Isaiah 13:20

The following verses are a continuation of the description of the destruction of the kingdom of Babylon. The destruction would be so complete, that nothing would ever live in that region again. The Bible says in Isaiah 13:11-22 “It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.” When God decides to bring judgment upon a nation or upon a kingdom, that judgment can be terrible. Sodom and Gomorrah is an example of that. Of course, destruction that results from God’s judgment is a warning to us all to repent of our sins, and to seek the mercy that is found in Christ.

There is a people God has decided to have mercy upon. This mercy is based upon the promises that God made to Abraham. God keeps His promises. This mercy is also available through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who died for the sins of the world. The Bible says in Isaiah 14:1-3, “For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors. And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve.” God brought chastisement upon Israel, but He did not utterly destroy Israel. That is because God has promised to never utterly destroys His people. The Apostle Paul referred to the writings of Isaiah in Romans 11:1-6 that says, “I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.” Once a person is saved through faith in Christ, that person is always saved. The Bible says in Hebrews 7:25, “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”

Notice the phrase that is made in Isaiah 14:1, “and the strangers shall be joined with them.” The “strangers” are the Gentiles. God will keep His promise to Abraham and to His descendents. And He has also allowed the Gentiles to come into the benefits of the great promise. If you are a Jew, and you have the same kind of faith that Abraham had, you will inherit the benefits of God’s promise. If you are a Gentile who has the same kind of faith that Abraham had, you will also inherit the benefits of God’s promise. The same faith that Abraham had is manifested in the heart of a person whenever someone, whether Jew or Gentile, believes in Jesus Christ. For example, it says in Romans 10:12, “For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.” It says in First Corinthians 1:23-24, “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” It also says in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Referring once again to the benefits of being in the Kingdom of Christ, the Bible says in Isaiah 14:3, “And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve.” Notice the words that are used to describe what life can be like in this world: “sorrow,” “fear,” “hard bondage,” and “made to serve.” We know that “many are the afflictions of the righteous.” The way of Christ can be a hard way and a difficult way. Jesus Himself fell under the weight of the cross on His way to the place of suffering, and He was perfect and without sin. “The servant is not greater than his Lord.” We are sinners. We not only have the afflictions of the world, but we also have the chastisements of a holy God to bear. The Israelites were being chastised. That is where their sorrow and fear and bondage came from. But they were still God’s children. Jesus does not forsake His children. He has a wonderful future prepared for each one of us. There may be sorrows and tears now, but there will be joy and happiness forevermore in the Kingdom of Christ.

Isaiah 14:4-20, “That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers. He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth. The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us. Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house. But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as carcase trodden under feet. Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.”

This passage of scripture shows us once again how prophecy is often presented in the Old Testament. At first some local event or local person is referred to, but then passage of scripture is expanded upon to clearly teach that the local descriptions are symbolic of something of a larger scope and of a prophetic scope. This passage in Isaiah begins by mentioning the king of Babylon and other rulers who oppressed Israel and Judah in Old Testament times, but then the passage ends by mentioning Satan who oppresses the whole earth. It is important to notice that the Holy Spirit gives arrogant rulers who oppress their people the same status as Satan. Of course, as bad as some human rulers have been, none of them have exceeded the pride, and the self-will, and the arrogance of Satan. Satan even wanted to exalt himself above God. Satan said in Isaiah 14:13-14, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”

Isaiah 14:12 reveals two important details about Satan. It tells us who Satan is, and it tells us about Satan’s destiny. It says, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” Satan is called “Lucifer.” The word “Lucifer” means “morning star” or “bright and shining one.” Satan is an angel, a very beautiful angel. He was originally given a place in “heaven.” But something terrible happened to this creature. Lucifer lost his light because of the darkness of his pride and arrogance. And so Lucifer fell from heaven. He became the most evil of all creatures, and he still is today. He brings sorrow, and sin, and death wherever and whenever he can. That is certain. Lucifer troubles the nations. It says about Satan in Isaiah 14:16-17 that he is the one that “made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof.”

But one other thing is also certain about Satan: his destiny is certain. When the Holy Spirit tells us that Lucifer will be “cut down to the ground,” the Spirit is promising that Satan will meet his end. It also says in Isaiah 14:20, “the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.” The greatest enemy of God and of mankind will receive the greatest of punishments. It says in Revelation 20:10, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

Returning to the nation of Babylon that attacked Judah in the time of Isaiah, the Bible says in Isaiah 14:21-26, “Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities. For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD. I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts. The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders. This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.” Because of what God said and because of what God decided, even though Babylon was the greatest country in the world at that time, it came to nothing. It was destroyed. And Babylon was destroyed so completely that Babylon would never again exist. Of course, that lets us know that the Babylon of the last days is not the same Babylon. In the last days the greatest country on the earth is called “Babylon” because it will have the same characteristics as the original Babylon. It will also have the same destiny. God decides what happens to every person, and God decides what happens to every nation. Therefore, seek the mercy of the Lord that is found through faith in Jesus Christ.

___________________________________________________