Chapter 46 provided a foreview of judgment upon the idols of Babylon, and called Israel to observe that the LORD is superior to all man-made gods. This chapter continues the thought, with a foreview of the destruction of Babylon itself, in judgment for their mistreatment of God's people.
1. Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground:{cp. Isa 3:26, regarding the judgment of Jerusalem}
[there is] no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender
{HB= rak, soft} and delicate {HB= 'anog, dainty}.
2 Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.
3 Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet {ie., be entreated to} [thee as] a man.
4 [As for] our redeemer, the LORD of hosts [is] his name, the Holy One of Israel.
the virgin daughter of Babylon... tender and delicate...
would suffer the humiliation of captivity and slavery when the LORD caused the collapse of the Babylonian empire, through its conquest by the Medes and the Persians, and the subsequent reign of Cyrus (Isa 26:5; 45:1-4). The sufferings of the Babylonians would be similar to those which they had inflicted upon Israel (cp. Psa 137:8; Isa 3:24-26; Lam 1:1; 2:10; 4:5; Jer 51:33).
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. 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. {cp. Deu 28:49,50} 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.
I was wroth with my people...- The LORD had sent Babylon to punish Israel
thou shalt no more be called, The lady {ie., queen} of kingdoms.-
Babylon's excesses toward God's people were rooted in her exalted view of herself as the queen of kingdoms. As the next paragraph brings out, Babylon regarded herself, not merely as a superpower among nations, but as the ultimate authority over the nations. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, was a king of kings, because the LORD made him the head of the first Gentile world empire (Dan 2:37,38; Eze 26:7). But forgetting the LORD, he allowed his God given position to go to his head (Dan 4:28-31).
Regarding herself as the Queen of kings, Babylon exalted herself above the true King of kings whom they did not know. At the time of the end, Babylon the Great will consider herself a queen, in terms reflective of this passage (Rev 17:3-5,18; 18:7).
thou didst not... remember {ie., call to mind} the latter end of it.-
Not mindful of the LORD, the Babylonians failed to consider that He would hold them accountable for their actions.
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: 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. 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. 11 Therefore shall evil {HB= ra', distress, calamity} come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief {HB= hovah, ruin} shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation {HB= sho', devastation, waste} shall come upon thee suddenly, [which] thou shalt not know.
thou that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me...- (v.8; cf. Isa 45:5,18,21; 46:9; etc.)
This blasphemous self-exaltation is stated twice, by 'the queen of kingdoms' (in v.8,10).
This heart attitude has been the central characteristic of Babylon from its beginning.
Nebuchadnezzar exalted himself, until the LORD caused him to understand. Dan 4:28-37
The Antichrist will exalt himself above God,
when he rules over Babylon, the system of gentile world dominion. 2The 2:3,4; Rev 13:4-8
Satan, the inciter of the rebellion which underlies the system of Babylon, was lifted up with pride, and therefore, fell (Isa 14:12-15).
The blasphemous pride of Satan empowers "the Assyrian" who depicts the Antichrist, in Isa 14:24-26. Similarly, the Antichrist and Satan are addressed as the prince and the king of Tyre (respectively), in Eze 28:2-19, where their self-exalting hearts are vividly portrayed.
none seeth me... I am, and none else beside me. (v.10)-
This statement is a corrollary to the statement in v.8.
From the viewpoint of the Babylonian world system, there is no God other than herself... there is no God who oversees and judges the affairs of men. Isa 29:15; Jer 23:24; cp. Psa 14:1
I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children...-
Believing the lie of self-deification, Babylon lives in denial of judgment to come. 2The 2:7-12
these two things shall come... in a moment... desolation shall come upon thee suddenly... (v.9)
'Loss of children' - suggests the devastation of the empire's population.
'Widowhood' - suggests the loss of security, support, home and hope. There will be no place for her.
These sudden events apply to both the near and far views of prophecy.
The historic fall of Babylon, to the Medes and Persians, came suddenly and unexpectedly. Dan 5:30,31; Isa 13:15-19
The future fall of Babylon the Great, the final system of Gentile world dominion, will come just as suddenly and unexpectedly (1The 5:2,3; Rev 18:8), and with even greater devastation (Isa 14:4-7; Rev 18:15-24).
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. 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. 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. 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.
stand now with thine enchantments {ie., magic charms}... (v.12)-
The LORD challenges Babylon to take their stand, against His purposes, in the power of all of the occult spiritual resources at their disposal (cp. v.9,10).
with the multitude of thy sorceries {ie., witchcraft}, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth...-
As Babylon's populace was steeped in occult practices from their childhood, so, today, children feed and exercise their minds on such things, in a society enamoured with "Harry Potter," "Dungeons and Dragons" and similar books, movies and video games.
thou art wearied in the multitude thy counsels...-
They are 'wearied' {worn out} because the abundance of advice received from plentiful ungodly counsellors can never prevail against the counsel of the LORD. cp. Isa 44:24,25
let now the astrologers, the stargazers {HB=habar, dividers (of the heavens)}, the monthly prognosticators {ie., those who discern wisdom from the phases of the moon}, stand up, and save thee...-
The LORD invites mature practitioners, whose false science was heeded by the populace, to defend their people. But despite all of their powers, they will fail to deliver even themselves.
behold, they shall be as stubble... none shall save them.-
No power can stand against the purpose which the LORD has purposed, namely the destruction of the rebellious system of Babylon, its instigator (Satan) and all his followers. Isa 14:12-27 Contrast the end which the LORD has purposed for His people (Isa 45:25; 46:13). His purpose for Israel is further developed in the next chapter (ch.48).