Isaiah 47:1-15 The Comfort of Vengeance
Is vengeance comforting? That is an uncomfortable question to answer. Our righteous Christian side will say no, absolutely not, but our carnal side might beg to differ. But if there is no comfort in it, then why to so many people seek it? Because it is empowering. But which is more empowering and ultimately satisfying: when we take that vengeance for ourselves, or let God avenge us?
In previous chapters, God has promised Israel that He will deliver her from exile, but it is not enough that He simply takes her out of Babylon's hands. Here in Isaiah 47, He grants her the vindication of witnessing His humiliation of the seemingly invincible oppressor who has tormented her. Babylon is personified as a haughty young woman of tremendous wealth and prestige who suddenly experiences a horrific reversal of fortune and loses everything at the hand of an angry God.
Isaiah 47 is the outworking of the vengeance promised back in Isaiah 43:14-15 and this chapter is paired with that passage in the chiastic structure of Isaiah 41-48. A pdf version of the chiastic chart can be downloaded here: The Chiastic Structure of Isaiah 41-48
Isaiah 47:1-7
The rebuke begins in verses 1-2 with a series of imperative commands to Babylon. "Come down and sit in the dust . . . Sit on the ground . . . Take the millstone and grind . . . Remove your veil . . . Take off the skirt . . . Uncover the thigh . . . Pass through the rivers." His words are brutal and debasing as He drags the "tender and delicate" tyrant off her throne. She was anything but tender and delicate to His people, so He strips away that veil of hypocrisy and uncovers her to her shame.
"Sit in silence . . . Go into darkness." In her hubris, Babylon has called herself the Lady of Kingdoms (47:5), but the LORD reminds her of how she came to that exalted place.
God gave Israel to Babylon for a time because He was angry with Israel and needed to deal with His people, but Babylon was only ever His tool. After witnessing the destructive fury that the LORD meted out to His wayward people, one would think that Babylon might have taken a lesson from that and been more circumspect in handling Israel, but she wasn't. She took her role as God's agent too far and was merciless to His precious people, and it is for her hubris and lack of mercy that Babylon now suffers punishment.
Even as we examine Israel in our case study, we should not neglect the lesson of Babylon. At times, we unknowingly become God's tool for dealing with another person, for better or worse, and how we acquit ourselves in our part of that process will be judged.
There are rewards for the works we do in life, good and bad, and we should not labor under the assumption that the reward God determines for our works is necessarily a good and pleasant thing. Job reminds us that “those who plow iniquity and sow trouble will reap the same.” (Job 4:8 NKJV)
David writes, “Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight. With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; with a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless; with the pure You will show Yourself pure; and with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd. For You will save the humble people, but will bring down haughty looks.” (Psalm 18:24-27 NKJV)
Jesus reminds us, "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." (Matthew 7:2 NKJV)
It is wise to take a lesson from Babylon when we are tempted to lift ourselves up above others and boast in our own security in God's favor. Though our salvation may be secure in Christ because of God's grace, there is still warning that our works will be evaluated in the end, and the added reward or "crowns" that our earthly works merit, may be lost to us.
Isaiah 47:7-11
God then sentences Babylon. He begins by revealing the lies that she has told herself (47:7, 8, 10). She thinks she is secure in her position, but she is not. She thinks she is untouchable and invincible, but she is not. She thinks that she will endure and her legacy will live on, but it won't. God says death and grief--loss of children and widowhood--will come upon her in one day, and then He tells her why.
God says evil will come upon Babylon in one day and from an unknown source (47:11). We know from the book of Daniel that Babylon was taken in one night, the very night when Belshazzar saw the writing on the wall which Daniel translated for him. That night, the kingdom fell into the hands of Medo-Persia (Daniel 5). God is good to His word.
Isaiah 47:12-15
The passage ends with the LORD's scoffing challenge to Lady Babylon to consult her famed soothsayers and magicians, who will not be able to deliver her. They shall be as stubble for the raging inferno of God's anger, and all of her merchants and traffickers will abandon her.
There is a mixing of near and distant prophecies in this passage. The end of Babylon in this era will resemble the fall of a future Babylon in the End Times, as recorded in Revelation 18:
Israel's lack of participation here is a sharp contrast to the statement God made in Isaiah 41:15-16, where He promised her that she herself will take part in tearing down "the mountains and hills"--the exalted ones who have oppressed her--as part of His vindication.
Even so, Israel has no part in the LORD's vengeance against Babylon in this chapter. God takes vengeance on His people's behalf, while Israel stand by as a witness. In fact, as He has told her in the past, vengeance is His and His alone (Deuteronomy 32:35). So, how do we reconcile these two statements?
God's Highway Project: The Comfort of Vengeance
We have been talking about the four steps in God's Highway Project. Step 1 was lifting up those in the valleys. Step 2 was bringing the mountains and hills low. Taking vengeance is a way of lifting one person up by taking another down, and it is often done under the guise of justice. But it is not justice.
They differ in their motives. Justice settles conflicts with equity to both sides. A law is made. A punishment is set. When a person transgresses that law, they know exactly what the punishment will be and they accept the punishment for it. But once fair retribution is made, that is the end of the matter. Both sides walk away from each other as equals once again. Justice is meant to accomplish God’s main objectives: To end the fighting and reconcile the sin.
Man’s vengeance has a different motive. Vengeance is a way of glorifying oneself by inflicting punishment or retribution for an injury or wrong—particularly an injury to one’s reputation. It’s an act of domination in taking back what is due to you, plus a little more for good measure and to ram home the message of who is greater. It isn’t about reestablishing equality. It is about self-glorification, and it moves beyond just punishment into the humiliation of a person. That humiliation will create a stumbling block.
There is serious comfort in vengeance, and the world whole-heartedly endorses that means of empowerment. Today, we live in a culture that has become hypersensitive to victims of social injustice, and we see the threshing sledges with their sharp, raking teeth at work across all venues of social media--and not just from actual victims but from those who identify with them and support them. These sharp teeth thresh their antagonists into physical, mental, emotional, even spiritual ruin. And people "like" it.
Vengeance is God's right alone, because He can do it thoroughly, justly, and with the beneficial outcome of ending the fight instead of prolonging it.
How Israel understands her role in regard to taking vengeance is supremely important because, as we will see in later chapters, there is a new kingdom coming, and God's people--these victimized people--will be ruling in it. That means they will have power and authority over people who were once their oppressors.
Paul reminds us of the LORD's command not to avenge ourselves:
In previous chapters, God has promised Israel that He will deliver her from exile, but it is not enough that He simply takes her out of Babylon's hands. Here in Isaiah 47, He grants her the vindication of witnessing His humiliation of the seemingly invincible oppressor who has tormented her. Babylon is personified as a haughty young woman of tremendous wealth and prestige who suddenly experiences a horrific reversal of fortune and loses everything at the hand of an angry God.
Isaiah 47 is the outworking of the vengeance promised back in Isaiah 43:14-15 and this chapter is paired with that passage in the chiastic structure of Isaiah 41-48. A pdf version of the chiastic chart can be downloaded here: The Chiastic Structure of Isaiah 41-48
Isaiah 47:1-7
The rebuke begins in verses 1-2 with a series of imperative commands to Babylon. "Come down and sit in the dust . . . Sit on the ground . . . Take the millstone and grind . . . Remove your veil . . . Take off the skirt . . . Uncover the thigh . . . Pass through the rivers." His words are brutal and debasing as He drags the "tender and delicate" tyrant off her throne. She was anything but tender and delicate to His people, so He strips away that veil of hypocrisy and uncovers her to her shame.
"Sit in silence . . . Go into darkness." In her hubris, Babylon has called herself the Lady of Kingdoms (47:5), but the LORD reminds her of how she came to that exalted place.
"I was angry with My people; I have profaned My inheritance, and given them into your hand. You showed them no mercy; on the elderly you laid your yoke very heavily. And you said, 'I shall be a lady forever,' so that you did not take these things to heart, nor remember the latter end of them." (Isaiah 47:6-7 NKJV)
God gave Israel to Babylon for a time because He was angry with Israel and needed to deal with His people, but Babylon was only ever His tool. After witnessing the destructive fury that the LORD meted out to His wayward people, one would think that Babylon might have taken a lesson from that and been more circumspect in handling Israel, but she wasn't. She took her role as God's agent too far and was merciless to His precious people, and it is for her hubris and lack of mercy that Babylon now suffers punishment.
Even as we examine Israel in our case study, we should not neglect the lesson of Babylon. At times, we unknowingly become God's tool for dealing with another person, for better or worse, and how we acquit ourselves in our part of that process will be judged.
Q: When we see negative consequences playing out in someone else’s life, as we see with Israel, do we take that to heart?
There are rewards for the works we do in life, good and bad, and we should not labor under the assumption that the reward God determines for our works is necessarily a good and pleasant thing. Job reminds us that “those who plow iniquity and sow trouble will reap the same.” (Job 4:8 NKJV)
David writes, “Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight. With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; with a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless; with the pure You will show Yourself pure; and with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd. For You will save the humble people, but will bring down haughty looks.” (Psalm 18:24-27 NKJV)
Jesus reminds us, "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." (Matthew 7:2 NKJV)
It is wise to take a lesson from Babylon when we are tempted to lift ourselves up above others and boast in our own security in God's favor. Though our salvation may be secure in Christ because of God's grace, there is still warning that our works will be evaluated in the end, and the added reward or "crowns" that our earthly works merit, may be lost to us.
Isaiah 47:7-11
God then sentences Babylon. He begins by revealing the lies that she has told herself (47:7, 8, 10). She thinks she is secure in her position, but she is not. She thinks she is untouchable and invincible, but she is not. She thinks that she will endure and her legacy will live on, but it won't. God says death and grief--loss of children and widowhood--will come upon her in one day, and then He tells her why.
- She has relied on her "sorceries" and "enchantments," a power based in occult sources which will prove to be only illusions.
- She has trusted in her wickedness, and said to herself, "no one sees me."
- Her worldly wisdom and knowledge have warped her.
- She has become haughty and entitled.
Q: What parts of this profile of Babylon do we see in our own culture today?
God says evil will come upon Babylon in one day and from an unknown source (47:11). We know from the book of Daniel that Babylon was taken in one night, the very night when Belshazzar saw the writing on the wall which Daniel translated for him. That night, the kingdom fell into the hands of Medo-Persia (Daniel 5). God is good to His word.
Isaiah 47:12-15
The passage ends with the LORD's scoffing challenge to Lady Babylon to consult her famed soothsayers and magicians, who will not be able to deliver her. They shall be as stubble for the raging inferno of God's anger, and all of her merchants and traffickers will abandon her.
There is a mixing of near and distant prophecies in this passage. The end of Babylon in this era will resemble the fall of a future Babylon in the End Times, as recorded in Revelation 18:
"And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, 'Babylon the great is fallen' . . . And I heard another voice from heaven saying, 'Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues . . . In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, "I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow." Therefore her plagues will come in one day--death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her.'" (Revelation 18:2-8 NKJV)
"The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, 'Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.' . . . The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing," (Revelation 18:9-11, 15 NKJV)
Q: Knowing the abuse and oppression Israel suffered at the hands of Babylon past (and Babylon future), is the LORD's vengeance sufficient to comfort her?
Q: There is one thing that we don't see in all of this passage and that is Israel's participation in God's vengeance. Why is that important to note?
Israel's lack of participation here is a sharp contrast to the statement God made in Isaiah 41:15-16, where He promised her that she herself will take part in tearing down "the mountains and hills"--the exalted ones who have oppressed her--as part of His vindication.
"Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth; You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small, and make the hills like chaff. You shall winnow them, the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; You shall rejoice in the LORD, and glory in the Holy One of Israel." (Isaiah 41:15-16 NKJV)
Even so, Israel has no part in the LORD's vengeance against Babylon in this chapter. God takes vengeance on His people's behalf, while Israel stand by as a witness. In fact, as He has told her in the past, vengeance is His and His alone (Deuteronomy 32:35). So, how do we reconcile these two statements?
Q: How does Israel play a part in her own vengeance without actually playing a part?
Q: John the Baptist's message in Matthew 3:7-12 (Luke 3:7-17) parallels the same imagery of threshing, winnowing, and removing chaff that is used in Isaiah 41:15-16, but whose task is it, according to John? Is it the nation of Israel’s task to take vengeance or the task of the One who represents her before God?
God's Highway Project: The Comfort of Vengeance
We have been talking about the four steps in God's Highway Project. Step 1 was lifting up those in the valleys. Step 2 was bringing the mountains and hills low. Taking vengeance is a way of lifting one person up by taking another down, and it is often done under the guise of justice. But it is not justice.
Q: How is vengeance different from justice?
They differ in their motives. Justice settles conflicts with equity to both sides. A law is made. A punishment is set. When a person transgresses that law, they know exactly what the punishment will be and they accept the punishment for it. But once fair retribution is made, that is the end of the matter. Both sides walk away from each other as equals once again. Justice is meant to accomplish God’s main objectives: To end the fighting and reconcile the sin.
Q: When we take vengeance for ourselves, is our goal to end the fighting and pardon the sin?
Man’s vengeance has a different motive. Vengeance is a way of glorifying oneself by inflicting punishment or retribution for an injury or wrong—particularly an injury to one’s reputation. It’s an act of domination in taking back what is due to you, plus a little more for good measure and to ram home the message of who is greater. It isn’t about reestablishing equality. It is about self-glorification, and it moves beyond just punishment into the humiliation of a person. That humiliation will create a stumbling block.
There is serious comfort in vengeance, and the world whole-heartedly endorses that means of empowerment. Today, we live in a culture that has become hypersensitive to victims of social injustice, and we see the threshing sledges with their sharp, raking teeth at work across all venues of social media--and not just from actual victims but from those who identify with them and support them. These sharp teeth thresh their antagonists into physical, mental, emotional, even spiritual ruin. And people "like" it.
Q: Do you know anyone who is so consumed by a desire for vengeance (or simply to lift themselves up) that they take every opportunity to rake over their opponent with sharp teeth and tear them down?
Q: What comfort does the person get from it?
Q: Does it bring any healing to our community when self-empowered victims turn to treading down their oppressors beyond repair?
Q: Who gets the glory for the takedown?
Vengeance is God's right alone, because He can do it thoroughly, justly, and with the beneficial outcome of ending the fight instead of prolonging it.
How Israel understands her role in regard to taking vengeance is supremely important because, as we will see in later chapters, there is a new kingdom coming, and God's people--these victimized people--will be ruling in it. That means they will have power and authority over people who were once their oppressors.
Q: When people who have been abused or oppressed are given power and authority over their abusers, what do they do with that power?
Q: Do they align with God's goals for the coming kingdom? What are the kingdom goals?
Vengeance is not Israel's, or ours, to take. What remains for us, then, is how to react to our abusers until the LORD chooses to act.
Q: Even as our world is becoming more and more hostile towards us on account of our faith, are we content to wait for the LORD's vindication?
Q: When we have a grievance over some injustice done to us or another person, do we take up the role of a threshing sledge with sharp teeth in how we respond to that?
Q: Is that tearing-down in line with God's goal to end the fighting?
Q: When we have a grievance over some injustice done to us or another person, do we take up the role of a threshing sledge with sharp teeth in how we respond to that?
Q: Is that tearing-down in line with God's goal to end the fighting?
When an oppressor's world begins to implode under the LORD's hand, it is tempting for the one who has suffered at their hand to take personal stabs at them, to gloat, or to heap more rebuke on them. Proverbs 24 offers wise instructions, to the oppressor and the victim:
"Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; do not plunder his resting place; for a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity. Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; lest the LORD see it, and it displease Him, and He turn away His wrath from him." (Proverbs 24:15-18 NKJV)
Paul reminds us of the LORD's command not to avenge ourselves:
"Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, '"Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.' Therefore 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:17-21 NKJV)
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