What lay in store for God’s people after the defeat of Babylon?
After the defeat of Babylon, Isaiah envisioned a day when God’s people would repatriate their land and rule over their oppressors (14:1-4). In addition, God’s people would rejoice and take up a taunt against the (defeated) king of Babylon (14:4-8). The taunt song pictures the defeated and dead king as being welcomed into Sheol, the abode of the dead (14:9-11).
Pride is listed as the downfall of the Babylonian king, who sought to make himself like the Most High (14:12-15). Curious onlookers ponder the ignominious end of one who once wielded such great power (14:16-19). The taunt song concludes with a curse upon the progeny of the king of Babylon and a word about the utter destruction of the city of Babylon (14:20-23).
Practical Consideration: Death is the conqueror of conquerors.
Isaiah saw the rise and fall of many rulers and nations. He prophesied the rise to power of nations who were used by God to accomplish His purposes, and the fall of those same nations. He saw many rulers rise to power and exercise leadership unrestrained by the moral and ethical demands of God’s Word, and the fall of those same leaders.
Every conqueror was conquered by death. Every conqueror, who sought to expand his borders and multiply his influence and erect structures to commemorate his life, was eventually conquered by death. May the fact of life’s brevity motivate us to live our days in a manner pleasing to God. May the things that outlast us bring honor to God.
Prophecies Against Assyria, Philistia, Moab, and Syria
What word did God give regarding Assyria?
Assyria, once the rod of God’s anger (Isaiah 10:5), would experience the rod of God’s judgment. God would “break Assyria in My land” (14:25). Assyria, under the leadership of Sennacherib, invaded Judah in 701 B.C. during the reign of Hezekiah. God however, protected the city of Jerusalem from the Assyrian threat (2 Kings 19:24) by sending an angel who “struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians” (2 Kings 19:35).
What word did God give regarding Philistia?
Isaiah received an oracle regarding Philistia in the year that King Ahaz died, approximately 715 B.C. (14:28). He warned the Philistines not to rejoice over the death of an (unnamed) Assyrian leader because his offspring/successor would be even worse (14:19). Philistia was doomed (14:31). Isaiah also warned Judah to take refuge in the Lord rather than in foreign alliances (14:32). Note: The Philistines are not mentioned again in the book of Isaiah.