Isaiah 12 - 17

A. Worldly Glory: Babylon (13:1–14:27).
B. Worldly Alliances: Near Neighbors (14:28–18:7).

These chapters are difficult to get a handle on for me. I suspect it is for scholars also. If I was pinned down I would say this: I believe God's Word is meant for all peoples and for all times. A casual reading of these chapters might appear to be talking about Babylon etc and that time period. If that was the case, then while it might be an interesting History lesson, it wouldn't hold much significance for us. But, I believe it was written by Isaiah, with God's inspiration, for all of us. For the Israelites of that day it would have given them hope. It's as if God was saying - Yes, Babylon is a great glorious empire but it is going to perish. Yes, all of its neighbors who will conquer it and come to power are intimidating, but they too will perish. I think it was God saying, have Faith in Me alone. I know what I'm doing. Trust me alone and you'll be fine. Don't be swayed by what your eyes see and your ears hear. Listen to me, be obedient and all will be well.
God doesn't change so I believe it's a message also for us today. We live in a great nation. If we go the way of Babylon then God will deal with us the same way. We can be assured that we will fall. The Israelites of today are us, believers in Jesus Christ, and we can take comfort in Jesus promise that, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."