I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Isaiah 13-16.

    The passage starts with a prophecy about the future, at the time of writing, fall of Babylon, but it goes on from there to speak of the fall of lesser powers as well. The passage is a warning to those who revel in doing evil and arrogantly lord it over others. Isaiah prophecies against Babylon’s king, warning that he will be overthrown because of his arrogance and pride. It is a warning against those leaders who think that they can set themselves up in place of God. There is a warning here who believe that earthly power can and will last. Babylon was the mightiest nation on earth. Its king could do as he willed and no one could gainsay him. Nevertheless, God brought down Babylon when His purpose for it was finished. Babylon’s king thought that he answered to no one and was above all others. Because of his arrogance and pride, God brought him low. In the same way today many believe they can set themselves up in place of God. When we look at the world and see those who tell churches not to preach what God has commanded, we can know that God will bring them down in the same way He overthrew Babylon’s king.

    I want to point out the significance of the prophecies against the other nations. Those nations rooted for the downfall of Babylon. What they failed to recognize was that Babylon’s suffering would be their suffering as well. There are many in the world today who root for the U.S. to be overthrown as a world power. They fail to see that such an overthrow will lead to great suffering in other nations as well. I want to stress that I am not sure that the U.S. stands in the place of Babylon in this passage, but if it does not that is because there is no “Babylon” in the world today. I fear that the U.S. does stand in the place of Babylon, certainly her rulers are setting themselves up as above God.