The 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. Nations 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.
On the day the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and turmoil and from the harsh labor forced on you, you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:
How the oppressor has come to an end! How his fury has ended! The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers, which in anger struck down peoples with unceasing blows, and in fury subdued nations with relentless aggression. The 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. They will all respond, they will say to you, “You also have become weak, as we are; you have become like us.” All 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. 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! You 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. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit. Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble, the man who made the world a wilderness, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?”
“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 . “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.
The Lord Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen. This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations. For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?
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Isaiah 14 is a continuation of the prophecy against Babylon. Here the prophet moves from condemning Babylon to consoling Israel. The exiles will not suffer forever. God will bring an end to the exile and bring them home. They will be restored and the nation will rise again to power. Justice looks like role reversal. The captives become the captors. The new masters now control those who used to control them.
The bulk of this prophecy concerns the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar. The returning exiles will take up a cheerful taunt against their oppressor. They will delight in how the mighty has fallen! In stark imagery Isaiah paints a picture of Nebuchadnezzar in the grave. The souls of other dead kings rise to greet him and join in the taunt. Isaiah's descriptions of the grave are grizzly... worms for a blanket! The subduer of nations has been subdued himself by mortality. Death has finally come knocking at his door and all that he was is no more.
This passage is sobering for all who prize the limelight. Fame and glory are intoxicating prizes to chase. Success and notoriety are beacons in the night guiding many lives. Look at how the king of Babylon set his heart! He wished to become worshipped as a god.
Some have read Lucifer/Satan in this chapter. Specifically the following verses have become a bit of a proof text for people lifting the scripture from its original context.
Isaiah 14:12-14 NIV
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! You 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. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”
Taken out of context, these verses fueled a mythology about an archangel named Lucifer who wished to assume the throne of God Most High. There was a war in heaven, so the story goes, and Lucifer and those who followed him in his rebellion were cast out of heaven and down to the earth. On earth the fallen ones wreak havoc.
Of course the only devil in Isaiah's mind is the warrior king Nebuchadnezzar. His tyranny levelled city upon city and made slaves of many nations. He was a power hungry, megamaniacal, despot. Our version of such a devil in more recent history is Adolf Hitler. His reign of terror also ended in the grave. His thousand year reich lasted only a brief moment, about 6 years. His war machine nearly took possession of all of Europe, Russia and northern Africa. In the end, his name is synonymous with evil. His death and the end of the Nazis is celebrated much like the Jews fantasize celebrating the death of Nebuchadnezzar here in Isaiah.
Isaiah speaks for the Lord in first person. God says, "I will rise up against Babylon and wipe then from the face of the earth with the broom of destruction". (My paraphrase) God wills it, therefore it will be done. Isaiah is confident of this. None can stop God when He has commanded it.
I admire the conviction of Isaiah's words. He has no doubt that what God has revealed to him will take place. How helpful this prophecy must have been to the ears of those in exile under the tyranny of Babylon.
God's hand stretched out over all the nations. It is God's will that prevails. We know God as loving merciful and just. Therefore when wars erupt, and when peoples fight among themselves, when terrorists take the lives of hundreds in insane attacks, let us remember the hand of God is over all the nations. God has a plan for the whole earth and it ends with all the enemies of God coming to nothing, just like Nebuchadnezzar.
We have promises from God too, as we lived exiled from paradise here on this beautiful and broken world.
Paul wrote,
1 Corinthians 15:24-26 NIV
Then the end will come, when he (Christ Jesus) hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
And John also recorded prophetic messages from God to encourage the church in the midst of suffering.
Revelation 21:3-5 NIV
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
The hand of God is over us. Rejoice. It's all going to be beautiful.
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