the people that they had forgotten about God and who He is. 1675s

What does God do with us? Let's go to Psalm 65. Psalm 65. 1686s

We'll pick up in verse 1. 1698s

Praise is due to you, O God, and Zion, and to you shall vows be performed, or you who answer prayer. 1705s

To you all flesh shall come when deeds of iniquity overwhelm us you forgive our transgressions. 1714s

Happy are those whom you choose and bring near to live in your courts. 1720s

We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, your holy temple. By awesome deeds you 1725s

answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation. You are the hope of all the ends of the earth 1732s

and of the farthest seas. What do we see but we see that God is the God of our salvation? What do we 1739s

see but we see the glorious gospel message that Christ has borne our sin and that we have been 1748s

reconciled unto Him? What do we see but the just judgment of God for our sin falls upon the 1754s

Savior and not us? What do we see once again? It's the grace and the mercy of God. 1762s

And in His grace and mercy He continues to reach out to us. We're going to continue next week 1771s

in chapters 18 to 23. We're going to look at the topic, the hope for the whole plus. We'll see you next week. 1780s