51:34-40
Zion had suffered greatly at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, and she would rejoice at the downfall of Babylon. We tend to get embarrassed or offended by verse like these, but that is largely a product of our not having suffered in the way that many peoples in history have suffered.
We see here yet again that the restoration of Israel is the goal of God’s plans. He had to deal with her sins, but even so salvation was the goal. Israel would be avenged for the evil she had suffered. We find it difficult to hold two ideas at once. One being the sin and subsequent judgement of Israel and Judah, and the other being the restoration and salvation of Israel as a result of the grace of God. But if we are to have anything like a proper view of the Bible we do need to hold both ideas at once, or we will never understand God’s plans for Israel, nor His work in our own lives.
51:41-44
Sheshak is a cryptogram for Babylon. Once it was the “boast of the whole earth”, but soon it would be captured, then it would be desolate among the nations. There would be few inhabitants. Bel was a prime Babylonian god, also known as Bel-Marduk. Bel meant lord. Nations had been taken captive by this idol, but it would no longer have any power.
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