CHAPTER 21

(714 B.C.)

THE FALL OF BABYLON, MEDO-PERSIA THE SPOILER

¹The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it comes from the desert, from a terrible land. (The phrase, the desert of the sea, refers to Babylon.)

²A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer deals treacherously, and the spoiler spoils. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease. (The primal occasion of the fulfillment of this Prophecy was the destruction of Babylon some 200 years later by the Medes and Persians on the night that Belshazzar was slain. This means that the command to Elam and to Media to go up and besiege Babylon was a Divine command. This was done because of Babylons treatment of Israel.)

³Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman who travails: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it. (The Prophet is horror-stricken at the devastation, the ruin, the carnage.)

⁴My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure has he turned into fear unto me. (This was no doubt the night of the handwriting on the wall, which saw the fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians [Dan., Chpt. 5].)

⁵Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, you princes, and anoint the shield. (This speaks of war and destruction, when the Medes and the Persians would break through and take the city.)

⁶For thus has the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he sees. (The Holy Spirit will, in effect, give Isaiah a ringside seat as to what he will observe. These are the judgments which will come upon Babylon.)

⁷And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed (Isaiah saw something that would happen many years into the future; such pinpoint accuracy should provide information to anyone who desires to know of the Hand of God, even minutely so, in world affairs!):

⁸And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights (the sense of the Verse is that the Prophet cried as a lion; he can contain himself no longer):

⁹And, behold, here comes a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods He has broken unto the ground. (The masses of infantry and cavalry seen by the watchman in Vision were the hosts of Media and Elam. The repetition of the word fallen and the use of the present tense emphasize the sure fulfillment of the Prophecy. It, in fact, happened exactly as stated!)

¹⁰O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you. (The bruised corn of the threshingfloor describes Israel as oppressed by the Babylonians. The Lord identifies Himself here with these hapless slaves and is not ashamed to call them His people.)

THE MESSAGE TO DUMAH (EDOM)

¹¹The burden of Dumah. He calls to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? (The word Dumah refers to Idumea or Edom. There is a play here upon words, for Dumah means silence. The Prophecy foretold an eternal silence for the sons of Esau.

Evidently, the Edomites appealed to the Prophet as to their future. The answer would not be to their liking.)

¹²The watchman said, The morning comes, and also the night: if you will enquire, enquire you: return, come. (In essence, Isaiah says: For Israel, the morning is indeed coming, but for Edom, the night; and yet, in the tender compassion of the Holy Spirit, He adds, If you are in earnest and are inquiring sincerely, then turn away from your idols and come to the Light. But Edom refused the gracious invitation and has passed away into the eternal night.)

THE FATE OF ARABIA

¹³The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall you lodge, O you travelling companies of Dedanim. (There is a play upon the word Arabia. It has to do with the word sunset. For the sons of Ishmael, there is an evening of sorrow as they lodge in the forest, but not a night of eternal silence. And so they have continued unto this day!)

¹⁴The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him who was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him who fled. (The fleeing Dedanites are helped by the descendants of Abraham as they pass through. They are given bread and water.)

¹⁵For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war. (This Prophecy pertains to the invasion by Assyria, which would happen very shortly. Isaiah sees the defeat of the Arabians, as well as their fleeing for their lives and from the heartache of war.)

¹⁶For thus has the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail (the word Kedar refers to another part of Arabia; the Prophet says that the judgment upon Arabia will take place within a year; this pertains to the invasion by Assyria):

¹⁷And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the LORD God of Israel has spoken it. (These people glory, not only in their wealth, but in their number of archers and their mighty men. They felt secure!

However, they have sinned greatly, and now they were sinning against Light, because the Holy Spirit through the Prophet was pinpointing to them exactly what was going to take place in the near future, even in a year.)