Isaiah 14:24-32 Messages concerning Assyria and Philistia

by Larry Ferrell | March 9, 2018
Concerning Assyria: This short oracle provides the transition from the general treatment of worldly pomp and power, symbolized by Babylon (13:1-14:23), to the concrete and particular expressions of it in Isaiah’s own day which now follow. First in line, naturally enough is Assyria. In its size, its arrogance, and its oppressive imperialism it was the manifestation of the spirit of Babel in the eighth century BC. In one sense there is nothing new here, since the downfall of Assyria has already been treated at length in 10:5-34. But one feature of the present oracle is particularly noteworthy, namely, the tremendous emphasis that is laid here on the Lord’s sovereign purpose which nothing can annul or frustrate. The plan of the Lord has as its first objective the deliverance of His own people (v. 25), but it also concerns the whole of the world and all nations (v. 26). The destruction of Assyria will simply be one manifestation of it, as will the judgments on other nations announced in the following chapters.

Great care is needed, of course, in moving from a passage like this to the particulars of our own day. The way the rise and fall of specific nations fit into God’s sovereign purposes is not revealed to us with the clarity that it was to Isaiah. But the spirit of Babylon is certainly still with us, and if we take revelation 18 as our cue, will be until the very consummation of history. God’s purposes for His people and for the world are still advancing, and as the reflex to that, His wrath is constantly “being revealed … against all the godlessness and wickedness of men” (see Rom. 1:18). Jesus himself spoke of apparently “natural” events such as war, famine and earthquake as signs of the end (Matt. 24:4-8). So while we lack the kind of detailed knowledge that Isaiah had, we do have warrant to seeing his oracles against the nations as illustrating a general truth about history. Every collapse of a proud, immoral regime in our world too is an interim day of the Lord, in route to the final day.

Concerning Philistia: In contrast to the wise and invincible plan of the Lord are the foolhardy plans concocted by men who refuse to acknowledge the Lord. The attempt to implement one such plan clearly provided the setting for this oracle, which is precisely dated to the year King Ahaz died, 715 BC (v. 28). Assyria was still suffering internal instability following the death of Shalmaneser III in 721 BC, and rebellion was in the air in southern Palestine. Philistia was already party to an anti-Assyrian conspiracy headed by Egypt (see chapter 20), and in 715 BC there was apparently an attempt to involve the new king of Judah, Hezekiah. Isaiah was totally opposed to any participation by Judah, as his words in verse 32b make abundantly clear. The only refuge for the people of Zion was in the Lord. This was his consistent message in crisis after crisis. If God’s people looked to the nations for their salvation instead of to Him they could only come to ruin. Plans which did not spring from faith were recipes for disaster.

Hezekiah appears to have heeded Isaiah’s warning on this occasion, and just as well! It was not long before the Assyrian army moved in strength against Philistia (as predicted in v. 31), which suffered the bitter consequences of its action, as did Egypt. Judah as a non-participant in the rebellion was spared. The very colorful image in verse 29 perhaps refers specifically to the death of Shalmaneser III and the rise, in his place, of Sargon II. Whether this is so or not, the general import of the verse is clear. The weakness of Assyria around 715 BC was not the prelude to its demise, as the conspirators had fondly hoped. In fact it was just about to come to its full strength in Sargon, Sennasherib and Esarhaddon. The poor and needy of verse 30a are the hard-pressed people of Judah (see 32b). They will be kept safe if they look to the Lord. But for Philistia there is no hope at all (v. 30b).

Isaiah 14:24-32 Reflection Questions:
Applying these messages to your personal world, what is the Lord saying to you?
In your daily and major decisions are you relying on others or are you relying on the Lord?
What are you doing to continue building your personal relationship with God?
What are some current examples of the “spirit of Babylon”?

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Philippians 3:10-11 Knowing the Living Christ

by Larry Ferrell | March 23, 2018
There are many things that distinguish Christianity from other world religions, but one of the most significant distinctions is this: Christians believe that Jesus rose again from the dead after having been crucified and that he lives today to be known by those who trust Him. The Jesus who was born in Bethlehem two thousand years ago, who lived, who died, and who rose again, still lives. Consequently, to know Him personally, intimately, and experientially is the first and greatest goal of the believer’s life. This was Paul’s goal also, and Philippians 3:10-11 is a great expression of it. Paul has spoken of his initial faith in Christ. He now speaks of the goal of Christian living. Paul wanted to know Jesus. As he writes about his desire, the nature of that knowledge is plain.

In the first place, the knowledge Paul sought was experiential. We must see this aspect of his statement clearly, for without this understanding of Paul’s desire the verses themselves are meaningless. Paul wanted to know Jesus in the truest biblical sense – personally and experientially. And he wanted this to affect his day-by-day living. Consequently, having been saved wholly and solely by Christ, Paul wants to enter into the deepest possible union with Him. There is only one inexhaustible person, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. People disappoint us, but Jesus never will. It is entirely satisfying to know him.

Paul’s desire did not stop merely with the knowledge of Christ. He also wished to know his power. Here Paul speaks of experience. He states that, in addition to knowing about the resurrection, he also wants to experience its power. Paul knew that this power could overcome sin and death and that it was far more potent than Rome’s armies. The power of Jesus Christ is a great reality. Paul wanted to experience the resurrection power of Jesus Christ over sin daily as he strived to live a holy life before God.

The third thing that Paul says he wished to know of Jesus Christ was “the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings.” This does not mean that Paul wished to suffer for human sin, for only Jesus Christ could do that. He alone suffered innocently and therefore for others. Paul wished to join in Christ’s suffering in a different sense. He wished to stand with Christ in such and invisible union that when the abuses and persecution that Christ suffered also fell on him, as he knew they would, he could receive them as Jesus did. He wanted to react like Jesus, for he knew that abuse received like this would actually draw him closer to his Lord. Such sufferings will always come to the Christian. Paul speaks of Christ’s obedience in death and holds it up as a pattern for all Christian conduct. He argues that Jesus was so careful to obey his Father that he laid aside his outward mantle of glory and took to himself human form and nature, enduring all the sufferings of this world, and that he even died as a man in obedience to his Father’s will. The fellowship of Christ’s sufferings is won at a price of such radical and total obedience.

In the last phrase of this great expression of Paul’s goals Paul tells why he desires to know Christ so completely and to be like him in his death. It is that he might “attain to the resurrection from the dead.” We must not understand this to mean that Paul was afraid for his eternal security. Paul knows that God will bring him safely to heaven (see Rom. 8:38-39; Phil 1:6). Paul is not thinking in these terms; he is thinking about something else. Actually, he is saying that he wishes to be so much like Christ in the way he lived that people would think of him as a resurrected person even now, even before his death. Or to put it another way, “As I walk your streets, as I walk into you homes, as I walk into your stores, as I walk into your offices, as I mingle among the sons of men, I want to be so living for Christ, so outstanding for him that you can see that I am a living one among the dead ones.” This is God’s greatest purpose in saving you.

Philippians 3:10-11 Reflection Questions:
Do you have the desire to know Jesus intimately, to awake with Him in the morning and to live each day with Him and in His presence?
In what ways do you experience the resurrection power of Jesus Christ daily?
Are you careful to obey God completely, even at the expense of open persecution and real suffering?
Is it your desire to be so living for Christ that you will appear as a resurrected person among those who are spiritually dead?

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Isaiah 14:1-23 A Taunt for Babylon’s King

by Larry Ferrell | March 2, 2018
The word taunt is perhaps too precise and strong for the Hebrew word used here, but it does capture accurately the tone of the song which follows. It has the form of a funeral lament, but instead of expressing sorrow it communicates profound satisfaction, even delight. It celebrates, in this ironic fashion, the downfall of arrogance and oppression, represented here by the king of Babylon. It moves from the earth (vv. 4b-8) to Sheol beneath (vv. 9-11), to heaven above (vv. 12-14, momentarily down to Sheol again (v. 15), and finally back to the earth (vv. 16-21. Verses 22-23 confirm, in the form of a straight-forward judgment oracle, that what is anticipated in the song will indeed take place.

The cosmic sweep of the poem led some early interpreters, and many since them, to see here a symbolic description of the fall of Satan. But this reads too much into the text (and I think it does), it is equally misguided to reduce it to a description of the fall of a particular earthly monarch. The king of Babylon here, like Babylon itself in chapter 13, is a representative figure, the embodiment of that worldly arrogance that defies God and tramples on others in its lust for power. It is this which lies at the heart of every evil for which particular nations will be indicted in the following chapters. It also lies at the heart of all the horrendous acts of inhumanity which human beings and nations still commit against one another today. That is why the tone of this song should not cause us any embarrassment. This is no cheap gloating over the downfall of an enemy, but the satisfaction and delight which God’s people rightly feel at his final victory over evil. The same note of celebration is heard at the very end of the Bible (Rev. 18) where, again, Babylon is a cipher for all that opposes God and his purposes.

The pine trees and the cedars of Lebanon (v. 8) represents the peoples of northern Israel and Syria who were particularly exposed to aggressors from beyond the Euphrates and had suffered much at their hands. In verse 9 the shadowy remains of former rulers are pictured as greeting the fallen oppressor with astonishment in Sheol. For all his might he has proved to be no more enduring than themselves! The morning star, son of the dawn (v. 12) is probably the planet Venus, which seems to rival the sun in its early brightness but is soon eclipsed. The mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain (v. 13) is Mount Zaphon, where the Canaanite gods were reputed t meet, like the Greek gods on Mount Olympus. Isaiah boldly uses imagery from this pagan background to point to the essence of human pride: self-deification. The ultimate disgrace of the oppressor, in verses 16-21, is to be deprived of honorable burial, and to have no descendants to perpetuate his name.

Isaiah 14:1-23 Reflection Questions:
Have you ever expressed satisfaction or delight about something bad that happened to an enemy? What does Jesus say we should do?
Have we changed much since Isaiah’s day? What are some examples you see?
Could Isaiah use the same imagery in today’s world concerning the essence of human pride? What does Jesus say about our pride?

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Philippians 3:9 Your Goodness or God’s?

by Larry Ferrell | March 16, 2018
Philippians 3:9 is a summary of the Book of Romans, for it deals with the heart of salvation in one verse. The principles involved are these: First, there are two kinds of righteousness – the righteousness that comes from man and the righteousness that comes from God. Second, God cannot be satisfied with any righteousness that comes from human beings. Third, God is satisfied with His own righteousness, which He offers freely to all who believe in Jesus Christ. For those who do believe, this is the objective basis of salvation.

It’s not easy to describe the righteousness of God because it is an aspect of His character, and sin limits our knowledge of Him. Yet we know that the righteousness of God is related to the holiness of God and both are seen in the law of the Old Testament and in the ethical teachings of Jesus Christ. The law is NOT God’s righteousness; but it is an expression of it, just as a coin is an expression of the die in the mint that produced it. It’s important to emphasize that the righteousness of God that is seen in the law and in Jesus Christ is different from human righteousness. Human beings would like to think that they can attain God’s standard of righteousness merely by adding to their own, but since the two kinds of righteousness are different in nature, this is impossible. God teaches that there are two kinds of righteousness – His righteousness and human righteousness – and that the accumulation of human righteousness, no matter how diligent, will never take a person to heaven. It’s like trying to buy groceries with Monopoly money; it’s a different kind of currency than what is used in the real world. It’s the same spiritually. There are people who think they are collecting assets before God when they are only collecting human righteousness. God tells them that they must leave the play currency to deal in His goodness. Our goodness has no value in heaven. Most people will not believe that. Therefore, much of the Bible is given over to showing why human goodness will never please God. The Book of Romans is the primary example. The opening chapters of this book probe to the depths of human sin, exposing our spiritual illness and indicating why human remedies will not heal the soul.

God is looking at you heart and mine. What does He see? Does He see deeds, even religious deeds that are not backed up by the divine life within? Or does He see His own righteousness, imputed to you and beginning to work its way out into your conduct? You cannot fool God with human righteousness. If you are trusting this, He must say to you as He says to all, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one” (Rom. 3:10-12). You must turn from your goodness to God’s.

God’s verdict upon the human race includes all people – the hedonist, the moralist, the most religious person, and you, whatever you may be. It is one that declares all human righteousness unable to satisfy the righteous standards of God. You are included in that judgment, but you may not be able to feel that the things God is saying about you are true. Are you sensitive to God’s verdict? Do you feel the truth of His statements? If not, there is a spiritual disorder in your life and God must begin to operate on it before you will come to Him. Perhaps He is doing that now! You may be feeling the most acute spiritual pain because of it, but you must know that your new sensitivity is the first step in your spiritual recovery. Your recovery will take place completely as you come to God to receive a righteousness that comes from God Himself and is entirely untainted by sin. That righteousness comes by faith in Jesus Christ. You must come to God through Him.

Philippians 3:9 Reflection Questions:
Will you accept God’s verdict upon your goodness and turn to Him for the righteousness He gives you by grace?
How is God working on your spiritual illness?
In what way are trying to please God with human goodness?

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Isaiah 13:1-22 A Message about Babylon

As a relatively small nation threatened by great powers, Judah was constantly tempted to look to political and military alliances to save her. Chapters 1-12 began by focusing on Judah and ended with proclamation of the nations. This second major section (chapters 13-27) begins by focusing on the nations and ends with Judah. But the net massage is the same. Salvation is to be found in the Lord alone. While Assyria falls into the background here, it is not forgotten entirely. The nations in view in chapters 13-23 were all threatened by Assyria at one time or other, and were all actual or potential partners with Judah in anti-Assyrian alliances.

Babylon was no newcomer to the world stage. It had a history reaching right back to the tower of Babel, and was therefore a fitting symbol of that arrogant pomp and power of the world that were characteristic of the nations as a whole in their rebellion against God. Babylon had already had one great period of glory in Isaiah’s day, and it was soon to have another before its end came. But come it would; Isaiah was certain of that. The story of Babylon was, for him, the story of all nations that defy God.

This symbolic significance of Babylon becomes more and more apparent as the oracle unfolds. The historical Babylon was not in fact overthrown by the Medes in a violent bloodbath and its site left abandoned, as verses 17-22 would indicate if taken literally. It surrendered without a fight to Cyrus the Persian, who had already achieved ascendancy over the Medes. But in Isaiah’s day the Medes were the barbarians of the ancient Near East, living beyond the eastern fringe of the civilized world and always threatening to overwhelm it. The Lord’s announcement that he will stir up…the Medes (v. 17) is a declaration that he has already settled upon the destruction of Babylon and all that it represents. Isaiah is not so much describing Babylon’s eventual fall as pointing to what that will represent. The fall of Babylon merges, in this oracle, with the final, great day of the Lord, when all human arrogance will be judged in cosmic, larger-than-life terms because of the greater reality that it anticipates and points to: the eventual fall of the whole world system which stands in opposition to God.

Isaiah 13:1-22 Reflection Questions:
Where do you look to first when you are threatened by someone or something (work, school, family)?
Going with Isaiah’s definition of “Babylon,” do you see that playing out in today’s world stage?
Why would today’s “one world order” that many want, in opposition to God?

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