Jehovah of hosts hath sworn saying, Assuredly as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, it shall stand
Chapter 14 has just described the fall of Babylon's proud king. Now the Lord of hosts swears an oath that fixes two things at once: what God has planned will happen, and He will break the enemy He names in His own land.
Here God binds Himself by an oath to what He has already planned. Writers see behind this oath a purpose that history serves and never shapes.
We should always remember that God has His own purpose before Him. He acts towards His ancient people Israel. He deals with the nations of the earth. He disciplines the saints who form the church. Behind all of it stands His purpose concerning all. God makes everything bend to this purpose. Everything is working towards it in some way, however hidden from human sight. "The LORD of hosts has sworn: As I have planned, so shall it be... This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth." This purpose was not formed because events turned out as they did in the world's history. Instead, the events that have happened serve to bring about God's purpose. His purpose is an eternal purpose.
The same settled purpose steadies believers today.
In a day when many are turning away from the truth, how blessed for us are the words, "But God's firm foundation stands." This foundation is the settled purpose of God — what was in God's mind before time began. God is working it all out through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Long ago Scripture had said, "As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand." God will certainly accomplish what He purposed for the pleasure of His heart and for the glory of Christ. Nothing will turn Him from it.
The oath goes on to name a target: not the Babylonian king just judged, but the Assyrian.
Some suppose that the king of Babylon and the Assyrian are the same person. It is a common mistake, especially among learned men. But the later statement is clearly an addition to the fall of Babylon's king, who has already been judged. Then the Assyrian follows, and the Lord deals with him swiftly in His own land.
These two powers fall here in an order that history did not follow.
This word about Assyria stands here on purpose, after the word about Babylon. It marks the order of the end. The day of Jehovah will come at the end of the age, and the fulfilment will be complete, not partial. Then the last Assyrian will fall, after the destruction of the one who finally represents "the beast," the system of power that began with Babylon. In actual history the order was the reverse, for Assyria fell long before Babylon... The Assyrian is neither Antichrist nor the beast, but the chief of the north-eastern hordes of that day, of whom the prophets have much to say.
Breaking the Assyrian is not an end in itself. The oath also carries a promise for a people under long chastening.
With the fall of the Assyrian... the Lord's chastening of His people will cease. The last foe to be judged is the one who was their earliest — the Assyrian. This is fully predicted in Isaiah 14: "I will break the Assyrian in my land, and on my mountains trample him underfoot; and his yoke shall depart from them, and his burden from their shoulder."
This oath is not only about two ancient kingdoms.
Notice that his yoke departs from the necks of Israel only when the Assyrian is broken. This cannot happen until the end, for there is still a remnant of Israel in the land of Assyria. When God regathers His people, He will recover the remnant from Assyria and from the other lands where they were scattered. Until then, the final judgment on the Assyrian waits. God tells us that this purpose has to do with the whole earth, and all nations. This is undoubtedly when Christ comes to resolve every problem in view of His kingdom.
- Sworn — God does not just predict; He swears. What He planned will be, and what He purposed will stand.
- Fixed — His purpose was not shaped by how history turned out; history bends to serve it.
- Named — The oath targets the Assyrian, a figure distinct from the king of Babylon judged earlier in the chapter.
- Ordered — Babylon falls first, the Assyrian last. That reversed order points the passage forward, to the end of the age.
- Freed — The purpose ends in a yoke lifted from shoulders, and it reaches as far as the whole earth.
to break the Assyrian in my land; and upon my mountains will I tread him under foot; and his yoke shall depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.
God swears an oath here: to break one enemy, the Assyrian, on His own ground, and to lift that enemy's yoke off Israel's shoulders. Who is this Assyrian, when does God keep the oath, and why does He crush him at home?
Assyria had two roles in Israel's story. God first used the nation to discipline Israel, then turned on the instrument itself.
God used Assyria as His rod to punish His guilty people Israel. Then, as in other cases, the rod itself had to bear God's judgement for its pride and wickedness... The indignation against Israel ends with the destruction of the Assyrian.
This passage sits at the end of a chapter about Babylon's fallen king, so readers often merge the two figures into one. Commentators call that a real mistake.
Some suppose that the king of Babylon and the Assyrian are one and the same person. It is a common mistake, and especially among learned men. But the later statement clearly adds something to the fall of Babylon's king, who has already been judged. Then comes the Assyrian, dealt with at once in Jehovah's land.
In history, Assyria fell long before Babylon rose. Here the Assyrian falls last, so writers look for a fulfilment still ahead.
The last Assyrian will fall after the destruction of the one who at the end stands for "the beast," the system of power that began with Babylon. In history it was the other way round, for Assyria fell long before Babylon. But in time the beast will be destroyed from above. Then Jehovah will tread the Assyrian under foot on His mountains, which did not literally happen in the past... The Assyrian is neither Antichrist nor the beast. He is the chief of the north-eastern armies of that day, and the prophets say much about him.
The place of the judgment matters. God calls the land His own, and His rights reach further than one battlefield.
He will trample down the Assyrian in His land, because He owns Israel for His people. God will assert all His rights over the earth in the person of Christ.
Those same hills had watched Israel lose. Now the ground of past defeat becomes the ground where the invader falls.
Until now Jerusalem had been prey for the nations, and the phrase "the mountains of prey" points to her. These mountains had often watched Israel be defeated. On them Israel's enemies will become the prey when God shines out in His glory.
The second half of the verse is rescue. God's anger with His people does not fade away slowly; it ends at one event.
When at last the Assyrian lifts up his hand, Jehovah steps in and strikes him. Jehovah's indignation and His anger against Israel had never been turned away until then. Both will end when God destroys this rod that lifted itself up against the Lord who used it... Sennacherib was a picture of this.
Israel's discipline began with Assyria, and writers point out where it ends.
With the fall of the Assyrian... put down in that day by the Son of Man, the Lord's chastening of His people will cease. The last foe to be judged is the one who was their earliest — the Assyrian.
God announced this long before He kept it. Writers say that is the point of studying prophecy at all.
Our study of prophecy should impress our hearts with the greatness and majesty of God. He has the sovereign right to form His own purposes and the absolute power to carry them out. So He can announce the end from the beginning thousands of years in advance, with complete certainty, down to the smallest detail.
- Rod: God used Assyria to strike His people. Then He judged the rod itself for its pride.
- Rod broken: The Assyrian is not the king of Babylon. His fall is a separate blow, and it comes after Babylon's king is judged.
- Rod broken last: In history Assyria fell first. In prophecy he falls after the beast, so writers look beyond Sennacherib for the full fulfilment.
- Broken at home: God breaks him "in My land," on "My mountains," because He still owns the land and the people. The scene of old defeats becomes the scene of rescue.
- Broken for good: When the yoke lifts, God's long anger with Israel ends. The first enemy is the last one judged, and no hand can turn back the oath behind it.