The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 63 Discussion

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Isa 14:28-32 None Shall Be Alone In His Appointed Times

Isa 14:28  In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.
Isa 14:29  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.
Isa 14:30  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.
Isa 14:31  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.
Isa 14:32  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.

So far in this 14th chapter of Isaiah we have learned of the Lord's judgment against Babylon and Assyria, and in this study, which will finish this 14th chapter, we will learn how the Lord is judging "Palestina". Palestina is a nation which lived among Israel and was in the promised land with Israel, just as the Canaanites were. Israel fought against and conquered most of the Canaanite nations, but the Lord used Palestina as a special thorn in Israel's side. 'Palestina' is just another way of saying the Philistines. The first two nations mentioned in this chapter are the northern nations of Assyria and Babylon, both of whom were used by the Lord to carry away and enslave His people who had turned their backs upon Him and His laws, preferring to serve the laws and gods of their neighbors.

The Lord Himself had brought the Philistines into the promised land some time before he brought Israel up out of Egypt and into the promised land under the leadership of Joshua.

Amo 9:7  Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?

The point being made here in Amos 9:7 is that God had put Israel's enemies in place before He brought them up out of Egypt. Even the Amorites had been placed in the promised land by the Lord for an appointed time:

Gen 15:16  But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

Psa 105:23 Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. [Until "the fourth generation"]

All through the period of the judges, the various Canaanite tribes and the Philistines fought against Israel. Samson married a Philistine woman and was later seduced by Delilah, a Philistine prostitute. Many years later David killed the giant, Goliath, a Philistine.

The Canaanites had occupied the promised land before the Philistines came to the promised land from Caphtor, which is believed by some commentaries to be the island of Crete and by others to be the delta area of Egypt. One thing is Biblically indisputable, the Philistines are the descendants of Ham through Mizraim, who all the commentaries agree is Egypt.

Gen 10:6  And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. 1Ch 1:11  AndMizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,

1Ch 1:11  And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,
1Ch 1:12  And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (of whom came the Philistines,) and Caphthorim.

Again, the spiritual point being made in letting us know that the Lord had placed all these nations in place until their iniquities were fulfilled, is:

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw [Greek: helkuō, drag] him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

The promised land is not the land of the "the redemption of the purchased possession". Rather, it is our lives this side of the grave where we live in marred vessels of clay and "are sealed with the holy spirit of promise, until the redemption of the purchased possession".

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

The promised land is filled with all kinds of fiery trials and wars in our heavens, with names like: Zidonians, Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites, and the ever-present Philistines, who gave their name 'Palestina' to the land of promise.

We have nothing to fear because the Lord has already overcome all of Palestina, and all we have to do is work out our own salvation because it is He who is working in us both to will, to fight and to do the fighting for us:

Php 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Php 2:14  Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

Here are the eleven sons of Canaan who, along with the Philistines, add up to twelve nations which occupied the land of promise when Israel arrived from Egypt.

1Ch 1:13  And Canaan begat Zidon his firstborn, and Heth,
1Ch 1:14  The Jebusite also, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite,
1Ch 1:15  And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
1Ch 1:16  And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite.

Their fate was revealed to Isaiah...

Isa 14:28  In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.

The death of a king appears to be the occasion the Lord uses for increased revelation of what the Lord is working in His people. The last time we saw this phrase was in Isaiah.

Isa 6:1  In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

These words mean so much more to us than they did to Isaiah and the nation of Israel of his day because we now know that it is we who must be dying daily to be growing in Christ, and we now know where Christ's throne and His temple are now located:

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

We have even been given to know where all these battles in the land of Israel take place, because we have been made to know who God's Israel is and where His kingdom is:

Who is "the Israel of God"? Here are those who make up the Lord's Israel:

Gal 6:15  Certainly, it doesn't matter whether a person is circumcised or not. Rather, what matters is being a new creation.
Gal 6:16  Peace and mercy will come to rest on all those who conform to this principle. They are the Israel of God. (ISV)

Where is this kingdom which is comprised of those who "conform to this rule"? There is but one "kingdom of God", and there is but one "Israel of God", and this is where that kingdom is now located:

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

There are many battles for the promised land and the kingdom of God, and all those battles against all the giants and Canaanites and Philestines within that kingdom are still being fought, and the outcome of those battles has already been determined, as the prophet Isaiah informs us:

Isa 14:29  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.

Palestina is our inward enemies within "the kingdom of God... within" each of us. When the Lord told Ahab of the penalty his house must pay for the death of Naboth and the seizure of Naboth's vineyard, Ahab humbled himself and fasted before the Lord. There was no real repentance at all, and Jezebel was still the queen. Ahab's house included this Philistine queen, Jezebel. So his house, along with the Philistines and the Assyrians, was one and all "the serpent's root", and could bring forth nothing but the fruit of the serpent's ways.

Nevertheless, the Lord was merciful toward Ahab and decreed that because Ahab had humbled himself, the loss of his throne would not be in his day, but in the days of Ahab's son, Jehoram.

1Ki 21:29  Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.

2Ki 3:1  Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.

1Ki 19:15  And the LORD said unto him [Elijah], Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:
1Ki 19:16  And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.
1Ki 19:17  And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.

The Lord has stretched out His arm in judgment, and His judgment will not be restrained. Even when He does show mercy, His judgment is still coming upon us and upon all of our enemies.

Those inward enemies do not willingly relinquish their dominion over us. When we are being judged, there are times of reprieve, as when the Lord caused Babylon to go to war with and absorb the kingdom of Assyria. At that time the conflict between Nineveh and Babylon gave King Ahaz a slight reprieve along with all the inhabitants of Palestina who had not yet been carried away into the bondage of Assyria or Babylon. This reprieve is really nothing but our journey through the churches of Babylon to which both Ahab and Ahaziah were already seeking and whose gods they were already serving. The first son of Ahab to inherit the throne was 'Ahaziah', and his was a very short reign, and he was succeeded by his brother, Jehoram. But just as Ahab's kingdom was to be destroyed by Jehu, and just as the house of Ahaz, king of Judah, was subjected by the king of Assyria and later completely destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar, we, too, will die daily along with all the children of Palestina who are yet in our kingdom. "None will be alone in his appointed time":

Isa 14:30  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.
Isa 14:31  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.

"Thy root" refers to "the serpent's root", of verse 29:

Isa 14:29  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.

It is "the firstborn of the poor" who will inherit the kingdom instead of either God's adulterous apostate wife or "whole Palestina". Both are to be judged and completely destroyed. The "poor" of verse 31 are the firstborn of the "poor in spirit" whom Christ has decreed will inherit the kingdom of God's Israel:

Mat 5:3  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Isaiah himself tells us the same thing as Christ says. It is "the poor" who will become the house and the place of rest for our Lord:

Isa 66:1  Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
Isa 66:2  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

Isaiah 66:1-2 is the answer to the rhetorical question in our last verse for this study:

Isa 14:32  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.

There it is again: "...the poor of His people shall trust in it." What the poor of His people trust in is the product of His judgments of which they are privileged to partake on this side of the grave.

This is that product:

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
Rev 2:28  And I will give him the morning star.

Next week, if the Lord wills, we will begin to learn who the symbols of our fiercest enemies are and what will become of those enemies:

Isa 15:1  The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence;
Isa 15:2  He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off.
Isa 15:3  In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly.
Isa 15:4  And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him.
Isa 15:5  My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction.
Isa 15:6  For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing.
Isa 15:7  Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows.
Isa 15:8  For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab; the howling thereof unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto Beerelim.
Isa 15:9  For the waters of Dimon shall be full of blood: for I will bring more upon Dimon, lions upon him that escapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land.