We have looked at the prideful and arrogant attitudes of the kings of Babylon who sought to conquer the entire world as they knew it. But that would not come to pass, for the Lord says: "Prepare a place to slaughter his children for the sins of their ancestors; they are not to rise to inherit the land and cover the earth with their cities." (Isaiah 14:21)
The reference to "children" may be associated with the death of King Belshazzar on the night that the army of the Medes took the capital city of Babylon. We know from the book of Daniel that Belshazzar was killed that same night and it's probably safe to assume that all of his male relatives were put to the sword since that was a common ancient practice when overthrowing a king. This was done to prevent the conquered people from banding together behind a man closely related to their deposed king and causing an uprising to place their man on the throne.
The location of Babylon was the location of the first organized rebellion against God when its ancient people banded together to build a tower they believed could reach heaven. When we studied the book of Genesis we discussed some possible motives for why they attempted such a feat, with one motive being that they didn't believe the Lord's promise never to flood the earth again. In addition, seeking to gain entrance to heaven by their own means is similar to "salvation by works", which is not a Biblical principle. On top of that, seeking to gain entrance to heaven on their own displays a great deal of pride and arrogance and it reveals a disregard for what the Lord said was the way to gain salvation: by faith.
Because Babylon had so long been the seat of rebellion and of idolatry, the Lord said in our verses above that He will punish the children of Babylon for "the sins of their ancestors". It's not that He intends to punish anyone who is innocent; all the generations of the people of Babylon were idolatrous and sinful. And it's important to note that the use of the word "children" can also mean "descendants" rather than literal children, although I am sure there were casualties of people of all ages when the Medo-Persian Empire overthrew the Neo-Babylonian Empire. There are always casualties of people of all ages in any war. Perhaps it might comfort us a little to think that anyone underage who perished was saved from becoming a lifelong idolater as an adult and that they were therefore allowed entrance into heaven because they were not of legal age where their breaking of God's laws would be counted against them.
About the Babylonians the Lord said: "'I will rise up against them,' declares the Lord Almighty. 'I will wipe out Babylon's name and survivors, her offspring and descendants,' declares the Lord. 'I will turn her into a place for owls and into swampland; I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,' declares the Lord Almighty." (Isaiah 14:22-23) There is no doubt that the Lord did just that. The once-mighty nation of Babylon still lies in ruins today. Nothing that the Lord has said will fail to come to pass. His word never failed in the past. His word won't fail in the future. His word (and His precious promises to those who have placed their trust in Him) is true today and for always.
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