ISAIAH 14

The fulfillment of the prophecies against Assyria happened in 701 BC when Babylon destroyed Sennacherib's army.

v. 1. Not resident aliens but proselytes.

v. 4 Several Babylonian kings have been proposed for this reference.

v. 9. Leaders are literally called he-goats. A male goat would usually be chosen to lead a flock of sheep.

Sheol is not the penal hell; it is merely the place of the dead.

v. 12. Day-star was translated as Lucifer in the Latin Vulgate. Babylonian mythology referred to Venus, which attempted to be King of the Heavens but became more feeble as the light of the sun came out (compare to Christ and his light).

Some combine this section with Ezekiel 28 describing the Prince of Tyre and apply it to the fall of Satan. Calvin labeled this interpretation as ignorant nonsense by those who ignore context. But the Prince may be a personification of godless earthly rulers or a type of Satan or the beast of Revelation.

v. 13 Mount of Assembly = Har Mo-ed, which some feel is the source of the word Armageddon, a gathering place for pagan deities. In any case, it is identified with Mount Zaphon, the equivalent of Mount Olympus for the Canaanites.

v. 14 This boast is echoed in Isaiah 47:8-10 by personified Babylon. Again, it is a reminder of the Tower of Babel.

v. 15. One of the first hints in the OT that there will be distinctions within the kingdom of the dead.

vv. 19-20 May refer to Sargon, the Assyrian leader who proclaimed himself King of Babylon in 710 BC. He was killed in battle and his body left unburied. Carrion or branch: if the latter then it is a contrast to The Branch, or Messiah.

vv. 21-22. Pun in which the sons will not rise up to possess the earth, but Yahweh will rise up against them.

vv. 24-27 may be a separate oracle against Assyria or, more likely, related to the Babylonian oracle in that the remnants of the Assyrian empire would only be completely destroyed when Babylon was destroyed. Compare God's plans (purposes, intentions) with what Assyria plans in Isaiah 10:7. Read Proverbs 19:21 for the general principle involved. Can you think of any NT examples or teachings on this subject? Relate to your own life.

vv. 28-32 These prophecies against Philistia were fulfilled in 715 BC when Assyria crushed a rebellion. The background was that Philistia had asked Israel to help her in defeating their common enemy Assyria. Why does God give them the response recorded in verse 32? Look for parallels with our situation today and Israel's at that time. What should our decision be? One possible example was the Moral Majority movement in which evangelicals joined together with Mormons, with the net effect that the Mormon Church gained credibility in many people's eyes.

v. 30. These are the poor and needy of Judah. See contrast with “your remnant I will kill.” These groups were code words for the truly pious.