Sermon Tone Analysis

Isaiah 14-16

The first two verses here are very much a continuation of what we finished with last week in chapter thirteen.

Remember Babylon did not rise to be a world power until after the fall of Assyria.

Yet God revealed to Israel through prophecy what was to come.

In chapter 13, God told them that even though He was going to use Babylon as a tool of judgement against Judah due to their idolatry, Babylon was also going to pay for having been used against God’s chosen people.

And here God is once again giving them hope of the future, that God will have mercy on Israel.

Again, at the time that Isaiah is prophesying these things, Babylon is not yet in control, Assyria is still the world power, but again remember, he is prophesying to Israel of the things to come and this is a great chapter where there once again is a near fulfillment that will come in this case with physical Babylon and yet a future fulfillment with a Spiritual Babylon or the world system that is still yet to come.

So this day is coming, and yes, you are going to be conquered, but in the days ahead you will be able to say…Isa 14:5-8

This idea of the trees rejoicing and no woodsman has come against us.

Was a foretelling about the destructiveness of war and defeat as Nebuchadnezzar used huge amounts of lumber both for fuel and for building and deforested much of Israel and Lebanon.

When you think about the rulers of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, Evil Murdoch, and Belshazzar…Wicked and cruel leaders, and there will come a day with these figures that seemed so powerful, larger than life that the dead will say, not so impressive now are you, you’re just like us, you have become like us.

Your pomp, or your pride and arrogance have delivered you to Sheol, or the place of the dead, and it won’t just be humbling, it will be degrading and humiliating.

So God tells Israel that this is coming, but don’t worry about Babylon, long term, as I have a plan for them.

And here in verse 12 I think he says the same to the rest of His chosen, Christians, as I think we transition here beyond physical Babylon, to Spiritual Babylon, or the power behind Babylon.

Verse 12 we transition to speaking of a person, a creation, Lucifer Isa 14:12-14

This is the origin of positive confession, the belief that you can speak something into truth either in a positive sense, or be careful of speaking negative things into being as your words become truth, that is true if you are God, it is just pride if you are not, as we see here and will yet see, they didn’t work out well for Lucifer.

Isaiah 14:15-16

So here we see who was the spirit behind both physical and spiritual Babylon.

Isa 14:17-19

So Babylon is brought down and so is the spirit that is and was, behind Babylon.

Isa 14:22-23

You guys that know your Maine critters, what do porcupines eat?

Tree bark, roots, leaves, perfect for the swamp that Babylon becomes.

So again, they hadn't yet risen to power, but God is saying this is what is going to happen and it will go far beyond the historical defeat to the Meades.

Now he already prophesied against the Assyrians, but he does so briefly here again…Isa 14:24-27

Regardless of the strength of the power, if God has a plan, who is going to stop God…no one is going to stop God.

Any of you know any Assyrians?

No, they are gone.

Now onto the Philistines, in the year that Ahaz died...

So the prophecy is that when the Assyrians come to take Jerusalem, they will first be taking all of those cities that lay along the coast, so all of the Philistines are going away.

So they are rejoicing that Ahaz has died and the Philistines are rejoicing thinking they are going to take advantage, but the message to them is not so fast, the Assyrians are going to come and they are going to take you out, but they aren’t going to take Judah.

Now chapter 15, actually 15 and 16 is about the destruction of Moab.

Moab was like a wilderness area, south of Judah, does Moab sound familiar to you guys?

Do you remember anyone who was from Moab? Ruth the Moabitess…Also, if you remember the story of Lot.

When Lot left the area of Sodom, his two daughters got him drunk and they had incestuous relations with him.

A son was conceived named Moab, and his people settled in the area south of Isreal and were pretty much in constant conflict with Israel.

Isa 15:1-2

The shaving of the heads and beards cut off is a sign of what?

Morning…Isa 15:3-6

Chapter 16 is the completion of the destruction of Moab, verse 1

The idea here is that they should once again pay tribute to Jerusalem.

The area of Moab used to be part of Israel and there is an invitation here for them to resume that practice and therefore indicating that they want to once again submit themselves to God.

Basically, the Assyrians are coming, God is going to spare Jerusalem, but all of these other areas are going to be wiped out, so basically repent and live, or don’t.

If they don’t we see in verse 2, Isa 15:2

That’s not a good thing, displaced, lost, and not long for this world.

Isa 15:3-4

Not to confuse things here, but just a reminder that there was a near fulfillment of this when Jerusalem was surrounded and defeated in 70 A.D. which Jesus warned his Disciples about, when you see Jerusalem surrounded to flee Judea I think it’s Luke 21, and we know there is yet a future much larger fulfillment coming with a similar warning that involves the abomination of desolation during the tribulation period, and the coming battle of Armageddon.

This is the one spoken of in Matthew and what Daniel spoke about, 2 Thessalonians talks about it, Revelation tells us that God has prepared a place for the Jews to hide during that time...., back to this..

SO again, right now with Assyria coming, you should resume your tribute to Jerusalem, this is your opportunity…take it up there and hide because they are coming and if you don’t go, you’re going to be like a bird thrown out of the nest and Judah is going to be saved, but in the future, there will be time when they are fleeing and in that day, you should hide them, you better help them, because a throne is going to be established, the throne of David, a son of David established on the earth.

Now has this yet happened?

Not yet…Isa 16:6

Moab is prideful, but it is a misplaced pride, he is reading his own press, but he is deceived.

Isaiah 16:7-9

Any of you guys ever get the opportunity to participate in one of the potato harvests up north?

Or the blueberry harvest, I don’t want to know about any of your other harvests…You know if you have ever been a part of one in an agricultural community it is a time of a lot of work and great rejoicing.

But not this time.

The Assyrians are coming and they are going to wipe the area out.

Deforesting, slash and burn, not just the trees, the vines, all that they would harvest.

See verse 10, Isa 16:10

SO all the hard work, with none of the reward.

So Isaiah is not rejoicing in this, nor is he letting anyone else, he says I have made their shouting cease, I think this lack of joy in their destruction extends to God here verse 11 Isa 16:11

This also expresses the heart of God.

He never takes pleasure in Judgement or even the destruction of the wicked, He sees the pain involved in that, He desires that all would come to salvation, destruction and judgement come, because He is just, but His desire is salvation, not judgement.

That is not just the case for these old cities around Judah, but for those in rebellion against Him today, those that He sent His Son to die for if they would just repent and receive salvation…but Moab was very much like rebels are today.

In the day that they heard this, they didn’t say, oh, God, thanks for the heads-up!

We will resume our offering our tribute to Jerusalem right now, and unite with them.

Nope, their pride would have said, we’re all set on our own, we’ve got this....verse 12 Isaiah 16:12-14

Next week Damascus.

You guys might recognize that name as a modern city that exists today.

Let’s pray.

Have a blessed week!