Matthew Henry Commentary Isaiah 13
Matthew Henry Commentary
Isaiah 13
Matthew Henry Commentary
Isaiah 13
"The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see. Set ye up an ensign upon the bare mountain, lift up the voice unto them, wave the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles. I have commanded my consecrated ones, yea, I have called my mighty men for mine anger, even my proudly exulting ones. The noise of a multitude in the mountains, as of a great people! the noise of a tumult of the kingdoms of the nations gathered together! Jehovah of hosts is mustering the host for the battle. They come from a far country, from the uttermost part of heaven, even Jehovah, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land." — Isaiah 13:1-5 (ASV)
The threatenings of God's word press heavily upon the wicked, and are a grievous burden, too heavy for them to bear. The persons brought together to lay Babylon waste are called God's sanctified or appointed ones, designed for this service, and made able to do it. They are called God's mighty ones, because they had their might from God, and were now to use it for Him. They come from afar. God can make those a scourge and ruin to His enemies, who are farthest away, and therefore least dreaded.
"Wail ye; for the day of Jehovah is at hand; as destruction from the Almighty shall it come. Therefore shall all hands be feeble, and every heart of man shall melt: and they shall be dismayed; pangs and sorrows shall take hold [of them]; they shall be in pain as a woman in travail: they shall look in amazement one at another; their faces [shall be] faces of flame. Behold, the day of Jehovah cometh, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger; to make the land a desolation, and to destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not cause its light to shine. And I will punish the world for [their] evil, and the wicked for their iniquity: and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more rare than fine gold, even a man than the pure gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens to tremble, and the earth shall be shaken out of its place, in the wrath of Jehovah of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger. And it shall come to pass, that as the chased roe, and as sheep that no man gathereth, they shall turn every man to his own people, and shall flee every man to his own land. Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is taken shall fall by the sword. Their infants also shall be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be rifled, and their wives ravished. Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who shall not regard silver, and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. And [their] bows shall dash the young men in pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children." — Isaiah 13:6-18 (ASV)
We have here the terrible desolation of Babylon by the Medes and Persians. Those who in the day of their peace were proud, and haughty, and terrible, are quite dispirited when trouble comes. Their faces will be scorched with the flame. All comfort and hope will fail.
The stars of heaven will not give their light; the sun will be darkened. Such expressions are often employed by the prophets to describe the convulsions of governments. God will visit them for their iniquity, particularly the sin of pride, which brings people low. There will be a general scene of horror.
Those who join themselves to Babylon must expect to share her plagues (Revelation 18:4). Everything that people have, they would give for their lives, but no one's riches will be the ransom for their life. Pause here and wonder that people can be so cruel and inhuman, and see how corrupt human nature has become. And that little infants suffer in this way shows that there is an original guilt, by which life is forfeited as soon as it begins.
The day of the Lord will indeed be terrible with wrath and fierce anger, far beyond all described here. Nor will there be any place for the sinner to flee to or attempt an escape. But few act as though they believed these things.
"And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans` pride, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall shepherds make their flocks to lie down there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and ostriches shall dwell there, and wild goats shall dance there. And wolves shall cry in their castles, and jackals in the pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged." — Isaiah 13:19-22 (ASV)
Babylon was a noble city; yet it would be wholly destroyed. None will dwell there. It will be a haunt for wild beasts. All this is fulfilled.
The fate of this proud city is a proof of the truth of the Bible and an emblem of the approaching ruin of the New Testament Babylon; it is also a warning to sinners to flee from the wrath to come, and it encourages believers to expect victory over every enemy of their souls and of the church of God.
The whole world changes and is liable to decay. Therefore, let us be diligent to obtain a kingdom which cannot be moved; and in this hope, let us hold fast to that grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
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