Isaiah 14-23, God is in charge--how long will it take for us to learn that lesson?

Isa 14:12-19 (ESV) "How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 13 You said in your heart,  'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God  I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' 15  But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.

16 Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, 17 who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities,  who did not let his prisoners go home?' 18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb; 19 but you are cast out, away from your grave, like a loathed branch,  clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a dead body trampled underfoot.



• In context, we have been discussing Babylon, the nation--its' pride and consequent fall. In the middle of the discussion, we see a switch from a nation to a person. Who is it and how do you know?
• It could be the king of Babylon
• It could be Satan
• And it could be both
• What are the arguments for Satan?
• The title, "Day Star, son of Dawn"
• He "fiddles" with the nations
• The five "I will"'s. Jesus has seven "I am"'s and Satan uses five "I will"'s
• Satan does not let people get away from him without a fight
• The antichrist who I believe will be indwelt by Satan is "slained" by a sword. Ultimately, he does not go to the grave but rather to the lake of fire
• APPLICATION: A characteristic of Satan is pride (also lying from other passages) -- two qualities which we need to expunge from our lives


Isa 14:22-23 (ESV) "I will rise up against them," declares the Lord of hosts, "and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, descendants and posterity," says the Lord. 23 "And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction," declares the Lord of hosts.


• So, some people think this section is all about the final judgment on nations. In this case, who are we discussing and what is their judgment?
• The nation is Babylon
• Their final state is non-existence; the will not be a nation in the millennial kingdom


Isa 14:28-31 (ESV) In the year that King Ahaz died came this oracle:


29 Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you,
that the rod that struck you is broken,
for from the serpent's root will come forth an adder,
and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent.
30 And the firstborn of the poor will graze,
and the needy lie down in safety;
but I will kill your root with famine,
and your remnant it will slay.
31  Wail, O gate; cry out, O city;
melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you!
 For smoke comes out of the north,
and there is no straggler in his ranks.


• This has a date and so I'm not sure why this part was not included earlier. It is possible that  all of these prophecies on nations occur at different times and are placed in this section because of their similarity. The date for this particular prophecy is 715BC, 7 years after the destruction of the northern kingdom, Israel
• The passage is not easy to understand. If this is future-based, then this is the area of the Gaza strip. What is the result?
• The Philistines will be judged


Isa 16:13-14 (ESV) This is the word that the Lord spoke concerning Moab in the past. 14 But now the Lord has spoken, saying, "In three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be very few and feeble."


• So, this prophecy allows us to date the event at 718-716BC since Assyria invades Moab between 715-713BC. So this occurs before the previous prophecy and illustrates thematic organization



Isa 23:1-7 (ESV) The oracle concerning Tyre. Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor! From the land of Cyprus it is revealed to them. 2 Be still, O inhabitants of the coast; the merchants of Sidon, who cross the sea, have filled you. 3 And on many waters your revenue was the grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile; you were the merchant of the nations. 4 Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken, the stronghold of the sea, saying: "I have neither labored nor given birth, I have neither reared young men nor brought up young women."

5 When the report comes to Egypt, they will be in anguish over the report about Tyre. 6  Cross over to Tarshish; wail, O inhabitants of the coast! 7 Is this your exultant city  whose origin is from days of old, whose feet carried her to settle far away?



• Review background on Tyre
• Attacked multiple times
• Assyria attacked first, but ended up with a treaty
• Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar) had a 13-year siege of Tyre after the destruction of Jerusalem which failed (although Tyre surrender via treaty to Babylon)
• Ultimately, Alexander the Great is the first person to conquer the island city
• Babylon was the great land power of the time
• Tyre was the great sea power of the time (the description of Tyre is similar to the description of Babylon, the city in Rev 17)
• Some key characteristics of Tyre include:
• Major distributor of Egypt's grain
• Send out groups and colonized various areas (Tarshish)
• Gained its glory through commerce



Isa 23:8-14 (ESV) Who has purposed this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth? 9 The Lord of hosts has purposed it,  to defile the pompous pride of all glory, to dishonor all the honored of the earth. 10 Cross over your land like the Nile, O daughter of Tarshish; there is no restraint anymore. 11  He has stretched out his hand over the sea; he has shaken the kingdoms; the Lord has given command concerning Canaan to destroy its strongholds.

12 And he said: "You will no more exult, O oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon; arise, cross over to Cyprus, even there you will have no rest." 13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans! This is the people that was not; Assyria destined it for wild beasts. They erected their siege towers, they stripped her palaces bare, they made her a ruin. 14  Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for your stronghold is laid waste.



• What is Tyre's spiritual problem?
• Their wealth made them prideful
• They did not act with constraint
• What is their judgment?
• Take away their glory
• Take away their rest. They really were constantly under the thumb of Assyria, Babylon, and then Greece. For a while they disappeared
• APPLICATION: Materialism for the sake of things is not respected by God. What are we doing with all that God has given us


Isa 23:15-18 (ESV) In that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days of one king. At the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:


16 "Take a harp;
go about the city,
O forgotten prostitute!
Make sweet melody;
sing many songs,
that you may be remembered."


17 At the end of seventy years, the Lord will visit Tyre, and she will return to her wages and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. 18 Her merchandise and her wages will be holy to the Lord. It will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the Lord.


• Tyre is functionally put out of business about the time of Jerusalem's destruction. As the people return to Jerusalem, so Tyre begins operating again
• Ezra 3:1-3, 7 (ESV) When the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. … 7 So they gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Cyrus king of Persia.
• APPLICATION: God is in charge. He even allows Tyre to operate again in order to provide for the needs of his people in Jerusalem



Ezek 28:1-10 (ESV) The word of the Lord came to me: 2  "Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord God:  "Because your heart is proud, and you have said, 'I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,' yet you are but a man, and no god,  though you make your heart like the heart of a god— 3  you are indeed wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you; 4 by your wisdom and your understanding  you have made wealth for yourself, and have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries; 5 by your great wisdom in your trade you have increased your wealth, and your heart has become proud in your wealth—

7 therefore, behold, I will bring foreigners upon you, the most ruthless of the nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your splendor. 8  They shall thrust you down into the pit,  and you shall die the death of the slain in the heart of the seas. 9  Will you still say, 'I am a god,' in the presence of those who kill you, though you are but a man, and no god, in the hands of those who slay you? 10  You shall die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners;  for I have spoken, declares the Lord God."



• This and the next passage occur during the time after the destruction of Jerusalem. The focus is also on Tyre
• The key to understanding this passage and the next passage is to distinguish the target audience. Who is this passage intended?
• The prince of Tyre
• What is this person's problem?
• Pride
• Thinking he is smarter than anyone else
• Thinking everything is the result of your effort
• REAL ISSUE: Wealth makes you think you are very powerful,  almost like a god
• APPLICATION: Wealth is deceitful. The love of money can draw you away from what is right



Ezek 28:11-19 (ESV) Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me: 12  "Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God: "You were the signet of perfection,  full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God;  every precious stone was your covering,  sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire,  emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings.  On the day that you were created they were prepared. 14 You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. 15 You were blameless in your ways  from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.

16 In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you,  O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17  Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you. 18 By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth  in the sight of all who saw you. 19 All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you;  you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever."



• Who is the target audience?
• Well, we are
• The subject is Satan
• The timeframe covers Satan's birth, fall, and his death at the end of the 1000 year reign
• How do we know?
• We get a description of Eden
• Interesting, there is a prince in Tyre, but Satan is called the King
• What do we learn from this passage?
• The danger of beauty, wisdom, and wealth when we think we are the reason
• APPLICATION: Give God thanks for everything you have or can do

Isaiah 30, What is God trying to teach or am I to stubborn to learn?

Isa 30:1-7 (ESV) "Ah, stubborn children," declares the Lord,  "who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; 2  who set out to go down to Egypt, without asking for my direction, to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt! 3  Therefore shall the protection of Pharaoh turn to your shame, and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt to your humiliation. 4 For though his officials are at Zoan and his envoys reach Hanes, 5 everyone comes to shame through a people that cannot profit them, that brings neither help nor profit, but shame and disgrace."

6 An oracle on the beasts of the Negeb. Through a land of trouble and anguish, from where come the lioness and the lion, the adder and the flying fiery serpent, they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people that cannot profit them. 7 Egypt's help is worthless and empty; therefore I have called her  "Rahab who sits still."



• We are back discussing Israel, Egypt's help, and the Assyrian threat
• First, how does God describe his people, and what does it mean?
• Obstinate
• Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French obstinat, Latin obstinatus, past participle of obstinare to be resolved, from ob- in the way + -stinare (akin to stare to stand)
• 1 : perversely adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion<obstinate resistance to change>2 : not easily subdued, remedied, or removed <obstinate fever> (Pasted from <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obstinate> )
• Hebrew (Strongs OT:5637) S¹rar. The root means basically "to be stubborn."  …  It is a rebellious generation (Ps 78:8) or heifer (Hos 4:16) which walks in its own way (Isa 65:2). It has a stubborn shoulder (Neh 9:29), a deaf ear (Zech 7:11), and a stubborn and rebellious heart (Jer 5:23). (from Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Copyright © 1980 by The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago.)
• How is the stubbornness described?
• Carry out plans that are not mine
• Act contrary to the Spirit
• Heap sin on sin
• Act without consulting
• How can we tell when we are being stubborn or just acting in prudence?
• Do we pray for guidance?
• Do we discuss with others, preferably more spiritually mature?
• How do we respond to contrarian advice?  Our attitude reflects our heart
• Historically, Shabako, a Nubian was pharaoh over Egypt.  That fact alone tells a lot of Egypt's strength in that day, that a foreigner reigned.  Egypt was in fact weak and did not respond when Assyria attacked.  The verses which follow (6, 7) suggest a secret trip through the Negev to avoid Assyrian detection
• APPLICATION:
• It is very hard to determine when you are stubborn.  The emotion itself suggests that you will deny it.  Most people find out that they are stubborn the hard way, through difficult circumstances that are ultimately the result of their stubbornness.  That is a very sad way to learn
• You can pray:
Ps 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; // test me and know my anxious thoughts.  // 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, // and lead me in the way everlasting. NIV



Isa 30:8-14 (ESV) And now, go, write it before them on a tablet and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come as a witness forever. 9  For they are a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the Lord; 10  who say to the seers, "Do not see," and to the prophets, "Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions, 11 leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel."

12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, "Because you despise this word and trust in oppression and perverseness and rely on them, 13 therefore this iniquity shall be to you  like a breach in a high wall, bulging out, and about to collapse, whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant; 14 and its breaking is like that of a potter's vessel that is smashed so ruthlessly that among its fragments not a shard is found with which to take fire from the hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern."



• I want to look at this passage because it could actually describe America's churches. What similarities do you see?
• People are looking for "beliefs" that they are comfortable with
• We have ceased to be concerned about truth -- why? -- because, deep down, we don't believe absolute truth exists
• People want to be comfortable, not right
• People want to create their own version of God, an idol by any other name
• APPLICATION: The response to hard questions is not "well, my God does not do that," but rather, what is I don't understand about the ONE TRUE GOD?



Isa 30:15-22 (ESV) For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength." But you were unwilling, 16 and you said, "No! We will flee upon horses"; therefore you shall flee away; and, "We will ride upon swift steeds"; therefore your pursuers shall be swift. 17  A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill. 18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice;  blessed are all those who wait for him.

19 For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. 20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. 21  And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. 22 Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plated metal images. You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say to them, "Be gone!"



• So what does Judah want to do and what does God want them to do?
• They want a treaty with Egypt
• God wants them to trust
• They think they can send messengers swiftly to Egypt to get help
• There is a similarity to the end times
• They want to make a treaty with Assyria during a time of God's judgment
• They will make a treaty with the antichrist during the tribulation (the time of Jacob's trouble) which will be broken in the middle
• One difference is during the tribulation, Israel will finally turn away from their idols and will listen to their Teacher at the end, Jesus


APPLICATION: The story, the similarity of Assyria's judgment and the tribulation continue into Chapter 31 and 32. God does discipline us as he sees best. There is a danger in running from God's discipline and interfering with God's discipline. I think, in prayer, when things do seem to be hard, we need to ask the question first, God, what do you want me to learn from this?

Isaiah 29, Religious activity without heart does not please God

REVIEW: Isaiah has an uncanny ability to weave two similar yet different prophecies into one. You have to look for key words to determine the distinctions. This is throughout the book and continues here.



Isa 29:1-8 ESV) Ah, Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! Add year to year; let the feasts run their round. 2 Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be moaning and lamentation, and she shall be to me like an Ariel. 3  And I will encamp against you all around, and will besiege you with towers and I will raise siegeworks against you. 4  And you will be brought low; from the earth you shall speak, and from the dust your speech will be bowed down; your voice shall come from the ground like the voice of a ghost, and from the dust your speech shall whisper.

5 But the multitude of your foreign foes shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the ruthless like passing chaff.  And in an instant, suddenly, 6  you will be visited by the Lord of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire. 7 And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, all that fight against her and her stronghold and distress her, shall be like a dream, a vision of the night. 8  As when a hungry man dreams he is eating and awakes with his hunger not satisfied, or as when a thirsty man dreams he is drinking and awakes faint, with his thirst not quenched, so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion.



• So who or what are we talking about in the first 4 verses?
• The first passage revolves around Jerusalem
• What is the prophecy for Ariel?
• The Assyrians will fulfill this
• They will not bring the walls down but they will humble Jerusalem
• God is disciplining Jerusalem for their failures during Ahaz's rule (and before)
• How is the second group of verses different from the first passage?
• Now it is a multitude of nations attacking Israel
• They will surround the city
• This is fulfilled in the tribulation period, in the last days of the tribulation before the Messiah's return
• What is similar in the two prophecies?
• Israel is being judged for her sins (the nation)


Isa 29:11-16 (ESV) And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot, for it is sealed." 12 And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot read."



13 And the Lord said: "Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, 14 therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden."

15 Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, "Who sees us? Who knows us?" 16  You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, "He did not make me"; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?



•  It does not make sense that they cannot read, therefore I think verses 11 and 12 are symbolic of a deeper problem, what is it?
• They are spiritually blind
• They cannot discern truth. For all they know, the book is sealed or not understandable
• Verses 13-14 further clarify the problem, what is it?
• They are religious but not believers in God
• They don't understand spiritual truths because the Spirit of God does not reside in their heart
• Lastly, not only are they religious, they are also secretly what?
• They are scoffers
• They don't even believe in God
• They don't believe in creation


Isa 29:22-24 (ESV) Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:


"Jacob shall no more be ashamed,
no more shall his face grow pale.
23 For when he sees his children,
 the work of my hands, in his midst,
they will sanctify my name;
 they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob
and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 And those who go astray in spirit will come to understanding,
and those who murmur will accept instruction."


• So, this certainly does not describe Israel or Judah of Isaiah's day, nor Israel today--what does it describe?
• It describes the millennial kingdom, when all Israel will be saved
• They will be no more unbelieving Jews


APPLICATION: You can be religious but that does not make you a believer in Jesus Christ. Something happens internally to a person who believes in Jesus. It completely changes him. It's not that he never doubts, but he is no longer blind, he has the capacity to see truth if he will try