Isaiah

Lesson 2Isaiah Chapters 13-23

Last week, we looked at Isaiah and saw that God in three persons (God, Christ and the Holy Spirit) was represented in chapters 9 through 12. This week, we will look at the awesome and frightening power of God, the certainty of His coming judgment, and His victory over Satan and his followers.

A limited study of Isaiah, like the one that we are currently doing, which covers so much material in a short span, does a great injustice to the depth and breadth of the book. There is so much contained within each of the chapters that we will read this week, that it simply cannot be studied in the depth that we should devote to it. Therefore, while we will cover a large number of chapters, our focus will key in on one primary area: God’s coming judgment of a lost and dying world, and the importance of having Christ as our personal savior.

Bible

Our scripture passage this week, chapters 13 through 23, covers a lengthy poem, or oracle, in which Isaiah prophesied about the ten cities and nations that surrounded Judah at the time. Beginning with Babylon on the east, and concluding with the fall and destruction of Tyre in the west, Isaiah tells us of God’s certain and undeniable coming judgments.

While clearly much, but not all, of these chapters happened in history, these chapters also contain prophecies still unfulfilled. These unfulfilled prophecies should concern us, as they alert us to the coming judgment and destruction and provide us with the assurance that our God, our terrible and awesome Sovereign King, will be victorious. This is a certainty.

Let’s take a selected look then at some of those prophecies, expand our prophetic and end-time knowledge, and better understand the God who loved us so much he sent His only Son to die for us so that we would not face the judgments described in these chapters.

So le’s look at Isaiah Chapters 13 through 23.

  1. Read all of Chapter 13, which refers to the fall and destruction of Babylon; then read Genesis 11:1-9. What do you suppose "Babylon" would represent in the world, either then or now, what would it be symbolizing that God would hate, judge and destroy?
    1. ANSWER: Throughout the Bible, Babylon has not only represented a very real historic empire and physical place; it also represents forms of evil that God detests and eventually destroys.
  2. Read again chapter 13, verses 9-11. Compare these verses with Genesis 37:5-9, Revelation 8:12-13, and Revelation 12:1-6. What do the sun, the moon, and the stars represent?
  3. Read Chapter 14:13-14. What are the five claims of Satan? What are the five "I will" statements he makes?
  4. What does Isaiah 14:15-23 say will happen to Satan and his followers?
  5. What insight does Isaiah 19:16-25 provide us about Christ’s Millennial Reign?
  6. Read Isaiah Chapter 23. What does the city of Tyre represent symbolically that God would also hate, judge, and destroy?
  7. God is very specific in his dislike, judgment, and destruction of Babylon and Tyre in the Old Testament, and of Babylon again in the book of Revelation. Both of these city/kingdoms represent things that God detests and specifically warns us about all through scripture. From your study this week, have you identified them? Can you summarize them here?
  8. Read Rev. 3:20-21, which contains Christ’s concluding words in His letter to the churches. What does he tell us, his followers, about the coming judgment and our role in it?

We see this week the fierce wrath and anger of God, and also the hope that comes from trusting in Him and the shed blood of Christ. As we see the world around us continue to follow after false gods, man’s wisdom, and the material world, we have the assurance that God will someday hold the world accountable, and his anger will be poured out on all those who followed after Satan. We, however, have the blessed assurance that in Christ we will have the victory. We need to tell others about that assurance and the certainty of that victory.

Next week, we will look at the victory that we are promised, heaven, and the resurrection that we are also promised. Until then, may God richly bless you with his peace and joy as we study His Holy Word together.

Have a great week everyone!

Yours in Christ,

Wes

[2003]