“Isaiah son of Amoz received this message concerning the destruction of Babylon: “Raise a signal flag on a bare hilltop. Call up an army against Babylon. Wave your hand to encourage them as they march into the palaces of the high and mighty. I, the Lord, have dedicated these soldiers for this task. Yes, I have called mighty warriors to express my anger, and they will rejoice when I am exalted.” Hear the noise on the mountains! Listen, as the vast armies march! It is the noise and shouting of many nations. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has called this army together.”
Isaiah 13:1-4 NLT
Our verses today mark a significant change in the book of Isaiah. With chapter 13, the prophet began a series of prophecies concerning the nations, starting with Babylon. Although Babylon was powerful and proud, Isaiah reminded us that no earthly power operates beyond the sovereignty of God. Babylon was one of the great cities of the ancient world. It was especially glorious during the time of the Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar, following the downfall of the Assyrian Empire. Its ruins can be visited today in modern Iraq, south of Baghdad.
The main idea behind this prophecy was that God is Lord over all people and cultures of the earth. He directs their coming and going, their victories and defeats, and their prosperity and poverty. The audience for this prophecy was not the nations themselves, but Israel. The message was clear: Do not look to other nations, or their gods, for salvation. Trust in the Lord alone. The idea that God is still on His throne will be a great comfort to so many people as they weather their own storms of anxiety over the instability and threats of conflict to their own nations. The war in Europe, between Russia and Ukraine, drags on in its fifth year, with little territorial progress being made, but its proximity to nations that previously enjoyed a lengthy period of peace is very worrying for many.
The prophecy in Isaiah 13 described God’s judgment against Babylon for the current and future sins of its people and leaders. Their defining sin was pride. Babylonian culture became famous worldwide for its sophistication and elegance. The important people of Babylon became arrogant and haughty. They were elevating themselves in their own eyes, but the Lord hates human pride, as we know. Isaiah began by calling for a banner, a “signal flag”, to be raised on a bare hilltop. A large banner could be seen from great distances and was raised as a message, one of which was the signal to begin a battle. However, it is crucial to note that those attacking Babylon would not consider themselves to be fighting for the God of Israel. Nor was God robotically controlling their every movement or action, even on a small scale. He was the one arranging events, so they occur His way; God does not require anyone’s permission to determine their fate or function. He “dedicated these soldiers for this task”, consecrating them for the task of attacking Babylon.
But what does our reading today mean for us pilgrims? Is there a message we can glean from the aggressive context of these verses? Perhaps the Lord is grabbing our attention, with an equivalent of the noise coming from the mountains, the “shouting of many nations”. Sometimes in life all we can hear is noise. The noise of worry. The noise of conflicting opinions. The noise of difficult circumstances. The noise of unanswered questions. When life becomes noisy, it can become difficult to recognise what God is doing. But we pilgrims are a people of faith, and faith looks beyond the noise. Faith remembers that God is still on the throne. Faith trusts that even when we cannot understand His purposes, He has not lost control.
There is another important truth in these verses. God calls His chosen ones to accomplish His purposes. In Isaiah’s prophecy, we read, “Raise a signal flag on a bare hilltop”. Is there a possibility that God is trying to grab our attention? We can find many examples in Bible times of God performing a miracle to draw the attention of an ordinary person He wanted to commission for an important purpose. The story of Moses comes to mind, and we can read it in Exodus 3. Moses, at that time, was a shepherd tending to his flock in the wilderness near Sinai, “the mountain of God”, and he suddenly found a bush that had caught fire but didn’t burn up. Moses went over to see what this strange phenomenon was, only to hear “… God [calling] to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!” “Here I am!” Moses replied” (Exodus 3:4). We notice that Moses’ response was “Here I am”. Isaiah’s response to the call of God in Isaiah 6 was “Here I am”. In both cases, a man, chosen by God, was given a mission to fulfil His purposes at that time in history.
What about today? There are many Christians who refuse to do anything until they “see the writing on the wall”, a much misused phrase from the Book of Daniel. They demand a sign from God before they will do anything for Him. But ordinary Christians today will be called to do all sorts of things for God, and the only sign they have is a “signal flag on a bare hilltop”. In a spiritual sense, perhaps that is a call that originates in God speaking to us through His Word, calling us to service, prayer, and to encourage others and to share the love of God with those around us. Perhaps, the “signal flag on a bare hilltop” comes through a series of circumstances, such as a passing comment from a friend, followed by an email or letter, followed by a sermon in church, followed by …Or, as in my case, a path was prepared by God, that took me from the South of England to a job in Scotland, to a house close to a Pentecostal minister and his family, and so on. Did I see a “signal flag on a bare hilltop”? No, but the end result was just as profound as the vision Isaiah received in the temple, or the burning bush that grabbed Moses’ attention.
The issue is not whether God is still working, but whether we are listening. Perhaps, amid all the noise of life, God is still speaking. He is still sovereign even through a world that lurches from one war to the next. There are many needs around us, and God is calling His people, pilgrims like us, to participate in His purposes. Is there a “signal flag” in our lives drawing our attention to something that we have previously ignored? I’m sure “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies” is still calling His army today, as He did so many years ago.
Dear Lord God, when the world around us seems noisy and uncertain, help us to remember that You are still sovereign. Give us the faith to trust Your purposes, even when we cannot understand what You are doing. Open our ears to hear Your voice and give us courage to respond when You call. Help us to look beyond the noise, see Your hand at work, and faithfully take the next step of obedience. Amen
Being a Pilgrim 