Satan is personified in this passage that describes the poisonous corruption of pride that will bring down the king of Babylon to his ruin. Satan was not only the source of this king's arrogance against God, but of all who have become drunk on the poison of pride. Satan's own fall began the moment he said within himself, "I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God." This poison of pride turned the most beautiful of God's angelic beings into the prince of demons, Lucifer. It was this same desire to be "as God" that Satan planted in the mind of Eve. His promise to her was that her act of rebellion against God would elevate her to godhood.
Down through the ages Satan has never altered his methods to draw the human race away from God who is love by the intoxicating power of pride. This pride births a self-idolatry that brings Satan the immeasurable joy of a jealous fallen angel who will do anything to rob God of the loving adoration that is due Him. Satan is happy to use whatever is available to awaken self-idolatry. Satan is skillful in using whatever is available to entice our hearts away from God by the intoxicating power of promised self-idolatry. Religion, philosophy, politics, materialism, scholasticism, hedonism, capitalism, communism, or astecism, it doesn't matter. All that matters is finding or creating something that affirms and feeds our own independence from God. However, this intoxicating poison does just the opposite of what it promises. Rather than make us gods, we become grotesque expressions of what had originally been made in the image of God.
We can play at being gods all we want, but we will never really be gods. Nor will our endless efforts to get back to the "garden" without the origin of all things ever work. But, thank God, He has made a way back if we only come to a place of honesty about our universal failure to be perfectly glorious in every way apart from a divine act of grace. It is in and through His Son. Jesus lived it and then offered it to all humanity. The restoration of humanity through rebirth. The seed of God's life implanted into our inner being that will fully restore the lost glory of humanity. Jesus is our pathway from the heavy-laden yoke of pretending to be little gods to His light yoke of restored meekness of heart before God. This promised rest for our weary souls is the result of being restored to a right relationship to God. He is God and we are not. Let us respond now to His call to "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matt. 11:28-29).
Two paths are laid before us all: the path of prideful self-destruction that leads to the "pit"(v.15) or a path of meekness before God that leads us back to the "Garden."
Fall of the King of Babylon
3 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, 4 that you will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say:
"How the oppressor has ceased,
The golden city ceased!
Mercy on Jacob v. 1 have mercy – God's mercy extends beyond the judgments He has placed upon His people. Jacob – Isaac's son whose own 12 sons became the 12 tribes of Israel. Israel – This means "Prince with God." God gave Jacob this name to emphasize the changes God worked in him. He went from a deceitful, lying man to a man of faith (Gen. 32:28-35:10). own land – God's promise to restore the Jews to their land, delivering them from the captivity of Babylon after its fall to Cyrus, the Medo-Persian ruler. This promise took on additional application in relationship to the Jews' restoration to their land in our own day. strangers – Gentiles who choose to be joined to the God of the Jews. This was fully realized when Christ, the Jewish Messiah, opened the way for Gentiles from throughout the world to be included into the same faith as the first Jew, Abraham (Rom. 4:16). | v. 2 rule over their oppressors – Verse 2 described the Jews as not only being liberated but also having authority over their former oppressors. This happened when many Babylonians returned with the Jews to be led by and influenced by the Jewish faith and life. v. 3 from your sorrow – This resulted from 70 years of cruel bondage the Jews experienced in Babylon. v. 4 a proverb – This poetic song was a condensed word picture of their experience with the world's greatest power, Babylon. It showed God was greater than any ruler or nation and would be faithful to deliver His own people at His appointed time. golden city – This refers to both the large amounts of gold Babylon took from the nations it conquered as well as its beautiful structures and fixtures adorned with this gold. |
5 The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked,
The scepter of the rulers;
6 He who struck the people in wrath with a continual stroke,
He who ruled the nations in anger,
Is persecuted and no one hinders.
7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet;
They break forth into singing.
8 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.'
9 "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.
10 They all shall speak and say to you:
'Have you also become as weak as we?
Have you become like us?
11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,
And the sound of your stringed instruments;
The maggot is spread under you,
And worms cover you.'
v. 5 scepter – A scepter was similar in shape to a staff—the rod or stick with a hooked end used in herding sheep. The scepter was also shaped like a rob but was made of gold and was a symbol of supreme power. v. 6 he who struck – Babylon during its height of power ruled over many nations. v. 7 earth is at rest – Babylon ruled over most of the known nations of the world. Therefore when it fell there went up a collective sigh of relief among many people freed from its oppression. v. 8 cypress trees rejoice – Lebanon's beautiful cedar trees were in great demand by the Babylonian rulers who used them for everything from palaces to tools for war. The picture here is of the trees themselves experiencing a rest from being cut down to develop the Babylonian Empire. | v. 9 hell from beneath – Hell is the word sheol in Hebrew and is used to refer to the grave and/or the place of departed spirits, good or bad. Jesus makes reference to this place in His parable regarding the poor man Lazarus and a rich man's death (Luke 16:19-31). He describes two realms, one for those who died in faith and obedience to the promises of God and another for those who lived in unrighteousness. After the resurrection of Christ those who died in faith ascended to Heaven with Christ, having access to the presence of God because of the atonement for sins on the cross. Since that time, Hell is reserved only for those who die without believing in the work of the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ. to meet you – This points to the inhabitants of hell who at one time lived under Babylonian oppression. v. 11 the maggot – The beautiful robes and human glory of the Babylonian king is contrasted with the end result of his body being eaten by maggots. |
The Fall of Lucifer
12 "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!
13 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;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.'
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the lowest depths of the Pit.
16 "Those who see you will gaze at you,
And consider you, saying:
'Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
Who shook kingdoms,
17 Who made the world as a wilderness
And destroyed its cities,
Who did not open the house of his prisoners?'
v. 12 O Lucifer – This means "day star." Many see in this description of the Babylonian king a deeper symbolic description of the Devil himself. Son of the morning – The morning star visible prior to the sun's rising is seen here as typifying the exalted state of both this king and Satan. They saw themselves as elevated above all others. cut down – Both Satan and the Babylonian king were certain that they could not fall. Their failures seemed impossible to them. Nothing seemed capable of stopping them. They were drunk with pride and blinded to the fall that God could and would bring. v. 13 stars of God – This may refer to seeking to rule above the creation of God or it may refer to ruling over the angels of God. Angels were sometimes referred to figuratively as stars. the mount – Ancient people, from the Greeks with their Mount Olympus to the Hindus who venerated the Himalaya, generally referred to the highest known mountains as the dwelling place of God. north – The north is often referred to as the dwelling place of God in the heavens. | v. 14 be like the Most High – The king of Babylon fell for the same lie as Adam and Eve. He believed that a man could take God's place. v. 15 down to Sheol – Rather than taking the place of God, the king of Babylon and Satan are both cast down into Sheol. pit – Just as the king was buried in a pit and his spirit held in Sheol, Satan will be cast into the bottomless pit eventually (Rev. 20:1, 10, 14-15). v. 16 is this the man – Death is no respecter of people. All will bow to its power. Furthermore, this king without any of the props of human power, is seen as just another lost soul in the grips of Hell. This verse mostly likely refers to Belshazzar. He was the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar and son of Evil-Merodach. The events of Daniel 5 record the fall of Babylon, the wickedness and death of Belshazzar. v. 17 as a wilderness – This refers to the fate of cities destroyed by Babylonian armies. his prisoners – An example of the cruelty of refusing to release prisoners of war after the conflict ended. |
18 "All the kings of the nations,
All of them, sleep in glory,
Everyone in his own house;
19 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.
20 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.
21 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."
v. 18 sleep in glory – It was common for rulers and/or their wives to be buried in magnificent buildings or tombs. The Great Pyramids and the Taj Mahal are examples of this. v. 19 cast out of your grave – The king is like a dead person subject to the shame of being left to decompose above ground like a discarded carcass of an animal. | v. 20 them in burial – This points to a burial that would be uncommon for kings. brood of evildoers – This refers to the family line of the king. v. 21 prepare for slaughter – Verses 21-22 warn that the dynasty of the king will end with this fall of Babylon, never to be restored. |
Babylon Destroyed
22 "For I will rise up against them," says the Lord of hosts,
"And cut off from Babylon the name and remnant,
And offspring and posterity," says the Lord.
23 "I will also make it a possession for the porcupine,
And marshes of muddy water;
I will sweep it with the broom of destruction," says the Lord of hosts.
Assyria Destroyed
24 The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying,
"Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass,
And as I have purposed, so it shall stand:
25 That I will break the Assyrian in My land,
And on My mountains tread him underfoot.
Then his yoke shall be removed from them,
And his burden removed from their shoulders.
26 This is the purpose that is purposed against 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?"
v. 23 marshes of muddy water – When the Medo-Persian ruler, Cyrus, took Babylon he did so by diverting the water of the Euphrates River. This allowed his troops to go under the wall that surrounded the entire city. The diverted water spread over much of the surrounding area creating a marsh as this prophecy foretells. Assyria Destroyed v. 24 the Lord has sworn – God at times refers to His promise of future action with an oath to support the confidence He expects His people to place in His promises. v. 25 break the Assyrian – In this section (v. 24-27) Isaiah deals with the Assyrians, his contemporaries, to show the sureness of the future destruction of Babylon described in ch. 13-14. | on My mountains – The army of Sennacherib, king of Assyria was destroyed on the mountains outside of Jerusalem (2 Kings 19:35). v. 26 over all the nations – The accountability and judgment awaiting Babylon and Assyria are seen here as forerunners of God's ultimate dealings with all of mankind. v. 27 has purposed – God reaffirms His sovereign power to do exactly what He has chosen to do. God's power and moral character to carry out His word are the believer's strongest source of faith in all the promises of God. |
Philistia Destroyed
28 This is the burden which came in the year that King Ahaz died.
29 "Do not rejoice, all you of Philistia,
Because the rod that struck you is broken;
For out of the serpent's roots will come forth a viper,
And its offspring will be a fiery flying serpent.
30 The firstborn of the poor will feed,
And the needy will lie down in safety;
I will kill your roots with famine,
And it will slay your remnant.
31 Wail, O gate! Cry, O city!
All you of Philistia are dissolved;
For smoke will come from the north,
And no one will be alone in his appointed times."
32 What will they answer the messengers of the nation?
That the Lord has founded Zion,
And the poor of His people shall take refuge in it.
v. 28 King Ahaz died – During the reign of Ahaz over Judah the Philistines took advantage of Judah's weakened state and waged war against it, taking several towns (2 Chron. 28:18). v. 29 rod that struck – The rod referred to here is Assyria. serpent's roots – Assyria, the oppressor of Philistia, will be followed by an even more powerful oppressor. This seems to refer to Babylon and its position as a world power even more powerful than Assyria. v. 30 poor will feed – This is language from the care of sheep shows God will prosper the poorest of His own people in contrast to the famine and trouble that awaits the enemies of God, the Philistines who will be slain by famine. | v. 31 cry, O City – The region of Philistia consisted of five city-states. from the north – This refers to Babylon was geographic situation from Philistia. v. 32 Lord has founded – The thought here is that if any messengers from the nations of the world inquire about what happened to Philistia they will be told that all nations may perish, but Israel will not because God founded it. |
