Isaiah 46

Bel and Nebo were ancient, leading gods of Babylon. They show up in history even before the ancient god called Marduk. Some say Bel is another name for Marduk. Nebo was his son. On holidays, such as the New Year’s festival, Babylonians carried their gods through the cities in parades. This chapter compares God’s power to idols that have no power at all.

Babylonian invaders have conquered the Jewish nation of Judah and leveled Jerusalem and the Temple. They took Israelite survivors captive and led them back to Babylon, in what is now Iraq. Babylonians did this so the Jews would not rebuild their nation, because the Israelites had become a rebellious pain in the neck to their Babylonian overlords. Babylon wanted Israelite tax money. But the Israelites established a solid history of resisting. Babylon apparently got tired of sending troops to punish the Israelites, so in 586 BC they erased the Jewish nation from the political map. This chapter reads like a lament written long after the events. Some scholars, however, say Isaiah wrote this as prophecy.

Literally, “Zion,” another name for Jerusalem. It often refers to the Jerusalem Temple or the ridge on which the ancient city was built, Mount Zion. God seems to promise to preserve Jerusalem and the Temple, which in this case requires rebuilding. Babylon levels Jerusalem and the Temple. There’s no mention here of God raising Israel from the ashes, into an independent nation again. Persians conquer Babylon and, in the mid-500s BC, allow the Jews to go home and rebuild Jerusalem. But the Jewish homeland remains a Persian territory under the authority of the Persian king. David’s family of kings ended when Babylon conquered the nation. Jews won their independence a few centuries later, from about 168 BC-37 BC. Then the Romans took over. Jews regained control about 2,000 years later, forming the nation of Israel on Palestinian land granted by the United Nations after World War Two. Jewish people gained more land by purchasing it, annexing it, or taking it in war.