21:1 Here is a message about the Desert by the Sea: Like strong winds blowing in the south, one invades from the desert, from a land that is feared.
Isaiah was given a heavy prophetic message about “the Desert by the Sea.” Just as “stars and stripes” symbolize America, then “the desert by the sea” symbolized Babylon. Everyone living in Isaiah’s day would have understood this symbolism. Verse 9 also identified this metaphor as Babylon.
Babylon was a great desert, but it was well-watered by the canals which came from the Euphrates River. Babylon was not a world power during Isaiah's time. It was a tribute nation to the Assyrian Empire.
“The desert by the sea” was a mirage. It looked like a place where one’s soul could quench his thirst, but it was only a mirage in the desert. It was not a spring or an oasis at all, but a place filled with idols and false religion. There was no life-giving water there for the souls of men. It was only a mirage filled with demonic idols. Babylon was the first city to rebel against God. It will one day become the capital city of the Antichrist’s kingdom. It will arise one day and take the Chosen People of God into captivity. Before Babylon even becomes a world power, Isaiah predicted that it would be destroyed.
In this prophecy, Isaiah sees Babylon approaching Assyria like a desert storm. This invader was probably Marduk-apla-iddina who arose suddenly from the desert regions to revolt against Assyria.
21:2 I have received a distressing message: “The deceiver deceives, the destroyer destroys. Attack, you Elamites! Lay siege, you Medes! I will put an end to all the groaning!”
Isaiah received some very bad news from Jehovah. Babylon was about to be deceived and destroyed by the Elamites (Persians) and Medes.
21:3 For this reason my stomach churns; cramps overwhelm me like the contractions of a woman in labor. I am disturbed by what I hear, horrified by what I see.
Isaiah saw through the eyes of the Babylonians. This horrific vision of the future caused him to experience birth pangs like a woman in labor.
21:4 My heart palpitates, I shake in fear; the twilight I desired has brought me terror.
As Isaiah looked through the eyes of a Babylonian solider, he trembled in fear on what would happen to Babylon. He did not even want to wake up the next day, because daylight would bring even more terror.
21:5 Arrange the table, lay out the carpet, eat and drink! Get up, you officers, smear oil on the shields!
The people of Babylon were living as if nothing was happening. They arranged their tables for dinner, laid out their carpets, ate, and drank. Instead of partying, they should have been smearing oil on their battle shields. Shields made of animal skins needed to be rubbed with olive oil to prevent them from cracking. The Babylonians were not aware that the Medes and the Persians were going to invade Babylon that very night.
21:6 For this is what the sovereign master has told me: “Go, post a guard! He must report what he sees.
God told Isaiah to send out scouts to spy upon Babylon and Assyria. The scout was to report back what he saw.
21:7 When he sees chariots, teams of horses, riders on donkeys, riders on camels, he must be alert, very alert.”
King Cyrus of Persia was the first military leader to attack with camels, donkeys, and horses. The camels and donkeys would attack first in order to cause confusion. The calvary would then follow and finish the attack.
21:8 Then the guard cries out: “On the watchtower, O sovereign master, I stand all day long; at my post I am stationed every night.
The guard stood on his watchtower every day and looked for enemy movement.
21:9 Look what’s coming! A charioteer, a team of horses.” When questioned, he replies, “Babylon has fallen, fallen! All the idols of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”
The guards drove into Jerusalem in chariots and reported that Babylon had fallen to the Medes and Persians.
21:10 O my downtrodden people, crushed like stalks on the threshing floor, what I have heard from the Lord who commands armies, the God of Israel, I have reported to you.
Israel was hoping that Babylon would defeat the Assyrians, because King Hezekiah had made an alliance with the Babylonians. However, the Assyrians crushed the Babylonians. The Assyrian king eventually destroyed the city in 689 B.C. Babylon’s fall seemed like the last straw. This meant that no nation would possess the military strength to stop the Assyrian Empire. Judah felt crushed emotionally like grain on the threshing floor.
Isaiah’s message warned Judah that they must not rely on the Babylonians to save them. This man from the Desert by the Sea (Marduk-apla-iddina) would not be successful against the Assyrians.
21:11 Here is a message about Dumah: Someone calls to me from Seir, “Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?”
Isaiah 21:11-12 listed heavy judgments against Edom. Isaiah was a master of the Hebrew language. He used word play to get across a serious message to his people. Dumah is Edom with the “e” removed and added as the last syllable of the word. Edom means “red,” but dumah means “the silence of death.”
The Edomites descended from Esau. Esau was the twin brother of Jacob. Esau gave away his birthright of the Messiah for a bowl of soup. The Edomites were godless people from the loins of Abraham (grandfather) and Isaac (father).
The message was a heavy burden, or a judgment against Edom. The guards were sitting on top of Mount Sier watching for enemy movement. Sier means “hairy.” It was the main mountain range of the Edomites. The watchman was looking into the night and he saw the enemy moving towards Edom.
21:12 The watchman replies, “Morning is coming, but then night. If you want to ask, ask; come back again.”
Morning is coming for Israel, but a scary night is coming for his twin brother Esau. Judah will survive the Assyrian invasion, but Edom will not. The Son of righteousness will come to Israel with hope, but He will bring judgement upon Edom. Edom will be one of the two cities of the Millennial Kingdom which will become a burning wasteland for demons.
21:13 Here is a message about Arabia: In the thicket of Arabia you spend the night, you Dedanite caravans.
Isaiah looked into the future and saw bad news for the Arabian shepherds. The Assyrians were going to wipe out the Arabians.
21:14 Bring out some water for the thirsty. You who live in the land of Tema, bring some food for the fugitives.
The Arabians were usually self-sufficient. However, the Assyrians would cause the Arabians to flee from their tents. The Arabians would have to survive from the food and water of other tribes.
21:15 For they flee from the swords— from the drawn sword and from the battle-ready bow and from the severity of the battle.
The Arabians would become fugitives, running for their lives and from the sword.
21:16 For this is what the sovereign master has told me: “Within exactly one year all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end.
Kedar was as Arab region which was known for her beautiful black tents. In one year, the Assyrians would kill all of those living in Kedar.
21:17 Just a handful of archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be left.” Indeed, the Lord God of Israel has spoken.
Only a few archers would survive the Assyrian onslaught. This prophecy would be fulfilled, because Jehovah had spoken it. In 715 B.C., Sargon II wrote that he had defeated a number of the Arabian tribes and had them deported into Samaria.