Isaiah 13

My brother-in-law has given us his Sky code so we can watch on the iPad and Sky TV. It's a remarkable thing and a wonderful thing.

What it means is that you can get up on a Saturday morning and you can watch three international rugby test matches. And then in the afternoon you can watch three international football games. It's a great recipe for family harmony.

But one of the things that you notice is as you watch rugby and football there's many, many differences. But one of the big differences is the managers or the coaches.

And you notice in football they stand in a little box by the side of the pitch and they shout and they gesticulate and they scream at their players.

But in rugby the coaches or managers don't stand at the side of the pitch. They now sit in the stands and they sit in the box.

And the reason for that is it gives them a better perspective. They can see the whole of the pitch. They can see the whole of the team.

And in Isaiah 13 we begin a new section of the book of Isaiah that we're working through.

And you can say it's as if Isaiah takes his audience up the steps of the stadium of the world.

So that you can get a better vantage point of what is going on. So that you can see the whole game.

And so from verses 13 to 23 you will see that there are ten oracles or ten burdens, ten messages that are delivered by Isaiah to ten nations.

On one level you could say that it's Isaiah's state of the nations address.

But what we're going to see is that Isaiah doesn't deliver these oracles to the respective nations.

He doesn't go to them. No, the audience for each oracle is actually the people of Judah.

And particularly the remnant.

That group of people within the people of Judah that were actually holding on to God.

They were trusting in God.

And not forsaking God.

And Isaiah speaks to them, these ten oracles.

So the question is why would it be important for these people,

to this small little group of God's people,

to hear about what is going to happen amongst the world?

What is going to happen to these other super nations?

These other nations?

And here's the reason.

Paraphrase Bob Dylan.

You've got to trust somebody.

You've got to trust somebody.

And Isaiah wants his audience to understand,

whatever you do,

you don't want to trust the nations.

Whatever you do,

you don't want to trust the nations.

And Judah, little tiny Judah,

is going to be tempted to seek alliances with other nations,

to deliver them,

to protect them from their enemies.

And Isaiah says,

don't put your trust in them.

And the question is,

well, if you're going to trust somebody,

who are you going to trust?

And over and over and over again,

Isaiah wants them to understand,

that they've got to trust the Lord.

They've got to trust God,

because he is sovereign over all the nations.

And through these chapters,

we are going to find that God is not just in the coach's box,

watching the action,

seeing what the opposition is doing,

and then acting and reacting accordingly.

No, God is in absolute control

of everything that is going on below.

that his game plan is being executed sovereignly,

with all the twists and all the turns.

But as we're going to see,

God has got his eye

on the final play of the game.

And the reason Isaiah gives us a glimpse

into the playbook of God here,

is because Isaiah's role here as the prophet

is to be a faith builder.

He wants to encourage the faith of the people of Judah.

He wants to encourage you and I

to not give up as God's people,

to not give up trusting God.

It is to encourage you and I

not to look for our security

and our identity in other things,

in other places,

but to keep trusting in the Holy One of Israel.

You've got to trust somebody,

says Isaiah.

And here is why that somebody needs to be God.

And the first oracle, Isaiah,

gives us specific reasons

why we are to trust God.

And the specific reason comes in five words.

Five words.

Why you need to trust God.

Why is it that he needs to be

your only and ultimate security?

Five words.

It's the day of the Lord.

The day of the Lord.

That's the reason.

The day of the Lord.

For what ultimate purpose?

So we're going to ask.

Four questions.

We're going to ask what, why, who,

and for what ultimate purpose?

What, why, who,

and for what ultimate purpose?

Number one.

What is the day of the Lord?

Look at verses one to eight.

What is the day of the Lord?

Verse one.

The oracle concerning Babylon,

which Isaiah, the son of Amor,

saw on a bare hill,

raised a signal,

cry aloud to them,

wave the hand for them

to enter the gates of the nobles.

I myself have commanded

my consecrated ones,

my set apart ones,

and have summoned my mighty men

to execute my anger,

my proudly exulting ones.

The sound of a tumult is on the mountain,

as of a great multitude.

The sound of an uproar of kingdoms,

of nations gathering together.

The Lord of hosts is mustering

a host for battle.

They come from a distant land,

from the end of the heavens.

The Lord and the weapons

of his indignation

to destroy the whole land.

Wail, for the day of the Lord is near.

As destruction from the almighty

it will come.

Therefore all hands will be feeble,

and every heart will melt,

and they will be dismayed.

Pangs and agony will seize them.

There will be an anguish

like a woman in labour.

They will look aghast at one another.

Their faces will be aflame.

The language is very unnerving.

And yet, as the reader and the listener,

we are drawn into this.

As we hear the various commands

that are being uttered,

raise a banner,

listen,

listen,

wail,

and other commands

as you go through the chapter,

it doesn't take too much investigation

to realise why all these commands

are being given.

They are being given

because the day of the Lord,

the day of the Lord

is actually a day of judgment.

It will, says Isaiah,

come like destruction

from the almighty,

and it is God

who is the one

who is in charge.

God is not watching

from a distance.

He is in charge,

he is directing,

he is controlling,

and yet the judgment

that is to come on Babylon,

we read off here,

is to come at the hands

of other nations.

God is gathering an army

from the other nations

around to defeat Babylon.

It's probably worth pointing out,

isn't it,

that in verse 3,

it says consecrated ones,

it might even say holy ones

in your translation of the Bible.

That doesn't mean holy

in the sense of

holy, holy, holy

is the Lord God almighty.

They're not holy in themselves,

but they are holy

in the sense of the word

is set apart.

They've been set apart,

they've been consecrated

by God

for the task

that he's called them to do.

And at the end of verse 3,

we see that they are

proudly exalted ones.

They are full of themselves,

aren't they,

the psalmist?

They think they're chocker,

they're full of themselves.

These warriors,

they are full of arrogance

and boasting.

But unknown to them,

God has claimed them

to achieve

his ultimate purposes.

And his purpose

is to bring wrath

and judgment to Babylon.

And the result of this day,

verse 7,

is

feeble hands

and melting hearts.

What a picture of helplessness.

Demoralization.

Total personal paralysis.

Feeble hands

and melting hearts.

The day of the Lord,

we see,

is a fearful day.

It's a day of divine judgment.

And at the same time

as we read on,

we discover, however,

that this day of the Lord

seems to point

beyond this particular judgment

that is coming

on the nation of Babylon.

Look at verse 9.

Behold,

the day of the Lord

comes cruel

with wrath

and fierce anger

to make the land

a desolation

and to destroy

its sinners from it.

For the stars

of the heavens

and their constellations

will not give their light.

The sun will be dark

on its rising

and the moon

will not shed its light.

I will punish

the world

for its evil

and the wicked

for their iniquity.

I will put an end

to the pomp

and the arrogant

and lay low

the pompous pride

and the ruthless.

Verse 13.

Therefore I will make

the heavens tremble

and the earth

will be shaken

and misplaced.

Can you see

the day of the Lord

that Isaiah is talking about here

is cosmic in its effect.

And that is the unison chorus

of the prophets

throughout the Old Testament.

The day of the Lord

is cosmic.

But this day of the Lord

is not only coming later

but it is also coming

much later.

And that is one

of the challenging parts

of reading

the Old Testament

prophets, isn't it?

Because the prophets

seem to occupy

they seem to operate

in three different

time zones.

You know,

you go into those

buildings sometimes

and there are

those offices

and there are

three clocks

on the wall.

There's a clock

at the time of the UK

GMT

Greenwich Mean Time

and then there's

a clock about Tokyo

and then one about

New York say

and there's three

different time zones.

And the prophets

of the Lord

they operate

in three different

time zones.

They operate

in the now

and the later

and the much later.

Have you got that?

The now

and the later

and the much later.

And we've already

seen them in the

first twelve chapters

how the prophet

in a sense

is speaking

in the now time zone.

He's contending

the people of Judah

for their abandonment

of God.

But here in chapter 13

we've been an example

of the later

time zone

and the much

later time zone.

But the difficulty

is that sometimes

the prophets

don't delineate

very quickly

very clearly today

entirely well

between the two

time zones

together.

But it's clear

he's not just

talking about

a later period

a time that's to come

but a much later

period.

That this judgment

on Babylon

is pointed

to a cosmic

judgment.

A cataclysmic

judgment

when God

will pour out

his wrath

in judgment

on the world

and we're told

here on the

whole earth.

The heavens

will tremble.

He will pour out

his wrath

and judgment

on the day

of the Lord

on which day

on which the day

that Babylon

will fall.

Well on the day

that Babylon

will fall

is just actually

a pale shadow

of that great

and terrible day.

The day of the

Lord is a day

of judgment.

But it's ultimate

manifestation

the ultimate

day of the Lord

still lies in the

future.

So that in a sense

is the what

of the day of the

Lord

a day of divine

judgment.

The second question

is why?

Why?

What is God's

reason for the

day of the Lord?

Look at verse 11

I will punish

the world

for its evil

and the wicked

for their

iniquity.

I will put

an end to

the pomp

of the arrogant

and lay low

the pompous

pride of the

ruthless.

Now the

danger here

is that we

read a verse

like this

and we begin

to think to

ourselves

well finally

God is going

to sort

this world

out.

He's going

to get rid

of all the

evils.

He's going

to get rid

of all the

wickedness.

He's going

to get rid

of the terrorists

and the rapists

and the murderers

and then he's

going to give

the rest of us

a much better

world to live

in.

And when we

go down that

route we

find ourselves

we give

ourselves far

too much

credit.

Listen to this

quote by the

Russian writer

Solzhenitsyn.

He says

if only there

were evil

people somewhere

insidiously

committing evil

deeds and it

were necessary

only to separate

them from the

rest of us and

destroy them.

But the line

dividing good and

evil cuts through

the heart of

every human

being and who

is willing to

destroy a piece

of his own

heart.

You see the

why of the

day of the

Lord is sin

and evil

but all of

us, every

single one of

us stand

condemned.

All of us

have missed

the mark

for how God

intends us to

live.

We do that

by sense of

commission

when we lie

or steal

or covet

what other

people have.

We do it by

sense of

omission

too when we

fail to love

other people

as we are

called to do.

When we

fail to

forgive

when we

refuse to

be content

with what we

have in

life and

we're always

wanting more.

All of us,

think about it

another way,

all of us

may have

built our

identity on

something other

than God.

And so by

this account

we are guilty.

We've looked

at other

things other

than God

and thought

if only I

had that.

If only I

had that I'd

be condemned.

If I just

had that dress

or if I

could just

live in that

house or

if I could

just have

that job

or if I

could just

have that

husband,

we've looked

at those

things and

we've thought

if only I

had those

things then I

feel valuable.

Then I feel

significant.

I feel I

have meaning

if I get

those results,

if I achieve

this.

And as such

we've made

those things

more fundamental

to our security

and our worth

than God.

And we've

enslaved

ourselves to

idols.

idols of

money,

possessions,

reputation,

job or

possessions.

And thereby

we've condemned

ourselves and

that is why

the day of

the Lord,

the why of

the day of

the Lord is

sin and

evil.

And the

reality is

therefore all

of us,

every single

human being

stands

condemned.

judgment.

So the

what of

the day of

the Lord is

judgment and

the why of

the Lord is

the day of

the Lord is

sin.

But what

does Isaiah

say here about

who?

The who of

the day of

the Lord?

It's very

specific here.

The who of

the day of

the Lord.

Again in

chapter 13

and verse 1.

The oracle

concerning

Babylon.

Like I said

at the beginning

of the sermon,

the ten oracles

here form something

of a state of

the nations

for Israel.

For Isaiah's.

But for the

reader, we've

been reading

through, haven't

we?

I hope we

have.

And the first

12 chapters

of Isaiah.

Particularly for

Isaiah's audience,

the first one

would be a

massive surprise.

Who would

they have

expected it

to be about?

Who is the

nation that

they would

have expected

the first

oracle to

be about?

They would

have expected

it to be

about Assyria.

Assyria.

Up to this

point, Isaiah

has been

warning Judah

of the imminent

threat of

Assyria.

Assyria at

that point was

the superpower

nation to

the east.

But Isaiah

in the first

12 chapters

has learned

that Judah

is going to

be overthrown.

He's going

to be scattered.

But it's not

going to be

in the hands

of Assyria.

Assyria is

going to attack

Judah, but it's

not going to

overpower Judah.

No, the power

that was biding

his time in the

shadows, who is

going to

overthrow

Judah, was

indeed

first one,

Babylon.

Babylon held

the title

among the

nations of

the kind of

rising superpower.

The up and

coming nation.

And as such,

Babylon was

probably the

nation that

was most

tempting to

Judah.

It was most

tempting for

Judah to run

to them, to

the Babylonians,

and say, if

we do what

you tell us

to do, will

you protect

us?

Will you

guard us

against our

enemies?

And then in

this opening

oracle, God

chose through

Isaiah to

reveal what

was going to

happen to

them.

What is going

to happen to

Babylon?

After their

defeat of Judah,

they themselves

are going to

be destroyed.

You've got to

trust somebody,

Isaiah says,

but whatever

you do, don't

trust Babylon.

Because look

what God is

going to do

to her.

You've got to

trust in the

Lord.

Now there's

another reason,

isn't there,

why Babylon is

the head of

this list, of

these nations

and oracles.

But I want to

make one quick

application.

I think all of

us probably have

felt a little bit

concerned about

the political

rhetoric of the

last few days,

no matter what

side you're on.

Our country is

at something

of a crossroads.

And I don't

want to encourage

patriotism or a

love for this

country.

Nor am I

suggesting that

a Christian

should abandon

the political

process.

This country is

a great country

to live in.

And this country

is so much

to serve the

rest of the

world.

But the UK,

like any

country, can

become an

idol.

And God

would view

any attempt

to find our

security in

this nation

in which we

live, he

would find any

attempt to do

that with the

same contempt

that he had

for those to

find their

security in the

superpower nation

of Isaiah's

day, namely

Babylon.

Isaiah says

to you and I

this morning,

the one that

you are to

trust in is

the Lord.

There is no

guarantee that

God will delay

the day of

the Lord.

But this nation

will not go the

same way as

Assyria, or

Babylon, or

Rome, or

Greece.

But there is

one, isn't

there, who

outlasts the

nations.

because he

is sovereign

over all the

nations.

And Isaiah

says to you

and I, that

is who I

want you to

trust.

I want you

to trust in

God.

So Isaiah

puts Babylon

at the top

of the list

because they

are the

superpower nation.

But there is

another reason

why they are

at the height

of the list.

Which is

this, that

more than

any other

name in the

Bible, Babylon

personifies

something, doesn't

it?

What does

Babylon remind

you of?

It reminds

you of

Babel in

Genesis chapter

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

11.

Humankind's

desire to be

its own

saviour.

But Babylon is

the epitome of

human pride.

Look at verse

11 again.

I will put an

end to the

pomp of the

arrogant.

And I will

lay low the

pompous pride

of the ruthless.

And then look

at verse 19.

And Babylon

the glory of

kingdoms, the

splendour and

pomp of the

Coltians.

Well, it will

be like Sodom

and Gomorrah

when God

overthrew them.

And each time

when Babylon is

mentioned in

Isaiah chapter

Isaiah 11 · chapter mention

11, the

actual Hebrew

word is

Babel.

It's

Babel.

And that

rings a bell,

does it?

And it's true

because in

Genesis 11, the

origin of the

city is in

fact the city

of Babel.

What happened

in Genesis 11?

There was a

bid to organise

life, to

create security

and stability

with our own

resources.

And without

reference to

God.

So the people

of Babel, do

you remember,

they said, let's

build a city for

ourselves and a

tower that reaches

up to the heavens

so that we can

make a name for

ourselves and not

be scattered over

the whole earth.

And it's pride.

And they said, we

will show God and

in the end God

shows them.

He confuses their

language.

And he scatters

them throughout

the earth.

But here we see

in Isaiah that

that city doesn't

go away.

It's back.

Babel is back

and rearing its

ugly head in the

time of Isaiah.

And it obviously

hasn't changed

its tune.

It's still known

for its pride.

And God says, now

I'm going to

destroy this city.

And God does

destroy the city

of Babylon.

But the thing

is, the spirit

of Babylon, the

spirit of Babel

lives on.

That initial

day of the

laws brings

destruction for

the physical

city.

But the pride

from which

Babylon was

known continues.

And indeed

continues.

So Isaiah

here in verse

11 is saying

God is going to

put an end to

that arrogance

and that pride.

And he's going

to humble the

pride of the

ruthless.

And the

question is,

when is he

going to do

that and we

come back to

the day of

the Lord?

You see, what

is going to

happen on the

day of the

Lord isn't

just the focus

of the Old

Testament.

But it's also

the focus of

the New.

And when we

turn to the

end of the

Bible in

Revelation

Revelation 18 · chapter mention

chapter 18,

here is what

John tells

us of his

vision of

history.

Let me read

to you.

After this he

says, I saw

another angel

coming down

from heaven,

having great

authority, and

the earth was

made bright

with his

glory, and

he called

out with a

mighty voice,

Fallen!

Fallen is

Babylon the

great.

In her

heart, she

says, I

sit as a

queen.

I am no

widow, and

mourning I

will never

see.

For this

reason, her

claims will

come in a

single day.

Death, and

mourning, and

famine, and

she will be

burned up with

fire, for

mighty is the

Lord God who

has judged

her.

And you

read through

Revelation

Revelation 18 · chapter mention

chapter 18, and

as confusing as

Revelation can

be, but

Babylon in

Revelation 18

looks like a

place of

culture, and

of craft, and

home comfort, and

normal daily

pleasures.

Things that you

and I are very

very familiar

with in this

life, and

it's a good

life, but

Revelation says

it is inherently

corrupt.

And here's

what is

important to

see, that

in Revelation

18, that

Babylon is

not just one

nation, it's

not a state, but

it is anywhere

where a godless

world order

holds sway.

This is how

one commentator

puts it, Greg

Veal.

He says any

institution or

facet of

culture that

is characterized

by pride,

economic

abundance,

persecution, and

idolatry is

part of

Babylon.

So you see,

Babylon is all

those things that

seek to undermine

God and his

people.

All those things

that seek to

lure us away

from trusting

God.

All those things

that would say

we should spurn

God, ignore

God, pretend

to be God, or

mock God, and

God says, I am

not going to be

mocked.

So is

Babylon present

in the UK?

You bet it

is.

Is it present

in Ireland?

Yes.

Is it present

in Canada?

In Afghanistan?

In Mexico?

In Iraq?

In the

Americas?

Throughout

Europe?

And Australia?

And Africa?

Of course it

is.

And all

those who are

part of

Babylon, who

seek to find

their satisfaction

elsewhere,

elsewhere other

than in God,

who seek to

find their

satisfaction in

wealth and

power and

not in him,

who seek to

save themselves,

who are full

of pride,

will one day

come under the

fearful judgment

of the day of

the Lord.

One last

thing.

I mentioned

didn't I

earlier that

Isaiah serves

as a faith

builder.

you might

be wondering,

I haven't

seen that

yet,

in Isaiah

13, but

here it

comes.

How is

this meant

to build

up your

faith?

And I

think the

answer to

that lies

in the

final question

of the

day of

the Lord,

which is

what is

its ultimate

purpose?

What is

the day of

the Lord's

ultimate

purpose?

Look at

Isaiah

Isaiah 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14

and verses

1 and 2.

13,

for the

Lord will

have

compassion

on

Jacob

and

will

again

choose

Israel

and

will

set

them

in

their

own

land

and

sojourners

will join

them

and attach

themselves to

the house

of

Jacob

and the

peoples

will take

them and bring

them to

their place

and the

house

of Israel

will possess

them in

the Lord's

land as

male and

female slaves

they will

take captive

those who

were their

captives and

rule over

those who

oppress

them.

Now there is a word

That is so vital

And it's the first word

It's a three letter word

Can you see it?

For

For

First one

For the Lord will have compassion

Do you see why that is so important?

Here is the reason

For everything that we've just read

On chapter 13

The reason for God's judgment

On Babylon

Is ultimately

God's compassion on his people

The reason that God is going to bring judgment

On all

That is against God

Is because God loves his people

He wants to give his people

A world that doesn't have to deal

With all this kind of stuff

And you see that points us to something

That we see all the way through

The teaching of the Bible

It's a pattern that is picked up

In the book of Isaiah

Which is how God seems to work

Over and over and over again

Which is that God

Is the God

Who brings salvation

Through

Judgment

You go back to the beginning of the Bible

You go to Noah

And the flood

And God judges those people

In Noah's day

Doesn't he

In the flood

But through the judgment

Of the flood

He saves Noah and his family

In the boat

Salvation through judgment

He went the clock

Forward a little bit

And God judges Pharaoh

And the Egyptians

And he brings the water

And the sea down

On the Egyptians

The same sea that he split

In order to save his people

Moses and the Israelites

Is salvation through judgment

And here we see that God

Is going to judge Babylon

But he's going to save Judah

By bringing her back from exile

Salvation through judgment

And in these verses

While God will bring his people

Back from exile in Babylon

And judge Babylon

The fulfillment of all

That is in these two verses

Doesn't happen in their return

And the reason for that is

The ultimate fulfillment

Of these promises

Will depend on the ultimate

Salvation through judgment

That all these were pointed to

Listen to Saul's in it again

The line dividing good and evil

Cuts through the heart

Of every human being

Remember back in the wise section

We saw that all of us

Found condemned

There is none righteous

No not one

None of us here can claim

To be without pride

And in that sense

All of us

Are condemned

But two thousand years ago

God in a sense

Brought the day of the Lord

Forward a bit

For some people

He brought the day of the Lord

And his wrath

And his judgment

Forward

And he pulled it out

On one person

The one person in human history

Who could never have been accused

Of being part of Babylon

Jesus Christ himself

You see what happened

On the cross

Two thousand years ago

Was that the wrath

The judgment of God

For sin

Was poured out

Upon the Lord Jesus

He took on

The role of Babylon

He took on the role

Of the consummate

Enemy of God

Such that on that day

As Isaiah prophesies here

The rising sun

Would be darkened

On that day as well

And for those who trust

In this Jesus

Who is being judged

There is salvation

Salvation through judgment

For those who trust

In Jesus

And nothing else

Nothing in themselves

For those who will move

From the boastful pride

That is characteristic

Of Babylon

To the humble repentance

That judgment

Means our salvation

God judges

His son

On the cross

But he saves

All who will trust

In him

But for those

Who will find

Their security

In God

Through Jesus

There is no fear

Of that fearful day

Because for us

The day of the Lord

Has come

And Jesus

Has taken the wrath

And judgment

Of that day

For us already

That all the wrath

That you and I

Deserve

If we trust

In Jesus

Has been paid for

It has been dealt with

And so in the book

Of Revelation

The chapter following

Chapter 18

Where Babylon

Falls

In chapter 19

We have

A string of

Hallelujah choruses

And here is what

John writes

Right in the midst of it

John 19

He writes

Then I heard

What seemed to be

The voice

Of a great multitude

Like the roar

Of many waters

And at the sound

Of mighty peals

Of thunder

Crying out

Hallelujah

For the Lord

Our God

The almighty

Reigns

Let us rejoice

Let us exalt

And give him

The glory

For the marriage

Of the Lamb

Has come

And his bride

Has made herself

Ready

It was granted

To her

To clothe herself

With fine linen

Bright and pure

John Oswald writes

He says

It is all too easy

To be blown away

By the glory

Of the world

So we think

Ah there is reality

But that is not

Where glory resides

Glory resides

In the Lord

God almighty

Who brought salvation

To us

Through judgment

Of his son

In our place

And he says

All who trust

In him

Have no fear

Of the day

Of the Lord

And on that day

Of the Lord

When Babylon

Falls

When Babylon

Is crushed

When every

Anti-God

Force is crushed

We will rejoice

He will usher us

Into a world

Where there is

No sin

And no rebellion

Where all the things

We read of

In chapter 13

Of Isaiah

Could not be further

From our experience

Or imagination

Because the world

Will be perfect

And Isaiah says to you

You've got to trust somebody

Trust in the one

In whom

The glory

Truly resides

Not in any nation

Not in anything

In this world

Trust in the Lord

God almighty

Let's pray