Day 197 (Isaiah 13-17) - Year 4
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Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for The Bible Recap. While Isaiah is primarily concerned with warning God's people about their sins, today he launches into the first of 15 chapters of prophetic speeches, or oracles, to a bunch of pagan nations. And we'll find out why.

He starts out with Babylon, which is one of the ruling powers of the ancient world. They're the ones who will take the people of Judah into captivity when Jerusalem falls in about 100 years. And in today's reading, God pronounces a prophetic judgment on them for the thing they haven't done yet.

God's sovereignty shows up right off the bat in this scenario. In 13.3, he refers to Babylon as my consecrated ones. As far as they are concerned, they have not consecrated themselves to Yahweh, no sir. But the point of this terminology is to show that God has consecrated them, or set them apart, for his own purposes. He has a plan to use them and their sinful ways to work out his long-term plans to bless his people.

initially through discipline, but then through restoration. Babylon will think they're doing their own thing, but they'll be fulfilling God's plan. And the fact that it's written out more than a hundred years in advance serves as evidence that the idea didn't originate with them.

Then, even though God is using their sin to accomplish his will, as he does with all sin, he still punishes it, as he does with all sin. So he tells them how they will eventually be overtaken in return for what they did to his people. This is the kind of big picture sovereignty that it's hard to wrap our minds around sometimes. It's the kind of thing that can feel threatening to our ideas of self-sovereignty, and it's okay to wrestle with that.

But what I always come back to is that ultimately, I'm really glad I'm not self-sovereign. I know my heart too well to wish that on anyone. So, bad things are about to happen first to Judah at the hands of Babylon, and then to Babylon for what they did to Judah. They'll both be destroyed. For Babylon, the end of the story is judgment and desolation. But for God's people, the end of the story is restoration and fulfillment.

The people of Babylon, which probably represents all the ruling powers of the world, will eventually attach themselves to the peoples of the restored Israel and offer themselves up as servants. That's how juxtaposed things will be from where they are now. Oh, how the tables will turn. Chapter 14 paints this story in an interesting way. Remember how prophecy can often speak two or more stories at the same time and how it can also speak truth about things that have happened in the past?

Some scholars believe that's what we're seeing here in 14, 12 through 15. What's for certain is that Isaiah is speaking about what will happen to the king of Babylon, who will lose all his power and position through arrogant attempts to exalt himself.

What's possible is that Isaiah is paralleling the king's situation to the story of a high-ranking angelic being, someone referred to as Daystar or Star of the Dawn in most translations. Some translations list it as Lucifer. That's the Latin translation of the English word for Daystar or Star of the Dawn. Either way, it's a common noun, not a proper name.

Regardless what you call him, this angelic being decided he wanted to be God instead of serve God. And that's when he was cast down from heaven. There's some possible overlap between this passage and Ezekiel 28, 11-17, which seems to point to the same idea. We'll post a link in the show notes with a bit more info on this, but it's something I hold with a really open hand.

Moving on from Babylon, we continue with oracles against four more nations today. Next up is Assyria, the ones who destroy the northern kingdom and mount a pretty severe attack against Judah too. So God is going to punish them. And as God is crushing them, the yoke and the burden they've placed on Israel will be broken, effectively freeing Israel. Then we move on to Philistia.

Isaiah reminds the Philistines that God has only promised to preserve and protect his people. So even if they happen to see a reprieve from oppression, it won't last. Isaiah says God's heart is set on his people and he'll be a refuge to them. On to Moab. Their oracle gets two whole chapters and has a distinctly different tone from the oracles for the other nations. For instance, we repeatedly see God mourning over the destruction of Moab.

This is almost certainly because the Moabites are distant relatives of the Israelites. Ruth, the Moabite, was King David's great-grandmother, and David left his parents with the king of Moab when his life was being threatened. Regardless, these distant relatives have to be judged for their sins like anyone else. It's always interesting to see God mourn over having to punish sin.

God is a real person with a real personality, and he's multifaceted just like anyone else, though his characteristics never contradict each other. The Moabites will mourn over their own destruction, shaving their heads, putting on sackcloth, and they'll seek refuge in Judah. I have to be honest, I kind of chuckled when in the midst of all their grief, we came across this verse. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir Haraseth.

Sorry, Isaiah, I'll mourn for a lot of things, but raisin cakes are not on the list. Today's final oracle is for Damascus, a city in Syria. The prophecy opens by saying it will become a heap of ruins. And even though it exists today, it was conquered at least three times over the next 400 years and destroyed at least once. But God says there will be a remnant here. Why does Damascus get a remnant when they're not part of his family?

There's something interesting going on here, and it helps if we know two things. First, that Damascus shares a border with the northern kingdom of Israel. And second, that the northern kingdom of Israel was often collectively referred to as Ephraim. You may recall that Ephraim is one of the ten tribes in the northern kingdom. In this oracle, Ephraim and Damascus are kind of blurred together. The northern kingdom has gotten so far off the path that they've effectively merged with this pagan nation.

Despite that, God has mercy on them by preserving a remnant who will turn to worship Yahweh again. My God shot came from the spots where God mourned over the destruction of Moab. In 15.5, his heart cries out for Moab. And in 16.9, he says, I will drench you with my tears. It's incredible to see his tenderheartedness toward a pagan nation that has rejected him. Most people don't expect to see compassion like this in the Old Testament.

but his character has always been the same. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit are not only consistent throughout eternity, but within themselves as well. Yesterday, today, and forever, he's where the joy is.

One of my favorite things I do every year is lead small tours to Israel. We usually go once a year, sometimes more. The trips are usually 10 days total, eight days on the ground in Israel, plus a travel day on each end, depending where you're coming from. We visit the places of Jesus' life, ministry, death, and resurrection. Where our Jewish tour guide Moshe gives us the backstory, then I take us deeper into the scriptures for short devotionals.

We also have some optional fun outings like floating in the Dead Sea and tubing on the Jordan River. We stay at great hotels, see stunning landscapes, and eat the best food in the world. But most of all, we come home with a deeper knowledge of the Word and a deeper love for the Lord. We cap the groups at around 25 people per trip, which is small enough that we can still get to know each other and have a fun group dynamic. Both men and women are welcome to join us, and we'd love to have you on one of our upcoming trips.

If you're even slightly interested, fill out the interest form on our site today and we'll send you more info to help you make a decision. It's not a commitment. Visit thebiblerecap.com and click on the Israel link or check for a link in the show notes.