A poet Campbell wrote; Coming events cast their shadows before.

Transcription

1 Introduction In this section of Isaiah are a series of prophecies concerning the eventual destruction of Babylon, Assyria and Philistia. A poet Campbell wrote; Coming events cast their shadows before. Careful readers of Bible prophecy have known seen bits and pieces of the future. In chapter 13 the destruction of Babylon was foretold. Remember Babylon was a massive Kingdom and world power, until Assyria, their arch enemy gained supremacy. God would judge Babylon, Assyria and Philistia. God judges the nations for several reasons, not least is their treatment of Israel, Judah and Jerusalem. Further reasons included pride, injustice and unbelief. Chapter 14 begins with a prophecy concerning the restoration of the nation. Israel s Restoration " For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will still choose Israel, and settle them in their own land. The strangers will be joined with them, and they will cling to the house of Jacob. Then people will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them for servants and maids in the land of the Lord; they will take them captive whose captives they were, and rule over their oppressors." (Isaiah 14:1-2, NKJV) Does this prophecy relate to the restoration of Israel after the Babylon captivity, or does it speak of the restoration of Israel in the past few generations (1948) or does it refer to a yet a future restoration? The prophet Jeremiah warned Israel repeatedly they would be led into captivity by the Babylonians. The prophet Isaiah warned the Jews they would be led into captivity by Babylon (see 5:13; 6:11-12; 11:11 remember Shinar refers to Babylon). In 586 B.C. the Babylonians completely destroyed Jerusalem and took the surviving Jews into capitivity. Babylon scattered the Jews throughout the empire in an attempt to destroy their identity and their homeland. 70 years later, almost immediately after the Persian conquest of Babylon, the Persian King Cyrus allowed any Jew who wished to return to his homeland to do so (Ezra 1:1-2:70). 1

2 In the present passage Isaiah is predicting a return from bondage and captivity. Once again the Lord will have mercy on them. God will choose them as His people and give them rest (here the idea means safety, security, peace prosperity). " For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face. Therefore you shall keep the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which I command you today, to observe them." (Deuteronomy 7:6-11, NKJV) Israel s deliverance from captivity is a picture of what it means to be delivered from bondage, from sin, from death. Who do the nations refer to in verse 2? Some scholars suggest these refer to the nations within the Persian Empire. Could it be a reference to the end times when all nations will help transport the returning Jewish captives from around the world? The King of Babylon (vv.3-23) "It shall come to pass in the day the Lord gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear and the hard bondage in which you were made to serve, that you will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say: How the oppressor has ceased, The golden city ceased! " (Isaiah 14:3-4, NKJV) God will punish both the King of Babylon and the City of Babylon. It would appear that both the King of Babylon and the city of Babylon are set apart from the rest of the nations for a special kind of judgment. The judgment seems much worse than the judgment of the rest of the surrounding nations. His judgment seems severe because his sins seem to have the origins in hell itself. Babylon s King seems to have a god complex. The King is filled with pride and equates himself as the ruler of the universe. He seeks an equality with the God of Heaven. In addition to his sins of pride and arrogance, the tyrant seems to be a cruel, wicked, heartless tyrant. Leupold points out that this passage has three possible interpretations: 1. It may refer to a specific king of Babylon. 2

3 2. It may describe the imperial power of Babylon. 3. The king might be a symbol of the hostile forces who rebel against God and persecute His people. Leupold leans toward the third possible interpretation. "The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, The scepter of the rulers; He who struck the people in wrath with a continual stroke, He who ruled the nations in anger, Is persecuted and no one hinders. The whole earth is at rest and quiet; They break forth into singing. Indeed the cypress trees rejoice over you, And the cedars of Lebanon, Saying, Since you were cut down, No woodsman has come up against us. " (Isaiah 14:5-8, NKJV) After the fall of Babylon the people of God are free to taunt the king of Babylon. Remember a fall is measured by distance. The higher they climb the further they fall. The king of Babylon is thrown from his exalted throne, utterly defeated. The king oppressed the nations. The king did not rule the nations with compassion and justice, the king ruled them with an iron fist. The wicked ruler would rule no more. By defeating the wicked king, the Lord gave rest and peace to the whole world (see vv. 6-7). "Indeed the cypress trees rejoice over you, And the cedars of Lebanon, Saying, Since you were cut down, No woodsman has come up against us. " (Isaiah 14:8, NKJV) The people sing and celebrate and rejoice. Even the trees rejoice (all of nature). Some Bible teachers believe the trees speak of the oppressed people who begin to sing. God dooms the wicked King to hell (sheol). " Hell from beneath is excited about you, To meet you at your coming; It stirs up the dead for you, All the chief ones of the earth; It has raised up from their thrones All the kings of the nations. They all shall speak and say to you: Have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us? Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, And the sound of your stringed instruments; The maggot is spread under you, And worms cover you. " (Isaiah 14:9-11, NKJV) The word translated hell is sheol. The word can either mean the physical grave, or the place of the unrighteous dead. In general it means the place where the dead go. The Greek word is Hades. It can mean grave or pit depending on the context; for example; 3

4 "And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning. Thus his father wept for him." (Genesis 37:35, NKJV) "Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, And whole, like those who go down to the Pit; " (Proverbs 1:12, NKJV) Sheol is sometimes seen as the place where the sinful suffer punishment and pain; "For a fire is kindled in My anger, And shall burn to the lowest hell; It shall consume the earth with her increase, And set on fire the foundations of the mountains. " (Deuteronomy 32:22, NKJV) Jesus described hell as a place of unquenchable fire (see Matt. 3:12; 13:41-42; Mark 9:43). "His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. " (Matthew 3:12, NKJV) "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 13:41-42, NKJV) "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched " (Mark 9:43, NKJV) From the lips of Jesus we learn that hell is a place of memory and remorse (see Luke 16:19-31). Hell is a place of thirst (Luke 16:24); of misery and pain (Rev.14:10, 11); of frustration and anger (Matt.13:42; 24:51); a place of eternal separation (Rev.2:11; 20:6,15). Remember it is a place where God s wrath is undiluted; "O Lord, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy. " (Habakkuk 3:2, NKJV) "he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb." (Revelation 14:10, NKJV) Hell is a place created for Satan and his angels; 4

5 " Then He will also say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:" (Matthew 25:41, NKJV) Lucifer s Fall From Heaven (vv.12-23) " How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High. Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit. Those who see you will gaze at you, And consider you, saying: Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, Who made the world as a wilderness And destroyed its cities, Who did not open the house of his prisoners? All the kings of the nations, All of them, sleep in glory, Everyone in his own house; But you are cast out of your grave Like an abominable branch, Like the garment of those who are slain, Thrust through with a sword, Who go down to the stones of the pit, Like a corpse trodden underfoot. You will not be joined with them in burial, Because you have destroyed your land And slain your people. The brood of evildoers shall never be named. Prepare slaughter for his children Because of the iniquity of their fathers, Lest they rise up and possess the land, And fill the face of the world with cities. " (Isaiah 14:12-21, NKJV) Behind the visible throne of Babylon was the invisible throne of Satan. Who is he? He weakened the nations, he brought them under subjugation, and ruination. He was elevated but now he would be brought low. " Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God: You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created. You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you. " (Ezekiel 28:12-15, NKJV) Ezekiel seems to suggest this being was perhaps the most perfect of all God s creatures. What was the sin that caused such a fall? Lucifer s great sin was pride. Deep in his own heart he purposed to exalt himself above God. Note the five I wills 1. I will ascend into Heaven 2. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God 5

6 3. I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north 4. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds 5. I will be like the Most High. Really. People run a terrible risk when they exalt themselves, promote themselves and ignore and even deny the Lord. Lucifer s pride and arrogance challenged God to act Satan s personal will and ambition were set against God. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Warren Wiersbe: The picture in is that of a mighty monarch whose pride brought him to destruction. This is what happened to Belshazzar when Darius the Mede captured Babylon in 539 B.C. (Dan.5). Isaiah described the king s arrival in Sheol, the world of the dead, where the kings wealth, glory, and power vanished. The dead kings already in Sheol stood in tribute to him (Isa.14:9), but it was all a mockery. Death is the great leveler; there are no kings in the world of the dead. Lucifer (v.12) is Latin for morning star and suggests that this king s glory did not last very long. The morning star shines but is soon swallowed up by the light of the sun. The prophet saw in this event something far deeper than the defeat of an empire. In the fall of the King of Babylon, he saw the defeat of Satan, the prince of this world who seeks to energize and motivate the leaders of nations (Jn. 12:31; Eph. 2:1-3). Daniel 10:20 indicates that Satan has assigned princes (fallen angels) to the various nations so that he can influence leaders to act contrary to the will of God. This highest of God s angels tried to usurp the throne of God and capture for himself the worship that belongs only to God (Matt.4:8-10). The name Lucifer (morning star) indicates that Satan tries to imitate Jesus Christ who is the Bright and Morning Star (Rev.22:16). I will be like the Most High reveals his basic strategy, for he is an imitator (Isa.14:14; 2 Cor. 11:13-15). Like the king of Babylon, Satan will one day be humiliated and defeated. He will be cast out of heaven (Rev.12) and finally cast into hell (20:10). Whether God is dealing with kings or angels, Proverbs 16:18 is still true: Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall (see Warren Wierbe; Be Comforted; pp.45-46). The morning star will have a dishonorable burial. He will not lie in state like other kings. His end will be shameful and humiliating. Because he has fallen from such a high position, with such immense power, everyone will wonder. They will ask; How could such a thing happen? This king this person will not lie in state (vv.18-20). Instead his body will be cast into a mass grave with slain soldiers, his body will be like a rejected branch or the like the bloody clothing of soldiers burn it bury it. Once he has 6

7 departed from the earth, people will ignore him because he was brutal and destructive because he swept across the nations, dominating them and oppressing them. Even the kings offspring will never be mentioned (v.20). None of his sons will succeed him to the throne (v.21). The King s empire will be utterly destroyed by God Himself (vv.22-23). Babylon will be overthrown and conquered, never to arise again. Babylon will become a desolate place, inhabited by only animals it will be swampland, swept over with the broom of destruction. We see Jesus has destroyed the power of the devil. Satan s power has been broken. No longer are we doomed, no longer must we serve him, no longer do we need to be held in the grip of his enslaving power. All bondages are broken through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. What still enslaves you? Greed pride arrogance? Are you overindulgent? Do you still smoke, drink, abuse drugs? Does your mouth reveal the content of your heart? Are you still trapped by immoral sexual behavior, pornography, sensual pleasures, fleshly passions? Do you steal? Are you lazy? Are you apathetic and indifferent? I don t know and I don t care. The Lord Jesus Christ has the power over sin. "Jesus answered and said, This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out." (John 12:30-31, NKJV) "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." (Romans 8:37, NKJV) "He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." (1 John 3:8, NKJV) 7