ISAIAH LESSON 17


     We will begin this lesson in Isaiah 14:1 "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."

     We know that God always forgives His people. There was a time of
punishment while they were captive of the Babalonians, as there was a
time of terrible trial for the modern house of Israel in World War 2.
God always establishes His people again in their promised land. There
was no limit of time on the promises God made to Abraham. God restores
their land and their freedom, not because they deserve it, but by His
grace. I have a tendency to believe the "strangers", in the verse
above, that come back to God are the believers in Christ, who had been
strangers before they received salvation through Jesus Christ their
Saviour. They, too, were saved by "grace" {unmerited favor}. Looking
to the end of the age, I believe is looking to the two sticks of
Ezekiel that come together in Christ.

     Isaiah 14:2 "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 "land of the LORD" spoken of here, is probably speaking of
the promised land or Israel. The word "take" lets us know they did not
come voluntarily.  We, also, see in this that the enemies of God's
people will serve God's people. This had a near meaning in the fact of
those who returned to Israel, but also has to do with the Lord Jesus
Christ reigning as King and all His followers ruling with Him.

     Isaiah 14:3 "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,"

     There was great oppression in the land of Babylon against God's
people. When they come back into the land, there will be a great
relief from their oppression. Peace and rest is never real, if it
comes from anyone except the Lord. In World War 2, we know the Jews
suffered greatly in the Holocaust. We know that immediately after the
war, they were given the land of Israel for their homeland. Many have
returned to their homeland, but there is very little peace there
today. There will be no real peace and rest, until the King of Peace
{Jesus Christ} returns and sets up His kingdom of peace. Then there
will be no sorrow or fear.

     Isaiah 14:4  "That thou shalt take up this proverb against the
king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden
city ceased!"

     This is speaking of physical Babylon, but is also looking
prophetically to the world Babylonian system controlled by the devil
himself.  The "king of Babylon" here is speaking prophetically of the
devil. Jesus, as King of kings and Lord of lords will bind that old
devil and make him helpless to oppress. Jesus is King of Peace.

     Isaiah 14:5 "The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, [and]
the sceptre of the rulers."

     Jesus defeated Satan on the cross. He even took the keys of hell
and death away from the devil.  Notice the fact that the staff {power}
of the wicked people has been broken. All wicked people everywhere are
under the influence of the devil, or Satan. His name in heaven was
Lucifer. The sceptre was just an outward way to show who the ruler
was. LORD is translated, here, from Jehovah. Jesus is Jehovah Saviour.

     Isaiah 14:6 "He who smote the people in wrath with a continual
stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, [and] none
hindereth."

     The key in this is the fact that it speaks of nations. The rulers
under the influence of Satan, himself, are those who smote the people.
Satan's tricks never change. He uses all who will allow him to bring
his destruction. Satan finds he is no match at all for God. God turns
on Satan and persecutes him, as he has the people.

     Isaiah 14:7 "The whole earth is at rest, [and] is quiet: they
break forth into singing."

     The "whole earth" reveals that this is not just a localized
thing. The singing is praise for the deliverance of the people from
the oppressor. Psalms 118:14 "The LORD [is] my strength and song, and
is become my salvation."

     Isaiah 14:8 "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."

     The fir tree and the cedars of Lebanon are constantly reaching
upward. They are praising God for coming against the devil.

     Isaiah 14:9 "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."

     Jesus took the keys to hell when he defeated Satan on the cross.
Satan is an inhabitant of hell. He will be chained for a thousand
years and not able to have any power on the earth at all. He will be
like those who followed him and were committed to hell. He has no
power in the face of the Lord. The kings of nations who were under his
influence, like Hitler was, have their place in hell with him. They
looked to Satan on the earth for their power. It will be no different
in hell. They will still look to him for help, but he will be rendered
helpless. This does not mean that every king of a nation is evil, it
is speaking of those under the devil's influence, {evil kings}.

     Isaiah 14:10 "All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou
also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?"

     They will look to him for power, but he has been rendered
powerless by the Lord Jesus Christ. He is defeated. The answer to
their question is yes. He is as weak as they are.

     Isaiah 14:11 "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."

     The devil, or Satan, was named Lucifer in heaven, and he was
proud and arrogant. His desire was to be God. His pomp means nothing
to the worms which will devour him in the grave. Some believe he was a
musician in heaven. I personally do not care whether he was or not. He
is a counterfeit. Everything God has done that is beautiful, the devil
tries to copy. He is so evil himself, that everything he does in the
way of a copy becomes evil, too. Beautiful, spiritual music is from
God. Satan's counterfeit, which I believe we see in much of the rock
music today, is a sickening example of what Satan does with everything
he touches.

     Isaiah 14:12 "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!"

     "Lucifer" came from a word which means having the appearance of
brightness. Lucifer is not the morning star, he is son of the morning.
He would like to be the morning star, but cannot. Revelation 22:16 "I
Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the
churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, [and] the bright
and morning star."  Lucifer wants to be as God. II Corinthians 11:14
"And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of
light."  Notice in this verse from Corinthians that, Satan is not the
Light, but made to be a light. Lucifer was cast down by God, because
he wanted to be as God. His conceit and greed for power caused him to
be cast out of heaven. He was the essence of evil, and influenced many
evil leaders to follow him. Greed and lust for power and money causes
much sin.

     Isaiah 14:13 "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:"

     He is not only speaking of Lucifer here, but all who hunger for
power and greed. The king of Babylon {literally} and Lucifer are both
intended. You could include in that all who desire to be God.  Notice
the "I will" statements. This is a statement from someone who is not
speaking of doing this through the power and might of God, but
believing that they have power to control all of this within
themselves. This is a very arrogant attitude. In the main sense, this
is Lucifer, himself. He is thinking of himself as God.
     Isaiah 14:14 "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I
will be like the most High."

     The Babylonians, and many today, want to be God. The father of
all of this evil thinking was Lucifer, himself. He was one of the
three archangels mentioned in the Bible. He was so powerful in heaven
that 1/3 of the angels followed him. He forgot that God was God, and
that he was subordinate to God. He had so much lust for power that he
wanted to be as God. Many of the evil kings were worshipped as if they
were God.  This Scripture goes further than that. This is Lucifer. The
will of man can follow the flesh, or the spirit. The will of man
pleasing his own flesh leads to hell and total destruction.

     Isaiah 14:15 "Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the
sides of the pit."

     We see that the will of man, or Lucifer, following their fleshly
desires {their own will}, brings them to total destruction and
eventually an eternity in hell.

     Isaiah 14:16 "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;"

     A king who has fallen under God's judgement is no better off than
the people he tricked into believing he had great power. They are both
in hell together. The very same thing is true of the devil, Satan, or
Lucifer. Jesus defeated him on the cross. He is a defeated foe. Resist
the devil, and he will flee from thee. Satan has no power over the
Christians. The only thing that he can do to a Christian is what God
allows him to do to teach them a lesson. The serpent in the garden of
Eden represented Satan, or Lucifer. Notice, he is at the heel of the
people. Look on him for what he really is, a defeated foe.





















                          Isaiah 17 Questions


1.  Who does verse 1 say the LORD will have mercy on?
2.  Name 2 terrible times for the Israelites that have already
    happened.
3.  Why does God restore Israel?
4.  Who does the author believe the strangers, in verse 1, are?
5.  What is "grace"?
6.  What is the "land of the LORD", probably?
7.  Who shall give them rest from their sorrow?
8.  In world war 2, the Jews suffered greatly in the _________.
9.  When will there be real peace?
10. What is verse 4 speaking of prophetically?
11. When was Satan defeated?
12. What does the staff, in verse 5, symbolize?
13. What one word is the key to verse 6?
14. Who is Satan no match for?
15. What, in verse 7, indicates this in not localized?
16. Quote Psalms chapter 118 verse 4.
17. When did Jesus take the keys to hell?
18. How long will Satan be chained?
19. Who is a good example of a ruler who Satan controlled?
20. What is the answer to the question in verse 10?
21. What was the devil, or Satan's, name in heaven?
22. What was the devil's personality like?
23. Quote Revelations chapter 2 verse 16.
24. What caused Lucifer to be thrown out of heaven?
25. Greed and lust for power cause ______.
26. Who is verse 13 speaking of?
27. Name the "I will" statements of verse 13.
28. In the main sense, verse 13 is speaking of whom?
29. What were the two terrible statements of "I will" in verse 14?
30. What was Lucifer in heaven?
31. What made him want to be as God?
32. Where does the will of man following the flesh lead to?
33. Quote Isaiah chapter 14 verse 16.