Isaiah 13:1-22 Babylon’s Fall

Isaiah shared a prophecy of Babylon’s fall even before it conquered Judah. It would be conquered by a “distant land” which was pouring out God’s wrath.

I had to do a little research into Babylon’s history. I am NOT well versed in history, so, I turned to Google for some background. I was wondering if Babylon was even a world power at the time of Isaiah. The city of Babylon was in existence at the time but it hadn’t become the famed Babylonian Empire yet. The city of Babylon was controlled by Assyria during the life of Isaiah.

I LOVE IT when prophecy is SPECIFIC! Giving you a name or event that is unmistakable. This is another such prophecy. Babylon the nation had not risen. Babylon the city may have been used as a capitol but the nation was still called by its ruling party’s name. Some may have used ‘short-hand’ names but not God. He calls Babylon by name and He calls her out for the way she treated His people. This hadn’t happened yet, but it would! We have seen it come to pass. And we have seen the rise and fall of Babylon, just as Isaiah relayed to us from the mouth of God.

God is NOT deaf to the cries of His children. He was using Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and even Rome to discipline His children. IF they would have listened earlier, they would have avoided the harsh punishment. But God also paid back those who relished the task, became proud by it, and carried things too far when being used as His instrument. He DIDN’T punish them for being His instrument. He punished them for their part in the process that went beyond His correction. Yes, God knew they would go ‘overboard’ in their conquest but that was NOT His intent. He let man use his free will. And that free will got him into trouble, again.

I’m wondering if part of this prophecy is also and ‘end-times’ prophecy. Isaiah is not only referencing Israel and Judah but the whole world. He is speaking of nations, plural, and of the whole world. Isaiah also speaks of earthquakes, the sun being darkened, the stars not giving their light and the earth being knocked from its place. I’m pretty sure that last one hasn’t happened yet. I’m also pretty sure that the people aren’t rarer than find gold. Maybe the Babylonian people were, but not the rest of this world. This sounds like Tribulation time to me and the fact that Jesus refers to Babylon in the vision He gave John lends even more credence to this idea. The battle of Armageddon will certainly wipe out a LARGE number of people as Jesus says the blood will be up to the flanks of a horse.

I’m PRAYING it’s not God’s army who is killing infants, raping women, and burning homes. I understand on one level that this is how to completely destroy an enemy but my heart hurts just thinking about it. Verse 17 brings the focus onto a people who were known for their brutality. This was the nation God would use to take down the nation of Babylon. To utterly destroy it and to make their glorious city a heap of rubble. And, again, God told us specifically who He would use for His work, before the nation of Babylon had even risen!

Father God, seeing Your prophecies that were and are SO SPECIFIC bolsters my faith even more. There are a MILLION things You had to put in order for just one prophecy to come to pass. This kind of control emphasizes just how in control You are. The specificness of some of Your prophecies blows my mind! And they prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that YOU did these wonders; NOT man!

I lay my life in Your hands again Father. The only One who can and does protect me, even from myself. The One I can come to with my troubles and KNOW that I am heard. The One that has me firmly in His hands!