God WILL End Arrogance-Isaiah 13:1-14:32

Isaiah, Old Testament, Sermons

“I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant” (Isa 13:11, HCSB). “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sworn this oath: ‘It will all happen as I have planned. It will be as I have decided.’” “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has spoken—who can change his plans? When his hand is raised, who can stop him?” (Isa 14:24, 27, NLT)

Recap: A Song of Trust in God (Isaiah 12). To enter salvation is an individual experience (Isa 12:2), but to enjoy salvation is communal (Isa 12:3-4).

A sad and unfortunate truism and reality of life: 1. Because of our pride, we cling to our power, our position, our prestige, our prominence (real or imagined!) and our possessions. 2. Any advancement, achievement or accomplishment that anyone makes in life becomes an opportunity for pride to gain a foothold in one’s heart.

C.S. Lewis on PRIDE (How would you know if you are proud or humble?):

  • “As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”
  • “ . . . pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense.”
  • To test how proud you are, “ask yourself, ‘How much do I dislike it when other people snub me, or refuse to take any notice of me, or shove their oar in, or patronize me, or show off.’”
  • “If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed.”
  • “Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call ‘humble’… Probably all you will think about him is that he seems a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.”

Outline of Isaiah 1-66 (John Oswalt):

  • 1-12 – Who will you trust?
  • 1-6 – The call to trust God.
  • 7-12 – God or Assyria? No trust: Ahaz refuses to trust God.
  • 13-39 – Lessons in Trust.
  • 13-23 – Don’t trust the nations.
  • 24-27 – God is the Sovereign Actor on the stage of history.
  • 28-35 – Woe to those who will not trust (wait on) God.
  • 36-39 – God or Assyria? Trust: Hezekiah trusts God (unlike Ahaz).
  • 40-55 – Grace motivates us to trust God.
  • 56-66 – Grace enables us to live in the righteousness of God.

Outline of Isaiah 13-14:

  1. God summons his troops (13:1-5): God musters an army for war (Isa 13:4b).
  2. God destroys the proud (13:6-16): God puts an end to all who are arrogant (Isa 13:11).
  3. God desolates Babylon (13:17-22): God overthrows Babylon (Isa 13:19).
  4. God restores his people (14:1-2): God has compassion on Jacob (Isa 14:1).
  5. God humiliates/humbles the proud king of Babylon (14:3-23): “How you have fallen” (Isa 14:12).
  6. God’s sovereign plan and purpose WILL prevail (14:24-27): Who can thwart God’s purpose out turn back his out-stretched hand? (Isa 14:27)
  7. God warns those who gloat (14:28-32): Do not rejoice that your enemy is struck and broken (Isa 14:29a).

God’s sovereign rule over the world. Isaiah 13-23, the next major section of Isaiah after 1-12, teach a primary and central truth (that are announced as prophecy or oracles): God’s kingdom is the world. God’s sovereignty is not something that is nebulous but actual and real. Together these chapters form a prelude to the world visions of ch. 24-27. It is also an interlude between the prediction of the Assyrian crisis in ch. 1-12 and its onset in ch. 28-39.

Focus on Babylon. Isa 13:1 begins a new section of Isaiah. Ch. 13-23 forms a unit devoted to prophecies against specific nations. The oracles in ch. 13-23 focus on the destruction of several nations (mostly foreign nations; all the nations surrounding and including Judah), and is thus set apart from ch. 1-12, which primarily addresses Judah. The judgment focuses on Babylon more than the other nations mentioned. (There are 55 verses dealing with the judgment of Babylon, but not more than 38 for any other nation.

A message for God’s people: Don’t Trust the Nations. Given that Israel’s leadership exhibited a tendency to cast their lot with the nations, it is likely that these oracles (ch. 13-23) were designed to remind Israel’s leaders that partnering with foreign powers was futile (Isa 2:22). The oracles would also encourage the remnant, those within Israel who trusted the Lord. No nation, regardless of its perceived power, can stand against God (Isa 14:24-27).

Various titles of ch.13-23 are:

  • God’s Sovereign Plan for the Nations (Gary Smith, New American Commentary, 2007).
  • The Kingdom Panorama: The Whole World in His Hands (J. Alec Motyer, 1999).
  • Lord of the Nations (Barry Webb, 1997).
  • Messages for the Nations (Derek Kidner, New Bible Commentary, 1994).
  • The Oracles Against the Nations (The Moody Bible Commentary, 2014).
  • Why Do the Nations Rage? (Ray Stedman)
  • The Supremacy of God Over the Nations (Ray Ortland, God Saves Sinner, 1995).
  • God’s Judgment on the Nations (John Oswalt, The NIV Application Commentary, 2003).
  • Don’t Trust the Nations (John Oswalt’s Isaiah lectures at the Francis Ashberry Society, 2011).

Ch. 13-23 pick up some of the themes in ch. 1-12:

  • Pride (Isa 13:11, 19; 14:11; 16:6; 23:9), just like the people of Judah (Isa 2:11-12, 17; 3:16), Israel (Isa 9:8), and the Assyrian king (Isa 10:5-14).
  • A godly remnant of people will come from these nations (Isa 11:11; 14:1-2; 17:7-8; 18:7; 19:18-25; 23:18; cf. Isa 2:1-5).

Oracles, prophesy, utterances are titles to each of the 10 main parts in ch. 13-23. Each oracle is a “burden, something carried,” a term that has the negative connotation of bearing something heavy. The word means “to carry, lift up.” All the different oracles in ch. 13-23 are related to the way God will direct the affairs of the nations in that part of the world.

Don’t trust Babylon. This prophecy is best dated sometime shortly before 701 BC, when Judah was tempted to depend on the Babylonians (Isa 39:1-7) to defeat the Assyrians. At that time Assyria was about to crush Hezekiah at Jerusalem and Babylon was a rising empire on the eastern horizon that had the potential of being able to help Hezekiah escape from Assyria’s iron grip. If this is the context for the message of ch. 13-14, Isaiah is exposing the foolishness of Hezekiah’s trust in Babylon and arguing against this political alliance. Isaiah thus affirms the approaching defeat of Babylon (Isa 13:19; 14:22; 21:1-10) and later affirms the fall of Assyria (Isa 14:25).

God determines the destiny of each nation. God’s warnings in ch. 13-14 demonstrate that it makes no sense to put one’s faith in any earthly kingdom or king (especially not Babylon), for God will determine the destiny of each nation. Although human troops fight, the spiritual reality is that God and his heavenly forces (the “Lord of hosts”) will determine the outcome of every battle. God will bring punishment on those who oppose God (Isa 13:9, 13) and on the arrogant who think they are in control (Isa 13:11, 19). Everything that happens fits together to accomplish God’s purposes on earth. There is no one or no nation that can prevent God’s plan from being accomplished (Isa 14:26-27; 10:12ff; Ac 2:23-24; 4:25-26, 27-28).

What is the purpose of Isaiah’s prophecy (oracle) against Babylon?

  1. It is senseless to fight against God’s plan by trusting a proud nation like Babylon, for God has already condemned Babylon to destruction.
  2. God has already announced his plan to have compassion on Israel, return their captives to the land, and cause many foreigners to worship Israel’s God (Isa 14:1-3; 2:2-3; 10:20-27; 11:10-16).
  3. God’s people do not need the protection of Babylon to survive an Assyrian attack, for God himself will destroy Assyria (Isa 14:24-27).

God’s people should trust God with its present problems, as Judah should trust God during their imminent crisis. What people believe about God will determine their practical walk, just as their practical walk will reveal what they really believe about God. The extent of each person’s trust in God is evident in the decisions they make and the things they do (Isa 7:9).

A major theme that epitomizes man’s rebellion against God is pride. In the time of Uzziah,

  • the people of Judah were proud (Isa 2:6-21),
  • the women walked around proudly strutting their stuff (Isa 3:16-4:1),
  • the nation of Israel was haughty (Isa 9:8-9) and
  • the Assyrian king arrogantly bragged about his greatness and power (Isa 10:5-14).

Learn from these negative examples:Do not overstep your rightful place and become proud. Isaiah’s message is that God will destroy those who are proud (Isa 13:11) and any proud king who tries to play God (Isa 14:12-14). No man–no matter how powerful–determines the future, God does. No man has any reason to exalt themselves in pride. God is the only One who should be exalted. People need to humble themselves before the mighty power of God and simply put their trust in Him.

  • “What a foolish, silly, miserable, blind, deceived poor worm am I, when pride works.” Jonathan Edward’s diary 3/2/1723.
  • “Pride is more than the first of the seven deadly sins; it is itself the essence of all sin.” John Stott.

Structure (Isaiah 1-39, New American Commentary. Gary Smith. 2007.):

  1. Destruction on the Day of the Lord (13:1-16).
  2. Preparation for battle (1-5).
  3. Superscription (1).
  4. Soldiers summoned (2-3).
  5. Soldiers arrive (4-5).
  6. The battle on the day of the Lord (6-16).
  7. People will wail (6-8).
  8. Destruction of heaven and earth (9-13).
  9. People will be hunted and killed (14-16).
  10. God will Destroy Proud Babylon (13:17-22).
  11. God will Restore Israel (14:1-2).
  12. A Taunt for the Babylonian King (14:3-23).
  13. Introduction to the lament (3-4a).
  14. Death of this oppressive king (4b-8).
  15. King’s spirit enters into Sheol (9-11).
  16. King’s fall from heaven (12-14).
  17. King’s humiliation (15-21).
  18. God’s judgment of Babylon (14:22-23).
  19. God’s Plan to Crush Assyria (14:24-27).
  20. God’s plan for Assyria (24-25).
  21. God’s plan for all nations (26-27).
  22. God’s Plan for Philistia (14:28-32).
  23. An introduction (28).
  24. A warning not to rejoice and a rationale (29-30).
  25. An encouragement to lament and a rationale (31).
  26. A call to trust God (32).

References:

  1. Isaiah Bible Study with John Oswalt – 30 one hour lectures. Delivered at the Francis Asbury Society, 2012.
  2. Smith, Gary V. Isaiah 1-39. The New American Commentary: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture. B & H Publishing Group. Noshville, TN. 2007. 143-149.
  3. Motyer, J. Alec. Isaiah. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. IVP. Downers Grove, IL, USA. 1999.
  4. Webb, Barry G. The Message of Isaiah: On Eagles’ Wings. The Bible Speaks Today. IVP. Downers Grove, IL, USA. 1997.
  5. Kidner, Derek. New Bible Commentary. IVP. Downers Grove, IL, USA. 1994.
  6. Ortlund Jr., Raymond C. Isaiah: God Saves Sinners. Preaching The Word. Crossway books. Wheaton, IL, USA. 1995. (Book. 50 audio sermons on Isaiah by Ray Ortlund.)
  7. Isaiah – Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae.
  8. Isaiah: Title of each chapter and commentary.
  9. Isaiah – Matthew Henry.
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