These are the original teaching notes from this passage.
- Burden of Egypt…
- The LORD was coming quickly to JUDGE the nation of EGYPT…
- And when the Lord came EGYPT – would be in the midst of a CIVIL war [brother against brother]
- Because they were seeking UNWISE counsel [idols – mediums – sorcerers]
- Therefore God would dry up the NILE river – bring FINANCIAL ruin upon them!
- Human wisdom…
- Rather than going to the LORD – who has all the answers – the Pharaohs went to the FOOLISH men…
- But their supposed WISE counsel was [niphal] BURNED up by the LORD…
- Because there were NO wise men left in Egypt – they were ALL deceived [top to bottom]
- And the FOOLISH counsel that was given had led the nation to RUIN…
- The LORD had raised His fist against them – and they were TERRIFIED!
- Future Hope…
- But in the DAY [בַּיּוֹם] when the LORD comes back [second coming]
- The people of EGYPT will speak HEBREW – and their cities will worship the God of Israel…
- Although the LORD stuck them – He will also HEAL them…
- There will be a HIGHWAY between Assyria and EGYPT [through Israel]
- And God will call EGYPT His people – ASSYRIA the work of His hands – and ISRAEL His inheritance!
- 1st – Burden of Babylon… vs. 1-10
- 1st – The Wilderness… vs. 1
- The Sea… vs. 1
- The burden against the Wilderness of the Sea!
- Isaiah continued his BURDENS against the Nations…
- A section of the book that gives TEN burdens from the Lord – Isaiah 13-23
- BURDEN [מַשָּׂא] – a heavy weight or load – a warning to the nations…
- The SIXTH of these burdens was against the Kingdom of Babylon…
- But their NAME is not mentioned till the END of the BURDEN – Isaiah 21:9
- Instead they are introduced as the WILDERNESS of the SEA [יָם ־ מִדְבַּר]
- Babylon was located in a literal DESERT [rainfall of less than 20cm a year]
- And all the rain fell in the WINTER – there was NO rain for the better part of NINE months…
- The ONLY reason the region thrived is because of TWO rivers…
- The Euphrates flowed right into the heart of the city – and the Tigris was about 40km away…
- These rivers turned what should have been a WILDERNESS – into a SEA of water!
- Second time…
- This is the SECOND time Isaiah had a BURDEN against Babylon – Isaiah 13:1
- The ONLY nation that is mentioned TWICE in the BURDENS!
- FIRST – Isaiah saw the RISE and FALL of the Babylonian empire…
- SECOND – seems to pick up and look further into the FUTURE…
- This BURDEN will connect to the book of REVELATION and the return of Jesus!
- 2nd – The Storm… vs. 1-4
- Medo-Persia… vs. 1-2
- As whirlwinds in the South pass through – so it comes from the desert from a terrible land.
- 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!
- Like a WHIRLWIND from the SOUTH [dust storm from the Arabian peninsula]
- There was something [passive] TERRIFYING [יָרֵא] coming from the desert…
- Isaiah was BURDENED – by what he SAW [חָזוּת]
- The nation [Babylon] who had BETRAYED others – would be BETRAYED [בּוֹגֵד]
- The nation who had been VIOLENT to others – would experience VIOLENCE [שָׁדַד]
- Because God commanded ELAM [Persia] and MEDIA [Medes]
- To go up [imperative] and SILENCE to ALL [כֹּל] of the groaning Babylon had caused!
- When Isaiah wrote this the world power was ASSYRIA [around 700 B.C.]
- Babylon would NOT become a major power for another HUNDRED years [600 B.C.]
- And their fall to the Medo-Persians did NOT for almost 150 YEARS [539 B.C.]
- One hundred and FIFTY years ago ENGLAND was the undisputed world power…
- The USA was an isolated nation – freshly torn by civil war…
- China was a hollowed out shell – divided up among colonial powers…
- Had someone said the USA – CHINA would be superpowers they would have been mocked!
- Because MEN are terrible at guessing who will rise to POWER…
- But the God who establishes KINGS – and humbles KINGDOMS…
- He alone can tell us who will REIGN – and what the FUTURE holds – Isaiah 46:10
- Inevitable… vs. 3
- Therefore my loins are filled with pain.
- Pangs have taken hold of me – like the pangs of a woman in labor.
- I was distressed when I heard it. I was dismayed when I saw it!
- YES [כֵּן] – NEWS of the coming STORM [Medo-Persia] caused Isaiah was FILLED with PAIN …
- He was bent over [niphal] in agony when he HEARD it – anxious [niphal] when he SAW it…
- Because like a woman in Labor – he knew there was NO stopping what was coming!
- When a woman goes into LABOR – it can get INTENSE…
- The pain tends to build quickly – but the end result is AMAZING [joy of new life]
- We know the world around us is NOT going to get better – things are going to get UGLY…
- But as BAD as things get – we know what is COMING!
- Fearful… vs. 4
- My heart wavered – fearfulness frightened me.
- The night for which I longed He turned into fear for me!
- The HEART of Isaiah erred [תָּעָה] – because he was filled with FEAR and TERROR [piel]
- He had been EXCITED to hear from the LORD – but it turned [שׂוּם]
- This SECOND burden of Babylon was MORE than he could take!
- When the ANGEL gave the Apostle John a little BOOK – he warned him – Revelation 10:10
- It would be SWEET in his mouth – but BITTER in his stomach!
- Knowing the truth – what will happen in the future – is a BLESSING and a CURSE…
- One the one hand it is amazing to read the WORD and understand what is coming…
- It brings the events of this crazy world around us into focus – sweet to the mouth…
- But at the same time we also realize the horror that awaits those who reject Jesus…
- Not just the tribulations that are coming – but the eternal separation in the end – it is bitter!
- 3rd – The Watchman… vs. 5-9
- Be ready… vs. 5
- Prepare the table. Set a watchman in the tower.
- Eat and drink. Arise you princes. Anoint the shield!
- Isaiah saw the people of Babylon were preparing for a FEAST…
- They were putting food on the TABLE – spreading out a CARPET [צָפִית]
- The phrase WATCHMAN in the tower – can also be translated spreading out a CARPET…
- The people were EATING [infinitive] and DRINKING [infinitive]
- When they should have been PREPARING [imperative] for the battle…
- Their LEADERS [שַׂר] needed to get up – prepare their SHIELDS!
- Daniel 5:1 – “Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords.”
- As the armies of Medo-Persia under Cyrus surrounded the city of Babylon…
- King Belshazzar [grandson of Nebuchadnezzar] was so confident he was safe…
- Rather than preparing for WAR – he made a FEAST for his princes [שַׂר]
- But a hand appeared and wrote on the wall: MENE – MENE – TEKEL – UPHARSIN…
- That night Belshazzar was killed – and BABYLON fell!
- Instructions… vs. 6-7
- For thus has the Lord said to me: Go set a watchman. Let him declare what he sees.
- 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.
- Therefore [כִּי] – Isaiah was commanded [imperative] by the Lord [אֲדֹנָי]
- He must set a WATCHMAN who would DECLARE what he SAW…
- We are NOT told who the WATCHMAN was – only that they were to report to Isaiah…
- And He listened very carefully to the INSTRUCTIONS Isaiah gave him…
- The WATCHMAN was to look for three kinds of CHARIOTS:
- Ones drawn by HOSES – used in BATTLE [war]
- Drawn by DONKEYS – used to transport materials [infrastructure]
- Drawn by CAMELS – used to travel long distances [expansion]
- The WATCHMAN was not looking for an ARMY – he was looking for a change of EMPIRE!
- As Jesus drew near the Jerusalem – He wept over it – Luke 19:41
- Israel was given INSTRUCTIONS on how to recognize the MESSIAH…
- They had even been told THE EXACT DAY He would arrive – Daniel 9:25-26
- From the command to rebuild Jerusalem [March 14 – 445 B.C.] – Nehemiah 2:8
- After 483 years [69×7] – or 173,880 days [April 6 – 32 A.D.] – Jesus rode into Jerusalem…
- The Jews had the INSTRUCTIONS – but they were NOT watching!
- It is so important we read – and get to know our Bible [instructions]
- We KNOW we are in the LAST days – we KNOW Jesus is coming soon…
- And we do NOT want to miss the SIGNS – we need to make sure we are READY!
- Matthew 24:44 – “Be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect!
- Fallen… vs. 8-10
- Then he cried: A lion my Lord! I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime.
- I have sat at my post every night. 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.
- [Sequential] WATCHMAN cried out like a LION [omitted in some translations] to the Lord…
- He was ALWAYS on the watchtower [DAY and NIGHT]
- AND [וְ] he finally saw a CHARIOT coming with TWO men [war]
- AND [וְ] the WATCHMAN said – BABYLON is FALLEN – FALLEN [repeated twice]
- ALL [כֹּל] of her IDOLS have been shattered [piel] on the ground…
- This likely has a DUAL fulfillment – it happened when Babylon fell to Medo-Persia [539 B.C.]
- But the wording is VERY specific – and also seems to point to a FUTURE event!
- Revelation 14:8 – “Babylon is fallen – is fallen – that great city.”
- There are THREE main views on which CITY is being referred to:
- JERUSALEM – because it is the center of the false worship of the Antichrist – Revelation 17:5
- BABYLON [Iraq] – the CENTER of the economy of the Antichrist – Revelation 18:9-11
- ROME [Europe] – because it is the CENTER of the pollical system – Revelation 17:9
- Whether it is RELIGION – MONEY – or POLITICS [or maybe all three]
- The fall of BABYLON is a result of her INFLUENCE on the world…
- She made them DRUNK with the WINE of her spiritual FORNICATION Revelation 14:9
- Those who trust in RELIGION – will find they are not GOOD enough – Isaiah 64:6
- Those who trust in MONEY – will find it there is not RICH enough – Mark 8:36
- Those who trust in POLITICS – will find they are not STRONG enough – Proverbs 27:24
- Bottom line – if we put our FAITH in anything other than Jesus – we will FALL!
- 4th – Listen to God… vs. 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!
- Isaiah turns to his THRESHING floor – and SON of the threshing floor [וּבֶן גָּרְנִי]
- Speaking of the nation of JUDAH and their son – that had been BEATEN on…
- By: EGYPT – SYRIA – ASSYRIA – BABYLON – GREECE – ROME – ANTICHRIST [seven kingdoms]
- Isaiah DECLARED [hiphil] to them – the WORD he heard from the LORD of hosts…
- BABYLON would FALL – the KINGDOMS of this world will FAIL…
- And in the END – it will be the KINGDOM of God that will RISE – Revelation 20:4
- Punching bag exists for ONE reason – they are meant to be hit…
- There are probably a lot of days when we wonder if that is also our PURPOSE [threshing floor]
- But we are NOT to LOOK at the world around us – we LISTEN to the Word…
- And the WORD tells us that in the END – we WIN!
- 1st – The Wilderness… vs. 1
- 2nd – Burden of Edom… vs. 11-12
- 1st – Silent… vs. 11
- The burden…
- The burden against Dumah!
- The SEVENTH of the burdens was against the Kingdom of Edom [Seir]
- This is the SHORTEST of all TEN of the burdens of Isaiah…
- We again see that Isaiah uses an obscure name to refer to them…
- DUMAH [דּוּמָה] – the word means SILENCE!
- The call…
- He calls to me out of Seir: Watchman what of the night? Watchman what of the night?
- EDOM called out to Isaiah from Mount SEIR – calling him the WATCHMAN [שָׁמַר]
- They wanted to know how much longer the NIGHT would last [2x for emphasis]
- The people who had been SILENT – cried out when TROUBLE [war] came!
- It is unfortunate that MOST people do NOT prioritize God in their lives…
- They are too BUSY with life – to spend much time talking to the LORD…
- But when the TRIALS come – people suddenly start to SPEAK [Lord – Lord]
- And what they want to KNOW is how much longer will the TRIAL [night] last!
- 2nd – Repent… vs. 11-12
- The watchman said: The morning comes and also the night.
- If you will inquire – inquire return! Come back!
- The answer from the WATCHMAN [Isaiah] was simple…
- The MORNING would [perfect] come – but would NOT last – the NIGHT would return…
- The more important question was HOW they were asking…
- If they were SEEKING [imperfect] for the NIGHT to end…
- Then they must [3 imperatives] SEEK [בָּעָה] – by REPENTING [שׁוּב] – and COME [אָתָה] to the LORD!
- II Corinthians 7:10 – “Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation not to be regretted – but the sorrow of the world produces death.”
- When someone gets drunk [headache] – of course they swear they will NEVER do that again…
- Because they are miserable – but too often after a few DAYS – it happens again!
- People who do NOT learn from their TRIALS [night]
- Are bound to REPEAT them – even if the day breaks – a new TRIAL is NOT far away…
- Because they purpose of the TRIAL [night] – is to make us SEEK the LIGHT [day]
- God is trying to get us to REPENT – and COME to the LORD!
- 1st – Silent… vs. 11
- 3rd – Burden of Arabia… vs. 13-17
- 1st – Hiding… vs. 13
- The burden against Arabia – in the forest in Arabia you will lodge.
- O you traveling [caravan] of Dedanites!
- The EIGHTH of the burdens was against the Kingdom of ARABIA…
- ARABIA [עֲרָב] – where we get the word ARAB…
- They were the BEDOUINS who traveled as nomads in the DESERT…
- Their CARAVANS [אֹרְחָה] came from DEDAN [Saudi Arabia]
- But they would NOT stay on the regular routes – instead HIDING in the FOREST [יַעַר] of Arabia…
- There are NO forests in the DESERT – the word is meant to emphasizing WILDERNESS…
- Because when the JUDGEMENT of God came – everyone [even nomads] was effected!
- As the world gets crazier – people get more radical with their preparation…
- During COVID people were buying lots far up in the mountains [Goshen]
- Thinking the end of the world had come – and looking for a place to HIDE!
- But there is NO escape when it comes to the JUDGEMENT of God…
- It does NOT matter if we are in the city – or a remote FOREST – God will find us!
- Revelation 20:11 – “I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. [People] fled from his presence but they found no place to hide.” [NLT]
- 2nd – Fleeing… vs. 14-15
- O inhabitants of the land of Tema.
- Bring water to him who is thirsty – with their bread they met him who fled.
- For they fled from the swords – from the drawn sword.
- From the bent bow – and from the distress of war!
- Those who lived in TEMA [desert] – an Oasis in Saudi Arabia…
- Must [imperative] MEET [קָרָא] and give WATER to those who are THIRSTY…
- And bring FOOD [לֶחֶם] to those who FLED [piel] for their lives…
- Because [כִּי] – they FLED from the SWORD – BOW – and GREAT [כֹּבֶד] war!
- Though not exegetical – it is interesting the word MEET [קָרָא] has the same root as Quran [قُرْآن]
- When people look to the WRONG things for answers [Islam]
- They come away THIRSTY – they are NOT satisfied…
- It is our Job to make sure we give the WATER of life – John 7:38
- And we are to give them the BREAD of life – John 6:48
- 3rd – One year… vs. 16-17
- 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 – and the remainder of the number of archers.
- The mighty men of Kedar will be diminished. For the LORD God of Israel has spoken it!
- For thus said the LORD to Isaiah – within ONE year…
- As sure as if [כִּ] someone was HIRED [under contact] – no question of doubt…
- ALL [ כָּל] of the GLORY of KEDAR [Arab tribes] would FAIL…
- The REMNANT of the bowmen of the sons KEDAR would be VERY few [lost in battle]
- Because the LORD God of Israel had SPOKEN [piel]!
- We live in a world today where things are SPIRALING towards the end…
- We see RIOTS in Iran – violently put down by a heavy handed DICTATOR…
- But their time is coming to an END – the GLORY of KEDAR will fail…
- And we know how the STORY will END – because the LORD has SPOKEN!
- The question left for us is how are we to live our lives…
- We know the time is SHORT – and God wants us to be the WATCHMAN…
- Are we out WARNING people they need to SEEK the LORD…
- NOT because of the TRIALS – NOT to escape the NIGHT…
- But because God is trying to get their attention – get them to come to the LORD!
- 1st – Hiding… vs. 13