Lessons in trust

Isaiah 13-16

In the first chapters of the book of Isaiah, the prophet’s message was that the only way to live is to trust the Holy One of Israel. And when you put your trust in him, stand firm in your faith. Don’t look to any one or anything else for salvation.

Isaiah 10:3 “What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches?”

If you do not trust God then Isaiah warns that you will be on a path that leads to complete darkness.

Isaiah 8:22 “Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.”

Remember that in Isaiah’s time Judah was facing an imminent threat of attack from the combined forces of Israel, its northern neighbour, and Syria. Ahaz the king had been advised by Isaiah to trust God, but he failed that test. He preferred, instead, to make an alliance with a greater, more distant power, the Assyrians, and even sent them a huge amount of money to pay for their protection against the enemies nearer to Judah.

“Why would you do that?” says Isaiah. “The Assyrians, even though they are a great power, who think that their might is their strength, are merely an instrument in the hand of the Lord to bring judgment on the Northern kingdom of Israel and a warning to the people of Judah that they still have an opportunity to cease their rebellion and turn back to God.”

Isaiah 10:5–6 ““Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath! I send him against a godless nation, I dispatch him against a people who anger me, to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets.”

Assyria’s intention was to send an army and conquer all the nations, including Judah. Listen to their arrogant boast:

Isaiah 10:11 “shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?’ ””

“But who is the real power here?” asks Isaiah. The Lord has in mind that he wants the people of Judah to turn back to him and trust him instead of an earthly power.

Isaiah 10:12 “When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes.”

Why would you trust the Assyrians? Do not fear them.

Isaiah 8:13 “The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread.”

Why should Isaiah say that the Lord Almighty is the one you are to dread?

We have a reminder in chapter12, of this personal statement from Isaiah

Isaiah 12:2 “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defence; he has become my salvation.””

In the chapters that follow we learn more about this Almighty God who is to be dreaded, if you are not one who has accepted the salvation that he offers.

We begin in chapter 13 with a vision that Isaiah saw concerning Babylon. We don’t know that it was an actual vision, for some versions of the Bible say, “The burden of Babylon that Isaiah saw.” Other versions say, “An oracle concerning Babylon.” Still others say, “A prophecy against Babylon.”

Isaiah 13:1 “A prophecy against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw:”

However it was that this message came to Isaiah, the chapter tells us the Yahweh is the judge of the whole earth and has a day in store for all who are not saved.

Why Babylon in verse 1? In Isaiah’s day Babylon was merely a city far away with no real infuence, no real power. It would be more than a hundred years in the future that the Babylonian Empire would be on the world stage. In Isaiah’s day the world power was Assyria

I think that Isaiah’s message was written not just for his own times but for all future times and it is directed at the whole world, and “Babylon” is used to symbolise the arrogance and pride and power of the world’s powers.

In the book of Revelation John picks up the term Bablyon:

Revelation 17:5 “The name written on her forehead was a mystery: Babylon the great the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth.”

He has used it to symbolise the glory and the power of the world which has set itself up as a rival to, or in opposition to the kingdom of God.

It has echoes, too, of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11

Genesis 11:3–4 “They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.””

However in chapter 13 of Isaiah we find that there is nothing in this world that can stand against the judgment that God is preparing.

If you are an enemy of God you won’t want to read this chapter.

There will be a day of Judgment

Isaiah 13:6 “Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty.”

Isaiah 13:9 “See, the day of the Lord is coming —a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger— to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it.”

What is going to happen? What did Isaiah see?

Isaiah 13:3 “I have commanded those I prepared for battle; I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath— those who rejoice in my triumph.”

Isaiah 13:4 “Listen, a noise on the mountains, like that of a great multitude! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations massing together! The Lord Almighty is mustering an army for war.”

The result will be absolute terror

Isaiah 13:7–8 “Because of this, all hands will go limp, every heart will melt with fear. Terror will seize them, pain and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labour. They will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame.”

What is God’s purpose in all of this?

Isaiah 13:11 “I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless.”

The final destiny of those who oppose God will be an inevitable destruction

Isaiah 13:19 “Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the pride and glory of the Babylonians, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.”

And what of the Lord’s people?

The Lord continues to have them in his sights, not with a view to bring destruction on them, but to show compassion. Although Isaiah may have been writing about a yet future event, I can imagine that when the people of Judah were exiled in Babylon, more than one hundred years after Isaiah wrote the words, and the priests read the words to them, they would take comfort from the verses at the beginning of chapter 14.

Isaiah 14:1–2 “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.”

What follows in chapter 14 is a lament against the king of Babylon, but it is a lament expressing not sadness at the death of someone, but joy that the oppressor is dead. Alec Motyer calls this poem ‘the song of the fallen king.’ Again Isaiah is probably not talking about a specific king of Babylon, but about all in their pride who think that their power will go on and on.

There are four stanzas in this poem.

The first is from the perspective of the earth:

“Now that you are dead we will not be plundered and destroyed any more and we can live in peace.”

The Assyrians, for example, loved to speak about how they had climbed the mighty Lebanon mountains to cut down the great cedars for their palaces.

Isaiah 14:7–8 “All the lands are at rest and at peace; they break into singing. Even the junipers and the cedars of Lebanon gloat over you and say, “Now that you have been laid low, no one comes to cut us down.””

The point is that we need to remember that the earth is the Lord’s and we are stewards of his creation.

The second stanza is from the point of view of the underworld, the grave, or the realm of the dead.

The Hebrew Bible refers to it as Sheol and it is mentioned more than 60 times, notably in the Psalms.

Psalm 49:14–15 “They are like sheep and are destined to die; death will be their shepherd (but the upright will prevail over them in the morning). Their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions. But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself.”

In the Old Testament Sheol is a shadowy, subterranean realm, completely different fro the realm of the living. It seems to represent a state of existence after death.

In these verses in Isaiah, the spirits of the dead are greeting the newly dead king of Babylon. “You are no different from us. You are dead, just as we are. We were kings of nations that you put to death. Just look at yourself now. What good is all your power and glory and wealth to you now?”

 A funeral cortege is in process; the harps are playing, but what is your shroud made of — maggots and worms.

Isaiah 14:11 “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.”

The third stanza is from the perspective of heaven.

Isaiah 14:12–14 “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.””

Some commentators take these verses to refer to Lucifer or Satan.

That is possible, but in context Isaiah has been writing about those who in their pride take power and exalt themselves over everyone else and declare that there is no-one like him. Human pride says, “I am the greatest and I have the right to deal with the world as I see fit.” It is an attempt to put yourself and your desires before God. “That”, says Isaiah, “is an attempt to sit on the throne of God.” Such attempt will always end in failure.

Isaiah 14:15 “But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.”

The fourth stanza shows us a picture from the battlefield.

Kings lie in state each in their own tomb, but you in your arrogance and pride have met your end in battle and you now lie like a mangled corpse, trampled underfoot among all the others who have been slain alongside you. No dignified burial for you.

Isaiah 14:20 “you will not join them in burial, for you have destroyed your land and killed your people.

Isaiah then brings us back to the current situation. The immediate threat to Judah was from Israel and Syria, but the real power was Assyria. Actually the real power is not Assyria; it is the Lord Almighty. The Assyrians are only a tool in the hand of God and he will deal with them at the appropriate time.

These next verses in Isaiah chapter 14 contain a message that most people forget. If we would take them to heart, then we would have the assurance that God does indeed care for his people.

Isaiah 14:24–27 “The Lord Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen. I will crush the Assyrian in my land; on my mountains I will trample him down. His yoke will be taken from my people, and his burden removed from their shoulders.” 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?”

Judah was bordered on the west by the Philistines. “Don’t make an alliance with them”, says Isaiah. “They are going to be swept away by the Assyrians.”

Isaiah 14:31 “Wail, you gate! Howl, you city! Melt away, all you Philistines! A cloud of smoke comes from the north, and there is not a straggler in its ranks.”

Indeed there may be refuge to be found in Judah. Why?

Isaiah 14:32 “What answer shall be given to the envoys of that nation? “The Lord has established Zion, and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.””

The Assyrians may conquer the land of the Philistines, but they were not going to conquer Judah.

In chapter 15 and 16 there is a prophecy against Moab

The land to the east of Judah, to the east of the Dead Sea was the Land of Moab and over the years there had been an occasional conflict, but often generally friendly relations between the Moabites and the people of Judah. You remember that at one time Elimilech and his wife Naomi had sought refuge in Moab from the famine in Israel.

But the Moabites, too, would be subject to invasion by Assyria and in chapter 15 we really do have a lament over Moab, Not a mocking lament as in chapter 14, but this time genuine sorrow at the impending destruction of Moab.

Isaiah paints a picture of the people of Moab fleeing in terror from city to city.

Isaiah 15:5 “My heart cries out over Moab; her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, as far as Eglath Shelishiyah. They go up the hill to Luhith, weeping as they go; on the road to Horonaim they lament their destruction.”

Isaiah 16:11–12 “My heart laments for Moab like a harp, my inmost being for Kir Hareseth. When Moab appears at her high place, she only wears herself out; when she goes to her shrine to pray, it is to no avail.”

An alliance with Moab would be pointless, for within three years they would be gone.

Isaiah 16:13–14 “This is the word the Lord has already spoken concerning Moab. But now the Lord says: “Within three years, as a servant bound by contract would count them, Moab’s splendour and all her many people will be despised, and her survivors will be very few and feeble.””

Isaiah urges Judah to shelter the refugees from Moab

Isaiah 16:3–4 ““Make up your mind,” Moab says. “Render a decision. Make your shadow like night— at high noon. Hide the fugitives, do not betray the refugees. Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you; be their shelter from the destroyer.” The oppressor will come to an end, and destruction will cease; the aggressor will vanish from the land.”

That’s the offer to the Moabites as it is the offer to all who are outside the kingdom, to all who are facing threats or dangers or difficulties and have nowhere to turn. Come to Zion; Come to the Lord

In this chapter 16 we come to one of the most important verses in Isaiah, a verse that speaks once again of the future king and his kingdom. And it is remarkable that it comes it the middle of the prophecy against Moab

Isaiah 16:5 “In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it— one from the house of David— one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness.”

The word used here for love is the Hebrew ‘hesed.’ This is God’s covenanted love for his people, an action, not a feeling. Sacrificial love given at cost to himself to a people who don’t deserve it.

A throne will be established. The people of Isaiah’s day saw kingdoms being swallowed up and ceasing to exist. But God’s kingdom will be established and the king will not be a usurper, but one with a true lineage, from the house of David. He will administer the kingdom with justice and righteousness. Those two words justice and righteousness are often used together when speaking about God and his rule on earth.

Did the Moabites accept the offer? According to verse 6, probably not

Isaiah 16:6 “We have heard of Moab’s pride— how great is her arrogance!— of her conceit, her pride and her insolence; but her boasts are empty.”

That is why they are left to wail.

Isaiah 16:7 “Therefore the Moabites wail, they wail together for Moab. Lament and grieve for the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth.”

What is it today that keeps people from accepting God’s offer of salvation? An offer freely given at great cost to himself and asking nothing in return except that you trust him.

Is it not, like the Moabites, their pride and conceit, their pride and insolence?

Isaiah 16:6 We have heard of Moab’s pride — her overweening pride and conceit, her pride and her insolence — but her boasts are empty.