ISAIAH LESSON 55


     We will begin this lesson in Isaiah 47:1 "Come down, and sit in
the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: [there is]
no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be
called tender and delicate."

     This chapter is speaking of the downfall of Babylon. Babylon had
been thought of as one of the greatest cities and now it will be in
ruin. Those who had been so mighty have now been brought down by the
God of Israel. The virgin daughter is speaking of Babylon, who had
been ruler. The thrones are all destroyed now, and there are no longer
thrones to sit on. Babylon had been a city of great luxury. Now it is
fallen. The luxurious life is gone. They will have to work hard now
for everything they get. Literal Babylon has never been rebuilt to the
greatness it knew. There are many Babylons speaking from the
spiritual. Babylon has come to mean evil city.

     Isaiah 47:2 "Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy
locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers."

     Female slaves usually did the work of grinding the meal. This
shows the severity of their fall from greatness. Now their women will
work as slaves. They would pass over rivers to their land of
captivity. They would, possibly, need to remove their shoes and wade
over.

     Isaiah 47:3 "Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame
shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet [thee as] a
man."

     Even the men of Babylon will be shamed to the extent of slave
women. The truth of the matter is, these idol worshippers will be
totally humiliated by God. God's fury will be upon them.

     Isaiah 47:4 "[As for] our redeemer, the LORD of hosts [is] his
name, the Holy One of Israel."

     Israel is redeemed from the bondage of Babylon. They, as
Christians today, have a Redeemer. He is Jesus Christ the Lord. He is
Jehovah to the Jewish people.

     Isaiah 47:5 "Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O
daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady
of kingdoms."

     Babylon will never be restored to its former greatness. These
people have fallen so far, they will want to hide in the darkness to
keep their shame from being more apparent to the world. They sat like
a lady in their greatness, but this will be no more.

     Isaiah 47:6  "I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine
inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no
mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke."

     We will find in the following Scripture that God blesses those
who bless His people, but He brings great curses on those who oppress
His people. Genesis 12:3 "And I will bless them that bless thee, and
curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the
earth be blessed."  Babylon did not capture Israel. God put them in
the hands of the Babylonians to punish them. The Baylonians had been
extra cruel to God's people, and God does not soon forget.

     Isaiah 47:7  "And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: [so]
that thou didst not lay these [things] to thy heart, neither didst
remember the latter end of it."

     Babylonians had thought themselves to be so great, there was
nothing that could bring them down.  It appears they had their chance
to have a change of heart about God, because it says, "thou didst not
lay these things to thy heart". They did not change and judgement came
upon them. They could have looked back at God's dealings with other
nations regarding Israel. They did not look back at history.

     Isaiah 47:8 "Therefore hear now this, [thou that art] given to
pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I
[am], and none else beside me; I shall not sit [as] a widow, neither
shall I know the loss of children:"

     Worldly pleasures lead to ruin. When Cyrus occupied the city,
they did not believe it was serious, and they went right on dancing
and revelling. They felt they were above the judgement of God.  They
felt that they were so great, they would not lose any of their
children.

     Isaiah 47:9 "But these two [things] shall come to thee in a
moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall
come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries,
[and] for the great abundance of thine enchantments."

     The suddenness of the destruction was so, that it seemed all of
the destruction came in one day. Their husbands were killed, and they
lost their children, as well. We see 2 of the reasons for their
destruction was sorceries and enchantments. "Sorceries", here means
magic and witchcraft. Enchantments means charmings are anything to do
with the occult. The saddest thing I see in these Scriptures, is a
condition that is in our society today.

     Isaiah 47:10  "For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast
said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted
thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I [am], and none else beside
me."

     "I am, and none else beside me" shows a person filled with
conceit, or self-worth. They are so proud of themselves, they do not
see the need for God. They were depending on fortune telling, and
horoscopes, and things like that to guide them. All of this worldly
wisdom had led them into perversion.

     Isaiah 47:11  "Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt
not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee;
thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon
thee suddenly, [which] thou shalt not know."

     God will send this evil upon them, because of their sin. When God
sends His wrath, there is no one to go to for help. There is no one
above Him. It will be so sudden, they will have no idea where it came
from.

     Isaiah 47:12 "Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the
multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth;
if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail."

     This is a challenge from God to them to get help from these
things they had put their trust in. If you think they can help you, it
is time to call upon them now. Of course, they cannot help them,
because idols are nothings. Sorceries and enchantments are from Satan
himself. Satan has no power at all against God.

     Isaiah 47:13 "Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels.
Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators,
stand up, and save thee from [these things] that shall come upon
thee."

     We can easily see from this verse, many of the things we are
doing in our society today that are displeasing to God. How sad it
would be, to think being born a certain month of the year determined
your life.  That would mean that you have no control over your
behavior.  We can see that these things are very worldly and, also,
displeasing to God.  Many of the false gods they had been worshipping
had been connected to stargazing. "Monthly prognosticators" means
horoscope readers.  Astrological forecasting is prominent today, but
is a terrible sin in the sight of God.

     Isaiah 47:14 "Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall
burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the
flame: [there shall] not [be] a coal to warm at, [nor] fire to sit
before it."

     All of these things mentioned are of the world, and they will be
destroyed, and the people who look to these worthless things for help
will be disappointed. They cannot help anyone, and they bring the
wrath of God down on those who depend upon them.

     Isaiah 47:15 "Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast
laboured, [even] thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander
every one to his quarter; none shall save thee."

     The foreigners who sided in with all of this evil of Babylon will
suffer the same punishment as Babylon. These false gods cannot save,
they just destroy those who look to them for help. God saves.
                          Isaiah 55 Questions


1.  Where does verse 1 say for them to come and sit?
2.  Why?
3.  Who was this spoken to?
4.  What is the downfall speaking of?
5.  Babylon had been a city of great ___________.
6.  Has Babylon ever been rebuilt?
7.  Who usually did the grinding at the mill?
8.  How would they cross the rivers to their captivity?
9.  What would the men of Babylon be like?
10. Who is the Redeemer?
11. Where will they go to hide their shame?
12. Quote Genesis chapter 12 verse 3.
13. Why were God's people captured by Babylon?
14. How far had these Babylonians' conceit gone?
15. What do we learn from the statement, "thou didst not lay these
    things to thy heart"?
16. How does verse 8 describe their condition?
17. Worldly pleasures lead to ______.
18. The suddenness of the judgement makes it appear to happen in ____
    ____.
19. What does "sorceries" mean?
20. What is the saddest thing about verse 9?
21. Their wisdom and their knowledge did what to them?
22. They are so proud of themselves, they do not see their need for
    ____.
23. Who sends the evil upon the Babylonians?
24. What does God challenge them to do in verse 12?
25. What evils, from verse 13, are in our society today?
26. What does monthly prognosticators mean?
27. What happens to them in verse 14?
28. These false gods cannot save, they just _________.