For the Lord will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 2 And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the Lord's land as male and female slaves. They will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them.
Israel's Remnant Taunts Babylon
3 When the Lord has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:
“How the oppressor has ceased,
the insolent fury ceased!
5 The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked,
the scepter of rulers,
6 that struck the peoples in wrath
with unceasing blows,
that ruled the nations in anger
with unrelenting persecution.
7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet;
they break forth into singing.
8 The cypresses rejoice at you,
the cedars of Lebanon, saying,
‘Since you were laid low,
no woodcutter comes up against us.’
9 Sheol beneath is stirred up
to meet you when you come;
it rouses the shades to greet you,
all who were leaders of the earth;
it raises from their thrones
all who were kings of the nations.
10 All of them will answer
and say to you:
‘You too have become as weak as we!
You have become like us!’
11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,
the sound of your harps;
maggots are laid as a bed beneath you,
and worms are your covers.
12 “How you are fallen from heaven,
O Day Star, son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,
you who laid the nations low!
13 You said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
above the stars of God
I will set my throne on high;
I will sit on the mount of assembly
in the far reaches of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’
15 But you are brought down to Sheol,
to the far reaches of the pit.
16 Those who see you will stare at you
and ponder over you:
‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
who shook kingdoms,
17 who made the world like a desert
and overthrew its cities,
who did not let his prisoners go home?’
18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory,
each in his own tomb;
19 but you are cast out, away from your grave,
like a loathed branch,
clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword,
who go down to the stones of the pit,
like a dead body trampled underfoot.
20 You will not be joined with them in burial,
because you have destroyed your land,
you have slain your people.
“May the offspring of evildoers
nevermore be named!
21 Prepare slaughter for his sons
because of the guilt of their fathers,
lest they rise and possess the earth,
and fill the face of the world with cities.”
22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the Lord of hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, descendants and posterity,” declares the Lord. 23 “And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” declares the Lord of hosts.
An Oracle Concerning Assyria
24 The Lord of hosts has sworn:
“As I have planned,
so shall it be,
and as I have purposed,
so shall it stand,
25 that I will break the Assyrian in my land,
and on my mountains trample him underfoot;
and his yoke shall depart from them,
and his burden from their shoulder.”
26 This is the purpose that is purposed
concerning the whole earth,
and this is the hand that is stretched out
over all the nations.
27 For the Lord of hosts has purposed,
and who will annul it?
His hand is stretched out,
and who will turn it back?
An Oracle Concerning Philistia
28 In the year that King Ahaz died came this oracle:
29 Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you,
that the rod that struck you is broken,
for from the serpent's root will come forth an adder,
and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent.
30 And the firstborn of the poor will graze,
and the needy lie down in safety;
but I will kill your root with famine,
and your remnant it will slay.
31 Wail, O gate; cry out, O city;
melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you!
For smoke comes out of the north,
and there is no straggler in his ranks.
32 What will one answer the messengers of the nation?
“The Lord has founded Zion,
and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.” Isaiah 14 ESV
Isaiah 14
1-2. And will again choose Israel - I still love you, oh what manner of love the Father has given unto us. There is a comfort in understanding Christ when He says, "you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you." The babe may easily fall into entitled as a youth, and carry a sense of self reliance, of his own worthiness, siting such works as he thinks fit or proper, but as a child of God grows older in Christ, it is a wonder that He chose me at all, yet a comfort because He did. Abraham did not walk between the halves; this faith is a gift. God chose me, Christ died for me, the Holy Spirit regenerated me unto repentance, life.
“This promise had a measure of fulfillment when Israel was brought back from Babylon; and still is it true that, when God’s people come to their worst, there is always something better before them. On the other hand, it is equally sure that, when sinners come to their best, there is always something terrible awaiting them.” (Spurgeon)
3-11. How the oppressor has ceased - The rule of the king of Babylon was fierce and unrelenting. After the overthrow of Babylon by Persia, the Jews and others were aloud to return home according to the decision of Cyrus. They will even be given an allotment by Artaxerxes to rebuild the temple.
The end of that Babylonian empire was a sure sign to the words Isaiah had spoken many decades before, but this is not the end all as some commentators would have it. Many tyrants will come after, the Jews will be persecuted again, but this relief is but a foreshadowing of the Day of the Lord. It is credence to all that Isaiah prophesies, but it's ultimate fulfillment is in Christ's judgment of the world's wicked system and the bounding up of the original deceiver.
“The whole Near East rejoiced over Babylon’s fall because her rule was harsh and oppressive.” (Wolf)
ii. Even the trees rejoice over the fall of the king of Babylon. This is true of the king of literal Babylon because the attacking kings cut down thousands of trees for both fuel and lumber, leaving Israel and Lebanon deforested. “Since the twelfth century B.C. the kings of Mesopotamia had imported lumber from Lebanon. Nebudchadnezzar used large supplies of such choice timers in his extensive building efforts in Babylon after 605 B.C.” (Wolf)
iii. The trees also rejoice at the fall of the king of spiritual Babylon, because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Maggots are laid as a bed beneath you - No matter how grandiose you looked at the height of your reign, how big your entourage, how puffed your pride, this is your grave. Who are you now?
12-14. How you are fallen from heaven - There is a strong transition here, an unmasking so to speak, and I have to strongly disagree with any commentator who would suggest this is merely about the king of Babylon, the dictator who ruled at this time.
17The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.” 18So He told them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you.… Luke 10: 17-19
O Day Star, son of Dawn - Lucifer means morning star or day star.
Jesus Himself is called the Bright and Morning Star (Revelation 22:16). Satan, though a created being, had some of these glorious qualities in himself. No wonder that Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), deceiving many with his apparent glory, beauty, and goodness. - Enduring Word
You said in your heart - Ezekiel 28 describes him as a created being who was the seal of perfection, full of wisdom, perfect in beauty. It goes on to describe splendor and beauty, a clothing of emeralds and other rare gems. He was a marvel of God's creation, blameless until when, what, iniquity was found in you. Remember, God looks at the heart.
…14You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for I had ordained you. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked among the fiery stones. 15From the day you were created you were blameless in your ways— until wickedness was found in you.16By the vastness of your trade, you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mountain of God, and I banished you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.… Ezekiel 28: 14-16
I will ascend to heaven above the stars of God - "Until wickedness was found in you", iniquity, and here it is, the first of the I's. He would ascend to a position above all the other angels. The place of God's rule and glory. This is pride, I was made this, but I will become that.
I will set my throne on high - He would be the ruler of heaven. This is pride, I cannot bear the sovereignty of God, I will be my own sovereign. It's my life and this is the way I see myself.
I will sit on the mount of the assembly - He would take the place of God, steal God's honor and glory, that which is reserved to God alone. When they came to worship, he would receive it to himself.
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds - He will continue to rise, and this is in his delusion, but it appears he had set his eyes to rise above the Shekinah, that his glory would out shine God. He is a narcissist, in love with his beauty, which he did not create, worshiping himself and desirous of others to follow.
I will make myself like the Most High - He wanted to be God. Yeah, this is about the king of Babylon, and everyone else who would follow Satan.
…43Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to accept My message. 44You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies. 45But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me!… John 8: 43-45
The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. When he tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he tempted him with pride. We live in a world that celebrates pride: white pride, national pride, gay pride, brown pride, black pride. "You are the center of your universe, my world revolves around me, it's my life, it's my body, look out for number 1, be a diva, I'm so misunderstood, do you think I'm pretty, bow down to me, agree with me or else, look at me."
I see what God calls sin, I mean I see it in that book, but that's not how I see it. I believe in God, and that the Bible is His word, but I see it differently. I hear what you are saying, but I really like this particular sin, and I don't think it matters. The God I believe in wouldn't judge me, maybe because the god you believe in is you.
Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. 3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you.… Romans 12: 1-3
When we walk in pride we are not following Christ, we are following someone else. We walk in darkness, not in the light of truth. The devil comes as an angel of light, artificial light, offering a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. It is like the televangelist who puts on make up, oil to make his face glow, to look at them and think they are different. "Look at my jewelry, this is a Rolex, don't worry about greed, God is not angry with your lust, he doesn't care that you vaunt yourself. Self esteem is important. You deserve money, fame, power, honor." We were made to worship God, but pride in our hearts desires that we be worshiped instead. God cleanse me and wrap me in humility. How many times have I bragged about things you hate, please forgive me. How many times have I read what you said, and thought I would do it my own way, forgive me and help me to obey.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.