“A Time for Taunting”
[Isaiah 14:1-27]
September 23, 2018, Second Reformed
Church
We began to look at the oracle
against Babylon last week, and we saw that one act can be accomplished with
both evil and good motives: God did good
in allowing the Babylonians to slaughter Judah in the hopes that this
discipline would cause them to repent and turn back to God. The Babylonians did evil in slaughtering
Judah, because they wanted to kill and take the wealth and the land. God and the Babylonians, good and evil
motivations, resulting in the same act:
the slaughter of Judah.
We saw that God will send the
Medo-Persians against the Babylonians – to slaughter them – for their sin of
slaughtering Judah. Sin must be paid
for. The debt for every sin must be paid
for. On the last day, justice will be accomplished for every human and all of Creation.
Justice for sin is one reason that
God allows the Medo-Persians to conquer the Babylonians. This morning, we see another reason:
First, God allows the Medo-Persians
to conquer the Babylonians, because He loves His people.
“For the LORD will have compassion on
Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and
sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob. And
the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of
Israel will possess them in the LORD's land as male and female slaves. They will
take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed
them.”
God loves His people and promises to save
them – a remnant of humanity – a remnant of Israel and Judah – a remnant of the
people of the nations.
“And someone said to [Jesus], ‘Lord, will
those who are saved be few?’ And he said to them, ‘Strive to enter through the
narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able’” (Luke
13:23-24, ESV).
On another occasion: “This was to fulfill the word that [Jesus]
had spoken: ‘Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one’” (John 18:9, ESV).
God is saving a people for Himself, and
they will be His forever and never lost.
Prior to the destruction of the Temple in
70 A.D., God had a special relationship with the people and the land of Israel
and Judah. And here we see, God in
mercy, bringing them back to the land and giving them slaves and all that they
need to rebuild the nation.
Ezra records: “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The LORD,
the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has
charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is
among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to
Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of
Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. And let each survivor, in whatever
place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold,
with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God
that is in Jerusalem” (Ezra 1:2-4, ESV).
And so, we remember that God is
disciplining Israel and Judah, not wiping them out. God is doing what any loving father would do
to a rebellious daughter or son, “For the moment all discipline seems painful
rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness
to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11, ESV).
We suffer for many reasons. Sometimes it is the result of our sin, or the
fact that this is a fallen world, but, sometimes, we are feeling the Hand of
God against us for our good. We need to
consider if our suffering might be disciplined so we will stop following after
sin, repent, and return to our loving Father.
God loves His people.
In the next section – verses three through
twenty-three – the song of the fallen king – God tells His people -- once they
are back in the land and at peace they are to take up a taunt against the king
of Babylon. And we need to understand
what God is having them do.
God is not telling them to hurl
insults at the king, “Look at the King of Babylon! He’s so fat, his stomach blocks out the
sun! His nose is so crooked, you could
use it to design a ziggurat! He’s so
bald, his crown slides off!”
That’s not what God is telling them
to do. We know that for many reasons,
including this example:
“[Elisha] went up from there to Bethel,
and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and
jeered at him, saying, ‘Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!’ And he
turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD.
And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys” (II
Kings 2:23-24, ESV).
No, what God is telling them to do, second
– in song – in praise to God – is to sing a song in such a way that it brings
light to the inner truth of the situation.
It is a song that shows what seems to be is not the case.
Beginning in verse four, God tells them to
sing with mock surprise that the great oppressor is no longer oppressing – his “insolent
fury” has stopped. “What happened to the
great King of Babylon – the great oppressor with merciless fury?”
The answer is that he met the Great King
of Creation, Who has unending fury for sin and mercy for those He loves. That is the truth.
The Lord – the Great King – He has taken
the wicked tyrant’s power away from him – and the whole Creation is at
peace—singing the praise of God.
The cypresses of Lebanon that the King of
Babylon use to cut down are rejoicing, as are the cedars of Lebanon, because he
can’t cut them down anymore – his kingdom is destroyed and he is dead.
The King of Babylon goes to Sheol – the
grave – and the leaders of the earth who are also in Sheol recognize him, and
they greet him: “Look at the great King
of Babylon – he is as we are – he is in the same place as we are – we are all
equal in death.”
Notice, when we die, we are with other
people and they know us. Some religions
talk about “soul sleep” – where – when you are dead – you don’t know anything
and don’t feel or experience anything – but that is not the case in biblical
Judaism and Christianity – in the Word of God – when we die – we are conscious,
we experience and feel, we are with other people, and we know each other..
“Oh, King of Babylon, in death, your bed
is on the rocks, the maggots eat your flesh and the worms eat you from above –
you are just like us. God brings us all
low through death. We return to the
earth from whence we are created.”
Beginning in verse twelve, we have a look
at the thoughts of the King of Babylon – of his pride and arrogance. The truth is stated: the King of Babylon had conquered many
nations – he lead powerful forces across the earth – but – in death – he is
laid low – the same as everyone.
The King of Babylon is compared to the
pagan Day Star, the son of the Dawn, whose arrogance caused him to fall from
the home of the gods to the earth.
The human King of Babylon had become so
arrogant, he thought that someday he would sit among the pantheon of the gods –
he would be a god himself. He wanted to
be like God.
That sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
“But
the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that
when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing
good and evil’” (Genesis 3:4-5, ESV).
“God’s not telling you the truth. God just wants to hog heaven for
Himself. If you eat of the fruit – you
will be like God.”
And – ultimately – that is the promise we
follow after every time we sin – “you will be like God.”
God says in His Word that we should do
this and be like this, “But I say!”
God says in His Word that this is sin and
we are not to do it, “But I say!”
Every time we sin, we say, “Yes, God says
this, but I am a god too, and I say!”
The King of Babylon had plans to become as
great as God – to be like Him.
But James reminds us, “Come now, you who
say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year
there and trade and make a profit’—yet you do not know what tomorrow will
bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and
then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and
do this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is
evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is
sin” (James 4:13-17, ESV).
And, as Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar,
“[God] changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives
wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals
deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells
with him” (Daniel 2:21-22, ESV).
So, we are encouraged that no leader
assumes leadership outside of God’s Will – for our good or discipline – and no
leader is Sovereign – only God is Sovereign – every other leader is temporary
and limited. Especially because our
leaders die.
Verse fifteen – the King of Babylon dies
like every other person (until the Lord returns) – and then – “this is the man
we were afraid of? This is the conqueror
of nations? He looks so small – so
human. He is in a grave – just like
everyone we know.” The only difference
is that the King of Babylon is not buried with his family. The King of Babylon is thrown away to rot and
be eaten by the animals – like a loathed branch – good for nothing but the
fire. His grave is unmarked and people
have walked over his body unknowing – like those who die in war and are left to
be lost on the battlefield.
And because the family of the King of
Babylon was so evil, God saw to it that every member of his family died in the
conquest of Babylon. There are no
descendants of the King of Babylon. His
name and his lineage is wiped off the face of world for his sins. So God swore, and so it came to pass.
And God also promised, since there were no
descendants to claim what was his, God gave the Kingdom of Babylon to the
hedgehogs – they are the legitimate owners of the Kingdom of Babylon to this
day.
And so it is right for us to sing
and write and proclaim – to the glory and praise of God – the inner truth of
the situation.
The Creation rejoices at the end of
a tyrannical kingdom and its leaders.
Kings, dictators, and tyrannical
leaders die just like we do.
We are all tempted to turn from God
in sin wanting to become like Him.
God is Sovereign over every moment
and every person, even tyrannical kings.
If we trust God and follow Him, we have
no reason to fear our leaders.
It is right for us to expose the
inner truth of our situation – but be careful that that is what you are
doing. Don’t assume that “God is on our
side.” Back up what you are seeing and
saying with the Word of God.
Let us praise God in such a way that
the truth is revealed.
We may remember that the Babylonians
conquered Judah at least one hundred years after Isaiah dies. Isaiah does see the conquest of Israel by the
Assyrians and their attacks on Judah, though, and we turn back to the present
danger, and receive a repetition of the promises God has made about the discipline
coming by the hands of the Assyrians.
And we see, finally, everything God
wills comes to pass.
“The LORD of hosts has sworn: ‘As I have
planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand, that I will
break the Assyrian in my land, and on my mountains trample him underfoot; and
his yoke shall depart from them, and his burden from their shoulder.’
After the discipline by the hands of the
Assyrians, God will break the nation and trample the nation and destroy the
Assyrians – Israel will be restored. A
remnant will return – because God loves His people.
“This is the purpose that is purposed concerning
the whole earth, and this is the hand that’s stretched out over all the
nations. For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is
stretched out, and who will turn it back?”
Here we have a statement of the absolute
sovereignty of God. Whatever God
purposes comes to pass. Whatever God
plans comes to pass. Whatever God wills
comes to pass. Whatever the Lord has
proposed comes to pass. Who has the
ability – in all of Creation – to stop God?
If we have been saved by the God by Whom
everything comes to pass, what do we have to fear? Everything that happens happens because it is
God’s plan.
Don’t misunderstand – the Word of God does
not teach a stoicism that says, “Oh, well, bad or good, it is what it is, I
accept it – there is nothing I can do.”
No, God is Sovereign and everything comes
to pass as He has ordained, but we are to do what God has said and repent of
our sin and come back to Him and ask for forgiveness. We are to trust Him and follow Him and do
what we know is right according to the Word of God no matter how difficult it
may seem or how unpopular it may be.
We could look at some lines of reporting
in our world and say, “No! We’re
doomed! Things have never been
worse! All hope is lost!”
But God tells us that He is in charge –
that He is doing what He wants – bringing glory to Himself, bringing the
remnant back to Himself, so our response ought to know the promises of the Word
of God and pray them back to Him – to open our mouths and ask God to lead us by
the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit – to continually repent of our sin – to
trust God that the worst they can do is kill us – and for the Christian – death
ushers us into Paradise.
God loves His people – everyone throughout
time and space who believes savingly in Jesus.
God desires that we praise Him in such a
way that the truth is revealed.
God wills everything that comes to pass.
Let us pray:
Almighty God, help us to trust You as the
Sovereign God and our loving Father.
Help us to know Your Word and tell others the truth behind what we see
and hear. For it is in Jesus’ Name we
pray, Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment