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Thursday, April 30, 2020

Isaiah 14 - The Destruction of Babylon








Isaiah 14:1-32 NIV









1The LORD Will Have Compassion on Jacob;
once again HE Will Choose Israel
and Will Settle them in their own land.
Foreigners will join them
and unite with the descendants of Jacob.

2Nations will take them
and bring them to their own place.

And Israel will take possession of the nations
and make them male and female servants in The LORD'S Land.

They will make captives of their captors
and rule over their oppressors.







3On the day The LORD Gives you relief from your suffering and turmoil and from the harsh labor forced on you, 4you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:

How the oppressor has come to an end!
How his fury has ended!







5The LORD Has Broken the rod of the wicked,
the scepter of the rulers,
6which in anger struck down peoples
with unceasing blows,
and in fury subdued nations
with relentless aggression.
7All the lands are at rest and at peace;
they break into singing.
8Even the junipers and the cedars of Lebanon
gloat over you and say,
“Now that you have been laid low,
no one comes to cut us down.”
9The realm of the dead below is all astir
to meet you at your coming;
it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you—
all those who were leaders in the world;
it makes them rise from their thrones—
all those who were kings over the nations.
10They will all respond,
they will say to you,
“You also have become weak, as we are;
you have become like us.”
11All your pomp has been brought down to the grave,
along with the noise of your harps;
maggots are spread out beneath you
and worms cover you.


12 How you have fallen from heaven,

morning star, son of the dawn!

You have been cast down to the earth,

you who once laid low the nations!



13You said in your heart,



“I will ascend to the heavens;

I will raise my throne

above the stars of GOD;

I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,

on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.








14I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like The MOST HIGH.”


15But you are brought down to the realm of the dead,
to the depths of the pit.
16Those who see you stare at you,
they ponder your fate:
Is this the man who shook the earth
and made kingdoms tremble,
17the man who made the world a wilderness,
who overthrew its cities
and would not let his captives go home?”
18All the kings of the nations lie in state,
each in his own tomb.
19But you are cast out of your tomb
like a rejected branch;
you are covered with the slain,
with those pierced by the sword,
those who descend to the stones of the pit.
Like a corpse trampled underfoot,
20you will not join them in burial,
for you have destroyed your land
and killed your people.
Let the offspring of the wicked
never be mentioned again.
21Prepare 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.


22“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.



23“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.

24The LORD ALMIGHTY Has Sworn,

“Surely, as I Have Planned, so it will be,
and as I have purposed, so it will happen.







25I Will Crush the Assyrian in my land;
on my mountains I Will Trample him Down.
his yoke will be taken from MY people,
and his burden removed from their shoulders.”
26This is the plan determined for the whole world;
this is the hand stretched out over all nations.
27For The LORD ALMIGHTY Has Purposed, and who can thwart HIM?
HIS Hand Is Stretched Out, and who can turn it back?








A Prophecy Against the Philistines








28This prophecy came in the year King Ahaz died:


29Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,
that the rod that struck you is broken;
from the root of that snake will spring up a viper,
its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.
30The poorest of the poor will find pasture,
and the needy will lie down in safety.
But your root I will destroy by famine;
it will slay your survivors.
31Wail, you gate! Howl, you city!
Melt away, all you Philistines!
A cloud of smoke comes from the north,
and there is not a straggler in its ranks.
32What answer shall be given
to the envoys of that nation?
“The LORD Has Established Zion,
and in her HIS afflicted people will find refuge.”

















This chapter contains prophecies of the restoration of the Jews, of the fall of the king of Babylon, and the destruction of the Assyrian empire, and of the ruin of Palestine.


The moving cause of the restoration of the Jews, and their settlement in their own land, is the distinguishing Mercy of GOD towards them; the accomplishment of it, proselytes joined unto them; the means, people of other nations, who should bring them into it, and whom they should possess and rule over; and the consequence of it, rest from sorrow, fear, and hard bondage, Isaiah 14:1 upon which they are introduced as taking up a proverb, or a triumphant song, concerning the king of Babylon, wondering at his fall, and ascribing it to The LORD, Isaiah 14:4 representing the inhabitants of the earth, and great men of it, as at peace, and rest, and rejoicing, who before were continually disturbed, and smitten by him, Isaiah 14:6 introducing the dead, and those in Sheol, meeting him, and welcoming him into their regions, with taunts and jeers; upbraiding him with his weakness, shame, and disgrace he was come into; putting him in mind of his former pomp and splendor, pride, arrogance, and haughtiness, Isaiah 14:9 spectators are brought in, as amazed at the low, mean, and despicable condition he was brought into, considering what he had done in the world, in kingdoms and cities, but was now denied a burial, when other kings lay in their pompous tombs, Isaiah 14:16 


 And then it is foretold that that whole royal family should be cut off, and Babylon, the metropolis of his kingdom, should be utterly destroyed, Isaiah 14:21 all which was settled and fixed by the Purpose of GOD, which could not be made void, Isaiah 14:24 and next follows a prophecy of the destruction of Palestine; the date of the prophecy is given Isaiah 14:28 the inhabitants of Palestine are bid not to rejoice at the death of one of the kings of Judah, since another should arise, who would be fatal to them, Isaiah 14:29 and while the Jews would be in safety, they would be destroyed by famine and war, Isaiah 14:30 from all which it would appear, and it might be told the messengers of the nations, or any inquiring persons, that Zion is of The LORD'S Founding, and under HIS Care and Protection, and that HIS people have great reason and encouragement to trust in HIM, Isaiah 14:32.


“How you have fallen from heaven,
morning star, son of the dawn!”


Isaiah proceeds with the discourse which he had formerly begun as personating the dead, and concludes that the tyrant king of Babylon differs in no respect from other men, though his object was to lead men to believe that he was some god. He employs an elegant metaphor, by comparing him to Lucifer, and calls him the Son of the Dawn; and that on account of his splendor and brightness with which he shines above others.



The exposition of this passage, which some have given, as if it referred to satan, has arisen from ignorance; for the context plainly shows that these statements must be understood in reference to the king of the Babylonians.





Blogger's Comment : 



I think Isaiah 14 doesn't directly refer to the fall of satan, but judgment of Babylon. However this imagery was used to represent the fall of satan in Luke 10 and the destruction of Babylon as in Revelation 12.




Luke 10:18 


"And JESUS Said to them, 


'I saw satan fall like lightning from heaven.'"







Revelation 12:7~9





Satan Thrown Down to Earth


Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.



The two passages in the above are in line with the passage in Isaiah 14:12 when Isaiah describes the pride of the Babylonian king which leads him to GOD'S Judgment.








Isaiah 13 - The Judgment Day of THE LORD JESUS Is Coming For Babylon









Isaiah 13:1-22 NIV







A Prophecy Against Babylon






1A prophecy against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz 

saw:




2Raise a banner on a bare hilltop,
shout to them;
beckon to them
to enter the gates of the nobles.
3I Have Commanded those I Prepared for battle;
I Have Summoned MY warriors to carry out MY Wrath—
those who rejoice in MY Triumph.
4Listen, a noise on the mountains,
like that of a great multitude!
Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms,
like nations massing together!


The LORD ALMIGHTY Is Mustering

an army for war.



5They come from faraway lands,
from the ends of the heavens—
The LORD and the weapons of HIS Wrath—
to destroy the whole country.






6Wail, for The Day of The LORD Is Near;
it will come like destruction from The ALMIGHTY.a
7Because of this, all hands will go limp,
every heart will melt with fear.
8Terror will seize them,
pain and anguish will grip them;
they will writhe like a woman in labor.
They will look aghast at each other,
their faces aflame.


9See, The Day of The LORD Is Coming


—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—
to make the land desolate
and destroy the sinners within it.
10The stars of heaven and their constellations
will not show their light.
The rising sun will be darkened
and the moon will not give its light.

11I Will Punish the world for its evil,
the wicked for their sins.
I Will Put an end to the arrogance of the haughty
and will humble the pride of the ruthless.
12I Will Make people scarcer than pure gold,
more rare than the gold of Ophir.

13Therefore I Will Make the heavens tremble;
and the earth will shake from its place
at The Wrath of The LORD ALMIGHTY,
in the Day of HIS Burning Anger.

14Like a hunted gazelle,
like sheep without a shepherd,
they will all return to their own people,
they will flee to their native land.

15Whoever is captured will be thrust through;
all who are caught will fall by the sword.
16Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
their houses will be looted and their wives violated.

17See, I Will Stir Up against them the Medes,
who do not care for silver
and have no delight in gold.
18Their bows will strike down the young men;
they will have no mercy on infants,
nor will they look with compassion on children.

19Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms,
the pride and glory of the Babylonians,b







will be overthrown by GOD like Sodom and Gomorrah.






20She will never be inhabited
or lived in through all generations;
there no nomads will pitch their tents,
there no shepherds will rest their flocks.
21But desert creatures will lie there,
jackals will fill her houses;
there the owls will dwell,
and there the wild goats will leap about.
22Hyenas will inhabit her strongholds,
jackals her luxurious palaces.
Her time is at hand,
and her days will not be prolonged.
















This chapter contains a prophecy of the destruction of Babylon, literally understood as a type and exemplar of the destruction of the mystical Babylon, so often spoken of in the Book of the Revelation: an account is given of the persons that should be the instruments of it, and of the desolation they should make; which would issue in the utter ruin of that once famous city.


The title of the prophecy, and the person that had it, and brought it, are expressed, Isaiah 13:1 orders are given to the Medes and Persians to prepare for war, Isaiah 13:2and are described as The LORD'S sanctified ones, HIS mighty ones, and who rejoiced in HIS Highness, Isaiah 13:3 by the multitude of them, by the length of the way they came, and the end of their coming, by Divine Direction, and as the instruments of GOD'S Wrath, to destroy the land of the Chaldeans, Isaiah 13:4 wherefore the inhabitants of it are called to howling, because that destruction from The LORD was at hand, Isaiah 13:6 the effects of which were fainting, fear, consternation, pain, and sorrow, without the least relief and comfort, Isaiah 13:7 the causes of which were their sin and iniquity, particularly their arrogance, pride, and haughtiness, Isaiah 13:11 which destruction is further described by the fewness of men that should be left in the land, Isaiah 13:12 by the strange revolution made in it, and the confusion it should be in, Isaiah 13:13 by the fear and flight of men, both of their own and other nations, that should be among them, Isaiah 13:14 by the slaughter of men and children, the plunder of their houses, and the ravishing of their wives, Isaiah 13:15 the persons that should be employed as instruments are mentioned by name, and represented as not to be bribed with gold and silver; and as merciless and uncompassionate, that should spare neither young men nor children, Isaiah 13:17 and the chapter is concluded with a particular account of the destruction of Babylon; which is aggravated, by observing its former glory; by comparing its ruin to the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah; by its being no more to be inhabited by men within, nor to have Arabian shepherds pitching their tents without it; and by being the habitation of wild beasts, Isaiah 13:19.