ISAIAH 9-18 JUDGMENT ON THE NATIONS2013 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Isaiah 9-18 Judgment On The Nations

For the rest of us, we're here in the book of Isaiah, starting in chapter 9, going through chapter 18, covering the chapters that we read this week as we go through the Bible in three years.

Isaiah is the first of what's referred to as the major prophets. These are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. And these books make up what we refer to as the major prophets because of the length of their books and the length of what they wrote about from the Lord. And then the minor prophets...

are not less significant or less important, but just smaller works that we'll be looking at as we continue on working through our way through the Old Testament.

The book of Isaiah was written by Isaiah. It's the recordings of Isaiah's words that God put upon his heart for various peoples, for various nations, and lots of great, great things that God spoke to Isaiah and through Isaiah that we'll be studying this evening and continuing on throughout this book.

He ministered from about 745 to 695 BC and ministered during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Manasseh, who were all kings of Judah, the southern kingdom, after Israel was split in two. He also prophesied alongside of Hosea and Micah, and so we'll see those guys a little bit later on.

In our timeline, as we kind of look at what was going on as Isaiah was prophesying, the chapters we're covering today take place during the reign of Ahaz. And he began to reign at about 734 BC, and then Hezekiah began to reign in 726. And so it's during that time frame, for about 10 or 12 years or so,

Isaiah is prophesying the things that we are looking at this evening. And so these are prophesied during the reign of Ahaz, which corresponds with 2 Kings chapter 16. And so if you want some of the historical context, you can check that out. Here's a quick overview look at the context or the timeline for the ministry of Isaiah.

Remember the nation of Israel at one time was united, but it was split in two after Solomon died. And so the northern kingdom kept the name Israel. The southern kingdom took the name Judah. And Isaiah prophesied as...

At the end or right around the end of the northern kingdom when it was conquered by Assyria. He was speaking primarily to Judah. But he's dealing a lot with what's happening in Israel. And what God is doing through the nation of Assyria. And so that's where we're at. We're looking at the downward spiral of the nation of Israel and the nation of Judah. As they continue to rebel against God. And the judgment that God brings upon them to bring them back and call them back.

to right relationship with him. All right, Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6 is the key verse. It says, "...for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Here in verses 1 through 7 of chapter 9, we get a glimpse of the future through this prophet Isaiah. As Isaiah announces that the government will be upon his shoulder.

The context here, where Isaiah is at when this is happening, is he's been talking about in chapter 8, the nation of Assyria, the world empire of the day. He's been proclaiming that Assyria is going to invade Israel and conquer Israel. And it's also going to invade Judah, although it won't be successful in completely conquering Judah. It will invade Judah and will take many of the strongholds

of the nation of Judah. In chapter 8, we also saw the Lord speaking to Isaiah, hey, don't get caught up worrying about conspiracies and all these things. I'm telling you, Assyria is coming. You don't have to get caught up in all of the conspiracies. Just know that there's going to be trouble and darkness and gloom in the earth.

But as he goes on now, this is really chapter 9 is the continuation of chapter 8. Now he goes on to say this gloom will not last forever. See in verse 2 he says, The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.

Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. And so he's announcing this judgment upon the nation of Israel, the northern kingdom. He's talking about the gloom that comes along with that judgment. But he's also saying God always does this. He gives a little bit of hope and reminder. This isn't the end. I still have a future for them. And the light will shine. The gloom will not last forever.

And of course we know that that light shines when Jesus Christ reigns. And so he's talking about that there in verse 6 as he says, Unto us a child is born and unto us a son is given. It's a reference to the Messiah who will rule and reign in the nation of Israel.

Now, we talked about last week the idea that a lot of prophecies in Isaiah and throughout the rest of these prophets that we'll be looking at, they have what we refer to as a dual fulfillment.

That is, sometimes there's a fulfillment that happens immediately, and then there's a fulfillment that also happens later on. Or sometimes it's partially fulfilled, and then it's ultimately fulfilled at a different point. And there's a lot of that that we can see in the scriptures. And so here's an example of that. And so that's why you see here partially fulfilled. That's something I kind of added on to our slides this evening to help us get the context of what Isaiah is talking about, what's already happened, and what's still yet to come.

So it's partially fulfilled in that the son has been born, the child is born, Jesus Christ born of the Virgin Mary, a great miracle that took place. God became flesh and dwelt among us and that part has been fulfilled. But then it goes on to say the government will be upon his shoulder. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.

Now that part of the verse is not going to be fulfilled until what we refer to as the millennium. When Jesus establishes a kingdom and actually rules and reigns physically here on the earth. And so that's going to be happening still yet in the future. So the Messiah has come. That's the first coming of Jesus. But the establishing of his kingdom will be

in the end times or in the millennium, and that's when that will be established. And then you can see that further in verse 7. He says,

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. And so it's an everlasting kingdom that Jesus will establish when he comes back, the second coming of Jesus Christ. Well then in verses 8 through 21, we see that the Lord will cut off head and tail from Israel. So the first few verses was the continuation of chapter 8. Now we're changing subjects and Isaiah is dealing with the northern kingdom. Again, the nation of Israel.

In verses 8 and 9, he refers to the nation of Israel in a variety of ways. He refers to him as Jacob. Also, he calls the name Samaria, which is the capital city of the northern kingdom. Ephraim, which is the predominant tribe of the northern kingdom, as well as he calls it Israel. All of these are references to the same place, the northern kingdom, Israel, Jacob, Samaria, Ephraim. He's dealing with them.

In verse 10, he's dealing with, and he points out their arrogance. Their arrogance was saying, we will rebuild the nation even better than before. So what if Assyria has come and taken away much of our land? So what if we've been defeated or beaten by this other nation? In their arrogance, they were declaring war.

Hey, you tore down our stronghold. We're going to build better ones. We're going to come back stronger than ever before. We're going to, you know, be able to do something greater than what we ever were. And so they're looking to themselves and still relying upon themselves in the midst of their destruction and defeat.

God tells him in verse 12 that the Syrians and the Philistines will devour Israel. They're going to continue to get weaker and weaker by these two nations that are around them. And he explains why in verse 13. He says, If you've not heard me say it, you're going to hear me say it a lot as we go through the book of Isaiah and the rest of the prophets.

Whenever God proclaims judgment, it's an invitation to repentance. Judgment is always an invitation to repentance. And so as he is declaring this judgment upon the northern kingdom, he explains why. He says, they're not turning to me. I've been bringing judgment and they're refusing to return. So I'm bringing more judgment and yet they will still not seek me. They will not repent and turn from their ways.

And so as a result of their insistent and stubborn rebellion, God says in verse 14 that he's going to cut off the head and the tail from Israel. And he explains that in verse 15. The head is the elders or the leaders of the nation and the tail is the false prophet's.

Now what was happening there in the nation of Israel as they're being attacked from these various sides and losing ground and being defeated, there was false prophets who were announcing to the people, you don't have anything to worry about. You're fine. Just relax. Keep on doing what you're doing. God's going to take care of us. And so these false prophets were not helping the people to repent, not encouraging them to repent, which is what they needed to do.

But they were encouraging the people to continue on in their rebellion against God with this false promise that everything would be okay. And so God is saying, the head and the tail, I'm going to take care of both of them with this judgment.

Now this part of the chapter has been fulfilled. The nation of Assyria came against Israel and cut off the head and the tail. The nation was conquered and left completely empty and desolate by Assyria. Well now we move on into chapter 10 verse 15 is the key verse.

He says,

Here we begin to deal with the nation of Assyria, but also the nation of Israel. In verses 1 through 4, we continue to look at Israel. As God says, "...woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees."

So still dealing with that northern kingdom of Israel and highlighting again some more problems aside from their arrogance and pride and insisting they'll rebuild even better. What was going on in verse 2 explains that they were robbing the poor. They were...

Taking advantage of the needy and the widows and the fatherless. And so the rich were taking advantage of those who were in need in the land of Israel. And that's one of the aspects that God is bringing judgment against them for. In verse 4, God says, Without me they shall bow down among the prisoners. They shall fall among the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

And so God is saying, look, without me, I'm removing myself from them and they're going to experience the humiliation and the defeat and the destruction that comes when my protection is removed as a result of their rebellion against me. And so this also has been fulfilled. It was fulfilled by Assyria in 722 BC when Assyria finally conquered Israel and left it desolate.

But then God goes on in verses 5 through 19 to announce, Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger. So here we understand Assyria, this nation, this world empire that had risen up,

God says, they are my rod. Or if you're not familiar with that term, they are my paddle. And you know, it's kind of like the old school paddle with the holes in it so you can get lots of speed. Like, that's the kind of paddle it is. You know, that they are my instrument to bring discipline and judgment to my people. That's what God is declaring here in this passage. However, he explains in verse 7, Assyria doesn't think that way.

They are God's tool, but Assyria doesn't recognize that. And Assyria decides, we want to do whatever we want to do, and we're going to conquer whoever we want to conquer. We don't have to listen to what God says, we're going to do what we want to do. In verse 11, it records the words and the thoughts of Assyria. It says, "...as I have done to Samaria and her idols, shall I not do also to Jerusalem and her idols?"

And so here's the thing that was going on. God raised up Assyria, said, I want to use you guys. You're going to bring discipline to the northern kingdom because of their rebellion against me. And Assyria said, okay, definitely, we're going to do that. And they're attacking the northern kingdom. But Assyria's heart is also affected by pride. And Assyria is also lifted up and saying, hey, we're going to do this same thing. We want to do this to Jerusalem as well, the southern kingdom.

We want to go on and attack that and take that territory as well. But the problem was that God had not given Jerusalem to Assyria. He gave Assyria, Israel, Samaria, the whole northern kingdom. He gave that to them and said, yeah, inflict my justice. Bring judgment upon them. But he had not given authority over Jerusalem to Assyria. But Assyria's pride...

leads it to try to take more than God has given to it. In verse 13, Assyria's heart is revealed. It says, by the strength of my hand, I have done it. Assyria is not recognizing God is doing this and giving us the strength to conquer the northern kingdom. No, it's my strength and I'm strong and so I'm going to do what I want to do is the idea. Now here God challenges them in verse 15.

He says, shall the axe boast itself against him who chops with it? So you lift up the axe and the axe is talking back to you and saying, you know, I'm better than you are. I'm stronger than you are. I don't need you. That doesn't work. The axe is unable to do anything. It's only value. Well, it's when someone wields it. And that's the person who has the strength and the control and the power. But Assyria, God's instrument, God's tool...

insisting that it can stand alone and do whatever it wants to do. It's not recognizing that it is just a tool in God's hand. Now this is so important for us. There's great application here. Even in the midst of all these announcings of judgment and things like that, there's some serious truth that we need to get our minds around because we

Well, in the same way, you and I are God's instruments. We're God's instruments. We don't stand apart. We don't stand on our own. We cannot exist without God. Everything that we have and everything that we are is on loan from God.

But a lot of times we get lifted up in our hearts like Assyria and we think, well, I can do whatever I want to do. And I can live however I want to live. I can go wherever I want to go. My life is all about me. And I don't need to check with God or I don't need to hear from God. I don't need God's direction. I can do what I want to do. And that's the same prideful heart condition that the nation of Assyria had.

You could apply this and consider this in various aspects of your life. If you would think about your career. Listen, whatever it is that you have as your career, whatever it is that you do in providing for yourself, it's something that God has given to you. And so you must acknowledge Him.

And you must acknowledge that God has given that to you. That it's not your intelligence that got you that position. It's not your relationships that got you that position. It's not you, but it's God who has given that to you. And so therefore, first of all, be grateful and thankful to God. Acknowledge God. Rely upon God. But then also, don't try to take more than what God has given. There's a great tendency to get...

fully involved in pursuing the career but maybe like Assyria you're trying to take the Jerusalem that hasn't been given to you be careful that you hear from God and follow his direction about your career or maybe you can consider your finances again God has given to you a specific amount he's given to you an allotment it's all from God your job is to be a good steward of it now

Don't try to take more or save more or spend more or do more with your finances than what God has given to you to do. You say, well, how in the world am I supposed to know what God wants me to do with my finances? Well, that's why we come back to Christianity is not a religion but a relationship. You need to be in contact with God. Hearing from Him and walking with Him. Relying upon Him because after all, He's God. And I'm just the instrument.

And so I need to let him direct me. I need to let him teach me and show me and do what he wants to do. The same thing can be applied to our talents and abilities or spiritual gifts that we shouldn't try to reach for what God hasn't given to us, but we should be effective and faithful in what God has given to us. We need to be diligent in that and so on and so forth. It's appropriate to us as a nation, just like the nation of Assyria.

And as a nation, we are convinced that we exist unto ourselves, that we don't really owe anything to God. We don't have to pay attention to God. And so we can make whatever laws we want to make. But as a nation, in our arrogance, God's going to have to deal with that and our rejection of him reigning over us. I like what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4, 7.

He says, what makes you different from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now, if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? Paul says, look, what makes you different than the person sitting next to you? Whatever you have was given to you by God. Now, if it was given to you by God, why do you boast as if God hadn't given it to you, but that you did it yourself? There's a great danger and pride for us.

In thinking that, in proclaiming that, our lives are the product of our great strength or intellect or what we have accomplished. No, everything that we have is from God.

Well, God announces this woe to Assyria and this was fulfilled by the nation of Babylon a little bit later on. And so we'll actually see that in the timeline in a bit. Well, the last part of this chapter, verses 20 through 34, tells us that the remnant will return to the Lord. So...

He started out speaking to Israel, the northern kingdom. Then he was talking to Assyria. Now in this latter portion, he's talking to Jerusalem, the southern kingdom, the nation of Judah. And he tells Jerusalem in verse 24 through 27, don't be afraid of Assyria. It's going to be bad. I mean, there's going to be some attacks. But in a little while, he says, the indignation or the wrath will cease and the yoke will be destroyed.

I'm going to take care of Assyria, God tells them, so you don't have to worry about Assyria.

Assyria will be defeated. So this is also fulfilled partially in that Assyria is defeated. But I put that it's fulfilled partially because although there is the remnant that survived, they do not yet trust the Lord as a nation as a whole. And that is going to be ultimately fulfilled in the millennial kingdom when Jesus rules and reigns there in Jerusalem. And so again, a lot of these prophecies are

you know, dealing with the present at that time and then also dealing with the future things that have yet to come. And we'll see that throughout. Well, here's a quick look at the nation of Assyria. The capital was Nineveh up there in the north. And you might remember Nineveh from the account of Jonah who was sent to Nineveh to announce the judgment and they repented. Well,

Well, in their rebellion now, you can see kind of from the red to the gray, they're expanding the nation, conquering all of the nations really around Jerusalem. And Samaria is there, a little bit north of Jerusalem, and they were successful in conquering Samaria and the northern kingdom. But

Jerusalem itself was not conquered by Assyria and there was a couple cities in Judah that were not conquered by Assyria and so this is what is being described here God brings Assyria it's the rod of his anger against the northern kingdom to deal with their rebellion against him

All right, chapter 11, verse 1 is the key verse. It says, There shall come forth a rod from the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. Here in verses 1 through 5, we have the rod from the stem of Jesse being introduced to us.

Now this chapter primarily is speaking about the millennial kingdom. Again, when Christ rules and reigns for a thousand years. This is one of the main subjects that Isaiah will be dealing with throughout this whole book. So we'll be referring to that a lot. Now it's partially fulfilled because, well, the rod from the stem of Jesse has come. That is, Jesus Christ was born. And he is of God.

The line of Jesse. He's a descendant of David and Jesse was David's father. And as you can see in the Gospels, Matthew and Luke, the two accounts of the genealogies of Jesus recording the account of Mary and also the account of Joseph on both sides. Although Joseph wasn't his actual father, he was his legal father. And so on both sides, he is a descendant of David. He's a rod from the stem of Jesse.

In verse 2, it tells us about the Messiah, about Jesus, that the Holy Spirit will rest upon him. In verse 4, it tells us that he will judge with righteousness. And so this is the part that has not yet been fulfilled. He has not yet established his kingdom. He's not yet ruling and reigning here upon the earth. That has not yet happened.

In verses 6 through 9, continuing to talk about this time though when Jesus will reign, it tells us that the wolf shall dwell with the lamb. And it goes through a list of different kinds of animals. The leopard will hang out with the young goat. The cow and the bear will kick it together. The child will play with the cobra. And they won't hurt each other. In other words, the whole animal kingdom is going to be changed. It's going to be different than what we know today.

Can you imagine the petting zoo in those days? I mean, there's no, you know, no holding back. You could hang out with any animal that you wanted to because as it says in verse 7, the lion shall eat straw. Now, I don't know if you know this, but today lions don't eat straw.

If you try to spend some time with the lion, the lion will eat you. And so that's going to change. This is something that's going to be dramatically different when Christ rules and reigns. So if you're ever wondering, well, has the millennium already happened? Just remember this passage because, you know, if you try any of these things, it will not work out well for you. In verse 9 it says, "...they will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain."

So when Christ rules and reigns, all nature is going to be affected and the animal kingdom will be restored to what it once was in that they will not be carnivores or devouring one another or dangerous to humans. So this is not yet fulfilled.

In verses 10 through 12, we see that the Gentiles shall seek him. We also see, you know, in this, in verse 11 and 12, God talks about the remnant of Israel that will be gathered back to the land of Israel. And although there is a nation of Israel, the fulfillment, the ultimate fulfillment of this has not yet taken place. And then in verses 13 through 16, it tells us that the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off.

Verse 13 tells us that there's going to be unity once again between Israel and Judah. So when the kingdom was split to the north and the south, that will be removed and it will be reunited as one kingdom. And so that is partially fulfilled in that, you know, Israel is not divided in two right now. But it's, you know, it's one nation. It's both Israel and Judah.

But it's not yet fulfilled because the adversaries of Judah are not yet cut off. And that's why we have all the turmoil and tension there in Israel that exists today. All right, chapter 12 now, verse 4 is the key verse. It says,

Here in verses 1 through 6, we have this praise to the Lord. Oh Lord, I will praise you is basically the summary of this chapter. Real short chapter, just recording a hymn of praise to the Lord. Now, in verse 1, it tells us it's in that day. So, we're continuing on from the previous chapter. In that time when the Messiah rules and reigns.

When Jesus is here on the earth speaking about the millennium, this is the song that the nation of Israel will sing. They'll be praising the Lord for what he has done.

Now for you and I today as believers in Jesus, we can look at this and it rings true in our hearts. There's these things that are here recorded. This praise song is accurate for us as believers, spiritually speaking. And so, you know, in that way we can sing this song. It's a praise song for us.

But this will not ultimately be fulfilled until Christ is ruling and reigning upon the earth and the nation as a whole is able to sing this song. Verse 2 says, Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid for Yah the Lord is my strength and song. He also has become my salvation. And so for you and I as believers, we can identify with this and say, Yes, I'm saved. He saved me. I can trust him.

But again, for the nation of Israel, the fulfillment of this is yet to come. Well, as we go on now into Isaiah chapter 13 and the rest of the chapters we're going to look at this evening, we're entering kind of a new section here in the book of Isaiah. Chapters 13 through 23 of Isaiah primarily focuses on the judgment upon Gentile nations.

So we've been talking a lot about Israel and Judah and God's working with them. But now we're going to kind of shift focus a little bit and focus on some of the surrounding nations and the future nations that are to come and how God is going to deal with them. He still will also deal with Israel and Judah. But again, primarily we're going to be seeing a lot of the Gentile nations or the surrounding nations. So we start now in chapter 13, verse 1.

And it says it's the burden against Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amos saw. The burden or you know this thing that God had laid upon the heart of Isaiah. The message that God had given Isaiah for Babylon or regarding Babylon is recorded here in chapter 13. And so in verses 1 through 5 it tells us that the Lord of hosts musters the army for battle.

God is getting the army ready to deal with Babylon. Now, this for me is an absolutely amazing prophecy. Because Isaiah is talking about the destruction of Babylon before Babylon is ever a world power or any kind of threat. He's talking about things well in advance. And so let me give you a quick look at the timeline here.

Again, Isaiah is prophesying these things during the reign of Ahaz. So somewhere between 734 and 726 BC, in that general time frame, Isaiah is prophesying. Now, in a few years, 722, Assyria, the world empire at that time, is going to conquer the northern kingdom. And so that's not yet happened, although Isaiah has been talking about it. And so that's pretty amazing. He's telling us the future.

But then after Assyria, well, Babylon is going to rise to power. And around 612 BC, Babylon conquers Assyria. Now notice, Isaiah dies around 695, depending on how you date it. Some people say 685, but give or take, you know, 10 years. But so 60, 70, 80 years in advance or after Isaiah's death is when what he's talking about is going to take place.

This is pretty amazing, pretty miraculous. He's talking about the nation that will come and defeat the nation that is the world power at that time. So it's pretty amazing. He's speaking well in advance of what God is going to do. The Lord of hosts musters the army for battle there in verses 1 through 5. Then in verses 6 through 10, he tells us that the day of the Lord is at hand. Look at verse 6. He says, wailed.

For the day of the Lord is at hand. It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Here as we begin looking at these other nations, we're learning and we're reminded that God does not only deal with his own people. He does not only deal with Israel. God brings judgment upon all nations.

Including world powers. Including world empires. In verse 9 it says, And so God is still dealing with sin when he's talking about other nations. He's still dealing with the sinfulness of humanity and the sinfulness of the nations.

Now, as Isaiah is talking about this destruction of Babylon that is to come, he's also kind of seeing the future judgment that will come upon the whole world. We often talk about the day of the Lord, and we understand the day of the Lord as a reference to, well, those final days when God brings judgment upon this earth.

And so Isaiah is talking about Babylon's destruction, but at the same time there's references, there's little side points that apply to and can be looked at, understanding the final judgment that will come upon the whole world during the tribulation and following that. Now this really isn't surprising, although it makes it a little bit sometimes confusing to read, like what is Isaiah talking about here?

But as Isaiah is talking about judgment, it's not surprising that it also sounds so similar to or can relate to other times where God is going to bring judgment. And so the characteristics are similar because God's dealing with the same thing with the nation of Babylon that he's going to be dealing with with the world as a whole and the world system during the tribulation period. And so

He points out here, the day of the Lord is at hand. Talking about Babylon, but also pointing us to the end results as God brings judgment upon the world. And you can see it even more clearly in verses 11 through 16 where he declares, I will punish the world for evil. God's going to deal with Babylon for their sin and their evil, but he's also going to deal with the world as a whole for its evil and for its rebellion against God.

But then in verses 17 through 22, we see that Babylon will be as Sodom. You remember Sodom and Gomorrah and how God overthrew them as a result of their rebellion against God. God says, I'm going to do the same thing to Babylon. In verse 17, again, this is an amazing prophecy because he's talking about the nation that will conquer the current world empire and

And here he talks about the nation that will conquer Babylon. In verse 17, he refers to them by name. He calls them the Medes. The Medes are going to be the ones that God uses to deal with Babylon.

Now later on in the book of Isaiah, he's actually going to call out the commander by name. His name is Cyrus. And he's going to refer specifically to the one who will conquer or lead the battle for Babylon. Again, this is amazing to me. He's naming the empire that will be cast down. I'm sorry, that will cast down the empire that doesn't yet exist. In my mind, just bear with me for a little bit, okay?

Think about Riverside County. Riverside County is a big county. It's like impressive. It's massive. Now, it would be kind of like someone coming along and Isaiah prophesying and saying, Norco is going to take over Riverside County. You're like, Norco? I mean, on their horses? It just doesn't seem like it's really going to be...

Yes, and it's going to be Norco County in the future. Like, come on, that's not going to happen. And then he goes on to say, now Eastvale is going to take over Norco County after it becomes Norco County. Eastvale is going to rise up. It's going to become powerful. And then it's going to become Eastvale County. It just, it doesn't, no, it's not going to happen, right? It's Riverside County. Of course, that's not going to change.

That would have been the thought of the day. I mean, Assyrian Empire, it's the world empire. But God says, no, Babylon's going to come and conquer Assyria and deal with their sinfulness. And then the Medes or the Medo-Persian Empire, they're going to come and deal with Babylon and conquer them for their rebellion against God. And so God is using these world empires and nations to deal with and inflict the judgment upon each other because of their rebellion against God.

I mark this as partially fulfilled because Babylon was conquered and yet there's still yet much to come as it gives these references to the future things and the things that are not yet completely fulfilled. And so we'll see that later on as we head throughout the Bible. All right, chapter 14. Uh-oh, I lost control. Hang on one second. All right, chapter 14, the key verse is verse 16.

It says, those who see you will gaze at you and consider you saying, is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms? Now, as we look at chapter 14, there's a lot of stuff going on here and we're not going to get into all of the details. There we go. I have control back. In verses 1 through 2, we see that the Lord will still choose Israel.

And so God's been announcing this judgment. He's been dealing with the nation. But he's also saying, this isn't over. I'm not done with Israel. I'm going to bring them back. I'm going to continue to work within my people. And when I do, he says, then, verses 3 through 11, they're going to say a proverb against the king of Babylon. So in verse 3, it says, you know, hey, when the Lord gives you rest, you're going to say this about Babylon.

how the oppressor has ceased. In verse 7, it tells us that the whole earth rejoices when Babylon is conquered. They're going to give a celebration, a shout. You know, the wicked witch is dead. Everybody dance and sing because Babylon has been destroyed. God even says that in verse 9, Sheol, as we talked about on Sunday, Hades, is excited about you.

And so, again, this is partially fulfilled in that Babylon was conquered, but there seems to be some ultimate things that will be fulfilled during the tribulation period and the final judgment that God will bring upon the earth. But then we kind of shift focus a little bit in verses 12 through 21 as God says, "...how you are fallen, O Lucifer."

In verse 12 it says, How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning. How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations. Now again, as God is talking about Babylon, it seems that there's multiple things that God is dealing with. As he's talking about the judgment, and then it seems there's references to the future judgment. Here as God is dealing with the king of Babylon, it seems also God is talking about

Lucifer, that is Satan, who fell from heaven. How did he fall? What was his sinfulness or his rebellion against God? Well, it records for us his pride here in these I will statements that he makes. He says, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne. I will sit on the mount of the congregation. I will ascend above the clouds and I will be like the Most High.

It's this self-exaltation which we can actually see in the kingdom of Babylon, the king of Babylon, but seems also to be pointing at and referring to Satan and his pride in rebellion against God. And so God says to both of them, verse 15, you shall be brought down. You're lifting yourself up. You're thinking of yourself so highly, but you shall be brought down.

In verse 16, I love it. It says, those who see you will gaze at you and consider you saying, is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook the kingdoms? When the king of Babylon is defeated, people are going to be like, that was it? I mean, it was just that guy? He was the one who led all of that? But when Satan is cast down, and his judgment is brought forth, people are going to be like, like that? I mean, that's the one who brought so much trouble

and evil and destruction upon, that's it. That's all he is. They're not going to be very impressed with either one is the point because they come nothing. They're nowhere near God. They're not even close. They're not impressive. In verse 22 through 23, he says, I will cut off Babylon. Then in 24 through 27, I will break the Assyrians. So he's talking about Babylon and the king of Babylon. Now he switches again. He's talking about Assyria,

The empire before Babylon. He's going to break them. He's going to conquer them. I like verse 27. It says, for the Lord of hosts has purposed and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out and who will turn it back? You can't fight against God. You can't fight against God's work and his plan. He's going to accomplish what he said he's going to accomplish. And so this has been fulfilled. Assyria was broken, conquered by the nation of Babylon.

Now with that, God gives a warning to the Philistines. In verse 28 through 32, it says, "...do not rejoice, Philistia." The Philistines were afflicted by Assyria just like Israel and Judah were. They're neighbors with Israel. And so when Assyria is broken and conquered, God says, "...don't rejoice. Don't rejoice that the rod which struck you is broken."

Because I'm not done with you, God is saying to the Philistines. In verse 30, he says, I will slay your remnant. Now, the remnant is something that's referred to often by the Lord. It's that, you know, those few who survive, those few that God will bring back.

And God promised with Israel and with Judah that there would be a remnant. With some of the other nations, he also promised them, hey, you'll have a remnant and I'll bring you back even though I bring this judgment upon you. But with Philistia or the Philistines, he says, you're not going to have a remnant. I will slay your remnant. And so we do not have any Philistines around today.

Sometimes people confuse the two and think that Palestinians are descendants of the Philistines, but that's not the truth at all. There is no Philistines today. The remnant was slain. They no longer exist. And so we see verses 28 through 32 has been fulfilled. The remnant of the Philistines has been slain.

Well, here's a quick look at the Assyrian Empire again because God says, I will break the Assyrian. Now, this is a mighty and impressive empire, the biggest that the world had seen up to this point. It would be hard to imagine if you were living in that day that Assyria would be broken, but indeed it was.

Then God warned the Philistines, right? Verse 28 through 32, to not rejoice. And so here you can see this is where the Philistines were, right alongside of Judah on the banks of the Mediterranean Sea. And so they were afflicted and attacked by Assyria, just like the others. But God says, don't rejoice because you're not going to survive this. And then here's a quick map of the Babylonian Empire.

Now this is the empire that conquers the Assyrians, which were attacking during Isaiah's day. So Nineveh is the capital there. Babylon is there south, more towards the Persian Gulf. And so the Babylonian empire extends greatly, conquers Nineveh, and then goes down and eventually conquers Jerusalem as well. And we'll see that as we go further into the book of Isaiah and then ultimately into Jeremiah.

Again, the timeline of what we're dealing with. Isaiah is prophesying during this time frame. Ahaz, Hezekiah, this is where he's at as he's telling all these things. Assyria has not yet conquered Israel, but...

Isaiah has been prophesying about it, but then he's also been prophesying that God's going to deal with Assyria. That happens again about 60, 70, 80 years after Isaiah's death. And then Babylon's destruction happens, you know, still yet further in about five something. I forget the date exactly. But so, you know, he's dealing with things that are several hundred years into the future.

All right, chapter 15, verses 1 through 9, we see that Moab is laid waste. The key verse is verse 1. The burden against Moab, because in the night, R of Moab is laid waste and destroyed. Because in the night, Kir of Moab is laid waste and destroyed.

Now remember in this segment of Isaiah, we're dealing primarily with Gentile nations, the nations surrounding Israel. And so God announces judgment upon Moab. And he mentioned some prominent cities in the nation of Moab and some prominent mountains like Nebo in the area of Moab. And he says the land is going to be laid waste.

The Lord speaks in the past tense here in chapter 15, which he often does in prophecy. It's, you know, future as Isaiah is saying it, but he speaks it in past tense because, well, it's that certain. That's what's going to happen. Moab is laid waste. Now for us looking back, of course, it's past tense. This was fulfilled. Moab was laid waste.

But as Isaiah was speaking it, he was speaking it with confidence and boldness. Not maybe this is going to happen. It wasn't speculation. With confidence he said Moab is laid waste even though it had not happened yet. Now the nation of Moab...

was on the other side of the Dead Sea from the nation of Judah. So you can see it there in the south. And that's where the descendants of Lot were. Remember Lot, Abraham's nephew. And his daughters, you know, their children became the nation of Moab. And their rebellion against God achieved them this promise of destruction in chapter 15.

All right, chapter 16, now verse 14 is the key verse. It says, but now the Lord has spoken saying, within three years, as the years of a hired man, the glory of Moab will be despised with all that great multitude and the remnant will be very small and feeble. In verses one through five, God says, let my outcast dwell with you, Moab. Now, God's still dealing with the nation of Moab. And here in verses one through five, though, we see Moab

God's saying, hey, you're going to have outcasts. But then he also tells Moab, let my outcasts dwell with you. Let them be sheltered by you.

And so I marked this as partially fulfilled. There's some discussion that could be had about this, but it's believed by many that during the tribulation period, when the Antichrist is pursuing Israel and trying to wipe out all of the Jewish people, that they will flee to the land of Moab and God is saying, protect them, take care of them.

while the Antichrist is pursuing them. And so he's talking about their destruction, but again, he's also dealing with future things. And so that part of it has not yet been fulfilled where the outcasts of Israel have been in Moab. Well, then in verses six through 11, he goes back to the more present for them. Moab shall wail for Moab.

Verse 6 says, So what's the issue with Moab? Well, again, we deal with the subject of pride. And what happens to the proud? This goes back to Isaiah chapter 2 where God made it very clear. Everything that's high and lifted up, everything that exalts itself, all of the pride, all of those who have pride, well,

they will be cast down. That's the rule. This is the guarantee. You lift yourself up, you will be cast down. That's what God promises. You puff yourself up with pride, you will be cast down. And so this is the issue with Moab. Again, they're considering their own thoughts in their own ways better than the Lord. They're rebelling against God, doing what they want to do. And so God says, I'm going to show you that you are not who you think you are.

And you need to be submitted to me. And so this was fulfilled. Moab wailed for Moab as it was conquered. In verses 12 through 14, he says, Moab will be despised within three years. So he gives a specific time frame when this takes place. And then Moab is conquered and fulfills the prophecy just as Isaiah declared it.

Chapter 17 now, verse 1 is the key verse. It says, the burden against Damascus. Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city and it will be a ruinous heap. Here in verses 1 through 3, we see this promise that Damascus will cease from being a

Now he's dealing with the nation of Israel as well because Israel is trying to have an alliance with Syria. The capital of Syria is Damascus and so Syria, Damascus, it's referring to the same nation, same people. And so this was accomplished as Assyria conquered Syria.

I know the names sound similar, but they're different nations. And so Syria was conquered by Assyria, and this was fulfilled. Now there's some who kind of object at this point and say, no, no, no, this hasn't been fulfilled because Damascus is still a city. There's still a place called Damascus. But what they've actually found is that the city of Damascus itself

Presently is not the same location as Damascus in that day. And the Damascus from that day is a ruinous heap just as Isaiah prophesied. Verses 4 through 8, he says that man will look to his maker.

As God brings this destruction, he says there's only going to be a small remnant left. He compares it in verse 5 and 6 to gathering grapes. And how when you gather grapes, sometimes there's little bits of grapes left behind. There's a few grapes that are missed. And so God says it's going to be the same way. That the judgment's going to come. There's going to be a small few that are left behind. And those few that are left behind...

They will learn to look to their maker. They're going to learn to look to God and have respect for the Holy One of Israel. They're not going to look to their idols. They're not going to look to the false things that they've been worshiping. They're not going to look to the work of their own hands any longer. They're going to look to the Lord. Judgment is always brought in order to deal with idolatry.

To prove that God alone is God. And so when we begin to trust in other things and lift up other things, God will cast those things down so that we remember to look to our maker. And that's how God is dealing with the nations. And so, well then in verses 9 through 14, we see that strong cities will be forsaken.

He tells us why this is in verse 10. Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation. Again, it's all about, judgment is all about God dealing with people in their rebellion, in their insistence on their, well, that they don't need God and that they can do what they want to do.

And so God says, as a result, I'm going to remind you of how much you need me and show you how I really am strong. I really am God. I really do reign on high. And so these are the prophecies that God brings against the nation of Syria. The capital is Damascus. And so that's the key focus there. But it's...

This is north of Israel. You'll see right here is the Sea of Galilee, which is in the northern area of Israel. And so just north of that is the nation of Syria. And God is promising that it will be destroyed. And it was conquered by Assyria not too long after. All right, our final chapter for the evening, chapter 18, verse 1. It says, "...woe to the land shadowed with buzzing wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia."

So verses 1 through 3 here we see woe to Ethiopia. Now this is also known as the land of Cush. Cush, Ethiopia, it's the same location. And what God is addressing here is this attempt by the land of Cush or the people of Cush to make a deal with Judah. They send ambassadors in verse 2 it describes. They're attempting to make an alliance with Judah and

In order to stand against Assyria. Assyria is coming. They're conquering all kinds of nations. And so the Ethiopians send a Jew and say. Hey let's stand together. Let's fight together. So that we can survive this attack from Assyria. But God pronounces woe to them. Because again. God has given Assyria authority. And is using them to bring this judgment. Well then in verses 4 through 7. He says that they will be left alone.

For the birds of prey. And so Ethiopia, as they try to stand against Assyria and try to make this alliance, and God's telling Judah, by the way, hey, don't trust in the Ethiopians. Trust in me. Let me take care of this. I'm not instructing you to join up with them. But they're insisting, hey, we don't need to repent. We don't need to do what God wants us to do. Instead, let's just join together. And if we have a strong alliance, that was kind of loud, huh?

What was that? Yeah. If we have a strong alliance, then we don't have to repent. We don't have to turn back to the Lord. And we can stand against this nation that's coming. That's the mindset and the mentality that was going on. And so God says, no, that's not going to work. You're going to be left for the birds of prey. You're going to be wiped out and slain on the fields. And the birds will eat the corpses afterwards. Now...

Again, this is not final for the Ethiopians. He's not saying the nation will never exist again because even in verse 7, we see a glimpse into the future where it says in the end that they will present something to the Lord. They'll bring offerings to the Lord in the end. And so again, glimpsing forward to the millennial kingdom when Jesus will rule and reign.

So, woe to Ethiopia and their rebellion against God as well. Now here's a quick look at Ethiopia. So, Israel in this map is up kind of up above my finger here. And where it says Canaan, that's the land of Canaan. That's where the nation of Israel is. And the land of Cush, Ethiopia was in the southern part of Egypt. And so they're kind of far away, but they were trying to unite together to deal with the Assyrian threat. Okay.

And that is chapter 18 and what we have today for Isaiah 9 through 18. What we see ultimately is God dealing with rebellion. God dealing with those who insist on doing what they want to do and not recognizing God as God and honoring him as God. And so it's a reminder for us to humble ourselves before the Lord. He'll lift us up if we humble ourselves. But if we lift ourselves up,

If we ignore him, if we insist on doing what we want to do, well, he will cast us down. There will be judgment that is brought forth just like it was for these nations. Let's pray. Lord, as we consider these chapters and these principles, I pray that you would help us to recognize those areas of pride in our hearts where we do not trust you, where we do not look to you, where we do not listen to you. Help us, God.

To see those areas of arrogance and pride in our hearts. And Lord, that we would repent of that and learn to seek you and trust you and call upon you and rely upon you for all that we need. And so Lord, help us. Draw us near to you. And I pray that you would work this in our hearts. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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