Isaiah 14:24-32
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
[READING - Isaiah 14:24-32]
24 The Lord of hosts has sworn saying, “Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand, 25 to break Assyria in My land, and I will trample him on My mountains. Then his yoke will be removed from them and his burden removed from their shoulder. 26 “This is the plan devised against the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out against all the nations. 27 “For the Lord of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?”
28 In the year that King Ahaz died this oracle came: 29 “Do not rejoice, O Philistia, all of you, Because the rod that struck you is broken; For from the serpent’s root a viper will come out, And its fruit will be a flying serpent. 30 “Those who are most helpless will eat, And the needy will lie down in security; I will destroy your root with famine, And it will kill off your survivors. 31 “Wail, O gate; cry, O city; Melt away, O Philistia, all of you; For smoke comes from the north, And there is no straggler in his ranks. 32 “How then will one answer the messengers of the nation? That the Lord has founded Zion, And the afflicted of His people will seek refuge in it.”
[PRAYER]
[CONTEXT] The message of the first half of Isaiah is that God loves his rebellious people so much that he refuses to leave them rebellious.
Through severe punishments he will refine his people until a righteous remnant emerges, and that righteous remnant will one day live in the glorified City of God under the reign of the glorified King.
That is what the sovereign Lord was doing, is doing, and will do with his people, but what will he do with the other people?
Isaiah 13-27 answer that question.
In this section so far, we’ve seen God’s specific plan for Babylon.
Tonight, we will look at God’s plan for Assyria and Philistia.
But remember, what God plans for unbelieving Babylon, Assyria, Philistia, etc. is what he has planned for the whole unbelieving world.
26 “This is the plan devised against the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out against all the nations.
[TS] Let’s take our passage in two PARTS…
PART #1: Judgment on Assyria
PART #2: Judgment on Philistia
Major Ideas
Major Ideas
Part #1: Judgment on Assyria (Isaiah 14:24-27)
Part #1: Judgment on Assyria (Isaiah 14:24-27)
24 The Lord of hosts has sworn saying, “Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand, 25 to break Assyria in My land, and I will trample him on My mountains. Then his yoke will be removed from them and his burden removed from their shoulder. 26 “This is the plan devised against the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out against all the nations. 27 “For the Lord of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?”
[EXP] Although this section of Isaiah began with a word against Babylon because Babylon would one day come for Judah, the major world power at this time was Assyria.
It was Assyria that would carry the northern kingdom of Israel off into captivity.
And it was Assyria that would pose a very real threat to Judah.
But God’s people in Judah were not to fear Assyria. Rather, they were to trust God to save them.
And as they watched him deliver them from Assyria, they were to trust that he would one day deliver them from Babylon as well.
Assyria’s downfall was to serve as a sign for God’s people: He who had saved them from Assyria today would save them from Babylon in the future.
The thing to notice in this word of judgment on Assyria is that God emphasizes that it is certain to come true.
In v. 24, God said that he intended it and planned it, so it will stand.
In v. 27, he said that he planned it, and so no one can frustrate it.
The judgment on Assyria is certain to happen because God is its architect.
This judgment against Assyria is also certain to happen because the LORD of hosts will see to it.
The title ‘LORD of hosts’ reminds us that God is the captain of heaven’s armies, and as such he leads a force of unstoppable power.
In v. 24, the LORD of hosts swears to Assyria’s end.
In v. 27, the LORD of hosts plans Assyria’s end, and then the questions are asked…
…who can frustrate God’s judgment on Assyria?
…who can turn back the outstretched hand of the LORD of hosts?
The implied answer is, no one.
No one can stop the judgment of the LORD of hosts on unbelieving Assyria.
The LORD of hosts will break and trample Assyria.
And if he broke and trampled Assyria…
…then God’s people in Judah could trust that he would one day break and trample Babylon.
And if he broke and trampled Babylon…
…then we can trust that he will one day break and trample the whole unbelieving world.
[ILLUS] Tomorrow night Cheryl, the kids, and I have plans to eat supper with the Sparkmans, a Presbyterian minister and his family.
We will have to keep an eye on Lillian to make sure that he doesn’t try to baptize our baby, but our intention and plan is to have a good time with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
Of course, it may not happen.
We might wake up sick or they might wake up sick.
There could be some emergency in their church or in ours.
The van may not crank, and we would have no way to get over there.
Lots of things could happen to keep us from realizing our intention and plan to fellowship with the Sparkmans because we are not all powerful.
When you’re not the all-powerful LORD of hosts, something as minor as a stomach-bug or flat-tire can derail your plans.
[APP] Nothing, however, can derail the intention and plan of God. He will bring his judgment on the unbelieving world, and if we are unbelieving he will bring his judgment on us. Nothing can stop it.
But the LORD of hosts is also the Prince of Peace who has made peace by way of the cross.
The judgment that we earned through sin and rebellion against God was poured out on Jesus who died in our place so that we could be forgiven and rose so that we could be made right with God.
This is the salvation that God promises to believers.
Are you a believer?
Do you believe that Jesus of Nazareth was and is the Son of God?
Do you believe that his death was the sacrifice for your sins?
Do you believe that he rose from the dead?
Do you believe that by trusting him you have been counted as righteous before Almighty God?
I pray you are a believer in Jesus Christ because he is the only way of escaping the certain judgment of God that is coming on the unbelieving world.
[TS]…
Part #2: Judgment on Philistia (Isaiah 14:28-32)
Part #2: Judgment on Philistia (Isaiah 14:28-32)
28 In the year that King Ahaz died this oracle came: 29 “Do not rejoice, O Philistia, all of you, Because the rod that struck you is broken; For from the serpent’s root a viper will come out, And its fruit will be a flying serpent. 30 “Those who are most helpless will eat, And the needy will lie down in security; I will destroy your root with famine, And it will kill off your survivors. 31 “Wail, O gate; cry, O city; Melt away, O Philistia, all of you; For smoke comes from the north, And there is no straggler in his ranks. 32 “How then will one answer the messengers of the nation? That the Lord has founded Zion, And the afflicted of His people will seek refuge in it.”
[EXP] We aren’t sure when King Ahaz of Judah died, but I think he is mentioned here because of his alliance with Assyria.
Syria and Israel had joined forces to attack Judah, and rather than trusting in God, King Ahaz joined forces with Assyria.
During this time, Judah essentially became subservient to Assyria, but because of the alliance with Assyria, it was protected from the likes of Philistia—an ancient enemy of God’s people since before the days of David and Goliath.
That alliance wouldn’t last, and now God has declared that Assyria will fall, but this doesn’t mean that Philistia should rejoice just yet.
Verse 29 uses symbolic language that is difficult to decipher, but the gist seems to be that Assyria has or will suffer a period of weakness only to regain its strength.
29 “Do not rejoice, O Philistia, all of you, Because the rod that struck you is broken; For from the serpent’s root a viper will come out, And its fruit will be a flying serpent.
Verse 30 refers to a reversal of Philistia’s oppression of Judah.
The helpless will eat.
The needy will lie down in security.
And God will destroy the root of Philistia with famine and kill off any survivors.
When God brings his judgment on his own people, he sets apart a remnant for himself.
But when his judgment comes for the Philistines, there is not remnant.
Verse 31 tells the unbelieving Philistines what they ought to do.
Wail, melt, and resign themselves to the judgment of God.
And verse 32 tells the people of Judah how they are to respond to the Philistines when they come seeking to make an alliance with Judah.
They are to say, “The LORD has founded Zion, and the afflicted of His people will seek refuge in it.”
Salvation is found among the people of God, not among alliances with the unbelieving world.
[ILLUS] I once knew a husband and wife that began their married life in the same town the wife grew up in. Her family lived there, her aunts and uncles, her cousins, her siblings, and her parents.
After a few years though, the husband job was taking him elsewhere and this married couple was forced to relocate to a new place in which neither the husband or wife had any family.
When the wife was telling me about this, she said, “It was the best thing to happen to our marriage. I didn’t realize that back home, I was depending on my Dad instead of depending on my husband. If I got a flat tire, I called my Dad. If something broke at the house, I called my Dad. It was only after we moved away, that I realized that my husband wanted me to call on him.”
[APP] What does God want from us?
He wants us to call on him!
He doesn’t want us to call on those old familiar alliances that we once trusted in.
We are his, and he is ours, and he wants us to call on him and trust in him for salvation.
This is why he instructs his people to respond to the Philistine envoy by saying, “The LORD has founded Zion, and the afflicted of His people will seek refuge in it.”
The true Zion is Christ, and the afflicted of God’s people will seek refuge in him.
Have you sought refuge in Jesus Christ? Have you called out to him for salvation?
[TS] …
Conclusion
Conclusion
[PRAYER]