Chapter 14 continues with oracle against Babylon after a short oracle of salvation for Israel.
Verses 1 and 2 contain an oracle of mercy for Israel.
Verses 3 – 11 describe the fall of the king of Babylon.
Verses 12 – 21 describe the fall of Lucifer.
Verses 22 –23 describe Babylon destroyed.
Whilst having some reference to the release of Judah from captivity in Babylon, the primary view in this chapter is the final Babylon at the end of the Tribulation. The destruction of the final Babylon is integrally connected with the deliverance of Israel from bondage. Babylon must perish so that the Lord can exalt His people.
The judgment carried out by Adonai against the whole earth represents the final wrath against Israel (5:25, 9:17) and the nations (24:1).
In verses 3 – 11, we see Israel free from bondage and hard labour sing a taunting song against the king of Babylon. The Lord has broken his power and ended his tyranny. Now the earth rejoices; even the trees of the forest are content that they will no longer be used to produce the weapons of war. Sheol’s inhabitants greet the king on his arrival, delighted that he has been stripped of his power and is in the same sorry state as them.
In verses 12 – 17, the taunting song continues. Comparison is drawn from the fall of Satan, the one who energised the king. The Lord Yeshua used this in Luke 10:18 because of the same pattern of pride leading to downfall.
Verses 13 – 17 record the notorious “I will” statements of Satan in defiance of Adonai. With the same attitude, the king of Babylon will be consigned to Sheol, an object of astonishment. The citizens of Sheol will marvel that one who exercised such power has been brought so low.
In verses 18 – 21, we return directly to the king of Babylon, and the taunting song continues. Most kings lie in magnificent tombs, but this one will be denied a decent burial. He will have no monument, and his royal line will be cut off.
The lust for power of this king of Babylon mirrors that of Satan. But what is described is a mortal human king. Maggots will consume his body (verse 11); he is referred to as a mortal man (verse 16); he kept prisoners (verse 17); he is the ruler of a city (verse 17); and he has sons who would be slaughtered (verse 22).
The poetic comparison with Satan’s fall reflects one who ascended to the greatest heights but who was thwarted and judged.
Chapter 14 verse 1.
“For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will still choose Israel, and settle them in their own land. The strangers will be joined with them, and they will cling to the house of Jacob.”
The word “still” here may be translated as “again”; the Lord will again choose Jacob. Again, Isaiah’s vision may refer to the return of the exiles from Babylon and/or the later regathering of the end times.
If this part of the vision refers to the return of the exiles from Babylon, this could be the “second exodus” of chapter 11:15 and 16. “Strangers” will join the returning Judeans as they did in the first exodus from Egypt (the “mixed multitude” of Exodus 12:38). But on this occasion, the strangers would be loyal adherents to Adonai; proselytes from Babylon.
Isaiah 54:7, 8. Adonai’s regathering of the people.
“For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you”, says the Lord your Redeemer.”
The Lord in HIs mercy will restore the Babylonian captives to their land. The Lord’s choosing of them means His deliverance from their place of captivity and settling them in their own land.
However, if Isaiah saw the regathering in the day of the Lord for the messianic kingdom, this would be the time of the destruction of the final Babylon which we know relates to the final redemption of Israel.
In the messianic kingdom Israel will have headship over the Gentiles. The Gentiles will not only conduct the Jews back to the land, but they will be their possession. A major characteristic of Israel’s final restoration is that they will become the centre of Gentile attention.
Isaiah 61:6, 7.
“But you shall be named the priests of the Lord, they shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory you shall boast. Instead of your shame you shall have double honour, and instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be theirs.”
Verse 2.
“Then people will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them for servants and maids in the land of the Lord: they will take captive whose captives they were, and rule over their oppressors.”
This sounds very much like Israel in the messianic kingdom.
The Gentile nations will assist the Lord in returning Israel to the land. Israel’s former overlords will be their servants. The foreigners who prefer to remain with Israel are held captive not by physical power but by moral might. These people will live peaceably with Israel.
This is a great reversal of roles. Instead of their miserable state of oppression during the Tribulation, Israel will be the ruler of those nations which once dominated them.
Whilst there was assistance from such as Cyrus after the Babylonian exile, Israel’s return in a piece-meal way was as a battered people still vulnerable to surrounding nations. Therefore, this part of Isaiah’s vision seems more suited to the messianic kingdom.
Isaiah 60:14.
“Also the sons of those who afflicted you shall come bowing to you, and all those who despised you shall fall prostrate at the soles of your feet; and they shall call you the City of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.”
Verses 3 and 4.
“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, that you will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say: “How the oppressor has ceased, the golden city ceased!”
Verses 3 – 11 concern the downfall of the king of Babylon.
It seems to be particularly difficult here to know if Isaiah is viewing the return from exile in Babylon or the final Babylon. Is he looking at an actual human king or is the Antichrist (the beast/the prince) the one who is in sight here?
The last king of Babylon to hold Israel captive was Belshazzar who was deposed by Cyrus of Persia in 539 BC.
On balance it may be felt that, taking the lead from verse 1, we have in view primarily the final Babylon. But equally, it seems best to see the king referred to here as a real human being, a normal king.
The “rest” which will be available to Israel is surely in the future messianic kingdom. To take up the “proverb” as here, is to sing a taunting song concerning the downfall of the king. The nation that made life so difficult for Israel has disappeared, “has ceased”. This king of Babylon showed the same lust for power and supremacy which Satan exhibited in his rebellion.
Revelation 18:16.
“Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.”
Verses 5 and 6.
“The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the rulers; he who struck the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he who ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted and no one hinders.”
The “staff” and the “sceptre” are of course symbols of authority and power. The Babylonian kings (“He who struck the people”) had practiced their tyranny to intimidate anyone who opposed them. But now, Adonai in judgment was breaking their instruments of oppression. The one who smote others, is himself to be persecuted.
Verses 7 and 8.
“The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing. Indeed the cypress trees rejoice over you, and the ceders of Lebanon, saying “Since you were cut down, no woodsman has come up against us.”
That “the whole earth is at rest and quiet” must surely mean the messianic kingdom. The tyrant is off the throne and the whole earth rejoices that Adonai has broken the power of the king of Babylon and ended his tyranny. Even the forests rejoice. The trees are no longer being cut down for military purposes. The trees are personified here to describe the joy of formerly oppressed people.
Isaiah 55: 12.
“For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”
Verses 9, 10 and 11.
“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. They shall all speak and say to you: “Have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us? Your pomp is brought down to Sheol and the sound of your stringed instruments; the maggot is spread under you, and worms cover you.”
There are a few interesting things in these verses.
Concerning hell, we see that the direction is downward and those held there are conscious and able to communicate with one another. Further evidence that this king of Babylon is a mortal is that his body on earth has “the maggot” under him and “worms” are over him.
There is quite a commotion in Sheol when the king of Babylon joins those already there. The kings of the nations can scarcely believe that a king once so powerful has been reduced to the same miserable state that they must endure. Even they mock him; reminding him the earthly distinctions are meaningless in that place. The pomp and majesty that accompanied him in life are gone forever.
Verse 12. The fall of Lucifer.
“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!”
The Lord Yeshua used verse 12 to describe Satan’s fall. Luke 10:18, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”
It seems likely that in his vision, Isaiah refers to the king of Babylon as “Lucifer” (i.e., Satan), as Satan was the power behind him. Similarly, Ezekiel (Ezekiel 28:12 – 19) uses similar language to refer to the king of Tyre, and Satan as behind him and energising him.
The metaphor linking the fall of the king of Babylon to Satan is entirely appropriate as both desired to ascend to the highest position but were thwarted by Adonai. To have “fallen from heaven” can be seen as a figure of speech meaning cast down from an exalted political position.
The literal meaning of “Lucifer” is the “shining one”. The tradition of ancient times saw the stars as representing gods struggling among themselves for the place of pre-eminence. Hence Satan is referred to as “son of the morning” or “the morning star” (perhaps the planet Venus).
The poetic language of the verse describes the aspiration of the brightest star to climb to the zenith of the heavens and its extinction by the rising sun. This is an apt summary of the failed king of Babylon who wanted to grasp universal and lasting domination. On can see the link with Satan who had the same sin of pride.
Verses 13 and 14.
“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; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.”
The five “I will” statements emphasise the arrogance of the king of Babylon and of Satan whose notorious defiance of Adonai is evidenced here. These expressions could only come from Satan.
The poetic phrase “above the stars of God” shows the desire to be grander than other stars. Isaiah thus describes a king whose longing for glory is unlimited.
In verses 13, the “mount of the congregation” and the “farthest sides of the north” may refer to Mount Casius in northern Syria. The pagan myth was that this was the realm of the Canaanite gods; where they assembled. The human king was so hungry for power that he aspired to kingship over gods.
In verse 14 we have the phrase, “I will be like the Most High”. This is surely the most arrogant aspiration of the king and of Satan.
Ezekiel 28:7 –10. Speaking of the king of Tyre.
“Behold therefore, I will bring strangers against you, the most terrible of the nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, and defile your splendour. They shall throw you down into the Pit, and you shall die the death of the slain in the midst of the seas. Will you still say before him who slays you, “I am a god”? But you shall be a man, and not a god, in the hand of him who slays you. You shall die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of aliens; for I have spoken,” says the Lord God.”
2 Thessalonians 2:3,4.
“… the man of sin … the son of perdition who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”
Verse 15.
“Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, in the lowest depths of the Pit.”
Adonai detests pride. No one can be great and mighty and boast of all that they can do, without provoking Adonai who will put forth against them some of His great power.
Destruction awaits those who try to assume the position of Adonai. This king who wished to ascend to the heights, even of the Most High Himself, ends up in the “lowest depth” of hell, like the king of Tyre in Ezekiel 28.
As the Lord Yeshua said of the impenitent city of Capernaum (Matthew 11:23), “And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades …”
Verses 16 and 17.
“Those who see you will gaze at you, and consider you, saying “Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world as a wilderness and destroyed its cities, who did not open the house of his prisoners?”
This is the final part of the dirge against the king. His soul is in hell and on earth his body is on display an unburied corpse. This is a complete role reversal. He, who was most powerful, is now humbled and this will provoke widespread amazement.
Isaiah contrasts the king with one who truly shakes the earth; the Lord of Hosts. Unlike Cyrus the Mede the king of Babylon “did not open the house of his prisoners” i.e., allow the return of the exiled Judeans.
Many will be able to view the body of the king and will stare in utter disbelief that he died so suddenly and easily, considering that he had shaken the kingdoms of the world and the earth trembled at his presence.
Verses 18 and 19.
“All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, everyone in his own house; 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.”
Most kings receive honourable burials (“sleep in glory”) and monuments are erected to them, but the king of Babylon is an exception. There will be no pompous sepulchre like those of even much lesser kings. His memory will be trampled down by the people whom he oppressed in life: to be a “corpse trodden underfoot”. In ancient times this was the deepest degradation. To die without mourners or honours was considered worse than being born dead.
There will be no proper burial; he will be “cast out” of his grave. He will be “like an abominable branch”. Contrast this with the “beautiful Branch” of chapter 11 verse1 – the Messiah.
Verse 20.
“You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land and slain your people. The brood of evil doers will never be named.”
Because the king of Babylon was an evildoer, he has no monument or posterity to keep his memory alive. His pride and arrogance brought destruction on his own people “the brood shall never be named.”
Job 18:18,19.
“(The wicked man) is driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world. He has neither son nor posterity among the people, nor any remaining in his dwellings.”
Verse 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.”
We saw already in Isaiah 13:16 that “their children also will be dashed to pieces before their eyes.”
Leviticus 26:39.
“And those of you who are left shall waste away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; also in their father’s iniquities, which are with them, they shall waste away.”
It is a sad fact that evildoing often passes down from one generation to the next, “visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations …” (Exodus 20:5).
Verses 22 and 23. Babylon destroyed.
“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. 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.”
Israel will have a remnant but not Babylon. The Lord Himself will bring about the destruction of the arrogant king; verse 5 “The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the rulers.” What was once a beautiful and awesome city (Isaiah 13: 19 “… the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride), will be left a wild, inhospitable place.
Jeremiah 51:62.
“… then you shall say, O Lord, You have spoken against this place to cut it off, so that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but it shall be desolate forever.”
Revelation 18:2.
“And (another angel) cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place for demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every hated and unclean bird!”
Revelation 18:21.
“Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore.”
There is no way that a millstone thrown into the sea is ever going to rise to the surface.