Babylon is called the ‘virgin daughter’ because to the remnant Jews the city and its empire appeared impregnable and invincible. Yet, Isaiah foretells Babylon’s destruction. For all her vaunted glory the Lord will bring her to her knees and humiliate her in the dust. Darius and Cyrus will be instruments in God’s hand but Babylon’s destruction is retribution directly from the Lord for the hurt inflicted on His people. ‘I will take vengeance’, says the Lord, ‘I will not meet thee as a man’. I will meet you as the sovereign, holy God to judge evil and punish sin without leniency or mercy. A lesson from the past The fall of Babylon did indeed occur as Isaiah had prophesied but beyond the mere history it…

Bel and Nebo, idol-gods of Babylon, are depicted by Isaiah as bowing down to Cyrus and the Persian army before being broken in pieces and carted off in ox-drawn wagons. Their destruction is symbolic of the overthrow of the Babylonian empire by Cyrus. Inserting these named gods for the Babylonian king and his people serves to emphasis the futility of idolatry. Far from delivering the nation as the worshippers might hope, the gods ‘themselves are gone into captivity’. ‘Unto you first …’ We remind ourselves Isaiah’s words are directed primarily to the Lord’s believing people among the Jews. The prophet’s message is designed to inform, by foretelling what will surely come to pass, and comfort, by assuring the elect that the events are according to…