The Fall of Lucifer
June 16, 2021
Commentary
In his military might this great king had laid low the nations, including Phoenicia, Philistia, Egypt, Moab, Edom, Cilicia, and much of Judah (vv. 12-15). But he would fall like a morning star. The brilliance of a star in the early dawn suddenly vanishes when the sun rises. Sennacherib, because of his great power, thought himself godlike, but now by startling contrast he would be in the grave. In the ancient Near East, kings had supreme power; many were deified by their subjects. The people taunting this tyrant pictured him ascribing godlike characteristics to himself. Ascending to heaven above the stars and being enthroned on the sacred mountain recalls the belief of several Semitic peoples that the gods lived on Mount Zaphon. By ascending the mountain above the clouds, he was seeking to make himself like God, the Most High. Yet he would be brought low to the grave. Nothing could save him from death and from decay in the grave.
People would ponder Sennacherib’s fate, finding it hard to believe he was the same one who had made everyone tremble in fear by devastating cities and taking so many people captives (vv. 16-17). In his death he was not even given a decent burial as are most kings who lie in state (v. 18). He would be cut off completely, killed by the sword and trampled underfoot (vv. 19-20). He was assassinated by his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer, who were then unable to rule in his place (they would not rise to inherit the land, (v. 21) because they had to run for their lives (II Kings 19:37). Babylon’s destruction by Assyria (vv. 22-23). Pride was Satan’s sin as well as Babylon’s. In fact he was cast out of heaven because of his pride. It is his desire to destroy God and to dominate the world. He doesn’t have a pitchfork, horns and a pointed tail but is an angel of light.
Application
Israel made the mistake of being too proud to depend on God, and I am vulnerable to that same mistake. He must increase while I decrease.
Isaiah 14:12– 23 (NET)
12 Look how you have fallen from the sky, O shining one, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O conqueror of the nations!
13 You said to yourself, ‘I will climb up to the sky. Above the stars of El I will set up my throne. I will rule on the mountain of assembly on the remote slopes of Zaphon.
14 I will climb up to the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High!’
15 But you were brought down to Sheol, to the remote slopes of the Pit.
16 Those who see you stare at you, they look at you carefully, thinking: ‘Is this the man who shook the earth, the one who made kingdoms tremble?
17 Is this the one who made the world like a wilderness, who ruined its cities, and refused to free his prisoners so they could return home?’
18 As for all the kings of the nations, all of them lie down in splendor, each in his own tomb.
19 But you have been thrown out of your grave like a shoot that is thrown away. You lie among the slain, among those who have been slashed by the sword, among those headed for the stones of the Pit, as if you were a mangled corpse.
20 You will not be buried with them, because you destroyed your land and killed your people. The offspring of the wicked will never be mentioned again.
21 Prepare to execute his sons for the sins their ancestors have committed. They must not rise up and take possession of the earth, or fill the surface of the world with cities.
22 “I will rise up against them,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “I will blot out all remembrance of Babylon and destroy all her people, including the offspring she produces,” says the Lord.
23 “I will turn her into a place that is overrun with wild animals and covered with pools of stagnant water. I will get rid of her, just as one sweeps away dirt with a broom,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.