Isaiah 4 ✒️ A Desire to Obey God
March 27, 2024 • Dr. Dave Burnette • Isaiah 4
Isaiah 47 ✒️ A Pattern of Failure
May 9, 2024 • Dr. Dave Burnette
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. 2Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. 3Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man. 4As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel. 5Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms. 6I 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. 7And 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. 8Therefore 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: 9But 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. 10For 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. 11Therefore 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. 12Stand 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. 13Thou 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. 14Behold, 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. 15Thus 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. COMMENTARTY by Dr. Dave Burnette Written By: God through Inspiration Penned By: Isaiah Date Penned: (700-681 BC) Overview: To Tell of God's Salvation through the Messiah (c 1-66) Theme: Words of Comfort (c 40-66) Message: A Prophecy of Doom for Babylon (v 1-15) Isaiah 47 Commentary (47:1-15) The Fall of Babylon - Here Isaiah predicted the fall of Babylon more than 150 years before it happened. At this time, Babylon had not yet emerged as the mightiest force on earth, the proud empire that would destroy Judah and Jerusalem. But the Babylonians, Judah's captors, would become captives themselves in 539 BC. God, not Babylon, has ultimate power. He used Babylon to punish his sinful people; he would use Medo-Persia to destroy Babylon and free his people. (47:8-9) Nebuchadnezzar - Caught up in the pursuit of power and pleasure, Babylon believed in its own greatness and claimed to be the only power on earth. Babylon felt completely secure, and Nebuchadnezzar, its king, exalted himself as a god. But the true God taught Nebuchadnezzar a powerful lesson by taking everything away from him (Daniel 4:28-37). Our society values pleasure and power above all, but these can quickly vanish. Reflect on your life and ask yourself how you can more responsibly steward the talents and possessions God has given you. How can you use your life for God's honor rather than your own? (47:12-15) Relying on the Powerless - The people of Babylon sought advice and help from astrologers. But like the idols of wood or gold, astrologers could not even deliver themselves from what was to come from the hand of God. Why rely on those who are powerless? The helpless cannot help us. Alternatives to God are destined to fail. If you want help, find it in God, who has proven his power in creation and in history. Many centuries after Isaiah, when Jesus was born, astrologers from this same region would follow a star to find Jesus (Matthew 2:1-12). Little did they realize that they would find God. LIFE APPLICATION by Dr. Dave Burnette Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today, we continue in the Book of Isaiah with Chapter 47. In our text today, we see a prophecy of doom for Babylon as they were caught up in the pursuit of power and pleasure. Babylon believed in its greatness, and its leader, Nebuchadnezzar, called himself a god. In making application, we see a lesson in a people who are self-dependent and make themselves their gods. Today, we are more sophisticated in our thinking. However, we still make ourselves gods by lifting ourselves up and replacing the Lord with ourselves. This self-worship will follow the path of Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon in failure. How about you? Do you see this pattern of failure that follows this self-worship? Let us learn from our text today and the example of Babylon to remember that self-worship and self-dependence will follow a pattern of failure.