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Dr. Manny Arango
Hey, Bible nerds. This is Dr. Manny Arango and I'm your host for the Bible department podcast. Powered by Arma. This podcast follows a Bible reading plan we created to help you read the entire Bible in a year. You can head to the show notes or thebibledepartment.com to download our reading plan and join the journey. Let's be honest, a lot of us are still treating digital ministry like it's a backup plan from 2020. But discipleship isn't just happening on Sundays anymore. People need gospel centered connection every day of the week. And if you're stuck juggling five different platforms, one for giving, another for sermons, something else for events, it's no wonder engagement feels off. That's not ministry. That's a mess. Subsplash changes that one platform. Everything you need. Media, giving, events, messaging, your app, your website built specifically for churches. No hacks, no workarounds, just clarity and simplicity. Because every day you wait, families scroll past your sermons, new guests click away from clunky sites, and real people miss real moments with Jesus. Don't waste another summer stuck in digital survival mode. Use it to get ahead, simplify, upgrade, get back to what matters. Head to subsplash.combible-dept and schedule a free no pressure demo. And let this be the summer your church gets focused and fully equipped family. Welcome to day 196. We're gonna walk through Isaiah chapters 13, 14 and 15 today. If you have not done the reading, stop the audio, stop the video. Go do the reading. It's only three chapters. It's a fun read and it's a brand new section of the entire book of Isaiah. I'll talk about that in a little bit. If you have done the reading and everything I'm gonna say is gonna make total sense. Cause you've got context for what we're talking about now. Isaiah chapter 13 marks a fresh movement, okay? So just so that you can buckle up and be Ready, Isaiah chapter 13 all the way to Isaiah chapter 23. It will contain oracles against the nations. Oracles against the nations. In our reading today, there's gonna be four nations that are gonna get talked about. Assyria, Philistia, Moab, and Babylon. I didn't say them in order, I just kind of said them. And the reason I said them in the order I did say them in is because Assyria, Philistia and Moab make total sense. The fact that there are oracles against these three nations makes total sense. But Babylon does not make sense. Okay? Isaiah is in his prophetic bag when it comes to Babylon, because in hindsight, we know that Babylon is gonna become an enemy of Israel. But in the current timeline, Babylon is not yet an enemy of Israel. Actually, Babylon is a fellow vassal with Israel. They are just an Assyrian vassal. Okay? But they are gonna grow and they are going to actually eventually overtake the Assyrian empire. Let's get into like, like, for real, for real context. The context for this whole section is found In Isaiah, chapter 14, verse 28. Isaiah, chapter 14, verse 28 dot Amazing verse. Here's what it says. This prophecy came in the year King Ahaz died. Here we go. So we have a date. We know from history when King Ahaz died, and he died in 715 BC so the northern kingdom of Israel has already been taken by the Assyrians. That happened in 722 B.C. but the kingdom of the southern kingdom of Judah has yet to be taken by the Babylonians. That's going to happen in 586 B.C. so 715 B.C. that is the context of these oracles. Now let me tell you why Assyria, Philistia, and Moab is going to make sense. First of all, let's just handle Moab. Moab is going to be specifically prophesied against. And Moab was a massive enemy of Israel. And I want you to remember, you go all the way back to the Book of Numbers and think about Balaam, think about Balak, okay? The Moabites were really adamant about trying to destroy God's people before they could ever even get into the land of Canaan. So that whole Balaam Balak situation in the Book of Numbers where Balak hires Balaam in order to prophesy against Israel, but he can't. He can't prophesy against Israel and he ends up blessing Israel instead of cursing Israel. That'll preach right there that even the people who try to curse us end up blessing us because of the hedge of protection that God has around us. But moreover, he then says, hey, instead of trying to, you know, curse them with a prophecy, just send Moabite women and they'll have sex with Moabite women. And so the Moabites are going to get an oracle against them for trying to impede or trying to stop or trying to block what God is trying to accomplish with his people, that makes sense. Next, Philistia. The prophecy against Philistia makes total sense. This is the main enemy during the period of Judges in the early monarchy. Remember, the Philistines are not, I mean, decisively dealt with until David, till David kills a Philistine by the name of Goliath. But the Philistines are in the land even in the. When the. When Joshua invades the land. And actually, Joshua's generation should have been the one to kill all the Philistines, but they don't. Okay, so Moab makes sense. Philistia makes sense. Assyria makes total sense. They are the current main enemy of Israel. So Moab is a past enemy, Philistia is a past enemy. Assyria is the current enemy. And so these oracles make a lot of sense. God is saying that I'm going to deal with your old enemies, your current enemies. I've got your back. But what doesn't make sense is Babylon. Okay, Babylon and Israel have zero beef. In 715 B.C. no beef. Actually, Babylon is a vassal of Assyria. So what in the world's going on? So Isaiah, chapter 13, all the way to Isaiah, chapter 14, verse 23 is all about Babylon. Okay, so all the other oracles against Moab, Philistia, and Assyria, prophetic in that it's a message from Yahweh, and Isaiah is a mouthpiece for Yahweh. But in terms of predicting something or speaking outside of time, he's not doing that with the prophecies against Assyria, Moab, or Philistia, but he is doing that with the prophecy against Babylon. Now let's get into some nerdy Nuggets. Isaiah, chapter 14. So we'll just start at. At verse one. Isaiah, chapter 14. Yeah, yeah. Isaiah, chapter 14, verse three. Isaiah, chapter 14 is the sole reason that people called Satan Lucifer. Okay, right here, this is the reason. And I'm gonna make a. I think I'm gonna make a pretty strong argument that Isaiah, chapter 14 is not talking about Satan at all. Okay? But Isaiah, if you want to know, why do people refer to Satan as Lucifer? Right here, It's Isaiah, chapter 14. Okay, so let's start reading. In verse three, on the day the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and turmoil and from the harsh labor forced on you, you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon. So we're in 715 B.C. and we're talking, you know, they're not going to leave Babylon for a long time. They're not even in Babylon yet. Okay, so not only is Isaiah predicting that they are going to get taken off into Babylonian captivity, but he's then saying, and one day you're going to leave. And when you leave, I want you to take up this taunt against the king of Babylon. How the oppressor has come to an End. And what happens? The Persians and the Medes are going to destroy the Babylonians, okay? That's what we know from history, okay? The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers, which in anger struck down peoples in unceasing blows, and in fury subdued nations in relentless aggression. This is accurately describing the Babylonians, the realm of the dead. Okay, okay. Even so, this is a taunt. So the people of Israel are supposed to sing this as they leave Babylon, okay? This whole say, all the lands are at rest and at peace. They break into singing. Even the junipers and the cedars of Lebanon gloat over you and say, now that you have been laid low, no one comes to cut us down. Okay? This is the same metaphor. Cut us down. Say since. Now, since God's cut you down, you can't cut any of us down. Okay? The realm of the dead below is all astir to meet you at your coming. There's no place where Satan is going to go into the realm of the dead. There's nothing in the Bible that says that. But the king of Babylon will. The king of Babylon. The realm of the dead below is all astir to meet the king of Babylon at his coming. It rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you. All those who were leaders in the world. So contemporaries of the king of Babylon who he subdued, all those who were kings over the nations, they will all respond. So essentially, hey, bro, all the kings of the nations who you. That you conquered, yeah, they are in the realm of the dead and they can't wait to meet you. They will all respond. They will say to you, you also have become weak as we are, you have become like us. So it doesn't matter how much stuff you did while you were alive, we're all going to die. And when you die, the people who you conquered are going to be there in the realm of the dead, and they're going to welcome you and they're going to taunt you. Okay? It says this. All your pomp has been brought down to the grave along with the noise of your harps. Maggots are spread out beneath you and worms over you. Remember, this is the song that they're supposed to sing to the king of Babylon as they leave Babylon. Next, verse 12, how you have fallen from heaven. Morning star, son of the dawn. Here, verse 12 is where people start to say, well, this. Lucifer. Okay, why? Because this word morning star in Latin is Lucifer. Okay? Morning star, how you have fallen from heaven. They're going to people are going to interpret heaven literally, okay? And then morning star, son of the dawn. Okay? This is the Latinized words for Lucifer. Okay? Latin for day star, son of the dawn, or morning star. Now let's keep going. You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations. So this is still talking about the king of Babylon. Okay? But people are going to interpret this as. It's also talking about Satan. You said in your heart, I will ascend to the heavens. I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit enthrone on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds. I will make myself like the most high. But you are brought down to the realm of the dead. Satan will not be brought down to the realm of the dead. That's not true. But people are going to take the arrogance of the king of Babylon and ascribe it to Satan and say, yeah, Satan wanted to be like God and all that. What I would call folklore, biblical folklore is based on an interpretation of Isaiah, chapter 14. Okay? But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit. Those who see you stare at you. They ponder your fate. Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble? The man who made the world a wilderness, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home again? This is still talking about the king of Babylon. Okay. On and on and on and on and on. All right, so just so that you know, okay, Hasatan, the Satan is definitely a term that gets used for the serpent in Genesis chapter three. Hasatan, the Satan, definitely the title that gets used for the serpent in Genesis, chapter three. Lucifer comes from an interpretation of Isaiah, chapter 14 that equates the king of Babylon with Hasatan, with the Satan or the serpent from Genesis, chapter three. Family, the wait is over. My brand new book, Crushing Chaos is out now and available everywhere. Books are sold. Literally. Today I walked into a Barnes and Noble and I signed a bunch of copies at a physical location. So you can grab this book book at a physical Barnes and Noble or you can go to a Books a million or Amazon or anywhere books are sold and grab a copy. If you enjoy reading the Bible from an ancient perspective, if you understand that the beauty of scripture is actually knowing it in context, then you'll love this book. And if there's any chaos in your personal life, I think that reading the Bible from an ancient perspective can actually help to crush the chaos in your life. I think this book is going to be a New York Times bestseller. I really do. I think we wrote a good one. I think you should get a copy today. All right, back to the episode. I would say I'm down to hear. I've heard lots of arguments actually, as to why this is talking about Satan. I would say you it's talking about the king of Babylon. I think it's pretty clear that it's talking about the king of Babylon. I would say that, man, it's either talking about the king of Babylon and Satan, but I'm not convinced that it's talking about Satan. I'm not convinced just by reading this, and I've read this dozens of times. I think it's talking about the king of Babylon. I think all the context clues are here to say that this is talking about the king of Babylon over and over and over again. This taunt that the people of Israel are supposed to sing against the king of Babylon refers to him as a mortal man. And there's no place that would suggest that we're supposed to overlay clear things that the Bible says in other places about Satan and overlay it here with what the Bible is saying about the king of Babylon. Okay, so that's my nerdy nugget for. For today. Okay, the immediate context of the past passage doesn't allow for this to be about Satan. And I. I know we love calling Satan Lucifer. I know. And maybe you're addicted to it and you can't stop, that's fine. But the. The reason that people call Satan Lucifer is because of this interpretation of Isaiah 14. And I would challenge that interpretation. I'd say maybe not maybe, maybe, maybe it's just talking about the king of Babylon. Okay, here's a timeless truth and here's what's true. Regardless, regardless of how we interpret this, guess what's true. Arrogance and pride will always put us at opposition with God. The king of Babylon is gonna be judged because of his arrogance and his pride. The reason that people take what the Bible says here about the king of Babylon and ascribe it to Satan is because Satan is a being that is arrogant and prideful. So that tracks in the same way that God opposes Satan, who's arrogant and prideful, the same way that God opposes the king of Babylon, who is. Who was arrogant and prideful. God opposes us when we're arrogant and when we're prideful. So arrogance and pride are always going to lead to you being at odds with the Lord. We do not Attract the favor of God when we're full of pomp and arrogance and pride and hubris, man. God is attracted to humility and confidence and you knowing who you are and you adopting identity from him. So Isaiah, chapter 13, verse 11 is our timeless truth for the day. I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins, and I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless. Okay, I'll read that again. I'll read the last. The back of that verse. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless. So God opposes arrogance, haughtiness, pride, and he's attracted to humility. And the flip side of humility is confidence, real godly confidence. The confidence that comes out of knowing who you are, like who God really made you to be. Receiving identity from him that produces confidence. The confidence and arrogance are nothing alike. So God loves confidence. He loves humility. Those are a lot alike. Confidence and humility would be synonyms, but insecurity is what produces pride. And so a lot of people will confuse humility with insecurity. Then they'll confuse confidence with arrogance. But really, insecure people are very, very prideful because you think everything's about you. You think they're about your weaknesses. And then the inverse of that is thinking everything's about your strengths. So insecurity, pride, arrogance, those things go together. Those are a matrix of ideas that's a cocktail of ideas. And then on this side, humility, confidence, identity, that's another cocktail of ideas. And so God is wanting to give identity so that people can actually walk in real confidence and humility. And he opposes those who create an identity for themselves and who see themselves either higher or lower than they ought, and who are walking in insecurity and therefore pride or arrogance. So our timeless truth, whether you interpret this passage as talking about Satan or the king of Babylon or. Or Yoda, whatever you interpret, however you interpret it, here's what's true. That arrogance and pride are always gonna put you at odds with God, whereas confidence and humility are always gonna attract the favor of God. That's our timeless truth for the day. Tomorrow we got day 197. We're gonna be walking through Isaiah, chapter 16, 17, 18 and 19. We got four chapters for you tomorrow. I'm so proud of you. If you're on a streak, don't break it. I love you so much. I'll see you right here tomorrow. As we continue our trek through the Book of Isaiah. Love you guys. Peace. Thanks so much for joining us on the Bible Department podcast. You can find us online and learn more about the show@thebibledepartment.com and on Instagram at thebibledepartment. If you enjoyed this episode and want to dive deeper and into the Bible, you can get free access to our library of courses at thebibledepartment. Com. We'll see you back here tomorrow.