20150727 Monday, July 27 2015
Isaiah 39: The Ambassadors From Babylon

by Wayne Blank
See also 1 Year Holy Bible Reading Plan

"Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon"

A number of successive empires have been directly-involved in the history of Israel (see The Origin Of Israelites And Jews), and then the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah (see Israel In History and Prophecy: Israel and Judah and A History Of Israel's United And Divided Kingdoms) from their birth right to the present day (see Israel In History and Prophecy: Israel Of Judah).

Egypt. The Israelites grew in Egypt from a family of about 70 people into a multitude in which military-age males alone totalled over 600,000 (see The Egypt Connection). Egypt is one of the most-ancient of great nations, having been a dominant force in the region since before 3000 BC.

Assyria. The Assyrian Empire (not to be confused with Syria; see The Syrian Connection) was a major power for about 6 centuries, from about 1200 to 600 BC. After the division of Israel into the independent kingdoms of Israel and Judah (see Israel In History and Prophecy: Israel and Judah), the LORD brought about the fall and exile of the Kingdom of Israel to the Assyrian Empire by 721 BC (see Israel In History and Prophecy: The Lost Ten Tribes). Although Assyria also then threatened the Kingdom of Judah, the LORD defended the still-righteous kingdom from the mighty Assyrian army (see Why Did The Assyrian Army Cross The Line?, The Invasions of Shalmaneser and Sennacherib and The LORD's Regime Change In Iraq).

Babylon. The Babylonian Empire defeated and superseded the Assyrian Empire (see The Medes And Chaldees Prophecies). Both Assyria and Babylon had their homelands in Eden, the region known today as Iraq (see How Did Eden Become Babylon?). The Babylonian Empire peaked in power from about 626 to 539 BC. After they became as corrupt as the Kingdom of Israel had been 135 years earlier, the LORD (see The Identity Of The LORD God) had the Kingdom of Judah fall to the Babylonian Empire by 586 BC.

Persia. Unlike Israel (the "lost ten tribes"), for the sake of the coming Messiah, the LORD had Judah restored to Jerusalem and Judea 70 years after the Babylonian exile, in the time of Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah (see Zerubbabel's Return, Ezra's Journey From Babylon and The Arrival Of Nehemiah's Cavalry). That was accomplished by the Persian Empire that conquered the Babylonian Empire (see The Prophet Daniel: The Hand Writing On The Wall and The Prophecies Of Cyrus of Persia).

Greece. The Greek Empire was created by one of the greatest military commanders of all time - Alexander the Great of Macedon (see The Prophet Daniel: The Ram and The He Goat). Alexander spread Greek civilization and language (the reason that the New Testament was written in Greek) from southern Europe and north Africa to the frontier of India.

Seleucids and Ptolemies. When Alexander the Great died in his early thirties from some sort of infection, his empire was divided into four major parts, each commanded by one of Alexander's former generals. Two of those directly affected the history of Israel - the Seleucids of Syria that committed the original "abomination of desolation" in Jerusalem (see A History Of Jerusalem: Abomination Of Desolation), which resulted in the Jewish rebellion that produced the Hasmonean Kingdom (i.e. the "Maccabees"; see Israel In History and Prophecy: Hasmonean Judea), and the Ptolemies of Egypt whose military defeat by Julius Caesar during the reign of Cleopatra (see The Cleopatra Connection) resulted in the birth of the Roman Empire (see A History Of Jerusalem: Pompey And The Caesars).

Rome. The Roman Empire ruled Judea during the first coming of the Messiah (see A History Of Jerusalem: The Herodian Dynasty and A History Of Jerusalem: The Coming Of The Messiah). The Messiah was executed by the Roman Army. The Roman Empire "fell" in the fifth century AD to Germanic tribes who not only defeated the Roman Empire, they became the Roman Empire (see The Holy Roman Empire Of The German Nation). At the same time, another empire was born from the religion of Muhammad. The "king of the north" (the Church of Rome in Europe) and the "king of the south" (the Muslim Caliphate i.e. the world ruled by a Muslim emperor) fought the "crusades" for centuries over control of Jerusalem (see A History Of Jerusalem: Constantine and Muhammad and The Prophet Daniel: Kings Of The North and South).

Ottoman. The Ottoman Empire of Turkey was one of the longest-lasting empires of human history. Their centuries-long Muslim control of Jerusalem ended when they chose the losing side of the First World War - ironically, Germany and its "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation."

Britain. At the end of the First World War, Britain held nearly all of the territory from Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia (where the British army officer Thomas Lawrence became famous as "Lawrence of Arabia") to Afghanistan. All of those nations became free and independent from the Ottoman Empire that had ruled over them for centuries by means of the British mandate (see A History Of Jerusalem: The British Mandate). The culmination of British control of the Middle East was the birth of the present-day state of Israel (see Israel In History and Prophecy: Israel Of Judah) in 1948.

The LORD (see The LORD God Our Saviour) healed King Hezekiah of Judah from what would have been a fatal infection (see The Sign Of Hezekiah's Shadow). Hezekiah lived and reigned in the time of Assyrian Empire - the Babylonian Empire had not risen yet, but they were already sending "diplomats" to other nations. The king of Babylon sent ambassadors to Hezekiah to wish him good will after his healing.

"39:1 At that time Merodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered.

39:2 And Hezekiah was glad of them, and shewed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not." (Isaiah 39:1-2 KJV)

Hezekiah welcomed the Babylonian ambassadors and gave them a tour of everything. When the prophet Isaiah was told, he informed Hezekiah that the time would come when the Babylonians would loot the capital and take his descendants away into exile.

"39:3 Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee?

And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon.

39:4 Then said he, What have they seen in thine house?

And Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them.

39:5 Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD of hosts:

39:6 Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD. 39:7 And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."(Isaiah 39:3-7 KJV)

Hezekiah had been a righteous king, but it seems that he was becoming a typical politician whose only interest was his own time of office. Even though told of what the Babylonians would do to his kingdom in the future, because the kingdom was going to go corrupt, Hezekiah responded with the "Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days."

39:8 Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days." (Isaiah 39:8 KJV)

Fact Finder: What prophet was among the royal exiles who were taken to Babylon to "be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon"?
See The Prophet Daniel: A Child Of The Exile