Title: Prophecy against Babylon (Isaiah 21:1-10)
Content This warning is thought to have been given to Cyrus king of Persia and the armies of that empire in the north and east when Babylon fell about 539 B.C. This prophet explains the significance of the event as the Lord taught in the vision (verse 2). As they watched the horsemen approaching in a raptured state, they heard the watchmen say, “Falled, fallen, Babylon, all the sculpted images of their gods have fallen to the ground.” This short prophecy was kept by Isaiah's disciples and was inserted here in the prophecy of a foreign country, but no one knows the reason for the insertion and how to rebuild it. A vision came to the prophet that Babylon would fall terribly on Sennacherib. So, a glimmer of hope came to Israel. Because it means that the Assyrian regime is still going on. In 689 B.C. Babylon fell to Sennacherib, who took the city from him and took the image of Marduk, their god, to Assyria as a spoil.
1. Where is Babylon? Babylon was not located by the seashore, so why did it say “a warning about the seaside wilderness” in verse 1 and called Babylon by the seashore? Because Babylon drew the stream of the great river Euphrates and made it flow around the city of Babylon, it looked like an island in the middle of the sea. Egypt's Nile River was also called a beach (11:15, 19:5). The city of Babylon was so vast that it was like a wilderness. Babylon was surrounded by a strong wall and was perfectly prepared for war. Of course, I also saved a lot of forms. Babylon was a place rich in water from the various streams of the Cush River. Babylon is called a wilderness here because it is now a populated city, but sooner or later it will become a wilderness. Therefore, the fall of Babylon is very often prophesied by this evangelical prophet. It is because that destruction is a foreshadowing of the destruction of the sinner, the great enemy of the New Testament church.
2. What was the cause of Babylon's warning of destruction? Verse 2 says, “The deceiver deceives, and the plunderer spoils, saith the Lord.” There were indeed many deceitful swindlers in the city of Babylon. It was customary to deceive others, to collect power and money, and to put others into a trap for self-fulfillment. Babylon has deceived many others, and in the end, she will be deceived herself as a punishment for her sins. The “plunderer” is also Babylon, which will be plundered for the sins that it has plundered. If you look at this verse, it means that even a large country will be punished according to the crimes it has committed against other countries.
5. Babylon's response to the warning of the prophet Isaiah Verse 5 says, "They set their tables, and they set their watchmen, and they eat and drink. Arise, you princes, and grease your shields." Even in the midst of this national crisis, Babylon was immersed in a festive atmosphere. Here, “they set the table, they set the watchmen, and they eat and drink” is a prophecy that Belshazzar, the last king of Babylon, would quietly hold a feast, eat and drink even though the kingdom was in crisis (Daniel 5:1-10). The Babylonians believed that idols would protect them. But instead of protecting them, Babylon's idols will break and fall to the ground. The prophet Isaiah warned them to repent and the princes to anoint their shields. To “grease the shield” means to prepare for war. But they did not repent, they did not heed the prophet's warning, and they were destroyed.