13:1
A major factor persuading many that Isaiah 40 onwards was not written by Isaiah is that it seems to relate primarily to the Babylonian exile. However, here we have a prophecy against Babylon. One of the dominant themes of Isaiah is the sovereignty of God, He is the one who is lord of history. So here Isaiah prophecies against Babylon, long before she was the dominant power that she was set to become. In fact, at the time of Isaiah Babylon was part of the Assyrian empire, but an important city within that empire with some power in its own right. It would, in time, rise up and defeat Assyria, and conquer Jerusalem. Yet the first mention of Babylon (apart from 11:11) is her defeat. We can maybe see a parallel here with Gen 3:15 telling of Satan’s defeat. Much of the story after that is of Satan’s “victory”, just as here there is an extended period of Babylon being triumphant.
13:2,3
God raises a banner to summon His “holy ones” to “carry out my wrath”. Isaiah knew that Judah would be carried off into exile, not by Assyria (though they would come close) but by Babylon. Yet we see here that Babylon is marked for judgement. When we see evil triumph in the world, as it does in many and various ways, we can be equally sure that the perpetrators are marked for judgement. “My holy ones” are “those set apart for God”, to carry out His purposes. God’s wrath will be carried out by those who rejoice in His triumph.
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