Isaiah Chapters 12-13/Commentary

Isaiah Chapters 12-13 “Chapter 12 contains a psalm of praise celebrating the joys and glories of the gospel age. After the reference to deliverance from Egyptian slavery in the previous verse, it is not inappropriate that the inspired writer should further develop the analogy. Just as Israel praised Jehovah following their deliverance from Egypt (Exodus 15), so the new Israel will exalt the Lord for their redemption in the kingdom of Christ” (Jackson p. 29).

12:1 “On that day”: This expression takes us back to chapter 11:10 when Gentiles are seeking Christ and when the gospel is attracting the true Israel (11:11).

12:1 “For although You were angry with me”: God’s anger was directed against them because of their sins. In addition, even after various woes would arrive, God said that His anger was still not turned away (5:25; 9:12,17,21; 10:4).

Yet now, after the sacrifice of Jesus (Romans 5:8-9), His anger is turned away.

12:2 Can we honesty express the sentiments contained in this verse? Do we realize that God is the only source of salvation? Do we completely trust Him and are we no longer afraid? Is He our strength and song?

12:3 “Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation”: “Salvation is represented as being like fresh water from a well (Isaiah 55:1; John 4:14; Revelation 22:17), though there must be the human response of drawing it out. God provides the salvation but man must drink” (Jackson p. 29). “Joy and rejoicing should characterize God’s people at all times, causing them to travel the heavenly highway (11:16) with continuous singing and perpetual praise. ‘Wells’ (springs) plural, emphasizes the abundance of spiritual water for the traveler. As the people of Israel ‘drank of a spiritual rock that followed them: and the rock was Christ’ (1 Corinthians 10:4), so let the pilgrim today drink from God’s wells of salvation, wells of grace, redeeming love, strength, and courage, and from the rock which is Christ (John 4:10,17; 7:37-38)” (Hailey p. 127).

Do we take full advantage of Jesus as our well of salvation? When we are discouraged, or weary do we come to Him for refreshment? All along the road to 1

heaven, the Christian can stop at any time and drink from God’s wells of encouragement, exhortation, strength and so on!

12:4-5 People who appreciate their salvation, or we might say, the “saved” act in the following manner. They are grateful and full of praise for God. They must talk about God to others as well (Matthew 28:19-20) and sing His praises (Ephesians 5:19). Compare with Colossians 3:15,17; 1 Thess. 5:18 and Phil. 4:6.

12:4 “Make them remember that His name is exalted”: “In a world of irreverence toward all things holy and God’s sacred name, the redeemed traveler should recognize and mention to others that there is no name above that of our God and His Son (Psalm 11:9)” (Hailey p. 128).

12:5 “Let this be known throughout the earth”: Evangelism should not be viewed as a burden but a joyous task. “We must tell to all the excellent things done by our God” (p. 128).

12:6 “The proper emphasis of evangelistic zeal should be a proclamation of the mighty deeds of Jehovah. The inhabitants of Zion, i.e., Christians, should shout these truths to the whole earth, for God is dwelling in their midst. Compare with to Christ’s promise in Matthew 28:20. The glorious rise of the church of Christ (Chapter 12) is a fitting contrast to the fall of the earthly powers previously discussed (10:12ff)” (Jackson p. 30). And the power that will be mentioned in the chapters to follow.

Chapter 13 13:1 “The oracle”: This section is also ascribed to Isaiah the son of Amoz (1:1), and is delivered at least 150 years before Babylon was conquered. These verses are called an “oracle”, and the same Hebrew term is also translated “burden”, as it comes from a verb meaning “to be lifted or carried”. “It was a weighty or burdensome kind of message to deliver” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p.

1059). It was a common word among the prophets (Nahum 1:1; Hab. 1:1; Malachi 1:1). “Concerning Babylon”: “Jehovah is not only the Lord over Israel, but He rules in all the kingdoms of men (Daniel 4:17,25,32; 5:21). All other nations were subject to obey the Lord, and sections of prophecies like these reveal that the Gentile nations were not left totally without opportunity for repentance” (Harkrider p. 40). The first nation selected for judgment in this section is Babylon, “a natural choice since Babylon will be the conqueror of already-doomed Assyria, and the subjugator of Judah” (Jackson p. 31).

13:2 “God is represented as setting up a signal and beckoning an army to assemble for the purpose of implementing His bidding” (p. 31). “There are three commands: 1. The set up an ensign or flag, a place for rallying, upon a bare mountain where it can be clearly seen. 2. To cry out, lift the voice high, that it 2

may be hear afar. 3. To wave or shake the hand, denoting an urgent beckoning” (Hailey p. 131).

13:3 The consecrated ones are those set apart to function as the tools of His wrath. The consecration is providential and not spiritual, as Assyria had been God’s consecrated ones in carrying out His wrath against Israel (10:5). 13:4 That army that is being gathered against Babylon is huge, and includes many kingdoms. “Note the plural ‘kingdoms’ the reference is to a political conglomerate, the Medo-Persian empire” (Jackson p. 31). 13:5 “This marauding force would come from a far country (Persia was some 350 miles from Babylon)” (p. 31). “From the farthest horizons”: That is, this army would include soldiers from distant countries. Note that the true leader of this army is the Lord, and these kingdoms are the mere instruments or tools of His wrath.

13:6 “The day of the Lord is near”: This expression is often used in the Bible to refer to a time of specific judgment, without referring to the final judgment.

“Whenever the Lord is the One who controls any visitation and punishment, that specific day of destruction is ‘the day of the Lord’” (Harkrider p. 40). Added to this fact is that all the previous judgments in the Old Testament look forward to the final day of judgment (2 Peter 3:10; 1 Thess. 5:2). 13:7-8 The fall of Babylon will be a judgment from God, a judgment that neither strength nor courage can resist. ”Babylon’s anguish will be like a woman in labor. Her people will stand amazed, perhaps never dreaming that she could be taken. Their faces will flush red with surprise, anger, and pain” (Jackson pp. 31-32). In like manner, unbelievers will be shocked when Jesus returns. 13:9 “The term ‘cruel’ denotes something severe and painful, not that which is morally cruel” (p. 32).

13:10 This is not the Second Coming or the end of the world, rather the language here is being used when God brings down a nation. “All is dark, starless and without light, not physically” (Hailey p. 133). God is poetically describing His judgment that will turn the lights out on a nation. This will be a complete downfall, and a total upheaval. “The darkening of heavenly luminaries is frequently depicted in the Bible as a symbol for judgment, especially relating to national powers (Ezekiel 32:7-8; Matthew 24:29; Joel 2:31)” (Jackson p. 32).

13:11 God is going to punish Babylon for its arrogant wickedness. 13:12 Survivors of this destruction will be as rare as gold from the region of Ophir.

“Tyrants are cast down, and men, whether great or insignificant, become more scarce than the pure gold of Ophir” (Hailey p. 133). 13:13 The heavens and the earth trembling indicates God’s presence, that He has a hand in this judgment.

13:14 “As a timid roe or gazelle of the field flees in the face of danger, and as sheep, animals incapable of reassembling themselves, scatter so that no man can gather them, so will every man flee to his own hand, for Babylon was made up of many peoples. Each will look out for himself” (pp. 133-134). 13:15-16 These are not easy verses to read, but this reality would happen if Babylon remained defiant. “The cruelty of war (among unbelievers) knows no bounds.

Men become heartless, void of sentiment and feelings” p. 134). “In the coming

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invasion, the carnage will be awesome; neither age nor sex will be exempt. Both properties and families will be victimized” (Jackson p. 32). Yet, as graphic as these verses are, there is a worse fate for unbelievers, the unquenchable fire.

13:17 The nation that God is going to use as His tool to punish Babylon is now mentioned. “Media lay south and southwest of the Caspian Sea, north of the Zagros Mountains. Cyrus, of the Elamite province of Anshan, came to the throne about 550 B.C. and defeated the Median army about 549 B.C., thus uniting the Medes and the Persians. In 539 B.C., Cyrus and his army took the city of Babylon, whose citizens received him as a liberator. The buildings were left intact, but Babylon’s political and military power was brought to an end” (Hailey p. 134). The “Medes” may be singled out here rather than the Persians because “of their greater ferocity and also because they were better known to the people of Isaiah’s day. According to the Greek historian Xenophon, Cyrus acknowledged that the Medes had served his cause without thought of monetary reward” (Gaebelein p. 103).

13:17 “I am going to stir up the Medes”: God can providentially bring one nation against another, without violating the free will of man. “Who will not value silver or take pleasure in gold”: That is, Babylon will not be able to bribe the Medes to leave them alone. “They were motivated by power and by revenge, not booty” (Hailey p. 134). 13:18 “The ruthless cruelty and heartless spirit of the Babylonians would be equaled by the Medes” (p. 134).

13:19 What a contrast will happen when Babylon falls. Once the pinnacle of beauty and grandeur among all earthly cities and kingdoms, from such a state of glory and pride, this city would become like Sodom and Gomorrah. This indicates not only complete destruction but also reveals that the city will be destroyed because of gross immorality. 13:20-22 The desolation described in verse 19 will not be temporary, rather it will be unending. “Not even nomads would care to inhabit the wretched ruins of once-mighty Babylon. The fulfillment of this remarkable prophecy was progressive. After Cyrus invaded Babylon (539 B.C.), he substantially left the city standing, making it one of his capital centers for a while. Eventually though, the city revolted against his captor; hence, in about 516 B.C., Darius, the Persian king, invaded the city and dismantled the walls. In 482 B.C. the Babylonian settlement again revolted, which rebellion was put down by Xerxes with much damage being visited upon the city. Alexander the Great sought to restore the place to its former glory. He employed 10,000 men for two months to clear away the rubbish in preparation for construction, but he abandoned the project shortly thereafter. In 20 B.C., Strabo, the Greek geographer, described Babylon as a ‘vast desolation’. The famous archaeologist Henry Layard, who excavated the area between 1845-51 A.D., described it as a ‘naked and hideous waste’. This amazing prophecy uttered more than a century before the rise of the Medo-Persian regime, clearly reflects the divine inspiration of this document” (Jackson pp. 32-33).

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Premillennial writers argue that eventually the literal city of Babylon will be rebuilt.

They say this because they assume that the Babylon mentioned in Revelation is the literal old city, yet this would contradict what the Holy Spirit said through Isaiah, “It will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation” (13:20).

Point to Note: Not only did Isaiah predict that Babylon would conquer Jerusalem, but he went on to say that Babylon, in turn, would be conquered by the Medes. Keep in mind that when this prediction was made, Media (as a world power) was not in existence. Isaiah gives specific names and not vague speculations. He names specifically the power that will conquer Babylon and He will also name the exact Persian king who will let the Jews return from captivity (Isaiah 44:26-29). This prediction is made 150 years before Cyrus was born!

“How would you like to predict who will be the president of the United States 150 years from now? And, at the same time, describe what will be one of his most important domestic and foreign policy decisions? That is something only God could do” (Seven Reasons Why You Can Trust the Bible, Lutzer, p.

93).

“Biblical prophecy is not written in riddles and obtuse references. It names places, events, and even people, in detail. We might ponder the when, the how, and the why, but we are not left with a half dozen confusing interpretations. Bible prophecy is written in plain language” (p. 92).

The above prophecy took centuries to fulfill, but as one writer noted, “The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine” (Gaebelein p. 103).

13:21 “Shaggy goats”: Here the KJV has “satyr”. The Hebrew here means “hairy, wild goats”, and it refers to wild goats and not some mythical half-man and half beast. Everything else in the text is a literal wild animal so there is no reason why one should interpret this word as referring to some type of demon or mythical creature.

13:22 “Her faithful time also will soon come”: Actually, the city was devastated in 689 B.C. by the Assyrian king Sennacherib which might have signaled the very beginning of this prophecy. “From Isaiah’s point in time the destruction was not near; but from the standpoint of Babylon’s glory and the zenith of her power, it was not far distant” (Hailey p. 135).

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