In Blog #1 I explained that the author is the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. I have given the date and occasion of his writing. I explained who the Biblical audience is and explained their historical cultural context. I also explained the literary context of the passage. In Blog #2 I gave a verse-by-verse commentary of Isaiah 14:3-23. In Blog #3 I gave a list of similarities between us and the Biblical audience and a list of differences between us and the Biblical audience. In Blog #4 I gave three timeless theological principles that are taught in the text. In Blog #5 I will explain how these timeless theological principles fit in with the rest of the Bible.
Can you think of any other cruel kings in the Bible? How about King Ahab who wanted Naboth the Jezreelite’s vineyard? King Ahab allowed his wife Jezebel to plot against Naboth to have him killed so that Ahab could have his vineyard.[1] Ahab desired what did not belong to him. He sulked to his wife Jezebel, because he could not rightfully have what he wanted. He knowingly allowed his wife to have a man murdered to get what he wanted.
Or in the New Testament. Herod slaughtered babies in Bethlehem, because of his pride and sinful desire.[2]
It is a common theme throughout the Old Testament that the Lord defeats the enemies of His people: “Since the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to defeat your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy; and He must not see anything indecent among you or He will turn away from you.”[3]
In the Psalm 47:1-3 and 98:1-9 God’s people rejoice over the Lord defeating their enemies. And in Psalm 126:1-3 this rejoicing spreads outward, they tell the people of the world about it.
In the New testament Satan has bound people,[4] but in the New Testament we are told that Satan is bound[5] and will ultimately be cast into the lake if fire.[6] However, the rejoicing in the New Testament is not with regard to the defeat of a wicked king, but that righteousness has come to rule.[7]
Who better to give an answer to this than Job? “He said,
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked I shall return there.”
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.”[8]
These were the words of Job when he heard the news about his children’s death. We can see how the sovereignty of God; the sin of man and death throughout all of scripture. Take a look at the following passages found in Genesis and Romans:
1. A ruler can be cruel, because of pride and sinful desire.
2. When an evil ruler is taken out of power the people and the earth rejoice.
3. The Lord alone is omnipotent and eternal; the Lord God is the sovereign of the universe and death is the great leveler of all men.
All three of these principles are timeless and true throughout the entire canon of scripture. All three together demonstrate that the Lord God is the sovereign King of the universe. That no matter what a man thinks he is, ultimately, he is just like everyone else. Therefore, we should all love our neighbors as ourselves.
Bibliography
The Cruel King
The first timeless theological principle being taught in this text is this: A ruler can be cruel, because of pride and sinful desire. Can you think of any other cruel kings in the Bible? How about King Ahab who wanted Naboth the Jezreelite’s vineyard? King Ahab allowed his wife Jezebel to plot against Naboth to have him killed so that Ahab could have his vineyard.[1] Ahab desired what did not belong to him. He sulked to his wife Jezebel, because he could not rightfully have what he wanted. He knowingly allowed his wife to have a man murdered to get what he wanted.
Or in the New Testament. Herod slaughtered babies in Bethlehem, because of his pride and sinful desire.[2]
The
People and Earth Rejoice
The second timeless theological principle being taught in this text is this: When an evil ruler is taken out of power the people and the earth rejoice. It is a common theme throughout the Old Testament that the Lord defeats the enemies of His people: “Since the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to defeat your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy; and He must not see anything indecent among you or He will turn away from you.”[3]
In the Psalm 47:1-3 and 98:1-9 God’s people rejoice over the Lord defeating their enemies. And in Psalm 126:1-3 this rejoicing spreads outward, they tell the people of the world about it.
In the New testament Satan has bound people,[4] but in the New Testament we are told that Satan is bound[5] and will ultimately be cast into the lake if fire.[6] However, the rejoicing in the New Testament is not with regard to the defeat of a wicked king, but that righteousness has come to rule.[7]
Descending to Sheol
The third timeless theological principle being taught in this text and ultimately what it is about: The Lord alone is omnipotent and eternal; the Lord God is the sovereign of the universe and death is the great leveler of all men.Who better to give an answer to this than Job? “He said,
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked I shall return there.”
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.”[8]
These were the words of Job when he heard the news about his children’s death. We can see how the sovereignty of God; the sin of man and death throughout all of scripture. Take a look at the following passages found in Genesis and Romans:
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”[9] “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”[10] “Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. The Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die."[11] The man ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.[12] “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”[13]
Conclusion
There are three timeless principles being taught in Isaiah 14:3-23:1. A ruler can be cruel, because of pride and sinful desire.
2. When an evil ruler is taken out of power the people and the earth rejoice.
3. The Lord alone is omnipotent and eternal; the Lord God is the sovereign of the universe and death is the great leveler of all men.
All three of these principles are timeless and true throughout the entire canon of scripture. All three together demonstrate that the Lord God is the sovereign King of the universe. That no matter what a man thinks he is, ultimately, he is just like everyone else. Therefore, we should all love our neighbors as ourselves.
[1] Cf. 1 Kings 21.
[2] Cf. Matthew 2:16-23.
[3] Deuteronomy 23:14, NASB.
[4] Cf. Luke 13:16.
[5] Cf. Revelation 20:2.
[6] Cf. Revelation 20:7.
[7] Cf. Revelation 12:10-12.
[8] Job 1:21, NASB.
[9] Genesis 1:1, NASB.
[10] Ibid 1:27.
[11] Ibid, 2:15-17.
[12] Ibid, 3:6.
[13] Romans 5:12, NASB.
[14] Robert L. Thomas, Ed., New American Standard Exhaustive Concordance
of the Bible Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries (Nashville: The Lockman
Foundation, 1981), 1600.
[15] Revelation 21:8
Bibliography
New American Standard Exaustive Concordance of the
Bible Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries. La Habra: The Lockman Foundation, 1981.
The Holy Bible Updated New American Standard Bible. La Habra: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
