Isaiah 21 - 22

In Chapter 21 Isaiah focuses on Babylon. Not the Babylon of the tribulation period, but in the near future. It speaks of the rising of this nation which, in time, will attack Judah.

The chapter opens in verse 1 with “An oracle concerning the Desert by the Sea.” A desert by the sea could be any one of several counties in the middle east. The prophecy continues by identifying who is invading this nation. Verse 2, “Like whirlwinds sweeping through the southland, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror. Elam, attack! Media, lay seige! I will bring an end to all the groaning she has caused.” 

OK, so we have two invaders who are attacking, Elam and Media. Who are they? Elam is another name for Persia which is around the area of modern-day Iran. Media refers to the area inhabited by the Medes, located south of the Caspian Sea, roughly the northern part of modern-day Iran. Media combined with Persia to form the Medo-Persian Empire which destroyed the Babylonian Empire. Nothing like changing the names of kings and nations to confuse the modern reader. 

Now what Isaiah saw troubled him greatly. He described his physical response to what he saw included being racked with pain, bewilderment, heart palpitations, fear and trembling. It sounds like his vision was so real that he was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Verse 4, “the twilight I longed for has become a horror to me.” Exhausted at the end of the day, longing for a good night sleep, filled him with anxiety knowing that he would probably have nightmares. Imagine both needing and longing for sleep, but dreading it, also. 

What he saw in this vision was the Judean military being completely caught off guard. Like the scene in Dan. 5, which shows the Babylonians feasting when they were attacked by the Medes and the Persians, Isaiah saw the same scene. The Babylonians are seen eating and drinking as if there was no danger (verse 5) their shields were not even oiled. Their shields, which would protect them from arrows, had to be oiled to keep them flexible, able to flex when struck by the arrows. 

It appears that their equipment was not being maintained properly, not ready for battle. If the IG (Inspector General) made an unannounced visit, to uncover waste, fraud and abuse, they would have failed their inspection. Their swords and daggers were probably dull, and pitted with rust. Chariots may have been in the shop with broken axles and cracked spokes with repair parts on order. The soldiers may have had a high fail rate on the annual Physical Fitness Test with some failing to meet the weight standards being put on the “fat boy program.” The soldiers and leaders seem to have been complacent, and clueless as to what was about to happen to them. A total lack of leadership may find the commander of the unit relieved of his command, assuming that he survived the battle. 

In verse 6, Isaiah is told to put a watchman on the walls of Jerusalem to look for “teams of horses, riders on donkeys or riders on camels.” Can you imagine an army on donkeys and camel? Camels were more useful than horses in dry climates. Camels were also effective as an anti-cavalry tool because their smell tended to alarm and disorient the horses. No, I’m not making this up. Donkeys were sometimes used because their braying would also throw horses into confusion. Battles are usually a mass of confusion as it is, without animal noises and smells adding to the “fog of war”.

Isaiah then describes men approaching and the announcement, “Babylon has fallen, has fallen! All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!” (verse 9). Well, what they have been watching for has occurred. Babylon has fallen and all of their useless gods are shattered and ground into the dirt.

Verse 10, “O my people, crushed on the threshing floor, I tell you what I have heard from the Lord Almighty, from the God of Israel.”

The message that Judah is that although they will soon suffer at the hands of the Babylonians, its enemy is doomed for destruction. Under Babylon, Israel would become a threshing floor, ground to dust, but the one who would do the grinding was already scheduled for destruction.

Verses 11 and 12 will need a bit of explaining. “An oracle concerning Dumah. Someone calls to me from Seir, “Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night? The Watchman replies, Morning is coming, but also the night. If you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again.” 

What? One commentary said, “The next prophecy comprises only two verses, and its brevity make it obscure.” Another scholar described it as “vague and enigmatic.” That’s an understatement. But since more information is given elsewhere in Scripture, scholars can put together the pieces, like a puzzle and figure it out, sort of. The bottom line is that Seir is an alternate name for Edom. Dumah is a son of Ishmael, the son born to Abraham and his wife’s handmaiden Hagar. They became nomadic tribes in the Arabian Peninsula.

The Old Testament reads much like a soap opera where there is conflict among family members, step-children, children born out of wedlock. What a mess.

So, Dumah are the Edomites, a long-time enemy of Israel. Now if you happen to be a descendant of Dumah, or an Edomite, you might want to change your name, get a new passport and move to some other country, away from the drama and what is about to happen. And you especially don’t want to buy any real estate in Edom.

Isaiah 34 and 63 will give more information concerning the future of the Edomites, and it isn’t pretty. The Edomites was proud of their military might and sense of security. They were living in a part of modern-day Jordan in a city called Petra. Petra is known for its narrow entryway, with high rock cliffs which made it easy to defend. They were long-time enemies of Israel, beginning with their attack upon the Israelite civilians when they left Egypt. In the book of Obadiah, verse 4, God says, “I will bring you down.” Verse 10 give the reason, “Because of the violence against your brother Jacob... you will be destroyed forever.” Verse 11, “On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth.” This is referring to the Babylonian captivity. Rather than helping those who escaped the Babylonians, the Edomites waited “at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives” (verse 11) and handed them over to the enemy. Verses 15 and 18, “As you have done, it will be done to you...There will be no survivors from the house of Esau.”

In the second half of the tribulation the Jews will be seeking refuge in the area of Edom. When the Messiah returns he first stops off at Edom to rescue the Jews before heading to Jerusalem, then Edom, along with Babylon, will become a wasteland during the millennium.

In verses 11-16 there is a prophecy for Kedar, who was Ishmael’s second son. These people lived along a caravan route and were quite wealthy. Verse 16, “within a year...Kedar will come to an end.” Why? Who knows. Perhaps they became wealthy at the expense of others. 

Chapter 21 ends with a brief comment about Arabia or the Dedanites, a nomadic tribe. Verse 16, “Within one year... Kedar will come to an end... survivors will be few.” More is said about these people in Jer. 49:28-33. Next on Isaiah’s list of nations/cities is Jerusalem. Chapter 22:1, “An oracle concerning the Valley of Vision”. There’s a word we don’t use much today, “Oracle.” What is an oracle? It usually refers to a message from God. Sometimes these messages are referred to as a “burden.”

Then Isaiah refers to the “Valley of Vision”. If you look at the topography of Jerusalem, it sits on top of a mountain, yet all around are even higher mountains, so it gives the appearance that the city is located in a valley. The Valley of Vision is Jerusalem, the place where Isaiah received his prophecies. 

The passage goes on to describe the city under seige. “What troubles you now, that you have all gone up on the roofs. O town full of commotion, O city of tumult and revelry? Your slain were not killed by the sword, nor did the die in battle. Verse 3, All your leaders have fled together.” 

What is being described here is the seige of Jerusalem. Some people were on the roof looking out at the enemy army, others were distancing themselves emotionally by simply getting as drunk as they can. The weak died of starvation and disease, and those leaders who could flee, escaped the city. 

This vision was so troubling for Isaiah, he says in verse 4, “Turn away from me; let me weep bitterly. Do not try to console me over the destruction of my people.”

Verse 5, “The Lord, the Lord Almighty, has a day of tumult and trampling and terror in the Valley of Vision, a day of battering down walls and of crying out to the mountains.”

The Lord has a day, is another way of saying, The Day of the Lord, a day when God intervenes in the affairs of man. A day such as the invasion of Israel by the Babylonians and the time of the tribulation prior to the return of Jesus.

In verse 6 Isaiah mentions two cities, Elam, who takes up his quiver, and Kir who uncovers the shield. These two cities were located in the region of Media out of which Babylon would arise. 

While the vision showed the valley around Jerusalem filled with enemy troops, Isaiah sees the defenses of Judah stripped away (verse 8). The soldiers went to their armories to grab their weapons “in the Palace of the Forest” and they found that there were not nearly enough arms to protect the city. Verse 9, “they saw that the City of David had many breaches in its defenses.”

It seem that the people were very complacent, not taking the threat of an invasion seriously. This is in sharp contrast to the time of Nehemiah when he was rebuilding the wall where the builders were armed, ready for battle.

The people hastily tried to store up water, they tore down buildings to strengthen the wall, yet they didn’t bother to turn to God, even in the midst of this crisis (verse 11). 

Instead, some just partied (verse 13), “there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking wine! “Let us eat and drink” you say, “for tomorrow we die.”

You would think that as their city was about to be overrun by the enemy that there would be weeping and wailing as the people turn to God in repentance, but instead there is “joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking wine! “Let us eat and drink,” you say, “for tomorrow we die.” 

The Apostle Paul quotes this line in I Cor. 15:32 where he speaks of the resurrection from the dead. If there is no resurrection, no future life beyond the grave, then the reasonable thing to do is to “eat and drink” to focus on our physical needs and desires.

And in the midst of all this chaos and terror, one government official, second only to the King himself, Shebna, who was in charge of the palace, was focusing on preparing a fancy grave site for himself (verses 15-16) rather than focusing on the needs of the people. This is the only prophecy Isaiah gives against an individual who was not a king. 

But God has other plans for Shebna, and for many others. He says in verses 17-18, “Beware, the Lord is about to take firm hold of you and hurl you away, O you mighty man. He will roll you up tightly like a ball and throw you into a large country. There you will die and there your splendid chariots will remain.” Jewish tradition says that Shebna defected to the Assyrians but was killed by them by having horses drag him by his heels through thorns and bristles. Apparently the Assyrians had no respect for a traitor.

Not only will Shebna go into exile, he will be deposed and replaced by Eliakim. Verse 20, “In that day I will summon my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah. I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the people of Judah. I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open” (Isa. 22:20–22). Being identified as the “father” suggests his caring, compassionate care for his people in contrast to the selfish interests of his predecessor, Shebna, who used his role for personal gain.