Isaiah 47:1-15
Isa 47:1
Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of
Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the
Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.
This chapter gives information on the destruction of
Babylon by Cyrus which will come in 539 B.C. which is about 200 years from the
writing of Isaiah. To sit in the
dust means that the kingdom has been taken and the people are made to sit on the
ground like those who are conquered and taken back to the conqueror’s homeland.
Babylon is called a virgin daughter because Babylon was never conquered
nor taken by any outside power. The
king of Babylon will be made to give his throne to Cyrus and there will no
longer be any descendants to sit on the throne of Babylon who will continue its
unabated power. No longer would
Babylon live on its dainties and live in a pleasant way because their rule has
now come to an end. They took the
Jews from Judah into captivity but treated them badly and now it is their turn
to experience cruelty.
Isa 47:2
Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks,
make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.
Now the inhabitants of Babylon would become like slaves
doing the work of the slave under taskmasters.
This was the life they gave to those they conquered and now they are the
conquered. Just like Samson was
made to grind meal for the Philistines, the Babylonians, even the mighty men
would now suffer the same fate.
They would no longer be able to make themselves presentable but now lived the
life of a slave. Their legs would
be bare which made it easy for the Persians to scourge their legs causing them
pain and weakness. Then they would
have had to bring up their clothing so they would be able to cross the rivers
much easier than with clothing hanging down.
Isa 47:3
Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be
seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.
Then the Babylonians will be forced to walk around naked
exposing their bodies, both men and women thus causing them much shame.
Then the LORD is stating that even though the Medes and Persians are
doing the actual conquering, it is the LORD who is the one who orchestrated
their defeat. Then they will not be
met as a man which means they will not be dealt with in a tenderly and caring
manner but will be treated rough and in a cruel way as they doled out cruelty to
those they had conquered.
Isa 47:4
As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is
his name, the Holy One of Israel.
Then Isaiah declares that the Holy One of Israel is their
redeemer. As LORD of hosts he has
all the command of the heavenly hosts and commands the earthly armies to be
moved about as he wills. He is able
to redeem his people and destroy the enemy as will occur on the last day when
mystery Babylon is destroyed in total.
Isa 47:5
Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter
of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms.
The Babylonians were now to sit in silence and they were
to hear the things which had been prophesied against them come to pass.
To sit silent indicates shame and disgrace.
In the time of Isaiah the kingdom of Babylon was called the “Queen of the
kingdoms” but now she will no longer be called that because of her destruction.
Isa 47:6
I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine
inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon
the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.
God was very angry with his people because they had taken
up idolatry and the worship of idols so the LORD gave them into the hands of the
Babylonians as their punishment.
They were polluted because Babylon was a place of many false gods and the people
were probably made to acknowledge them or suffer death.
The Babylonians showed no mercy to the Jews but treated them cruelly.
They even forced those of mature age to do the work fit for younger
people. The aged should have
commanded respect instead they were placed into forced labor.
Isa 47:7
And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so
that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember
the latter end of it.
The arrogance of the Babylonians had caused them to
believe that they were literally invincible and that they would never be
conquered. How many people today
carry that same attitude that they will always be like they are?
They never considered how evil they were and the sins of cruelty and
idolatry that they increased in.
They never considered these things because they created gods which would endorse
their way of life. They never even
considered the things which would eventually befall them because they were
basking in their self-belief of being invincible but that came to a final end in
539 B.C. Every person in the world
should ponder their end and yet it is the most neglected aspect of a person’s
life.
Isa 47:8
Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to
pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am,
and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know
the loss of children:
Then the LORD gives a serious declaration of the present
attitude which Babylon had basked in.
Their arrogance was so embedded and their over-confidence in their might
had lulled them to sleep in the belief that tomorrow would be as today except it
would be better with more pleasure.
They believed that they were the empire which could never be attacked and
conquered. They always believed
they would have a king on the throne and would never lack the leadership that
would continue to keep Babylon as the queen of kingdoms.
The loss of the children would be the lesser magistrates who ruled on a
lower level than princes or kings.
Isa 47:9
But these two things shall come to thee in a
moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon
thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the
great abundance of thine enchantments.
When Cyrus will march into Babylon in 539 B.C., he will
take over as conquering king and his lesser magistrates will begin to dole out
the justice and the laws of the vanquished.
The Babylonian rulers will be deposed completely as the verse uses the
word “perfection” which carries with it the meaning of “completeness.”
The Babylonians were famous for their use of the occult to try and
foretell the future.
Then the king commanded to call the
magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to
shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. (Daniel 2:2)
Another of the great reasons that God overthrew Babylon was because of
their generous use of the occult arts.
Sorceries was witchcraft and enchantments were spells.
Isa 47:10
For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said,
None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou
hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me.
Babylon’s trust was in their wickedness which is what God
called their occultic arts. The
term “None seeth me” in this passage refers to two things. The first is that
they believed there was no higher authority than themselves and secondly, they
would perform spells and sorceries against people for nefarious purposes such as
wanting to see someone dead or ruined that they did not like.
This way if they performed their arts in private no one could hold them
accountable for their occultic practices.
Their high opinion of themselves whether it be in political or religious
affairs had perverted them in the belief that their wisdom and knowledge was
above reproach. They believed that
there was no one who could match their wisdom and knowledge thus deeply
embedding pride within them.
Isa 47:11
Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know
from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able
to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou
shalt not know.
Then Babylon will suffer three major attacks upon
themselves and their occultic lifestyles of arrogant pride.
First evil will come upon them and since they will not know where it is
coming from they will have no time or way to prepare against it.
Then mischief which carries with it the meaning of “ruin.”
Babylon and its way of life will suffer utter ruin at the hands of Cyrus.
Then Babylon will suffer desolation which carries with it the meaning of
devastation when Babylon will be completely conquered and would not be able to
escape the coming judgment. None of
these three things will they be given a warning so they will be utterly
surprised when they all happen together.
Isa 47:12
Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude
of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt
be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail.
In Isaiah’s day, Babylon was the foremost center of
astrological religion. It was
satanic to the core back then and it is satanic to the core today and modern man
tries to convince himself that we are much more educated today compared to
ancient times. Now these masters of
the occult are being challenged to stand, that is, to make a defense of their
arts and to see if they are really credible.
Isaiah is challenging their spells and their witchcraft which they
embraced all their life to see if it will profit them in any manner.
He challenges them to perform their arts to see if they can prevail
against the true God who will be sending Cyrus to capture them.
Will their arts be able to prevent them from being conquered?
Isa 47:13
Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let
now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and
save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.
They have become wearied in their counsels.
The word “wearied” can have the meaning of “physical exhaustion or
emotional exhaustion.” They
practiced their arts all day and all night when the stars were visible.
They would prophesy by watching the stars.
They would look at the stars in sections and they called them houses.
Astrology depends itself upon the position of the stars and planets and
then the astrologers attempt to foretell future events according to the stars
and planets. The stargazers were
similar in that they looked at the stars according to their positions and
conjunctions and then make judgments according to what they believed would
happen. Then the prognosticators
were the ones who would make predictions as to what the future months may hold
such as agricultural outlook or even economic outlook.
The challenge is to these three groups to make a defense of their arts
and see if they can save them and prevent what is about to happen to them by the
hand of the true God.
Let me say at this juncture that anyone reading this who
is involved with or even performs these occultic arts like astrology, you are in
dangerous territory because you are calling upon the kingdom of Satan to guide
you through this life and the end of your life will be everlasting punishment.
Abandon any and all involvement with these occultic arts because your
soul is in peril. Horoscopes fall
into the same category as the occult.
Isa 47:14
Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn
them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there
shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.
The end of their astrological journey will be everlasting
damnation in the lake of fire. They
will be burned as stubble and they will not have the ability to save themselves
from what is coming on Babylon and eventually upon them when they stand before
the judgment seat of Christ on the last day.
Stubble burns up completely and quickly.
It does not even leave a residue like coals when they burn and as a coal
gives heat, they will not be like the coal.
The picture here is that they have no hope and will have no consolation
when judgment comes.
Isa 47:15
Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast
laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one
to his quarter; none shall save thee.