1. Isaiah 13:6 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why should Babylon wail for “the day of the LORD”?

Isaiah 13:6 (ESV)

6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come!

The day of the Lord is the day of the destruction of this world and the final day of judgment. In Isaiah’s vision, the judgment against Babylon blends with the judgment over all nations. The destruction of Babylon is a forerunner of that final judgment. In Revelation, Babylon is also portrayed as the great enemy of God. Nebuchadnezzar would stand on his palace’s roof and boastfully cry out how great Babylon was (Daniel 4:30). But now Babylon must wail because the day of the Lord’s judgment was coming, and it would be terrible.