God Foretells Destruction

June 5, 2022 Background Scripture: Isaiah 47 Lesson Passage: Isaiah 47: 10 - 15 In today's lesson, Isaiah prophesied doom and destruction. All hope was going to be taken away for a prosperous future. Pride and self-confidence were going to be replaced with despair. And this message was sent as a message of hope for the people of God. How was that so? The prophetic word was against the Babylonian Empire. In the future, God would use the Babylonian Empire to discipline His people, Judah. Judah refused to heed the warnings of the prophets of God—even after her sister to the north, Israel, had fallen to the Assyrians. The people of Judah were sure they would always be able to repent before God punished them. to make matters worse, there were false prophets in Judah ensuring them that God would always protect them even when they went contrary to His will. Destruction would come to Judah at the hands of the Babylonian Empire. The capitol city of Jerusalem would be destroyed. The wall around the city would be burned down and the temple would be destroyed. The holy artifacts in the temple were going to be carried away as spoils of war. No nation was able to stand against the mighty Babylonian Empire—or so the Babylonians thought! The Babylonian rulers had become arrogant and believed that they would be an eternal empire on earth. They had no regard or respect for God. Isaiah prophesied their doom in today's text. It would be as a beautiful princess who would suddenly become a lowly slave. There would be no hope; as a widow who had loss both her husband and children at the same time. There were two reasons given for the destruction of the Babylonian Empire, First, as was previously stated, they had no regard for God. They believed they were self-existent and self-sustaining. Their scientific knowledge and technology were very advanced at that time in human history. Every people they conquered they incorporated their knowledge and skills. They skillfully separated the gifted and learned from the rest. Their earthly knowledge and wisdom caused them to become conceited. They believed that their future was in their own hands because they had the power to destroy anyone who dared to oppose them. Secondly, after God allows the Babylonian Empire to take Judah into captivity and destroy Jerusalem, they would treat the people of God harshly. They would show no respect or mercy towards them. This would be especially true of their treatment of the elderly. God made note of it They were trusting in their own wicked schemes and devices. Their arrogant independence would be part of their undoing. Just as they thought they needed no one to be successful, there would be no one to aid them in the day of their calamity. Before Judah's destruction, the prophets of God had warned the people to repent and return to the Lord. Their refusal would lead to their captivity. However, God was sending word by His prophet to remind them of their hope. God would not cast them off forever. God would avenge them from the cruelty of their enemy, the Babylonians. This should have been welcomed news to the people of God. God was again foretelling destruction. However, this time the destruction would come to their enemy and not to them. Yes, Judah was going to suffer defeat and humiliation at the hands of the cruel Babylonians. But God would avenge Judah by destroying the Babylonians. Robert C. Hudson May 20, 2022