Isaiah 13:1-20:6 The Lord’s Vengeance
5/13/01e D. Marion Clark
Introduction
I was asked if the scripture text was a misprint. It is; I will not be preaching through eleven chapters, only eight. We will stop with chapter 20. If I preach at the rate I have been up to this time, it will only take me six hours to cover tonight’s message.
Why the acceleration of material? We are moving into a long stretch of Isaiah that could be titled, “Boy, Are You About to Get It!” I figured there only so many consecutive messages about punishment that you could handle. We would be well into the fall, if I picked up my rate to one chapter at a time, rather than the average of three weeks to a chapter.
There is one advantage to taking such a large scope of material besides getting through it faster. For this section, in particular, we are able to get the broad perspective of God’s activity and a greater feel for the power of his sovereignty as he deals with the nations.
The Text
It is the nations of the world to which we turn in these chapters. Mostly, God has addressed his covenant nation of Israel as seen in its divided state of Ephraim and Judah. Now he addresses the nations surrounding his people. The focus expands outward into the world; even so, it is a world in which Israel is the center. God’s activity with the nations of world is still put in perspective with his covenant relationship with the nation that he had formed for himself.
Consider first the order of the nations. Isaiah begins with Babylon (13:1-14:23) and Assyria (14:24-27). These, of course, are the nations that will conquer Ephraim (Assyria) and Judah (Babylon). Babylon receives the greatest attention, not because it is the greatest threat (Assyria is at the moment), but because it takes on symbolic significance as the kingdom of the world that opposes God. This significance continues to be developed in Scripture and reaches its highest development in Revelation.
These nations represent the north of Israel. They are actually more east than north, but they always invade from the north. Next, we turn to the Philistines (14:28-32), long-time enemies of Israel to the west. This is a country that ought to have been destroyed when the Israelites came into Canaan, but had managed to survive and be a thorn to Israel.
God then turns his attention to Moab on the east (15:1-16:13), with whom Israel had off-and-on hostile relations. Also in the east is Damascus (ch 17) which represented the territory of Syria. That leaves the south as represented by Cush – Ethiopia (ch 18) and Egypt (19:1-20:6).
Thus, the nations that surround Israel will come under judgment just as Ephraim and Judah did. God makes clear that all the nations are under his rule, and that Israel’s security is under his control. Her judgment is not the result of being exposed to stronger nations, but of God raising these nations to power to carry out his will. They too will receive his judgment at the appropriate time.
Let’s take an overview of this judgment.
Babylon:
2 Raise a banner on a bare hilltop,
shout to them;
beckon to them
to enter the gates of the nobles.
3 I have commanded my holy ones;
I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath—
those who rejoice in my triumph.
4 Listen, a noise on the mountains,
like that of a great multitude!
Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms,
like nations massing together!
The LORD Almighty is mustering
an army for war.
5 They come from faraway lands,
from the ends of the heavens—
the LORD and the weapons of his wrath—
to destroy the whole country.
6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near;
it will come like destruction from the Almighty.
9 See, the day of the LORD is coming
—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—
to make the land desolate
and destroy the sinners within it.
10 The stars of heaven and their constellations
will not show their light.
The rising sun will be darkened
and the moon will not give its light (13:2-6,9-10).
Assyria:
“Surely, as I have planned, so it will be,
and as I have purposed, so it will stand.
25 I will crush the Assyrian in my land;
on my mountains I will trample him down.
His yoke will be taken from my people,
and his burden removed from their shoulders.”
26 This is the plan determined for the whole world;
this is the hand stretched out over all nations.
27 For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him?
His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back? (14:24-27)
Philistia:
29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,
that the rod that struck you is broken;
from the root of that snake will spring up a viper,
its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.
30 The poorest of the poor will find pasture,
and the needy will lie down in safety.
But your root I will destroy by famine;
it will slay your survivors.
31 Wail, O gate! Howl, O city!
Melt away, all you Philistines!
A cloud of smoke comes from the north,
and there is not a straggler in its ranks (14:29-31).
Moab:
Ar in Moab is ruined,
destroyed in a night!
Kir in Moab is ruined,
destroyed in a night!
2 Dibon goes up to its temple,
to its high places to weep;
Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba.
Every head is shaved
and every beard cut off.
3 In the streets they wear sackcloth;
on the roofs and in the public squares
they all wail,
prostrate with weeping.
4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out,
their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz.
Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out,
and their hearts are faint.
6 The waters of Nimrim are dried up
and the grass is withered;
the vegetation is gone
and nothing green is left (15:1-4,6).
Damascus:
“See, Damascus will no longer be a city
but will become a heap of ruins.
2 The cities of Aroer will be deserted
and left to flocks, which will lie down,
with no one to make them afraid.
3 The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim,
and royal power from Damascus;
the remnant of Aram will be
like the glory of the Israelites,”
declares the LORD Almighty (17:1-3).
Cush:
Woe to the land of whirring wings
along the rivers of Cush,
2 which sends envoys by sea
in papyrus boats over the water.
5 For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone
and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he will cut off the shoots with pruning knives,
and cut down and take away the spreading branches.
6 They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey
and to the wild animals;
the birds will feed on them all summer,
the wild animals all winter (18:1-2,5-6).
Egypt:
See, the LORD rides on a swift cloud
and is coming to Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him,
and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them.
4 I will hand the Egyptians over
to the power of a cruel master,
and a fierce king will rule over them,”
declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.
5 The waters of the river will dry up,
and the riverbed will be parched and dry.
6 The canals will stink;
the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up.
The reeds and rushes will wither,
7 also the plants along the Nile,
at the mouth of the river.
Every sown field along the Nile
will become parched, will blow away and be no more (19:1,4-7).
Whew! We need to come back up for breath! The Lord’s vengeance will devastate the earth. Nation after nation will feel his might that brings destruction.
But Isaiah also presents the scenario of destruction in perspective. God is not just flexing his muscles. He is not like a conquering king who oppresses the nations simply as a means to remind them of his power. The vengeance that he brings is divine justice.
Babylon:
11 I will punish the world for its evil,
the wicked for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty
and will humble the pride of the ruthless (13:11).
God’s judgment is exercised against oppressors, both of Israel and of other nations. This is best presented in chapter 14.
The LORD will have compassion on Jacob;
once again he will choose Israel
and will settle them in their own land.
Aliens will join them
and unite with the house of Jacob.
2 Nations will take them
and bring them to their own place.
And the house of Israel will possess the nations
as menservants and maidservants in the LORD’s land.
They will make captives of their captors
and rule over their oppressors.
3 On the day the LORD gives you relief from suffering and turmoil and cruel bondage, 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:
How the oppressor has come to an end!
How his fury has ended!
5 The LORD has broken the rod of the wicked,
the scepter of the rulers,
6 which in anger struck down peoples
with unceasing blows,
and in fury subdued nations
with relentless aggression.
7 All the lands are at rest and at peace;
they break into singing.
8 Even the pine trees and the cedars of Lebanon
exult over you and say,
“Now that you have been laid low,
no woodsman comes to cut us down” (14:1-8).
This kind of passage should hearten us. It tells us that justice will prevail. When we are told that vengeance is the Lord’s, we can be assured that justice will be carried out at the appropriate time. That worries us, doesn’t it? It bothers us to see the wicked prosper. It really bothers us to be taken advantage of or offended in some way. Justice, we are assured, will take place, and we don’t even have to get a good lawyer!
Hear is another thought expressed: God does not rejoice in the destruction of the wicked.
5 My heart cries out over Moab;
her fugitives flee as far as Zoar,
as far as Eglath Shelishiyah.
They go up the way to Luhith,
weeping as they go;
on the road to Horonaim
they lament their destruction (15:5).
11 My heart laments for Moab like a harp,
my inmost being for Kir Hareseth.
12 When Moab appears at her high place,
she only wears herself out;
when she goes to her shrine to pray,
it is to no avail (16:11,12).
As he says clearly in Ezekiel 18:23:
23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?
But again, God judges according to what is deserved. Thus, it is because Israel has forgotten God her Savior that her crops produce no harvest (17:10,11). It is because of Moab’s pride that judgment must be meted out (16:6). God must be just.
Finally, and most wondrously, is the salvation that comes through this great judgment, not just for Israel but the nations. It first comes up in referring to Moab.
The oppressor will come to an end,
and destruction will cease;
the aggressor will vanish from the land.
5 In love a throne will be established;
in faithfulness a man will sit on it—
one from the house of David—
one who in judging seeks justice
and speeds the cause of righteousness (16:4,5).
The Messiah is being offered for the cause of Moab, Israel’s enemy!
And then listen what will take place for Cush:
7 At that time gifts will be brought to the LORD Almighty
from a people tall and smooth-skinned,
from a people feared far and wide,
an aggressive nation of strange speech,
whose land is divided by rivers—
the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the LORD Almighty (18:7).
Bringing gifts to Mount Zion is an expression of worship.
And then, even for Egypt:
19 In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the LORD at its border. 20 It will be a sign and witness to the LORD Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the LORD because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them. 21 So the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the LORD. They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the LORD and keep them. 22 The LORD will strike Egypt with a plague; he will strike them and heal them. They will turn to the LORD, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them (19:19-22).
Egypt, the original oppressors of the Israelites, will join Israel in the worship of God.
Finally, as if that were not incredible enough, Assyria will join in.
23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. 24 In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. 25 The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance” (19:23-25).
I don’t think Isaiah is restricting worship to these three nations. Rather, he is saying, from the empire to the south to the empire to the north, God will be worshiped. All the earth will worship together the Lord Almighty.
What a wondrous judgment the Lord will bring! And what a wonderful judgment he brings now. Whenever we do feel that the Lord’s hand is heavy upon us, know that it is for our healing and deliverance. Whenever we feel that injustice goes unpunished, know that no one is getting away with anything. God will act all in good time and indeed acts in ways that we do not see. But less us always faithfully pray that the wicked and the oppressor will receive such judgment that someday they will join us in the true worship of God.
