Doing things in our own strength never allows a comprehensive result. Hezekiah would eventually learn this lesson.
Isaiah 21: Fallen, Fallen Is Babylon
1 The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on, it comes from the wilderness, from a terrible land.
2 A stern vision is told to me; the traitor betrays, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, O Elam; lay siege, O Media; all the sighing she has caused I bring to an end.
3 Therefore my loins are filled with anguish; pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman in labour; I am bowed down so that I cannot hear; I am dismayed so that I cannot see.
4 My heart staggers; horror has appalled me; the twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling.
5 They prepare the table, they spread the rugs, they eat, they drink. Arise, O princes; oil the shield!
6 For thus the Lord said to me: "Go, set a watchman; let him announce what he sees.
7 When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, riders on donkeys, riders on camels, let him listen diligently, very diligently."
8 Then he who saw cried out: "Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord, continually by day, and at my post I am stationed whole nights.
9 And behold, here come riders, horsemen in pairs!" And he answered, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the carved images of her gods he has shattered to the ground."
10 O my threshed and winnowed one, what I have heard from the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, I announce to you.
11 The oracle concerning Dumah. One is calling to me from Seir, "Watchman, what time of the night? Watchman, what time of the night?"
12 The watchman says: "Morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; come back again."
13 The oracle concerning Arabia. In the thickets in Arabia you will lodge, O caravans of Dedanites.
14 To the thirsty bring water; meet the fugitive with bread, O inhabitants of the land of Tema.
15 For they have fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow, and from the press of battle.
16 For thus the Lord said to me, "Within a year, according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end.
17 And the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of Kedar will be few, for the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken."
Isaiah 22: An Oracle Concerning Jerusalem
1 The oracle concerning the valley of vision. What do you mean that you have gone up, all of you, to the housetops,
2 you who are full of shoutings, tumultuous city, exultant town? Your slain are not slain with the sword or dead in battle.
3 All your leaders have fled together; without the bow they were captured. All of you who were found were captured, though they had fled far away.
4 Therefore I said: "Look away from me; let me weep bitter tears; do not labour to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people."
5 For the Lord GOD of hosts has a day of tumult and trampling and confusion in the valley of vision, a battering down of walls and a shouting to the mountains.
6 And Elam bore the quiver with chariots and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield.
7 Your choicest valleys were full of chariots, and the horsemen took their stand at the gates.
8 He has taken away the covering of Judah. In that day you looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest,
9 and you saw that the breaches of the city of David were many. You collected the waters of the lower pool,
10 and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall.
11 You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago.
12 In that day the Lord GOD of hosts called for weeping and mourning, for baldness and wearing sackcloth;
13 and behold, joy and gladness, killing oxen and slaughtering sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine. "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."
14 The LORD of hosts has revealed himself in my ears: "Surely this iniquity will not be atoned for you until you die," says the Lord GOD of hosts.
15 Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, "Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him:
16 What have you to do here, and whom have you here, that you have cut out here a tomb for yourself, you who cut out a tomb on the height and carve a dwelling for yourself in the rock?
17 Behold, the LORD will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. He will seize firm hold on you
18 and whirl you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a wide land. There you shall die, and there shall be your glorious chariots, you shame of your master's house.
19 I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station.
20 In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah,
21 and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
22 And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
23 And I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honour to his father's house.
24 And they will hang on him the whole honour of his father's house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons.
25 In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, the peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way, and it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on it will be cut off, for the LORD has spoken."
Things to think about…
Isaiah is confirmed as a true prophet of the Lord. He sees the destruction of Babylon, Isa 21:9 by the Elamites- those of Babylon/Medes - Persia, Isa 21:2. Isaiah is writing about 700BC and yet these events happened in 538BC. Assyria waa the superpower at the time Isaiah is writing. Babylon would rise to be the next superpower, but here Isaiah is writing about the destruction of Babylon by Persia. The Lord’s prophet spoke the Lord’s will. He is the Alpha and Omega, beginning and the end of all things.
In Isa 21:11-17 we see the Edomites – the area of the Negev, Dumah, Seir will be destroyed as well. This happened when Sennacherib the Assyrian invaded in 689BC. Others have also thought this also refers to a future destruction with respect to the battle of Armageddon.
Isaiah 22 is about the future capture of Jerusalem – ‘not slain with the sword or dead in battle…All your leaders have fled together; without the bow they were captured, Isa 22:2,3. We know Elam – the Babylonians, would eventually come and surround Jerusalem. They came in three waves, 605BC, 597BC and destroyed the walls and temple in 586BC. The leaders were captured – the kings sons were killed and then the King had his eyes put out and was taken to Babylon. The rest were captured and sent to Babylon.
Hezekiah is the king that ‘looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest’ Isa 22:8, ‘collected waters in the lower pool’, vs 9 and fortified the wall, vs 10 and ‘made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool’, vs 11. Hezekiah’s tunnel is still in Jerusalem today, The broad wall he built by destroying houses on the wall can still be seen today as well. He did this to endure a long siege when the Assyrians surrounded him. But God rebukes him by saying ‘you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago. ‘In that day the Lord GOD of hosts called for weeping and mourning, for baldness and wearing sackcloth’, vs 12. Hezekiah looked to earthly strength to deliver him rather than look to the Lord through faith and repentance. Eventually he was stripped of everything and he was forced to repent.
The Apostle Paul quotes “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die", Isa 22:13 in 1Cor 15:32 when he speaks about the fact of the resurrection of Christ. We have a hope after this life in Christ, but those that live religiously without a heart change are like these ancient inhabitants of Jerusalem, living for the present because the future has no hope.
Shebna was the scribe and he ‘cut out here a tomb for yourself’, Isa 22:16 it was discovered in Siloam (Silwan - East Jerusalem) – the head piece of his tomb is in the British museum, http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=369626&partId=1. Shebna was the negotiator with the Assyrians, but conspired with them against Jerusalem. Shebna was replaced by Eliakin, Isa 22:20 – a faithful man. We are called to honour the Lord with our role and gifts. The Lord will remove us if we are not representing Him accurately. The proud will be humbled.
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
For Cell Groups.
Reading was from Isaiah 11:1-13 Title “Christ’s kingdom on Earth”
1. How do you interpret texts like these in the Bible? How do you know if they are literal, allegorical or symbolic? Eg Gen 1-11 and parts of Ezekiel, Daniel, Jonah etc.
2. Jesus prayed for the Father’s “Your kingdom come your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven”, Mt 6:10. How does this picture of the earth’s renewal fit these verses.
3. Paul speaks about the earth groaning waiting for “creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God”, so that it can be “set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” Rom 8:19-21. How are the sons revealed so the creation can be liberated?
4. Pray for each other, our church and the prayer points.
Prayer Points
1. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
2. Victorian parliament discussing gay conversion therapy, antichristian bill this month.
3. Ministries as they have started back – Youth and Kids at Church.
4. Church finances to meet our expenses and to put a roof over our café.
5. Our City and Country – Pray for revival over our city and the leadership of our country even through these challenging times.
6. The 2 positions:- Youth and Young Adults Coordinator and Children’s Coordinator we are recruiting for in 2021.
