Year 9, Day 31: Isaiah 47

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Isaiah 47 gives us words against Babylon.  I’ve personally always thought that the study of Assyria and Babylon in the Old Testament is underdone.  We can learn so much from God’s relationship and use of Babylon, especially with respect to God’s understanding of righteousness.

We know that both Babylon and Assyria were brought onto the scene when the Hebrew people became rebellious and turned to foreign idols.  God called them out of their land to conquer the Hebrew people.  He wanted to show the Hebrew people that their foreign gods cannot save them.  He wanted to show them that they could not save themselves.  He wanted to show them their need for Him and His redemption.

However, look at what the Lord says about them.  He says the same thing about Babylon as He said about Assyria.  Although they were called to be implements of judgment, the were merciless.  They were ruthless.  They were cruel.  They took pleasure in beating other people down.

God may have wanted to judge His own people, but there isn’t a need to do the job without mercy.  God’s point is clear here.  Someone has to be judge, jury, and executioner.  But we don’t have to relish the task.  We don’t have to enjoy watching other people go down.  We certainly don’t have to enjoy benefiting at their expense.  We don’t need to look for ways to take advantage of other people’s circumstances.

The Assyrians and the Babylonians did more than what was called for.  They took God’s calling and turned it into their own scheme for glory.  They abused God’s provision.  Therefore, God gives us chapters like this where he speaks about punishing them in turn.  When we take God’s call and turn it into our advantage, we invite God’s judgment onto us as well.  That’s a fairly significant lesson to learn.

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