Isaiah 47

Isaiah 47:1, 7 NIV

"Go down, sit in the dust,
Virgin Daughter Babylon;
sit on the ground without a throne,
queen city of the Babylonians.
No more will you be called
tender or delicate.

You said, 'I am forever—
the eternal queen!'
But you did not consider these things
or reflect on what might happen.

Babylon was the world power in her day. She was big and beautiful. The hanging gardens of Babylon are one of the 12 wonders of the ancient world. She was arrogant, self-sufficient and merciless. God had allowed her to become great. He had used her to judge and discipline his own people. Soon it would be time for her to fall.

How many "great" men have we seen fall in past generations; "self-made" individuals; "A list" men and women whose lives fall apart? Nations rise and fall. Kings, rulers and presidents come and go. Fame and notoriety grows and disappears.  It doesn't matter how confident a person is or how secure a nation appears to be. It doesn't  matter how wealthy, how gifted or how popular they are. Elvis may still be popular, but what good does that popularity do him now? Gifted young actors and athletes lose their lives to drugs, alcohol and violence. Reputations are smeared. Money is wasted and lost. Beauty fades. Memory and clarity of thought dissipates. What then?

Empires crumble. Past glory becomes present tourist attractions. But the security of false hope leads only to dust. Where we place our hope and faith makes all the difference. Israel may have been disciplined but her hope was in God who would restore her. Babylon's hope was in her own greatness and glory. All that came down in a single night when she fell to Persia.

Father, forgive me for how often I look to people, things and circumstances for the hope that only you can give. May I live today with my eyes firmly fixed on you.

By His grace,
Rick Weinert
.