"Babylon Falls" Sermon: Isaiah 47:1-15 (manuscript)

“Babylon Falls”

[Isaiah 47:1-15]

January 24, 2021 YouTube

            Last week we saw God confront idolaters again, and God argues that He is the Only God Who carries our burdens, and He is God Who providentially causes all things to happen according to His Plan.  There is no other.  All the gods – all the idols – cannot even bear themselves up, and they have no ability to cause the future to come to pass.

            This morning, we see God respond to the Babylonian captivity – even though it will not happen for one hundred years.  Since God is the God of Providence – since everything occurs according to the plan that God set forth before the Creation, God knows all things and can say how He is going to respond in the future.

            We see, first, God avenges His people.

“Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no more be called tender and delicate. Take the millstones and grind flour, put off your veil, strip off your robe, uncover your legs, pass through the rivers.”

Babylon considers herself the Queen of nations – she thinks herself the pinnacle of civilization – the land that will never fall.  But God tells her to sit in the dust – sit in the place of mourning.  She will no longer be called “virgin” – that is “tender and delicate” – this mighty empire with vast military force is considered fragile.  And God tells her she will be pulled down from her throne.

No longer will Babylon be the Queen of nations, she will fall from her throne, lose the fragility that made her different in a world of power, and she will be left to mourn that it is all over.  She is defeated.

Rather than being a queen, she is now a female slave handmaiden: no more veil, no more robe, her flesh exposed, as was common for female slaves of the day.  And rather than sitting on the throne, she will work in the mills and go to the rivers to collect water.

“Your nakedness shall be uncovered, and your disgrace shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and I will spare no one.”

God exposes Babylon and humbles her so she will be disgraced.  God is taking vengeance on Babylon for her sin against the people of God – and God’s vengeance will affect the entire nation – no one will be spared.  Babylon will be seen for who she really is.

And it wouldn’t be odd for us to ask, “Wait a minute, why is God taking vengeance on Babylon?  Haven’t we seen that God sent Babylon to conquer Israel and Judah as their punishment for sinning against God?”

The first think we need to state is that God does not sin – God does not do evil.

So, is it wrong for God to send Israel and Judah into captivity for their sin?  No.

Did God force the Babylonians to conquer Israel and Judah?  No.

Did the Babylonians want to conquer Israel and Judah?  Yes.

            Is it a sin to conquer God’s people?  Yes.

So, Israel and Judah sinned, and God chose to punish them by not stopping the Babylonians from conquering them – the sin is entirely on the Babylonians.  Therefore, God takes vengeance against Babylon because all sin is against God.

As we continue, this is borne out:

“Our Redeemer—the LORD of hosts is his name—is the Holy One of Israel.”

God is Holy.  Therefore, He must punish sin.  Israel’s, Judah’s, and Babylon’s.

“Sit in silence, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for you shall no more be called the mistress of kingdoms. I was angry with my people; I profaned my heritage; I gave them into your hand; you showed them no mercy; on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy. You said, ‘I shall be mistress forever,’ so that you did not lay these things to heart or remember their end.”

God tells Babylon to sit in the darkness – to be ashamed for who she is.  She will be brought down by God.  God uses Babylon to discipline His people, but Babylon does not show them mercy in captivity but punishes them exceedingly.

And God rebukes them, saying that they claim to be an eternal empire, but it is all over.  No matter how much they claim they will never fall, their end is written in God’s providential plan.

God uses evil people who want to sin to discipline His people.  And two things can be true at once:  it is right and good for God to discipline His people, and it is a sin that must be avenged for Babylon to conquer Israel and Judah.

It is a good thing that Jesus died on the cross for our sin, but it is a sin for those involved to put Jesus to death on the cross. 

It is God’s plan to have Jesus die on the cross, but His being put to death will be avenged.

            “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men” (Acts 2:23, ESV).

“Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen” (Revelation 1:7, ESV).

“Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Revelation 6:15-17, ESV).

The crucifixion of Jesus will be avenged, as will the murder of all those who believe in Jesus savingly:

“for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants” (Revelation 19:2, ESV).

Second, pride leads to a fall.

“Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely, who say in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one besides me; I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children’: These two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day; the loss of children and widowhood shall come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the great power of your enchantments.“

Babylon has put herself in the place of God: “I am, and there is no one besides me.”

Last week we heard God say, “remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me,” (Isaiah 46:9, ESV).

Babylon thinks too well of herself, to highly of herself – she believes herself to be far more important than she is – and in a face-off with God – that sin will be her fall.

The Pharisees come before Jesus believing that they do not need Him – they have kept the Law and are a shining example to all the people.  Their speech and judgment give God His good Name.

“And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners’” (Mark 2:17, ESV).

It is through humility and repentance alone that we can come to God to receive salvation.

But Babylon believes she has no need – she is up on her throne.  And she boasts that she will never be a widow or lose a child.  But God tells her that – for her pride – she will become both a widow and know the loss of a child on the same day.  Despite her use of witchcraft to sustain her power, she will fall before the power of God and those who believe she will protect them will be cast down.

“You felt secure in your wickedness; you said, ‘No one sees me’; your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’ But evil shall come upon you, which you will not know how to charm away; disaster shall fall upon you, for which you will not be able to atone; and ruin shall come upon you suddenly, of which you know nothing.”

Babylon believes that no one will see her wickedness in the dark – no one has the power to stop her or take her down for her sin.  She is mighty and wise and thinks she cannot be defeated.  But God will bring her down as He plans.

Daniel is called before the King of Babylon to explain the writing that has appeared on the wall:  it is the destruction – the conquest – of Babylon:

“Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN. This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; TEKEL, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.

“Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

“That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old” (Daniel 5:24-31, ESV).

Jesus says, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 8-11, ESV).

Let us be humble in keeping with who we know we are, giving all glory to God, lest our pride cause us to fall like mighty Babylon.

Third, a false savior is no savior at all.

 Not only does Babylon believe she is greater than all and will never suffer or fall, but she also believes that should anything bad come her way, she will be able to defeat it – being her own savior.

“Stand fast in your enchantments and your many sorceries, with which you have labored from your youth; perhaps you may be able to succeed; perhaps you may inspire terror. You are wearied with your many counsels; let them stand forth and save you, those who divide the heavens, who gaze at the stars, who at the new moons make known what shall come upon you.”

Babylon believes her witchcraft and occult wisdom will save her from anything that comes against her.  She has astrologers to interpret the stars – and, admittedly, astrology and occult magic can scare people.  Look at the number of people in the United States who rely on fortunes and psychics and omens and horoscopes – who go to seances and have tarot readings done.  It may be terrifying – it may seem true.

Larry Norman sings:

“Forget your hexagram you'll soon feel fine, Stop looking at the stars, You don't live under the signs, Don't mess with gypsies, Or have your fortune read, Keep your table on the floor, And don't you listen to the dead” (“Forget Your Hexagram” https://genius.com/Larry-norman-forget-your-hexagram-lyrics).

Why?  God answers Babylon and us:

“Behold, they are like stubble; the fire consumes them; they cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. No coal for warming oneself is this, no fire to sit before! Such to you are those with whom you have labored, who have done business with you from your youth; they wander about, each in his own direction; there is no one to save you.”

“Your witchcraft and occult wisdom are little sticks that burn up in the fire – they cannot save you.  They cannot even save themselves from the fire.  The coals they give you will not warm – their heat is fake.  All those you consider you friends and colleagues – all those who owe you – they will wander around like fools and blind men – they will not be able to save you.  Nothing you are or have is a real savior.  Only the Savior is a savior.”

And so, Babylon falls.

She falls for sinning against God and the people of God – and God takes His vengeance.

She falls for her prideful belief that she is greater than God – eternal and unable to be hurt.

She falls for putting her hopes of salvation in things other than the Only Savior.

Let us take stock of ourselves:

Do we believe that we are sinners in need of a savior – the Only Savior?  Do we come before Him humbly knowing we can do nothing to save ourselves? Do we have a right view of ourselves as sons and daughters of God – through Jesus Alone?  Are we thankful and obedient?

Let us pray:

Almighty God and Father, we come to You humbly knowing that we have sinned against You, and we come to You boldly, for Jesus has opened the throne room for us and we are forgiven.  Help us to be Your people to the world, so You and Your salvation would be known.  Keep us from pride and help us to view ourselves rightly as humans and brothers and sisters of Jesus.  Cause the Holy Spirit to strengthen us and follow Jesus in thanksgiving and obedience – not being afraid of witchcraft and occult wisdom, because You are God Alone.  And we pray this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.