Isaiah 14:12-20

b. DEPOSED

TEXT: Isaiah 14:12-20

12

How art thou fallen from heaven, O day-star, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, that didst lay low the nations!

13

And thou saidst in thy heart, I will ascend into the heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit upon the mount of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north;

14

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.

15

Yet thou shalt be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit.

16

They that see thee shall gaze at thee, they shall consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

17

that made the world as a wilderness, and overthrew the cities thereof; that let not loose his prisoners to their home?

18

All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, every one in his own house.

19

But thou art cast forth away from thy sepulchre like an abominable branch, clothed with the slain, that are thrust through with the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a dead body trodden under foot.

20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people; the seed of evil-doers shall not be named for ever.

QUERIES

a.

What is a day-star? Who is the day-star?

b,

Why would he not be joined with them in burial ?

PARAPHRASE

O how you have fallen from the highest place, you brilliant Star! how you are cut down to the ground, you who overpowered nations! However, you said: I will climb as high as the heavens; above the stars of God I will place my throne. I will enthrone myself at the top of the mountain of the gods which is far away in the north. You said: I will climb above the clouds and make myself equal to the Most High. In truth, however, you will be thrust down to the abode of the dead, Sheol, the uttermost abyss. Everyone there will stare at you and ask, Can this be the Star who shook the earth and the kingdoms of the world? Can this be the one who devastated the earth and made it into a desolation and demolished its greatest cities and had no mercy on his enemies? All the kings of the nations like in stately glory in their graves, but your body is thrown out like a broken stick; it lies in an open grave, covered with the dead bodies of those slain in war; it lies as a carcass in the road, trampled and mangled by horses-' hoofs. You will not be entombed with the other kings in stately glory for you have destroyed your nation and slain your people. Your offspring will be known as evil because of you.

COMMENTS

Isaiah 14:12-14 KING'S BOAST: The Babylonian king, a brilliant star on the stage of human political history, had boasted (Cf. Daniel 4:28 ff). This is an occupational hazard of kings and other rulers! (Cf. Daniel 8:10). They are sorely tempted to exalt themselves into various forms of god and savior and ruler of mankind instead of servant. Herod allowed himself this luxury (Acts 12:20-23) and died an excruciating death for it. Many of the Roman Caesars arrogated to themselves the title, god. Here Isaiah is predicting the king of Babylon's exaggerated estimate of himself. Daniel writes down the actual historical fulfillment of the king's boasting some 150 years after Isaiah predicts it. Day-star in Hebrew is helel ben shachar, means literally son of morning dawn. From the highest of political heights, high as the heaven, where he had shone in glory and splendor, he has tumbled to disgrace to the lowest of the low. He boasted he would make himself equal with the highest of the gods and he would enthrone himself at the top of the mount of congregation (which is the Semitic counterpart to Mount Olympus of the Greeks and lay in the remote, mythological regions of the north).

Early church fathers and some modern expositors have referred this to the fall of Satan (Cf. Luke 10:18), but the context indicates it is to be applied primarily to the king of Babylon. There may be here a symbolical or typical allusion to the history of Satan the god of this world since ancient world rulers were sometimes considered personifications of the prince of the power of the air (Cf. our comments on Daniel, ch. 10, College Press). The word Lucifer is not in the original text. It is a Latin interpolation. Certainly the Babylonian king's pride reaches satanic proportions. And here is represented the fall of all Satan's earthly helpers who dare to resist God, and presume to sit in places of heavenly authority (Cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:2-12).

Isaiah 14:15-20 KING'S BANISHMENT: The estimate of the king of Babylonia by his long-since-dead predecessors is quite different than that of the king's own self-estimate! When Almighty God deposes the king of Babylon and gives the Babylonian empire over to another people (Cf. Jeremiah 27:5 ff) and the king of Babylon dies and goes to Sheol, the residents of Sheol scrutinize and stare at him in amazement. They reflect, So this is what the world's great braggart comes toso this is the man that made the earth to tremble and shook kingdoms? The downfall is to be to the uttermost. The one who was so glorified, so powerful, who even attempted to deify himself, has been thrust down so low. It seems almost incredible. Only Almighty God could do it! He is not only deposed, he is despised and humiliated. His carcass will lie like a vile corpse on the earth. He will be cast out upon the ground like a dead and useless branch.

Other kings may have done evil, but not like this one. In his greed and egotism he wasted his nation, both the people in wars and the resources in selfishness. He will not be buried. His body will be trampled by men and horses. For him there is to be no grave, no monument which will cause his name to be remembered. His demise will be so complete that all remembrance of the seed of evildoers will be forgotten forever,
The utter downfall and degradation of the king of Babylon reminds one of tyrants (Hitler, Mussolini, et. al.) whose opposition to God and truth and justice brought about their death and shame. Their bodies were burned and hanged in humiliating defeat.

QUIZ

1.

What is an occupational hazard of kings and rulers?

2.

Why is the king of Babylon called day-star?

3.

To whom does this text referSatan?

4.

Why is Lucifer not a good translation?

5.

Have other despots been shamed and degraded like this?