"Greetings in the Name of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for 13 February 2012"
Today's Blog Title: "The Fall of Lucifer"
Today's Scripture Reading: "Isaiah 14:1-32
Today's Key Verse: Isiah 14:12 "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!"
Verses 1-11 of Isaiah 14 is a song of triumph over Babylon. The nation that will one day send Judah into captivity will herself be severely judged by God. In spite of this displeasure with Israel, there is coming a time when He will have "mercy on Jacob" and will choose "Israel." This refers to Israel's future restoration in her "own land." "Hell" (Sheol) is the Old Testaments name for the abode of the dead, a fiery place of judgment for the unrighteous. In this "proverb" used here, the king of Babylon is viewed as being welcomed into hell by the "kings of the nations" (Gentiles), who are astonished that he has become "weak as we."
Verses 12-23 deal with the downfall of Lucifer. We as Christians have been fascinated with these verses. We see a shift from the first 11 verses a shift in focus from proud Babylon to an even more arrogant being, Satan.
Certainly reference to Satan is indirect if present, but Christ in Luke 10:18 applies language used in verse 12 to Satan. It is not at all unusual for the prophets to see in the pride of pagan rulers an arrogance which reflects satanic principles, even David and certain kings of his line reflect qualities found in Christ.
In these verses we have a unique insight into the essence of Satan's original fall. The five vaunting "I will" statements in verses 13-14 reveal a twisted passion of the creature to replace the Creator as Lord. But the arrogant effort to rise higher than God leads only to a devastating fall. Isaiah pictures the ruler cast down to the depths, a pitiful creature now and an object of wonder that any might have feared at all.
There are several lessons for us in these verses. First, pride does as the saying goes. "lead to a fall." When you put "I" on the throne of life rather than the Lord, then we too are doomed to failure and disappointment. Perhaps this kind of attitude is the ultimate source of evil, first in the universe and surely in our lives. We need to be sure to walk humbly with our God.
Second, it reminds us that Satan is a fallen, and now defeated, foe (Thank You Jesus). Satan may be mighty now, but God's power is absolute.
In verses 24-32 Isaiah ends chapter 14 when he turns his attention to the Assyrians. He promises that God will "break" the Assyrians "upon my mountains. The promise was later fulfilled during the prophet's own lifetime when the Assyrian army was struck by the Angel of the Lord (Isaiah 37:36).
In verse 28 we are told that King Ahaz dies (720 B.C.). Then the oracle against Philistia falls roughly into two cycles: (1) the annihilation of the Philistines and the preservation of God's poor and needy (verses 29 and 30). (2) the destruction of Philistine cities and the founding of Zion (verses 31 and 32). The destruction of Philistia would leave no refuge for the Philistines. The only place they could go to be saved would be Jerusalem, the city built by God. That would be the place to which the poor of all nations could come, becoming God's "people" (Psalms 87).
Click on the link at www.cindi-davis.blogspot.com for Today's Bible Verse from James 4:5-10.
Have a God Filled and Spirit Led Day. Go in Peace and Serve the Lord our God with Gladness. Love God More Today. Pray for our Brothers and Sisters in Christ who are being persecuted for their Faith and Trust in Jesus Christ. Pray also for God's Peace and Blessing be on the Nation of Israel. Always remember that when you have a spiritual dilemma in your life and you yell out, "I CAN'T," GOD Whispers to you, "BUT I CAN."
Your Sister in Christ,
Cindi
Today's Blog Title: "The Fall of Lucifer"
Today's Scripture Reading: "Isaiah 14:1-32
Today's Key Verse: Isiah 14:12 "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!"
Verses 1-11 of Isaiah 14 is a song of triumph over Babylon. The nation that will one day send Judah into captivity will herself be severely judged by God. In spite of this displeasure with Israel, there is coming a time when He will have "mercy on Jacob" and will choose "Israel." This refers to Israel's future restoration in her "own land." "Hell" (Sheol) is the Old Testaments name for the abode of the dead, a fiery place of judgment for the unrighteous. In this "proverb" used here, the king of Babylon is viewed as being welcomed into hell by the "kings of the nations" (Gentiles), who are astonished that he has become "weak as we."
Verses 12-23 deal with the downfall of Lucifer. We as Christians have been fascinated with these verses. We see a shift from the first 11 verses a shift in focus from proud Babylon to an even more arrogant being, Satan.
Certainly reference to Satan is indirect if present, but Christ in Luke 10:18 applies language used in verse 12 to Satan. It is not at all unusual for the prophets to see in the pride of pagan rulers an arrogance which reflects satanic principles, even David and certain kings of his line reflect qualities found in Christ.
In these verses we have a unique insight into the essence of Satan's original fall. The five vaunting "I will" statements in verses 13-14 reveal a twisted passion of the creature to replace the Creator as Lord. But the arrogant effort to rise higher than God leads only to a devastating fall. Isaiah pictures the ruler cast down to the depths, a pitiful creature now and an object of wonder that any might have feared at all.
There are several lessons for us in these verses. First, pride does as the saying goes. "lead to a fall." When you put "I" on the throne of life rather than the Lord, then we too are doomed to failure and disappointment. Perhaps this kind of attitude is the ultimate source of evil, first in the universe and surely in our lives. We need to be sure to walk humbly with our God.
Second, it reminds us that Satan is a fallen, and now defeated, foe (Thank You Jesus). Satan may be mighty now, but God's power is absolute.
In verses 24-32 Isaiah ends chapter 14 when he turns his attention to the Assyrians. He promises that God will "break" the Assyrians "upon my mountains. The promise was later fulfilled during the prophet's own lifetime when the Assyrian army was struck by the Angel of the Lord (Isaiah 37:36).
In verse 28 we are told that King Ahaz dies (720 B.C.). Then the oracle against Philistia falls roughly into two cycles: (1) the annihilation of the Philistines and the preservation of God's poor and needy (verses 29 and 30). (2) the destruction of Philistine cities and the founding of Zion (verses 31 and 32). The destruction of Philistia would leave no refuge for the Philistines. The only place they could go to be saved would be Jerusalem, the city built by God. That would be the place to which the poor of all nations could come, becoming God's "people" (Psalms 87).
Click on the link at www.cindi-davis.blogspot.com for Today's Bible Verse from James 4:5-10.
Have a God Filled and Spirit Led Day. Go in Peace and Serve the Lord our God with Gladness. Love God More Today. Pray for our Brothers and Sisters in Christ who are being persecuted for their Faith and Trust in Jesus Christ. Pray also for God's Peace and Blessing be on the Nation of Israel. Always remember that when you have a spiritual dilemma in your life and you yell out, "I CAN'T," GOD Whispers to you, "BUT I CAN."
Your Sister in Christ,
Cindi
No comments:
Post a Comment