Babylon’s Destruction

Text: Isaiah 46-48

The Burden of Idolatry - Isaiah 46:1-2

Bel is the Babylonian form of the name Ba'al, which means "Lord." In Babylonian mythology, Bel was the chief of the gods, much like Zeus was in Greek mythology. Nebo was seen as the messenger of the gods, much like Hermes in Greek mythology. Nebo was considered the patron god of Babylonian rulers, which is why you find Nebo used as a prefix in the names of many Babylonian kings (Nabo-polassar, Nebu-chadnezzar, Nabo-nidus).

Isaiah describes the images being carted away by the Persians in terms of slaves being sent to foreign lands to die. The idol gods could not prevent the invasion, nor could they rescue their own images.

God's Help to Israel - Isaiah 46:3-4

Unlike Babylon's gods, the Lord has cared for Israel from before the birth of the nation. Notice that God addresses Judah and the remnant of Israel. Most of Israel would be destroyed by the Assyrians. Only a few members of the northern tribes would remain. Yet, this, too, was a part of God's care because Israel, as a whole, had gone off into idolatry.

God promised to continue to care for Israel into its old age, which hints that it would eventually die as a nation.

God Is Not Like the Idols - Isaiah 46:5-13

No comparison exists between God and the idols Israel continually tried to follow (Isaiah 40:18-26). Idols are man-made from physical materials, lavishly and wastefully used to make them. Idols must be carried to different locations, and once there, they cannot move. People cry out to the idols, but they cannot answer nor do anything for the petitioner's problems.

Israel only needed to remember its history to understand just how much different God is from idols. Nothing compares to the true and living God. He can state how things will end before they start. He can cause things that never happened before to occur. When God decides something will happen, He will ensure it happens.

Babylon's fall will come because God will summon a conqueror from the East. He will accomplish God's purpose, and God solemnly declares that it will happen just as He planned because He will carry it out.

Thus, the Israelite idolaters are told to pay attention. God is not far away; He is close at hand. He will save Israel from its sins, but He will do it for His glory, not theirs.