Isaiah 14: 28-32

²⁸ In the year that King Ahaz died this oracle came:

Judgment on Philistia

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.”

We could have covered verse 28 in last week's post. But that would have been like one of those season-ending cliff-hangers. "What?! What did the oracle say? What happens next?!...." So, let's take it all in this week.

It is interesting that this message comes with a timeframe, albeit vague. (And the fact that my study Bible says the year of King Ahaz's death is uncertain adds to that ambiguity!) But, we know the king died when Hezekiah began his term, which puts the time between 727 and 716/15 B.C. The Reformation Study Bible suggests the latter date is "preferable" since it occurs 14 years before the fall of Samaria at the hands of the Assyrians--also, the timeframe in which the Philistines were revolting against Assyria.

Ah, the Philistines. If you caught the fact that this week's passage is divided by a subhead in my study Bible, then you see 'Philistia'. And, if you see 'Philistia,' you can figure out from whence cometh the Philistines. Philistia (see map above) was a territory located in what is now southwestern Palestine. ['Palestine' is derived from Philistia/Philistine. (Encyclopedia of the Bible)] Throughout the Bible, the Philistines are public enemy #1 to God's people (David and Goliath just one of many stories). Just as Assyria faced God's judgment in oppressing God's people, so will the Philistines, according to this prophecy. Their judgment closes out Isaiah 14.

Remember, an oracle is a burden or inspired message of concern. Why was this coming before Judah at this time by Isaiah? Upcoming threats. We must continue to review history in light of prophecy.

King Uzziah was the first king under which Isaiah served. Generally, he was considered a "good" king, in that he followed the Lord, most of the time. God would strike him with leprosy for taking the duties of the priest, but God granted him successes, including a take-down of the Philistines.

"Now he [Uzziah] went out and warred against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities in the area of Ashdod and among the Philistines. God helped him against the Philistines...."

--II Chronicles 26: 6 and 7a

So a precedent had been established, but, under King Ahaz (king #3 for Isaiah), Judah disbanded its Godly obedience. With the rising of Assyria as a threat to everyone, the Philistines sought to build up alliances for self-preservation. With Ahaz's passing and the torch being passed to his son, Hezekiah, the possibility for a Philistia/Judah coalition remained on the table for consideration. Thankfully, as we have seen in our review of Scripture, Hezekiah was not the man or king his father was. Having Isaiah--and his prophecies--for guidance demonstrated the wisdom of Hezekiah in keeping the nation secure under the ultimate reign of God.

Back to this week's verses, Uzziah appears to be the 'rod' spoken of in verse 29, especially since the Philistines came back to conquer portions of Judah during Ahaz's tenure. Lest the Philistines should gloat too much, the Lord plans to raise up "a viper" [Hezekiah] to squelch the rise of the nation, not to mention put a damper on the Assyrian revolt, at least, for that time.

"And the Lord was with him [Hezekiah]; wherever he went he prospered. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city."

--II Kings 18: 7 and 8

 
Conditions had been so poor under the rule of Ahaz. God says, in verse 30, that when Judah's poorest returned to being able to eat and when its weakest would consider it safe to lie down, then He would strike Philistia with "smoke from the north" (vs. 31)--that being the armies of Hezekiah. Who would have thought the north would rise again? But, Hezekiah "trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. For he clung to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him...." (II Kings 18: 5-6, excerpts) And the Lord is the one who sets the world in order. Recall His righteousness and fairness in this from Isaiah, Chapter 11:

"But with righteousness He will judge the poor,
And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth;
And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked."

--Isaiah 11:4

 

“How then will one answer the messengers of the nation?" (vs. 32) is the question closing out the passage and the chapter. The Philistines were bringing forward their offer, to band together to stand against Assyria. How would Judah respond?

"That the Lord has founded Zion, and the afflicted of His people will seek refuge in it."

--vs. 32, (i.e., the answer)

 

Not the answer the Philistines were looking for, yet they shouldn't have been surprised. How did David answer Goliath? "For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?" (I Samuel 17: 26b) The battle belongs to the Lord, and the Lord has founded Zion, therefore, we're sticking with our God!

 

Zion, being Jerusalem, the home of God's people, was founded with the intent that God's people would be able to return to it, time and time again until the time of the final Zion. God would be found with and by His people.

"By faith he [Abraham] lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God."

--Hebrews 11: 9-10

The story of the Bible is God keeping His people together. The Philistines would never come to grasp this greater truth, and, thus, faced God's judgment. Yes, God is the designer and builder of our earthly homes, but His plan is not just for a structure but for the goal of keeping His people faithful together, to lead and disciple others in the faith. They will then know that they will always have safety, provision, a "refuge," in the presence of God. This is the true hope of the Church--God's eternal presence!

"The poor of his people shall betake themselves to it (so some read it), shall join themselves to his church and embark in its interests; they shall concur with God in his designs to establish his people, and shall wind up all on the same plan, and make all their little concerns and projects bend to that. Those that take God’s people for their people must be willing to take their lot with them and cast in their lot among them. Let the messengers of the nations know that the poor Israelites, who trust in God, having, like Zion, their foundation in the holy mountains (Ps. 87:1), are like Zion, which cannot be removed, but abides for ever (Ps. 125:1), and therefore they will not fear what man can do unto them."

--Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible

  

Judgment on Moab.... 'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: www.accordancebible.com

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Next week:  Isaiah 15: 1-3
 
Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).

Isaiah 2: 6-9

⁶ For You have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob,
Because they are filled with influences from the east,
And they are soothsayers like the Philistines,
And they strike bargains with the children of foreigners.
⁷ Their land has also been filled with silver and gold
And there is no end to their treasures;
Their land has also been filled with horses
And there is no end to their chariots.
⁸ Their land has also been filled with idols;
They worship the work of their hands,
That which their fingers have made.
⁹ So the common man has been humbled
And the man of importance has been abased,
But do not forgive them.

The beginning of our passage today reads as though we are back in Chapter 1 of Isaiah. This is God's case against Jerusalem, and the prophet uses a favorite writing technique of mine--parallel phrasing--to emphatically get the word out.

God has abandoned His people because they are "filled with" all the wrong things:

• Influences from the east (vs 6)
• Silver and gold (vs 7)
• Horses (vs 7)
• Idols (vs 8)

Let's explore each category a bit more, because there are other details here.

Eastern influences came into Jerusalem in the form of various superstitions and cultural belief systems from places to the east of the city. That Jerusalem was considered to be "soothsayers like the Philistines" indicates that the city was also besieged from the west. The Philistines were known for their journeys into sorcery and other forms of divination. The King James Version uses 'replenished' instead of "filled with influences" which strikes an ugly note, as God's people should have been filled with His Spirit and power rather than replenished by evil influences. How appropriate that the Hebrew for soothsayer means "to cover; cloud over; to act covertly." [Strong's]

"Their country was peopled with Syrians and Chaldeans, Moabites and Ammonites, and other eastern nations, and with them they admitted the fashions and customs of those nations, and pleased themselves in the children of strangers, were fond of them, preferred their country before their own, and thought the more they conformed to them the more polite and refined they were; thus did they profane their crown and their covenant."

--Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible

The infiltration of these ideas did not only help recalibrate the spiritual and intellectual thinking of the people, but also the business/political environment of Jerusalem. "They strike bargains with the children of foreigners." The city sought out practical relationships and formed alliances with pagan nations in the hopes of maintaining, if not increasing, its status and wealth.

This dovetails with verse 7, which highlights the massive treasures held by Judah. It wasn't enough to merely have silver and gold, but the people actively sought to possess treasures. Again, bringing up my Beth Moore study of James, she mentions a Latin phrase of Ovid's indicative of the time in which James spoke to the Jerusalem church. "Amor sceleratus habendi"--This means "the accursed love of getting." You might want to consider it possessed with possessing!

"You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you."

--James 5: 5 and 6

Thankfulness for the blessings of God?! They didn't recognize God's goodness in the days following the visible presence of Jesus Christ, and neither did the Jerusalem of Isaiah's day. [Do I even have to mention today's world?] Indeed, the corrupt kings who served during Isaiah's ministry offered up their precious gifts to alien nations, seeking their protection.

 "So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, 'I am your servant and your son; come up and deliver me from the hand of the king of Aram and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.' Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and sent a present to the king of Assyria."

--II Kings 16:7 and 8

Verse 7 continues with references to horses and chariots. The accumulation of such items suggests having at hand tools of war. Israel had built up strongholds (walls and towers) as a means of protecting itself from invaders. Judah was taking its possessive ways into its security systems, too. God had made it clear early on that those in charge were not to amass such items but to rely fully and completely upon Him for their safety.

"Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since the LORD has said to you, 'You shall never again return that way.' He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself."

--Deuteronomy 17: 16 and 17 (italics mine, 

to illustrate that earlier point one more time)

Verse 8--a biggie--the land was filled with idols. God certainly disliked that His people were working so hard to live and act self-sufficiently, trying to keep up with their neighbors. But, top that with the creation of idols, and it's like a straight slap to the face. Not that one sin is greater than another, but--and I've said this before--that "You shall have no other gods before me" is the first Commandment speaks to what is primary on the heart of God. Ephesians 2:10 reminds us: "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." The workmanship is ALL His!

"Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of man’s hands.
They have mouths, but they cannot speak;
They have eyes, but they cannot see;
They have ears, but they cannot hear;
They have noses, but they cannot smell;
They have hands, but they cannot feel;
They have feet, but they cannot walk;
They cannot make a sound with their throat.
Those who make them will become like them,
Everyone who trusts in them."

--Psalm 115: 4-8

What is left of the relationship between God and His people at this point? Who still acknowledges the presence of the Lord? Verse 9 says both "the common man" and the "man of importance" have fallen to the base of idols.

Is it any wonder the end of our passage today says: "But do not forgive them." There were so many times of past grace. What now?

"What a shame it is that great men think the service of the true God below them and will not stoop to it, and yet will humble themselves to bow down to an idol!"

--Matthew Henry

A bringing about of ultimate humility.... 'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: idlehearts.com

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Next week: Isaiah 2: 10-12

Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).