Isaiah 13

Wesley: Medes—under whom he comprehends the Persians. Not delight—which is to be understood comparatively. They shall more eagerly pursue the destruction of the people than the getting of spoil. Tho’ the Medes had no regard to God, but only to their own ends.

God stirs up the Medes, yet they pursue their own campaign; silver and gold will not buy them off. The warning was spoken over Babylon at the height of its power, while there was still time to fear.

Calvin: Behold I raise up against them the Medes. He could not have conjectured this by human reason. Who shall not think of silver, nor desire gold: not that they were innocent of plunder, but that the battle will be cruel and bloody, aimed at a general slaughter. The Lord, though he is not cruel, makes use of agents who are so cruel; he acts righteously even by the agency of wicked men.

The LORD stirs the Medes. Pagan hunger for slaughter still serves his indignation. The stirring is his decree against Babylon.

Wesley: bows—under which are comprehended other weapons of war. Dash—or, shalt pierce the young men through, as the Chaldee renders it. No pity on the fruit of the womb. Their eyes will not spare children.

Be honest—this is war-judgment on Babylon’s young. We do not sensationalize it. We do not defend copying the violence. The Medes pursue their own ends; the warning still called the proud to fear. Do not aim this verse at a living people.

Calvin: the cruelty of the Medes will be so great that they will not spare even infant children, on whom men do not commonly lay hands unless where there is the utmost barbarity. The Lord, though he is not cruel, makes use of agents who are so cruel; he acts righteously even by the agency of wicked men, and is not stained with their wickedness.

Name the horror without relish. God judges Babylon; he is not stained by the invaders’ crimes. This is not a permit to imitate them. The LORD stirs the Medes; the slaughter is not a model.

Wesley: glory—which once was the most noble of all the kingdoms. Beauty—the beautiful seat of the Chaldean monarchy shall be totally and irrecoverably destroyed. Sodom and Gomorrah: God’s overthrow of a seat, as he overthrew those cities.

Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, will fall as completely as Sodom and Gomorrah. The comparison underlines that this is the LORD’s overthrow, not an accident of history.

Calvin: Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. He says it is God’s overthrowing, that we may not think that it happens by chance. No glory or splendor can hinder God from bringing the wicked to nought. Utter perdition without any hope of escape.

The pomp of the Chaldeans falls because God overthrows it. Sodom here is the pattern of his judgment on that reprobate seat.

Wesley: inhabited—after the destruction threatened shall be fully accomplished. Arabian—who dwelt in tents, and wandered from place to place where they could find pasture. Follow him: desolation of the site.

Babylon becomes a place even nomads avoid. The prophecy was spoken over a historical city at the height of its power, and its later desolation became a lasting warning about pride.

Calvin: it shall never be inhabited any more; there is no hope of restoring Babylon. The desolation will be so great that neither will the Arabians pitch their tents, nor the shepherds their folds. Not only will the buildings be thrown down, but the very soil will be accursed.

Application: the site is left empty because he has spoken. Follow Calvin: desolation of Babylon’s ground.

Wesley: satyrs—the learned agree that these are frightful and solitary creatures. Wild animals lie down; houses fill with howling creatures; ostriches dwell; wild goats dance. The pomp is gone; the site is left to beasts.

Shared with the other camp: God stirs the Medes; Babylon’s pomp falls like Sodom; the ground is handed to creatures. This is Babylon’s ruin, not a chart of another age. The warning was meant to be heard while palaces still stood.

Calvin: he continues the description of a desert place. The solitude will be so great that the place will be deserted by men. Wild beasts of the desert shall lie there, and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures.

Application: beasts occupy what pomp built. The LORD appointed the emptying. Eerie language here is prophetic weight for a political ruin.

Wesley: prolonged—beyond the time appointed by God. Hyenas cry in the towers; jackals in the pleasant palaces: the pleasant is over. The days run out at the bound God set.

“Her time is near.” Wesley stresses that the days will not run past the limit God has set; the verse is a sober warning, not a puzzle to decode.

Calvin: her time is near; the Lord hath appointed a day, and none shall be admitted to obtain a truce. Her days shall not be prolonged. The picture is heightened in delightful palaces.

The days will not be prolonged because he has appointed the end. Close at hand is his timing, not chance. Jackals in palaces are the decree made visible on Babylon’s site.