Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Isaiah 21:1-10
The Burden of the Wilderness of the Sea (Isaiah 21:1).
The interpretations of this prophecy have been varied although all finally must relate it to one of the sackings of Babylon (Isaiah 21:9) of which there were a number. The area around the Persian Gulf in southern Babylonia was called in ancient times ‘mat tamtim' (‘the land of the sea', in Akkadian). Perhaps there is then a prophetic recognition here in the term ‘wilderness of the sea' that it was to be turned into a wilderness. As burdens are always concerning those who will suffer under the prophecy this is a very good possibility.
Or it may be that Isaiah was drawn into the wilderness around the Dead Sea in order to receive the message both verbally and in terms of the surrounding conditions that he found himself in, in that dry, arid desert land. As the whirlwinds swept through the land perhaps he saw them as coming from the direction of Babylon.
Either way the message is stark. Wilderness conditions are involved, as a judgment from God, on Babylon and on all who support her and look to her for support. The message is similar to previously. Neither Babylon nor her allies can be relied on. Great Babylon is doomed.
The Initial News Comes Through, Babylon is Besieged By Its Erstwhile Allies (Isaiah 21:1).
Analysis.
a The burden of the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south sweep through, it comes from the wilderness, from a terrible land (Isaiah 21:1).
b A grievous vision is declared to me. The treacherous dealer deals treacherously, and the spoiler spoils. “Go up, O Elam, besiege, O Media. I have made all its groaning cease” (Isaiah 21:2).
c Therefore my loins are filled with anguish, pangs have taken hold of me like the pangs of a woman in intensive labour (Isaiah 21:3 a).
c I am pained so that I cannot hear. I am dismayed so that I cannot see (Isaiah 21:3 b).
b My heart pants. Horror has affrighted me. The twilight that I desired has been turned into trembling for me (Isaiah 21:4).
a They prepare the table, they set the watch, they eat, they drink. Rise up, you princes, anoint the shield. (Isaiah 21:5).
In ‘a' the whirlwinds sweep in from the terrible land (bringing in a terrible vision) and in the parallel this causes the leaders of Judah to prepare a table, set a watch and eat and drink as they confer together, followed by an exhortation to prepare for battle. In ‘b' a grievous vision is declared to the prophet. Elam and Media may attack and besiege Assyria, but it is too late, Yahweh has made all the groanings of Babylon, their ally cease. Babylon is defeated. That is why in the parallel his heart pants, horror affrights him and the end that he had looked for has turned into one of trembling. In ‘c' he is filled with anguish and distress, and in the parallel he is so pained and dismayed that he cannot accept what he hears and sees.
‘The burden of the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south sweep through, it comes from the wilderness, from a terrible land. A grievous vision is declared to me. The treacherous dealer deals treacherously, and the spoiler spoils.'
As Isaiah possibly stood in the dry, arid conditions of the wilderness around the Dead Sea area in the south of Judah, or in the Negeb (which ‘the south' regularly means. Compare Genesis 12:9), he was aware of the whirlwinds that swirled around him, and became aware that those treacherous winds were bringing him a message of treachery from another wilderness, the wilderness of a terrible land. ‘Terrible land' was a name well suited to Babylon (see Isaiah 13:11), although not only limited to them. All who could be a major threat to Judah were ‘terrible' lands. If the Wilderness of the Sea was ‘the land of the sea' in southern Babylonia it was the homeland of Merodach Baladan, king of Babylon, at that time a rebel against Assyria, who had asserted and obtained the independence of Babylon.
But Isaiah foresaw that that land would become a wilderness, as the Assyrians swept through it pillaging and destroying, a firm lesson to one they saw as a traitor. He found the picture a grievous one. And he foresaw that there would be treachery involved, and also ravaging and spoiling of the land. Possibly the treachery was something to do with Sennacherib himself, who was known to deal treacherously and renege on treaties (see Isaiah 33:1). Who more likely to be described as the treacherous spoiler? Or possibly the treachery related to the allies of Babylon who are mentioned next, whose dealings may not have been of the most honourable. A defeated army regularly changed sides in order to save itself. The indefiniteness of it may depict a general state of treachery and spoiling among mankind. None can be fully trusted. This is, of course, in contrast with Yahweh Who can be full trusted.
‘Go up, O Elam, besiege, O Media. I have made all its groaning cease.'
At the time Elam and Media came in as allies of Merodach Baladan and Babylon. Here they are depicted as being called on to enter the fray on her behalf, attacking the Assyrians on another quarter. It is to be noted that Elam ceased to be a positive threat around 639 BC so that this must apply before then while they were still a force to be reckoned with.
It may be that the exhortations are prior to what follows, (Babylon's vain efforts ceasing), or it may be an indication to Elam and Media that their efforts will be pointless. ‘Carry on, but you are wasting your time'. If ‘I have made all its groanings cease' refers to the total destruction of Babylon that resulted from Sennacherib's victory, then the indication is that either way their action was too late. (Once again allies have failed). Sennacherib was merciless. He had had enough of Babylon. He thoroughly destroyed it and carried off its main idols.
‘Therefore my loins are filled with anguish,
Pangs have taken hold of me like the pangs of a woman in intensive labour.
I am pained so that I cannot hear.
I am dismayed so that I cannot see.
My heart pants. Horror has affrighted me.
The twilight that I desired has been turned into trembling for me.'
This is the day of Yahweh for Babylon. As in Isaiah 13:8 her fate arouses anguish and pain like that of a woman in intensive labour, but this time the pain is Isaiah's. It has affected his hearing and his sight, as well as his heart (or it may mean that he refuses to hear and see). The thought of what will now be done to Babylon, and what it may mean for Judah, leaves him in a state of horror. It was true that he had desired the end of Babylon, its twilight, but not like this. The thought can only leave him trembling. This was no hard hearted prophet of doom. He had to declare his message of judgment, but his tender nature was wracked with concern.
‘They prepare the table, they set the watch, they eat, they drink. Rise up, you princes, anoint the shield.'
This is possibly a picture of the princes of Judah in discussions with the Babylonian ambassadors, or even just conferring between themselves on the situation, having no idea what is about to happen to Babylon. Calmly they prepare the table, they station sentries, they eat and drink, unaware of the catastrophe that is about to occur. They are waiting for news. And the prophet is moved to cry to the princes in conference that they must anoint their shields and prepare to defend themselves.
Or it may be an emergency conference as the winds sweep in ‘from the wilderness' with bleak news. Thus they are preparing for whatever news comes through, and at the same time advise each other meanwhile to be ready for battle.
The Final News Comes Through, “Babylon is Fallen, Is Fallen!”
The expected news arrives. Babylon is fallen, is fallen. The repetition stresses both the shock and the certainty.
Analysis.
a For thus has the Lord said to me, “Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he sees (Isaiah 21:6).
b And when he sees a troop, horsemen in pairs, a troop of asses, a troop of camels, he will listen carefully, taking careful note” (Isaiah 21:7).
c And he cried as a lion, “O Lord, I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime” (Isaiah 21:8 a).
c “And am set in my post whole nights” (Isaiah 21:8 b).
b “And see, here come a troop of men, horsemen in pairs.” And he answered and said, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, and all the graven images of her gods are broken into the ground” (Isaiah 21:9).
a Oh you who are my threshing, and the corn of my floor, what I have heard from Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, I have declared to you (Isaiah 21:10).
In ‘a' the Lord has told the prophet to set a watchman who is to declare what he sees, and in the parallel says that he has declared to them what he has heard from Yahweh. In ‘b' he sees a troop, horsemen in pairs, and listens carefully and takes note, and in the parallel a troop, horsemen in pairs, arrive and the reply comes that Babylon is fallen, and all her gods are broken and cast on the ground. In ‘c' and its parallel the watchman declares that he watches, by day and night.
For thus has the Lord said to me,
“Go, set a watchman,
Let him declare what he sees.
And when he sees a troop,
Horsemen in pairs,
A troop of asses,
A troop of camels,
He will listen carefully,
Taking a great deal of notice.” '
Yahweh has given Isaiah warning in advance by commanding him to set up a watchman. And he thus knows the tenseness of the position. He knows that bad news is to be expected. He has been told to set a watchman who will honestly declare what he sees, to keep an eye on the road for the bad news that is coming. And when he sees an important embassage arriving the watchman must take careful note of its significance. For its news will be worthy of consideration. The horsemen in pairs, travelling speedily as messengers, have a spare horse so that when their first horse is tired they can transfer to the other.
Shields had to be oiled to keep them in fighting condition. The shields would be made of leather, or of wood covered with leather, and would have leather straps. They had to be kept in trim.
‘And he cried as a lion,
“O Lord, I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime,
And am set in my post whole nights.
And see, here come a troop of men.
Horsemen in pairs.” '
Isaiah has taken no chances. He has made himself the watchman. With the heart of a lion he watches, continually day and night, and at last he sees what he is looking for, what Yahweh had warned him of, a troop of men and horsemen in pairs. And he cries out to the sovereign Lord, to Yahweh of what he has seen.
The horsemen in pairs have been variously explained but we are surely to see them in context as representing urgent messengers who bring a spare horse so that they can speed on their journey.
‘And he answered and said,
“Babylon is fallen, is fallen,
And all the graven images of her gods,
Are broken into the ground.”
Yahweh explains to Isaiah the vision. The horsemen bring news, horrific news. Babylon is truly fallen and her gods with her. The repetition of ‘is fallen' stresses the greatness and certainty of the disaster. The king who had boasted of his ascent to the gods is on his way to the pit (Isaiah 14:12). He will flee the country and die in a foreign land. Thus will Yahweh's words be fulfilled, and thus will Judah become aware of the folly of trusting in men. The vision of Chapter s 13-14 has come to partial fulfilment.
‘Oh you who are my threshing, and the corn of my floor, what I have heard from Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, I have declared to you.'
Finally Isaiah brings home the message to Israel. He knows that his words are acting on them like a threshing instrument, that Israel are like grain being threshed, they are like corn on Isaiah's threshingfloor. But he wants them to know that what he has so declared, is what Yahweh of hosts would say to them. God is still speaking to them and waiting for them to respond. For Yahweh is still the God of Israel.