Isaiah 13:1-14:23; 21; 33-35; Daniel 5
Like Assyria before it, Babylon has been the LORD’s instrument of judgment upon the nations. As we have seen before (e.g., July 4 and July 21), the LORD now turns and holds Babylon responsible for the evil Babylon committed in the process. As part of the LORD’s declaration of judgment upon the king of Babylon, He says this:
How you are fallen from heaven,
Isaiah 14:12-15
O Day Star, son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,
you who laid the nations low!
You said in your heart,
“I will ascend to heaven;
above the stars of God
I will set my throne on high;
I will sit on the mount of assembly
in the far reaches of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.”
But you are brought down to Sheol,
to the far reaches of the pit.
Given the length of our reading today, I do not want to add many more words, but I must note that at least since Tertullian (around 200 A.D.) this passage has been interpreted as pointing beyond the king of Babylon to Satan himself. (The word translated “Day Star” in the ESV is “Lucifer” in the KJV, which is just taken directly from the Latin Vulgate — the Latin “lucifer” meaning “morning star”; i.e., the planet Venus…) This is somewhat similar to the “king” of Tyre in Ezekiel 28:12-19. (See August 10.) Just as Judah could rest assured that the Babylonians would one day “get theirs”, so we can all rest assured that Satan will “get his”, too.
One more thing…
We should note that our “chronological” Bible now has us reading Isaiah, who lived over 100 years before the Fall of Jerusalem. The editors’ decision to place these readings here may (or may not!) help our understanding, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that Isaiah prophesied well before “now” in the historical timeline — and let’s recognize the bias that can creep into our interpretations when we forget that.