Today’s passage: Isaiah 47
Helpful thoughts:
- The Babylonian Empire was defeated by the Persians. Babylons change is depicted as going from high class princess to a servant girl in only one day.
- Babylon said of herself, “I am, and there is no one besides me.” But God is the Lord of Hosts and the Redeemer of His people. He has never and He will never be defeated.
- Compare the statement, “There is no one besides me.” with what God says of Babylon in verse 15, “There is no one to save you.”
- Even when God was allowing His people to be disciplined for their sin, they were still His people and He defended them.
Questions to consider:
- What would be the right conclusion concerning the use of horoscopes after reading verses 13-14? Should we be looking to the stars to discern our future? Who holds and secures our future?
- Did the way Babylon felt about their significance and safety produce significance and safety? Did feeling highly about themselves keep them out of trouble or did it get them into more trouble? If the answers to our problems are inside of us, then what role is God supposed to play? What is the biblical, God-honoring, true response to this kind of thinking?
- The great empire of Babylon fell in a day (Daniel 5:24-31). Who is your rock? How can you know that your feet are firm on solid ground no matter what happens in the world around us?