Isaiah 13 (click here to read the passage)
When I was in California doing youth ministry, one of the things that I needed to do was to obtain my Class C license, which would allow me to drive passenger vans that seated more than seven people. The written exam was very rigorous, and I failed on my first attempt. I then studied a bit harder, specifically going over the points that I had gotten wrong, and then retook the test. To my great relief, I passed and pressed on to the driving test.
“Retaking an exam,” that’s a good way of thinking about the larger context of Isaiah leading up to chapter 36. In chapters 7-12, King Ahaz fails the exam and refuses to trust the Lord. Instead, Ahaz trusts in the strength of other nations. Chapters 13-35 can be described as “going over the materials again,” and those materials are broken down into three parts.
- Chapters 13-23 describe how the nations are under judgment from the Lord (just as the kingdoms of Judah and Israel are—there is one standard for everyone).
- Chapters 24-27 raise the question, “Why trust the nations when all of history is in God’s hands?”
- Chapters 28-35 point out that to trust in human strength and resources over the Lord is a fool’s choice.
When we get to chapter 36, it is King Hezekiah’s time to take the test and Hezekiah does much better.
Looking more closely at chapters 13-23, we find that they are oracles against nation-states. The Lord is using these nation-states as a tool to deal with the rebellion of His people; however, these nation-states are also accountable for their sinful actions.
Chapter 13 is an oracle against the Babylonians, who have become the superpower of the world at this point. The Assyrians are gone, and the Babylonians now reign supremely. They seem like an unstoppable wave that is washing over every land. God uses the Babylonians to deal with the rebellion of His people (that is, the people of the southern kingdom of Judah) just as God used Joshua and the Israelites to deal with the sin of the people in the Promised Land.
The warning we find here is for the Babylonians. God is just and will deal with the sinfulness of the Babylonians. This is something that God does when the Medes eventually conquer them (that is, Persia), and one of the interesting things to note is that Babylon will never be inhabited again (verse 20, which is a promise that has not been broken even today!).
This is difficult stuff to read so we must ask, “What are we to understand from all of this?” The point of emphasis in this oracle is centered on God’s standards for holiness and justice. This standard is not a relative mark. It’s a standard that is applied to all people everywhere. But here’s the thing we all need to grasp: we will all fail to meet that standard because we are sinful. So what happens then?
My two favorite words in the Bible come to mind, “But God.”
Go back and read chapter 12. Chapter 12 reminds us that God chooses to turn from His anger and extend mercy, comfort, love, and forgiveness not just to His own people but to all the nations. The greatest display of this undeserved mercy and love is found in His Son, Jesus, and all that Jesus accomplished on the cross.
In taking our sin upon Himself, Jesus satisfies the justice of the Lord and at the same time proclaims the Lord’s love for us all.
Romans 5:6–8 (ESV)
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
God bless you, and know that you are constantly in my prayers.
Scott