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Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 47:3

In the ancient world, people regarded nakedness as a shame because it left them open to the gaze of others, and so rendered them defenseless. People seen naked were often taken advantage of. Thus to be uncovered was to be shamefully exposed. Babylon had regarded herself as someone special and superior, but now it would become clear that she was just like every other nation. God promised to take vengeance on Babylon for exalting herself to a place that He alone deserves. He would not spare... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 47:4

The foregoing description of God humbling Babylon, for essentially the same reason He humbled Egypt in the Exodus, drew an exclamation of praise from Isaiah. Almighty Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, would again redeem His people from a nation that had lifted up itself in pride and had oppressed God’s chosen people."These verses assert two principles which lie at the heart of divine providential government of the world: retribution (3cd) and the centrality of the people of God (4)." [Note:... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 47:5

Babylon would no longer be the queen of the nations, having many other kingdoms under her authority. Rather than enjoying the public activity and prominence that go with being a leader, Babylon would find herself sitting in silence and darkness."From the blare of world publicity and the glare of the palace lights to the silence of obscurity (Isaiah 47:5)!" [Note: Grogan, p. 277.] read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 47:5-11

The sins of Babylon 47:5-11The Lord became more specific about Babylon’s sins and the reasons He intended to punish her in the following pericope (Isaiah 47:5-11). read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 47:6

Babylon had not been kind to the Israelites whom Yahweh had handed over to her. She had not really conquered Judah; God had given the Judahites over to the Babylonians. The Babylonians had been unmerciful toward the Israelites and had made life hard even for their elderly, those who deserved mercy simply because of their age. The Babylonians were not as hard on the Israelites as the Egyptians and the Assyrians had been. It was their arrogance more than their physical cruelty that made them... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 47:7

The mark of Babylon’s arrogance was that she assumed that she would continue to rule the world forever. She had defeated Assyria, which had been the most powerful world ruler for 300 years, and there was no power on the horizon that Babylon could see that would threaten her sovereignty. She had not considered that all nations are subject to Yahweh’s sovereignty, that no nation is self-sufficient or self-existent. She had failed to consider that someone more powerful than herself could call her... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 47:8

Babylon was sensual (a lover of luxury) in that she assumed that what she enjoyed were her rights by virtue of her superiority. Her present condition had led her to think that she would always enjoy provision, protection, status, and security. But she could not avert the doom that would come on her because she had exalted herself to God’s place. The pleasure-loving lady of leisure would become a childless widow. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 47:9

She would lose her empire and her population with unexpected suddenness. In spite of the sorcery and magic that Babylon relied on for protection, God would bring judgment on her."Babylon was proverbial in the ancient world for its development of the magical arts. So firm was this association that in Daniel, ’Chaldean’ is a term for magician (Isaiah 1:20; Isa 2:2, 27, etc. . . .). The great Babylonian interest in astronomy was prompted by an even greater interest in astrology. The names given to... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 47:10

Babylon felt secure in mistreating people because her great learning and wisdom in the magical arts had led her to conclude that she was superior and invulnerable. Knowledge puffs up, and one of the delusions it spawns is that people who know more are as morally and ethically responsible as everyone else, since they are not. A corollary is that if I can get away with something, it’s all right. Such thinking forgets that there is a sovereign and righteous God in heaven to whom we are... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 47:11

In spite of how the Babylonians thought, God would bring judgment on them suddenly that incantations would not affect, sacrifices could not deflect, and magic could not anticipate. Daniel 5 describes Belshazzar’s feast, which took place on the night Babylon fell. Cyrus took the Babylonian king and his city completely by surprise, and the empire fell suddenly."Cyrus took Babylon effortlessly, and by morning every citizen of the empire was not a Babylonian but a Persian." [Note: Motyer, p. 372.] read more

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