Scriptures/The Bible/The Old Testament/Isaiah/14

Isaiah 14 at churchofjesuschrist.org

1 For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.

This looks like it already happened.

2 And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.

The first part makes sense. After that, it gets confusing. I would expect Jerusalem to rule over the region, in a way, but the captivity is difficult to reconcile with anything I associate with Zion. I would posit then, that this is pre-Zion. Perhaps is answers to the current state of Palestine.

3 And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,

Normally I would say this sounds post-Zion, but compared to much of what Israel has been through, this might be now.

4 ¶ That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

Much of this text regarding the King of Babylon, which in modern days, would be the location of Iraq, fits well with the events surrounding U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and the capture of Saddam Hussein.

5 The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.

6 He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.

7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.

8 Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.

If I continue to associate this with modern times, then I'm led to suggest that the Lebanese civil war caused by PLO infiltration, ended shortly before the U.S. led invasion of Iraq. It feels like kind of a square peg in a round hole.

9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

10 All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?

11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

An interesting anecdote from Saddam Hussein's execution comes from Wikipedia: "Saddam's last words during the execution, "May God’s blessings be upon Muhammad and his household. And may God hasten their appearance and curse their enemies." Then one of the crowd repeatedly said the name of the Iraqi Shiite cleric, Moqtada Al-Sadr. Saddam later said, "Do you consider this manhood?" The crowd shouted, "go to Hell." Saddam replied, "To the hell that is Iraq!?" Again, one of the crowd asked those who shouted to keep quiet for God. Saddam Hussein started recitation of final Muslim prayers, "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and I testify that Mohammed is the Messenger of Allah." One of the crowd shouted, "The tyrant [dictator] has collapsed!" Saddam said, "May God’s blessings be upon Mohammed and his household (family)". He recited the shahada one and a half times, as while he was about to say ‘Mohammad’ on the second shahada, the trapdoor opened, cutting him off mid-sentence. The rope broke his neck, killing him immediately."

16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.

19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.

Continuing with the analysis of a connection between Saddam Hussein and this King of Babylon, it is not know where Saddam Hussein is currently buried as his body is reported to have been removed to a secret location shortly before his tomb was destroyed. The guard at his tomb reported that Saddam had been stabbed 6 times, even though the method of execution was hanging.

20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.

21 Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.

Saddam's children were also killed as a result of the U.S. led invasion of Iraq.

22 For I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the Lord.

23 I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.

24 ¶ The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:

25 That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.

Events in Assyria became interesting after the war in Iraq, with a civil war, and foreign interference greatly devastating the country. It will be interesting to watch this move forward.

26 This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.

27 For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

28 In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.

29 ¶ Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent’s root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.

After the U.S. led invasion of Iraq that led to the death of Saddam Hussein, I looked at this verse and suggested that it indicated that something terrifying would result which would torment the region of the middle east and pose a major threat to peace and security. I generally hold that this verse was fulfilled when ISIS terrorized the region.

30 And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant.

Commentators tend to identify the people living with plenty and safety, with Israel, and those living with famine, with their enemies, the Philistines. I think, in this context, the region of the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank would be most apropos, given that the Philistines were those who were vying for the same lands that Israel claimed. It may be a larger group than this. I would interpret this to mean that there will be a famine that will desolate those that vie against the Israelites, for the region of Israel.

31 Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.

Russia, perhaps, or some other foreign power, seems to be implicated in delivering the finishing blow, perhaps enabling Israel to claim their lands outright.

32 What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.