PM Oct 4th Isa 21

October 4^th                    Isaiah,  21         The fall of Babylon

1: The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land. 2: A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease. 3: Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it. 4: My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me. 5: Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield. 6: For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth. 7: And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed: 8: And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights: 9: And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground. 10: O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you. 11: The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?

Edom

12: The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye: return, come.

Arabia

13: The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye travelling companies of Dedanim. 14: The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled. 15: For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war. 16: For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail: 17: And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the LORD God of Israel hath spoken it.

Isaiah,  22         Jerusalem

1: The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops? 2: Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle. 3: All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled from far. 4: Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people. 5: For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord GOD of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains. 6: And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield. 7: And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate. 8: And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest. 9: Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool. 10: And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall. 11: Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago. 12: And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth: 13: And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die. 14: And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

Shebna

15: Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say, 16: What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock? 17: Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee. 18: He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord's house. 19: And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down. 20: And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah: 21: And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. 22: And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. 23: And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house. 24: And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons. 25: In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the LORD hath spoken it.

Isaiah,  23         Phoenicia

1: The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them. 2: Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished. 3: And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations. 4: Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins. 5: As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre. 6: Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle. 7: Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn. 8: Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth? 9: The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth. 10: Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength. 11: He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the LORD hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof. 12: And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest. 13: Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin. 14: Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste. 15: And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot. 16: Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered. 17: And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth. 18: And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the LORD: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.

Today we are reading Isaiah chapters 21, 22 & 23. Chapter 21 has three sections, v1-10 is the prophets burden regarding the desert of the sea (Babylon) v11-12 is his burden for Dumah and v13-17 is the burden of Arabia. In the first passage Isaiah sees the Medes and Persians, who are sent by God, besieging Babylon. And he sees the feasting of Babylon and of the destruction of the city while they feasted. This story is told in the book of Daniel and it is the famous incident of the writing on the wall. The invasion will be like a tornado passing through the land. Babylon falls to the invaders and all the abominable idols are destroyed. Then in v11 he speaks about Dumah – Edom. (This is an abbreviation of Idumea.) They ask about their end and Isaiah says, ask the Lord again another time. In v13-17 Isaiah brings to us his burden for Arabia. He describes the diminishing of the nation within a year. In chapter 22 Isaiah outlines his burden for the valley of vision - The Persian invasion. Then he describes the godless joy of those besieged v1-3. Isaiah says don’t look at me weeping because this is a day of great trouble v4-5. Elam (The Persians) will invade the land with a massive army v6-11. They come to Jerusalem. They count the houses and do various military building projects to destroy the city. The Lord calls for a day of mourning v12 weeping, baldness and sackcloth. Yet the inhabitants feast and they say lets eat today because tomorrow we will die. The Lord called on them to fast but they feasted. In v15-25 Isaiah brings a message to Israel. He foretells their captivity and says that their leader will wear the kings robes. The key of David will be given to him. He will open so that none can shut and shut so that none can open. The Lord will secure him there immoveable. Chapter 23 is the burden of Tyre. The passage is divided into two describing the former and latter times, v1-14 is the former times. Tyre is going to face destruction on an immense scale. Tyre was going to become the profit of the nations. (Mart is the profit of commerce.) The ships of Tarshish (Spain) will be astounded at her destruction. Then Isaiah foretells of a time when for 70 years Tyre will be laid waste. The whole time of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. Then the Lord will bring destruction on the city for her spiritual adulteries with the nations.