12/03/12. Isaiah 21:1-17. BABYLON HAS FALLEN- my devotional

Key Verse: 21:9                                                                             Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF

“Look, here comes a man in a chariot with a team of horses. And he gives back the answer: ‘Babylon has fallen, has fallen! All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!’”

Dear Lord Heavenly Father, thank you for a new day of possibilities. Thank you for hope and freedom to follow the truth and live by it. Thank you for breaking down barriers in our hearts, relational barriers, and barriers caused by sin in us and wrong persecutions and freeing our hearts to sour through and above the problems. There is redemption in the gospel. I pray that you may help this gospel to disseminate in the hearts of our young people that they may know the freedom that faith in Christ brings. Please illuminate my heart with your presence today. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Part 1: Babylon Has Fallen, Has Fallen! (1-10).

Verses 1-10, “A prophecy against the Desert by the Sea: Like whirlwinds sweeping through the southland, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror. ² A dire vision has been shown to me: The traitor betrays, the looter takes loot. Elam, attack! Media, lay siege! I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused. ³ At this my body is racked with pain, pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor; I am staggered by what I hear, I am bewildered by what I see. ⁴ My heart falters, fear makes me tremble; the twilight I longed for has become a horror to me. ⁵ They set the tables, they spread the rugs, they eat, they drink! Get up, you officers, oil the shields! ⁶ This is what the Lord says to me: “Go, post a lookout and have him report what he sees. ⁷ When he sees chariots with teams of horses, riders on donkeys or riders on camels, let him be alert, fully alert.” ⁸ And the lookout shouted, “Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower; every night I stay at my post. ⁹ Look, here comes a man in a chariot with a team of horses. And he gives back the answer: ‘Babylon has fallen, has fallen! All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!’” ¹⁰ My people who are crushed on the threshing floor, I tell you what I have heard from the Lord Almighty, from the God of Israel.”
Isaiah prophesied of a coming time when the people ofJudah would go toBabylon as exiles and stay for 70 years. The Babylonian empire seemed invincible, but God would raise up the Medes and then the Persians to defeatBabylon. In due time, God would bring the exiles back from their captivity and plant them inJudah once again. This seems like good news, (and the end result is good news) but to Isaiah the news about the suffering that would occur, was overwhelming and even painful. In the battle for worldly power, many of God’s people would be crushed on the threshing floor. All the worldly things men trust in would be shattered. Isaiah told the people what he heard from the Lord. It was a painful truth, but it was God’s truth.

It is true, that through times of great suffering people are drawn to Christ. There is a saying, “There are no atheists in fox holes.” There is a principle here, suffering has purpose. One purpose is, it leads us to God and to placing our hope in theKingdomofHeaven. It also has a purpose in it causes us to lay aside our false idols that we hold in our hearts. Our suffering will show that the false idols that we hold onto will be like those in this passage, thrown to the ground and shattered.

Our nation is going through our own unique sufferings. Even those who work hard are living paycheck to paycheck. We are living well, but with absolutely no buffer when times of need come our way. One major illness will place us hopelessly in debt. People are avoiding going to the doctor and finally go when they have stage 4 cancer. As a nurse I have seen people pulling their own teeth and draining their own abscesses, causing major problems. People are also lonely and hopeless to find the love and the community that their hearts need. There is no hope in sight. So many are living with the defeated attitude, “I just want to make it through this life.”  My family and I have our health, but we lack a buffer incase anything happens. We drive cars with about 200,000 miles on them. I wonder where my kids are going to find career jobs. There are also spiritual struggles that come with the worldly desires and walking the line between Jesus and the world. There are inner struggles that drive me to tears at times. What is the reason for all of this suffering?

According to this passage it is to get rid of the idols that we have allowed to be placed in our hearts. Verse 9b reads, “….‘Babylon has fallen, has fallen! All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!’”  There are too many idols that are robbing us of the true life that God wants to give to us. Our idols are keeping us from tasting the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. The first of the Ten Commandments reads in Exodus 20:1-4,“ And God spoke all these words, ² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ³ “You shall have no other gods before me. ⁴ “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶ but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” I have heard it said, “You don’t realize how much you need Jesus until Jesus is all you have.” There is some redemption in suffering. As long as we keep our eyes focused on Jesus.

The hardship I face and my family faces are drawing us nearer to Jesus and singular devotion to him. I may not have a financial buffer, but God is providing. I am no longer a visa slave. I have peace in my heart. God is keeping material things from capturing me. Struggles in school are telling my kids to focus on what is truly important and to seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness. (Matt 6:33) The break through I experienced in my marriage struggles reveals to me the power of the Gospel. Struggles are good as long as we are in the Lord. When we are outside of the Lord, our struggles serve to wear us down and tear us down. We need Jesus and though we may turn our hearts away from Jesus and get distracted or hold onto idols, then our suffering will serve to draw us back to God. Praise the Lord for this.

Part 2: More Prophecies (11-17).

Verses 11-17,  “A Prophecy Against Edom

¹¹ A prophecy against Dumah: Someone calls to me from Seir, “Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?” ¹² The watchman replies, “Morning is coming, but also the night. If you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again.”

A Prophecy Against Arabia

¹³ A prophecy against Arabia: You caravans of Dedanites, who camp in the thickets of Arabia, ¹⁴ bring water for the thirsty; you who live in Tema, bring food for the fugitives. ¹⁵ They flee from the sword, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow and from the heat of battle. ¹⁶ This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract would count it, all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end. ¹⁷ The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken”

The judgment of God was at the door forIsrael. Assyria,Babylon, andPersiawould be the instruments of God’s judgment. Very soon judgment would come to Kedar, Dumah, and Tema, the sons of Ishmael, and to Dedan, a descendant of Abraham through Keturah (Ge 25). It was another painful truth the Lord gave Isaiah to speak.

There are painful truths that servants of God are called to preach in every generation. There are modern day “Isaiah’s” even now. It is tough to preach against things that are touchy subjects in our generation and our culture. Try speaking out against adultery, divorce, selfishness and individualism, fornication, alternative lifestyles. Try saying that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life and the only way to the Father. (see Jn 14:6) What about saying that the suffering of many could be caused by abandoning and ignoring Jesus Christ? These are the painful truths that some servants of God are called to preach and teach. They will be shot down in one way or another. But does that mean that they remain silent? I pray not.

 Prayer: Lord, help me to teach your word truthfully, even though the truth can be painful.
One Word: Teach the word of truth

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