Isaiah 21 Commentary
Babylon, Edom, Arabia Judged
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KEY THOUGHT: Go up, O Elam! Besiege, O Media! [Isaiah 21:2b NKJV]
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Isaiah 21 NKJV
The Fall of Babylon Proclaimed
21 The [a]burden against the Wilderness of the Sea.
As whirlwinds in the South pass through,
So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land.
2 A distressing vision is declared to me;
The treacherous dealer deals treacherously,
And the plunderer plunders.
Go up, O Elam!
Besiege, O Media!
All its sighing I have made to cease.
3 Therefore my loins are filled with pain;
Pangs have taken hold of me, like the pangs of a woman in labor.
I was [b]distressed when I heard it;
I was dismayed when I saw it.
4 My heart wavered, fearfulness frightened me;
The night for which I longed He turned into fear for me.
5 Prepare the table,
Set a watchman in the tower,
Eat and drink.
Arise, you princes,
Anoint the shield!
6 For thus has the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman,
Let him declare what he sees.”
7 And he saw a chariot with a pair of horsemen,
A chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels,
And he listened earnestly with great care.
8 [c]Then he cried, “A lion, my Lord!
I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime;
I have sat at my post every night.
9 And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!”
Then he answered and said,
“Babylon is fallen, is fallen!
And all the carved images of her gods
He has broken to the ground.”
10 Oh, my threshing and the grain of my floor!
That which I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
The God of Israel,
I have declared to you.
Proclamation Against Edom
11 The [d]burden against Dumah.
He calls to me out of Seir,
“Watchman, what of the night?
Watchman, what of the night?”
12 The watchman said,
“The morning comes, and also the night.
If you will inquire, inquire;
Return! Come back!”
Proclamation Against Arabia
13 The [e]burden against Arabia.
In the forest in Arabia you will lodge,
O you traveling companies of Dedanites.
14 O inhabitants of the land of Tema,
Bring water to him who is thirsty;
With their bread they met him who fled.
15 For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword,
From the bent bow, and from the distress of war.
16 For thus the Lord has said to me: “Within a year, according to the year of a hired man, all the glory of Kedar will fail; 17 and the remainder of the number of archers, the mighty men of the people of Kedar, will be diminished; for the Lord God of Israel has spoken it.”
Footnotes
a. Isaiah 21:1 oracle, prophecy
b. Isaiah 21:3 Lit. bowed
c. Isaiah 21:8 DSS Then the observer cried, “My Lord!
d. Isaiah 21:11 oracle, prophecy
e. Isaiah 21:13 oracle, prophecy
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 21 Commentary
Three prophecies: Babylon, Edom, and Arabia. Babylon is more interesting. The lines in this chapter appear to describe Belshazzar’s fall at the hands of the Medes. They are eating and drinking. They feel safe. But suddenly disaster strikes. God’s people can rejoice!
What does Babylon’s fall mean to the saint? Well, a time comes when the oppressor is destroyed. Whatever goes up must come down! The LORD is behind it all – operating through enemy and ally alike. Working through elements of nature as well as through human activity.
So significant was the fall of Babylon that the Book of Revelation repeats these words: “With a mighty voice he shouted: ‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’” Revelation 18:2.
Eventually, all evil will be punished. Babylon’s sin is idolatry manifesting itself as pride. “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” Daniel 4:30.
The message is fully unpacked by the New Testament: “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.” Revelation 18:4b.
Yes, Babylon is a physical place, but importantly, Babylon is a system. It’s a culture. It’s the shape and color of a sinful world. Know that Babylon will one day be destroyed. The LORD has decreed.
The LORD will punish wickedness. Come out of her and be separate!
Isaiah’s visions go out to the international community. Yes. The peoples of this world receive their fate – but it is all to do with the Creator God’s decision. The time is rigidly fixed.
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