Isaiah 21:1-5 – The Desert of the Sea
Why do we have all these prophecies about and upon all these heathen lands? Didn’t God only pay attention to His people? No. For even in Old Testament times, all nations were to submit to Him. Those who did not were not ignored. They were judged.
The wilderness of the sea or the desert of the sea – who in the world is that? This is Babylon (v.9). It would be the greatest and most powerful country in all the earth for a while. Much of the area around it was wilderness or desert. But just like Egypt there was this area of very fertile land where all the people were along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The ocean came a lot closer to Babylon than it does now. But even now at the south end, it’s very marshy, it’s very swampy, there’s much salt water lying around.
There’s already been prophecy against Babylon in chapters 13 and 14. Why does God speak of her again? God will do something huge to Judah, and He’s going to do it through Babylon. He will have the city of David destroyed. He will have the temple destroyed. He will send the people out of the land except for a very small remnant. Why? Because of their sin. What shall happen in a later day through Babylon is of such great magnitude that God must continue to give His people hope for the future beyond the destruction and exile which will come. We read here of the destruction of the destroyers. There needs to be assurance for the people of God that God will deliver. We see the Babylonians who’d plundered all lands, being plundered themselves. The effect of the Persian conquest would be hope for the Babylonian captives. You will remember, on the very night of the capture of Babylon, the king and his nobles were all partying. Babylon would be trusting in its walls, trusting in its own ability in the past, trusting in its weapons, trusting in its wealth, trusting in its wisdom. Surely all these would keep them from judgment. Surely they could relax. But we know from history what happened that very night. All collapsed suddenly and completely.
Questions
- Why does God care about other nations?
- What happened the night Babylon was destroyed?
Prayer Points
- Pray that all nations would submit to Christ.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.