Bible Commentaries
Isaiah 46

Verses 1-22

The Fall of Babylon and the Salvation of God

(46:1—48:22)

Lesson from the Gods of Babylon ( 46 : 1 - 13 )

The prophet now expounds in the name of God the lesson that exiled Israel is to take from the fall of Babylon. The chief gods, Bel and Nebo, are idols which have to be carried on beasts when their people try to rescue them from the hands of Cyrus. The greatest of the gods of the Babylonian religion cannot save their country or their people but must themselves go into captivity! Bel is a title meaning “Lord” (Baal in Hebrew) and here refers to Marduk, the head of the pantheon of gods worshiped in Babylon, whose great temple, Etemenanki, was the chief religious edifice in the city (see Jeremiah 50:2; Jeremiah 51:44). Nebo is the Babylonian god Nabu, who was regarded as the son of Marduk and whose major temple was evidently at Borsippa, another Babylonian city. Behind the imagery in 46:1-2 lies the procession of the gods in the annual New Year’s festival in Babylon during April, when the images of Marduk and Nabu were carried in the festival procession.

The prophet now addresses Israel in God’s name, seeking to bring home the lesson. God has carried her from her birth, and even before birth, and he will continue to carry her even into her old age (vss. 3-4). The people are again challenged with the question of whether it is even conceivable that the God of Israel should be compared with the idols which can do nothing (vss. 5-7). This leads to another assertion of the sole Lordship of God and of his consistent purpose to carry out what he has planned (vss. 8-11). Israel is called to “remember this and consider, recall it to mind.” Therefore the “stubborn of heart” are to listen to the Lord’s promise and put their faith in his words: “I will put salvation in Zion, for Israel my glory” (vs. 13).

It will be noted that Second Isaiah returns again and again to this theme. His purpose for a dispirited and faithless people is to stir up faith and trust and willingness to follow. His emphasis is on the power and purpose of God in history. The God of Israel is the Lord of history, and in history are the signs of his active working. Israel is called to remember his works of old.

But now the prophet announces a new action of God. Israel is appealed to again and again from a number of different perspectives to listen to this proclamation, to give it heed, and to give it entire faith.

Address to Babylon ( 47 : 1 - 15 )

God now is represented by the prophet as addressing Babylon directly. She is pictured as a young woman who must descend from her throne to sit in the dust and to labor as a menial. The Redeemer of Israel, the Lord of hosts, the Holy One of Israel, is about to “take vengeance” (vss. 3-4). The English word “vengeance” has today only a negative connotation, although at one time it had a positive meaning also, the sense of “vindicate.” The Hebrew word so translated is not represented at all by the meaning of the modern English word. It refers to God’s just control over the world. In the case of Babylon, the reference is to God’s just and judicial decree that she is to be punished and destroyed by the emperor Cyrus. On another occasion the “vengeance” of God may be salvation. Whether it is judgment or salvation depends upon the relation of the recipient to God.

The problem of the great conqueror is expressed in verse 7. Babylon presumed that she was to be mistress of the world forever. For this reason she showed no mercy to those in her charge. She thought that she alone was god (“I am”) and there was no one else, but her day is now at hand (vss. 8-9). In her wickedness she presumed that there was no one and no power who could either see what she was doing or do anything about it, but now the judgment of God is upon her.

In verses 12-13 there is a vivid reference to the divination and magic which were such a prominent part of Babylonian life. The people may stand fast in their sorceries and continue the attempt to predict the future by astrology, but none of this has power to save them in the crisis. The destruction is at hand, and “there is no one to save” (vss. 14-15).

Babylon as a world power, like Assyria before her (see Isaiah 10:5-19), has had her day, and it is over. Her empire will now be included in an even larger empire, that of the Persians. She has served God’s purposes. Now her turn has come to be punished for her self-idolatry and wickedness. (For other partly contemporary prophecies concerning Babylon in the Isaiah literature, see especially 13:1—14:21.)

“I Make You Hear New Things” ( 48 : 1 - 22 )

The movement of thought in this chapter appears to divide into three parts. Verses 1-11 return to the subject of “new things.” Verses 12-16 return to the subject of Cyrus and God’s claim to have sent him. Finally, verses 17-21 make a renewed assertion of the coming release of Israel from exile. Two poetic lines in this chapter do not seem to be a part of the otherwise apparent unity. The first is the last line of verse 16: “And now the Lord God has sent me and his Spirit.” Elsewhere in the chapter the prophet is conscious only of quoting God’s word directly; it is strange that suddenly at this point he refers to himself and to God’s Spirit as having been especially sent to announce the “new things” or, in this particular context, the arrival of Cyrus on the scene of history. For this reason a variety of changes have been suggested to make the meaning fit in with the context, but without solving the problem. Moreover, it is not improbable that the prophet should have explained his mission as a part of God’s present activity.

The other line of poetry that does not seem to be in its original context is verse 22: ‘“There is no peace,’ says the Lord, for the wicked.’ ” Virtually the same line appears also in 57:21, where it does seem to fit its context. Consequently, one suggestion has been made that Second Isaiah’s editors have taken the verse from that place and repeated it here as the conclusion, not simply of chapter 48, but of the whole first section of the prophecy, extending from chapter 40 to this place. One would still wonder, however, how appropriate this verse is as a summary of the prophet’s message in this section. It is again a question for which we have no clear answer.

This chapter, then, is basically a recapitulation of the first section of the prophecy and of its major themes. In verses 1-11, with rising crescendo the prophet returns to Israel with words of exhortation, explanation, and assurance. He wants them to understand that the former great events that took place in the creation of Israel as a people in the Promised Land and the great events in her subsequent history are all the work of God. Israel has always been an obstinate group (vs. 4), and as a result God declared these events in advance lest any should say that someone other than the Lord did them. Having heard and seen all this, they are now to know that new things never heard o£ before are going to be done. God alone is the Lord of human events. All this has been announced but not really heard, and the people have continued to rebel (vs. 8). Therefore God has tried them as in a furnace and has refined them. He has done this for his own sake; that is, for the sake of his purpose in the world. The prophet is very conscious of the fact that there is no other conception of God in the world like this one. Opposition to the prophets time and again took the form of a denial that God was thus active in history (see 5:18-19; 29:15; Micah 2:6; Micah 3:11; Zephaniah 1:12). From that time until this, people have found it easier to change their conception of God than to change their own ways. But this, too, is idolatry; it is what the psalmist means by the statement, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’ ” (Psalms 14:1).

In verses 12-13 God identifies himself again as the sole Lord and Creator. Then in verse 14 the prophet briefly returns to the theme of the great assembly of the nations in order to announce again that Cyrus, the Persian conqueror, is the Lord’s man. It is God’s purpose that will be performed on Babylon; Cyrus has been appointed by God, and God will see that his way is prosperous (vs. 16).

Finally, the Lord again turns to Israel as their Redeemer (vss. 17-21). In verses 18 and 19 there is another reference to Israel’s past history. If only the nation had listened in previous times they would not be in their present situation. Nevertheless, their release from captivity is at hand: “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!” (vs. 20).