July 19 A READ ISAIAH 21–23
Judgment Near and Far
OVERVIEW
Isaiah is not finished yet with his woes for Judah’s foes. In today’s reading he mentions two more neighboring powers that are in line for God’s chastening hand: Edom, Arabia, and Tyre. But in the midst of his list of “endangered nations,” Isaiah shocks his countrymen by including Jerusalem with the rest. Because of the careless indulgence of its inhabitants, the city would suffer siege and calamity.
MY DAILY WALK
Have you ever wondered why you can feel so convicted after you sin but remain so indifferent before you sin? If there were only a way for you to reverse these conditions, temptation might be easier to resist.
Well, God’s verbal warnings are designed to do precisely that. He sent his prophets to paint in grim tones the consequences awaiting his people if they continued in sin. Disease, defeat in battle, destruction of home and family—all these and more would be the wages earned by their disobedience. The pain of these promised calamities was God’s way of breaking down indifference and bringing his people to the point of repentance.
If the specific wages of specific sins were revealed to you ahead of time, would you be as eager to earn them? Find a canceled payroll statement and on it write these words: “Is sin worth the pain it brings?” Leave those words in your billfold or purse as a reminder of the high price of unholy living.
SIN IS THE WOMB OF OUR SORROWS AND THE GRAVE OF OUR COMFORTS.
INSIGHT
No Babylon Can Last | Isa. 21:9
This judgment of Babylon the city (21:9) is echoed by an angel in Revelation 18:2 on a global scale. If you’re discouraged about the ways of the world, try reading both passages as an encouraging reminder that no Babylon—ancient or modern, literal or symbolic—will be left standing in the end.
INSIGHT
An Appropriate Nickname | Isa. 22:1
Jerusalem was once called the “Valley of Vision” (22:1). This was an apt description because the hill on which Jerusalem is situated is surrounded by valleys, with higher hills beyond. In addition, the Temple in Jerusalem was the place where God was “visible” to his people.
A Message about Babylon
1This message came to me concerning Babylon—the desert by the sea*:
Disaster is roaring down on you from the desert,
like a whirlwind sweeping in from the Negev.
2I see a terrifying vision:
I see the betrayer betraying,
the destroyer destroying.
Go ahead, you Elamites and Medes,
attack and lay siege.
I will make an end
to all the groaning Babylon caused.
3My stomach aches and burns with pain.
Sharp pangs of anguish are upon me,
like those of a woman in labor.
I grow faint when I hear what God is planning;
I am too afraid to look.
4My mind reels and my heart races.
I longed for evening to come,
but now I am terrified of the dark.
5Look! They are preparing a great feast.
They are spreading rugs for people to sit on.
Everyone is eating and drinking.
But quick! Grab your shields and prepare for battle.
You are being attacked!
6Meanwhile, the Lord said to me,
“Put a watchman on the city wall.
Let him shout out what he sees.
7He should look for chariots
drawn by pairs of horses,
and for riders on donkeys and camels.
Let the watchman be fully alert.”
8Then the watchman* called out,
“Day after day I have stood on the watchtower, my lord.
Night after night I have remained at my post.
9Now at last—look!
Here comes a man in a chariot
with a pair of horses!”
Then the watchman said,
“Babylon is fallen, fallen!
All the idols of Babylon
lie broken on the ground!”
10O my people, threshed and winnowed,
I have told you everything the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has said,
everything the God of Israel has told me.
A Message about Edom
11This message came to me concerning Edom*:
Someone from Edom* keeps calling to me,
“Watchman, how much longer until morning?
When will the night be over?”
12The watchman replies,
“Morning is coming, but night will soon return.
If you wish to ask again, then come back and ask.”
A Message about Arabia
13This message came to me concerning Arabia:
O caravans from Dedan,
hide in the deserts of Arabia.
14O people of Tema,
bring water to these thirsty people,
food to these weary refugees.
15They have fled from the sword,
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow
and the terrors of battle.
16The Lord said to me, “Within a year, counting each day,* all the glory of Kedar will come to an end. 17Only a few of its courageous archers will survive. I, the LORD, the God of Israel, have spoken!”