"Babylon Will Fall" September 5 Readings: Isaiah 21-22, 1 Corinthians 8:1–9:11, Psalm 104:23–29, Proverbs 22:5–7

  

Reading the Bible in 2025

Each day this year, we will read a selection from the Old Testament, the New Testament, a portion of the Psalms, and a part of Proverbs. By the end of the year, you will have read the entire Bible. We read this way to give you a bit of variety. 

NOTE: If you get behind, do not give up. Read today's readings and try to catch up when you have a chance. The goal is not to "accomplish a task" but to meet God in his word. Read the word. Also, if you are short on time, READ GOD'S WORD and skip my devotional!

Bible Readings: Isaiah 21-22, 1 Corinthians 8:1–9:11, Psalm 104:23–29, Proverbs 22:5–7

    Scriptures linked to Bible Gateway in ESV version 

Daily Devotional: Babylon Will Fall

Its story begins in Genesis 11 when some men built a Tower that was supposed to reach to heaven. Throughout the Bible, Babylon both literally and figuratively represented the world system - political, religious, and military - that stands in opposition to God. God said scatter and fill the earth. At Babel, they said unite to reach heaven. God said worship me alone. Babylon was a place where the worship of many gods was encouraged. In fact, as we saw recently, in the reading in Isaiah 14, the description of the ruler of Babylon carried hints of the pride and fall of Satan himself. Babylon represents everything that is wrong in this world, everything that stands in rebellion against God.

And Isaiah 21:9 says something that is repeated in the apocalyptic predictions of Revelation.

Fallen, fallen is Babylon. 

When the time is right, God will bring it all crashing down. Here in Isaiah, the reference is a little more immediate. God was preparing judgment on the wicked nation that would bring so much pain and suffering to his people, Israel. In Revelation 18:2, the reference is to our worldly system, which stands in rebellion against God - a religious system that does not recognize Jesus Christ as Lord, a political system that does not recognize him as king.

We live in Babylon today. Many Americans have considered our nation to be a modern-day Jerusalem, a city of God. Those days have passed, and we must admit that we are in a pagan land, a plan of sin, of perversion, and of resistance to God's authority over our lives.

But we must not fear or despair, our God is in control. God brought Babylon to its knees once before and will bring it down again one day. We serve a Risen Savior! A Victorious Lord. Our God wins. When we look at this world, it appears that sin is winning and that righteousness is perishing from the earth. It is an illusion. Sin's victory is nothing more than a mirage in the desert.

Jesus Christ is Lord. This world and its rebellion are doomed. Never cower before sin, because sin is destined to fall before the glory of God. Babylon will fall.

Father, it is good to serve a sovereign and victorious God. 

Consider God's Word:

Which of these four passages spoke most clearly to you today? 

Is there sin in your life that needs to be confessed and dealt with that was revealed in one of these passages? 

Is there something in your life that needs to change?

Is there a struggle in your life that one of these passages spoke to? 

As you live your day, remember that the world and its ways are doomed. Jesus is Lord. Why invest yourself, your time, and your efforts in a system that is doomed to fall and to fail? 

Why not lay up treasures in heaven?