Restoration for Israel For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and choose Israel once again. He will settle them on their own land. The foreigner will join them and be united with the house of Jacob. The nations will escort Israel and bring it to its homeland. Then the house of Israel will possess the nations as menservants and maidservants in the LORD’s land. They will make captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors.
The Fall of the King of Babylon On the day that the LORD gives you rest from your pain and torment, and from the hard labor into which you were forced, you will sing this song of contempt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has ceased, and how his fury has ended! The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers. It struck the peoples in anger with unceasing blows; it subdued the nations in rage with relentless persecution.
All the earth is at peace and at rest; they break out in song. Even the cypresses and cedars of Lebanon exult over you: “Since you have been laid low, no woodcutter comes against us.” Sheol beneath is eager to meet you upon your arrival. It stirs the spirits of the dead to greet you— all the rulers of the earth. It makes all the kings of the nations rise from their thrones. They will all respond to you, saying, “You too have become weak, as we are; you have become like us!” Your pomp has been brought down to Sheol, along with the music of your harps. Maggots are your bed and worms your blanket.”
How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! (Day Star or shining one) You have been cut down to the ground, O destroyer of nations. You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north. (in the remote parts of Zaphon or on the heights of Zaphon) I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you will be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit. Those who see you will stare; they will ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made the kingdoms tremble, who turned the world into a desert and destroyed its cities, who refused to let the captives return to their homes?”
All the kings of the nations lie in state, each in his own tomb. But you are cast out of your grave like a rejected branch, covered by those slain with the sword, and dumped into a rocky pit like a carcass trampled underfoot. You will not join them in burial, since you have destroyed your land and slaughtered your own people. The offspring of the wicked will never again be mentioned. Prepare a place to slaughter his sons for the iniquities of their forefathers. They will never rise up to possess a land or cover the earth with their cities. “I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will cut off from Babylon her name and her remnant, her offspring and her posterity,” declares the LORD. “I will make her a place for owls and for swamplands; I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of Hosts.
God’s Purpose against Assyria The LORD of Hosts has sworn: “Surely, as I have planned, so will it be; as I have purposed, so will it stand. I will break Assyria in My land; I will trample him on My mountain. His yoke will be taken off My people, and his burden removed from their shoulders.” This is the plan devised for the whole earth, and this is the hand stretched out over all the nations. The LORD of Hosts has purposed, and who can thwart Him? His hand is outstretched, so who can turn it back?
Philistia Will Be Destroyed In the year that King Ahaz died, this burden was received: Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken. For a viper will spring from the root of the snake, and a flying serpent from its egg. Then the firstborn of the poor will find pasture, and the needy will lie down in safety, but I will kill your root by famine, and your remnant will be slain. Wail, O gate! Cry out, O city! Melt away, all you Philistines! For a cloud of smoke comes from the north, and there are no stragglers in its ranks. What answer will be given to the envoys of that nation? “The LORD has founded Zion, where His afflicted people will find refuge.”
At first, this passage seems confusing. Isaiah begins with a comforting assurance to the Israelites. God will again favor Israel. Not only will the Israelites live in their own land, but foreigners will come to join them and they will rule over these foreigners. This prophecy has been largely fulfilled by the establishment of the State of Israel.
Next, Isaiah prophesies against the human King of Babylon, predicting that the Jews will sing songs mocking him and describing his entry into Sheol. Isaiah says that dead kings will ridicule the King of Babylon. “Your pomp has been brought down to Sheol, along with the music of your harps. Maggots are your bed and worms your blanket.”
So far, so good. But now Isaiah continues with a prophecy intended for someone far greater than a human king. “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! (Day Star or shining one) You have been cut down to the ground, O destroyer of nations.” About whom is Isaiah speaking?
Prophecy always works on several different levels. Here Isaiah is prophesying about the King of Babylon; however, some people feel that this passage also refers to Satan. Originally, Satan was in heaven and his name may have been Lucifer, or “light bearer.” But Satan rebelled and fell from heaven, taking one third of the angels with him. (Revelation 12:4)
Why would God link the human King of Babylon with Satan? Whatever a nation worships becomes its guiding spirit. The Babylonians worshiped a host of demons; therefore, Satan was their ruling spirit, inspiring the King of Babylon. There was always a remnant of the Israelites who worshiped the One True Living God; therefore, God’s spirit remained with Israel throughout all its trials. Now God is repeating his prophecies over Babylon, that once Babylon is destroyed, it will become a desolate swamp and will never be inhabited again by anything other than creatures of darkness.
Finally, Isaiah prophesies against Philistia, predicting that Philistia will be destroyed completely and its people scattered. These prophecies were later fulfilled and Philistia as an entity disappeared. The “cloud of smoke from the north” was likely the Assyrians, who would conquer all the land as far as the Mediterranean Sea.
APPLICATION: Those who worship demons will eventually be destroyed by them, earning a place in hell. Those who worship the One True Living God will eventually be with Him in heaven. We become what we worship. Matthew 6:19 – 21 says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
We are concluding the year of 2022, a year that has brought turmoil and war to Ukraine and social upheaval and hardship to untold numbers of people around the world. As we enter a new year, we must ask ourselves this question: WHERE ARE OUR HEARTS? WHERE ARE OUR TREASURES? WHOM ARE WE TRUSTING? Are we trusting in ourselves, in our own ability to provide and protect? Are we trusting in some religious or social group? Are we relying on our wealth or social position? All of these things can fail us, leaving us destitute with no hope.
But if we will trust in God, He will never fail us. God has promised in Hebrews 13:5 that He will never leave us or forsake us. If we fear the evil in the world, we must remember that God has overcome that evil. When Jesus was born as a man and lived and died as a perfect sinless man, he conquered death and hell and rose from the grave. Why trust in things that cannot help? As we enter 2023, let us make God our helper! Let’s remember Isaiah’s assurance in Isaiah 14:27 “27The LORD of Hosts has purposed, and who can thwart Him? His hand is outstretched, so who can turn it back? Truly, all the forces of darkness cannot stop what God has ordained!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to trust our yesterdays, our todays, and our tomorrows to You, knowing that You are the One True Living God and that You are always on the side of righteousness, justice and peace. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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