Reading for March 24th

 Read Isaiah 21.1-10. In 21.1-17: Prophecies concerning Babylon, Edom, and southern desert lands. In verses 1-10: This anguished warning concerns the fall of Babylon (v. 9). The heading (v. 1 addresses the southern desert of the Negeb, but the content points to Babylon. The oracle may date from the time of the attack on the city by Elam and Media (538 BCE), when the Medo-Persian overthrow of Babylon marked its end as a world power. This prophecy would provide a framework for the series of prophecies against the nations that began in ch. 13 with the threat to Babylon. It may also date, however, from 73 BCE when the Assyrian king Sennacherib captured the city of Babylon after it had rebelled against Assyrian's rule. At this time, the Babylonian ruler Merodach-baladan sent emissaries to Hezekiah of Judah to coordinate rebellion against Assyria (compare Isa 39.1-8). Comments or Questions..