Isaiah 47 - Bible Study in 5 Minutes

Isaiah 47 Short Summary:

In Isaiah 47, the Kingdom of Babylon is portrayed as a beautiful woman who is loved by all the nations. But in her popularity, she grew proud and wicked. She thought she was untouchable, above the judgement of God or men, but God promised to humble her. God would humble Babylon after He used them as an instrument of discipline towards the people of Judah.

Isaiah 47 Bible Study

TIMELINE:

• The prophetic ministry of Isaiah spanned the reigns of King Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

• Isaiah’s ministry is thought to span from 739-681 BC.

• The Kingdom of Babylon would be humbled by Cyrus the Great and the Persians in 539 BC.

KEY CHARACTERS:

• Isaiah – The son of Amoz (1:1). God commissioned Isaiah as His prophet to Judah.

• The Daughter of Babylon – Not a literal person, but a female representation of the nation of Babylon.

DEFINITIONS:

• Millstone (47:2) – A large stone used to crush and grind grain into flower.

OUTLINE:

• THE WOMAN BABYLON (47:1-15):

  • Babylon is portrayed as a beautiful and privileged woman who was accustomed to a luxurious life of ease after being long adored as the favorite mistress of the nations.   

  • But as time went on, she began to think too much of herself and became proud.

  • She said, “I am, and there is no one besides me” (47:8). This was language God used about Himself in Isaiah 45:6.

  • She thought her affluent life and honored place would afford her a perpetually comfortable life. She said, “I shall be mistress forever” and “I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children” (47:7-8).

  • She abused those who were in her care. Babylon abused Judah when they took them into captivity. They put an exceedingly heavy yoke on them, not even sparing the elderly (47:6).

  • God was disturbed with Babylon’s pride and sins, and He foretold their humiliation.

  • The privileged and favored mistress would be ripped down from her throne and made to do manual labor. She would grind at the mill and bind up her skirt to travel on foot. 

  • God said, “Your nakedness shall be uncovered, and your disgrace shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and I will spare no one” (47:3).

  • She would experience levels of humiliation she never imagined. The loss of children and widowhood that she thought she would avoid would find her and crush her (47:8).

  • She thought she was secure in her wickedness, but she could not escape God’s hand.  

  • All the sorceries, enchantments, and astrologers of Babylon couldn’t save her.

APPLICATION:

• At the beginning of our Isaiah study, I mentioned how important it is to read the prophets before attempting to interpret difficult New Testament books like Revelation.

• If you try to interpret Revelation without the prophets, you’ll miss some key parallels from the Jewish prophetic writings.

• This chapter speaks of Babylon as a woman, a mistress favored by all the nations.

• Similar language appears frequently in Revelation; Babylon is pictured as a woman who is the object of God’s judgment (see Rev. 14:8, 16:19, 17:5, 18:2, 18:10).

• It’s always tempting to skip the prophets, but a good Bible student will spend time in the prophets so they don’t misinterpret other books that draw from them.