In the year of the death of king Ahaz was this burden
This one line dates a new message by a king's funeral, at the end of a chapter about Babylon and Assyria. Two questions follow: who is the message aimed at, and why does God date it this way?
A fresh message starts here, and the chapter break hides it. One writer argues that the paragraph marks in our Bibles fall in the wrong place:
The division of chapters is unfortunate here. Isaiah 14:24-27 has a distinct place of its own. It marks the future judgment of the Assyrian in relation to the "burden" of Babylon, and that judgment is to be the reverse of history. The last five verses of the chapter also form a sub-section to themselves, though the whole appears to be connected. What adds to the confusion is the new paragraph mark at Isaiah 14:29. Isaiah 14:28 really belongs to the new "burden" — not to Babylon or to the Assyrian, but to God's judgment on the Philistines.
Older translations say "burden" where the ESV says "oracle." A Bible dictionary explains the Hebrew word:
Besides the common use of this word, it occurs at the start of several prophecies, such as "The burden of Babylon," "the burden of Moab" (Isaiah 13:1; Isaiah 15:1). Scholars do not agree on the force of massa in such places. Its natural meaning would be "a judgment that lies heavy on the people." But some take it to mean "an oracle or sentence pronounced against them."
Isaiah dates two of his prophecies by the death of a king:
"The year that king Uzziah died" looked very different from "the year that king Ahaz died" (Isaiah 14:28). In the first year came the vision that showed the prophet how unclean all of God's people were. In the second year came a burden on the enemy that harassed their south-western flank.
Ahaz had Isaiah preaching in his own capital and stayed untouched by it:
He appears to have been little influenced by the faithful ministry of the evangelist-prophet. His admiration of the Damascus altar suggests a man of artistic taste, as even the most ungodly of men may be. His bringing the Chaldean sun-dial into Jerusalem suggests an interest in the sciences too. He does not seem to have been a persecutor either. Unlike his grandson Manasseh, he did not shed innocent blood or put the prophets to death. He had much that people admire and make much of today. But all this, without godliness, is of no worth at all.
Judah had been beaten down under Ahaz, and the old enemy expected the pressure to end:
Now not only Uzziah but Ahaz was gone. "The rod that struck" the land of the Philistines was "broken." The enemy had learnt to despise Judah in the days of unworthy Ahaz. "For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had made Judah act sinfully and had been very unfaithful to the LORD." Who was his son, that they should fear him?
The answer came in the reign of the son they had written off:
So, having set the spiritual matters of the kingdom in order, Hezekiah turned to the more material things in his realm. "He struck down the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city." This fulfilled what Isaiah had spoken in the year that king Ahaz died. His words were: "Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, because the rod that struck you [Uzziah] is broken [in Ahaz's death]."
The passage reaches past Hezekiah's day:
Whatever the historical foretaste may have been in the past, commentators, as usual, differ widely. Some understand Jewish rulers, others successive kings of Assyria, and the slain Sargon followed by Sennacherib. The true aim is this: Christ will completely destroy Israel's old internal enemy, in line with the final judgment of Babylon and Assyria. This brings out the LORD's founding of Zion in that glorious day, where the afflicted of His people take refuge. Zion is the divine contrast to Babylon, Philistia, or any other Gentile boast.
Another writer names the target and traces the line to its end:
Verses 28-32 give the judgment of the Philistines, what was left of the Canaanites. Hezekiah worked for their submission. The Lord Jesus will finish it by a more terrible destruction when He establishes His throne in Zion. When Babylon, the Assyrian, and the Philistines fall at last, the poor and needy remnant will lie down in safety, and Zion will be their stronghold.
- Burden — the word that opens this message means a judgment that lies heavy on the people. The ESV calls it an "oracle."
- Date — God speaks in the year Ahaz died. A king's funeral dates an enemy's sentence.
- Ahaz — he had taste, curiosity and restraint. Without godliness, none of it counted.
- Target — the verse opens a new burden aimed at Philistia, not a postscript to Babylon or Assyria.
- Outcome — Hezekiah struck Philistia as far as Gaza. Christ will finish the work, and Zion will shelter the afflicted.
Rejoice not thou, Philistia, all of thee, because the rod that smote thee is broken; for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a viper, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
Isaiah 14 closes with a short message for Philistia, one of Israel's neighbours. It is not aimed at Babylon or Assyria, and it opens by telling Philistia to stop celebrating. The warning turns on a strange image: a broken rod, and out of a serpent's root something worse than the serpent.
This verse carries its own message, and the chapter breaks hide that. One writer notes that the paragraph mark sits in the wrong place:
The last five verses of the chapter form a section of their own, though the whole appears to be connected... What adds to the confusion is putting the mark for a new paragraph at Isaiah 14:29. In fact Isaiah 14:28 belongs to the new "burden" — not to Babylon or to the Assyrian, but to God's judgement on the Philistines.
The Philistines held little land, but they left a long mark on Israel:
These people only had a very small strip of the land of Canaan, yet it has taken its name from them, for Palestine means the land of the Philistines. Scripture only gives it this name when judgment on it is foretold: Exodus 15:14; Isaiah 14:29, 31; Joel 3:4... They were Israel's most persistent foes throughout their history in the land. There is more about them in the Old Testament than any other nation but Israel.
The "rod" that had struck Philistia was a king of Judah — Uzziah. His death, and then the death of the unworthy king Ahaz, looked to the Philistines like the end of the threat.
Now not only Uzziah but Ahaz were gone, and "the rod that struck" the land of the Philistines was "broken." The enemy had learned to despise Judah in the days of unworthy Ahaz... Who was his son, that they should fear him? But let them not rejoice: "from the serpent's root will come forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent."
The verse names three creatures in a row. Is the last one a real animal?
Isaiah 14:29 and Isaiah 30:6 speak of "fiery flying serpents." No known species of serpent flies. The reference may be to those that dart short distances from tree to tree. But in both passages the language is figurative.
The middle creature, which the ESV calls an "adder," has a name with its own story:
Which reptile is meant is not known for certain. The Hebrew words (tsepha, used in Isaiah 14:29 only) and tsiphoni come from a word meaning "to hiss." The passages where they occur point to how dangerous it is. Its deadly sting will be changed in the millennium, when a little child will put its hand on its den.
The royal line the Philistines despised produced Hezekiah. His reign matches what Isaiah said:
Having put the spiritual matters of the kingdom in order, Hezekiah turned to the practical matters of his realm. "He struck down the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city" (2 Kings 18:8). This fulfilled what the prophet Isaiah spoke in the year that King Ahaz died: "Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod that struck you [Uzziah] is broken [in Ahaz' death], for from the serpent's root [as they regarded him] will come forth an adder [Hezekiah]."
Did Hezekiah's victory settle the matter? One writer says no:
Is there any reason at all to suppose that this "burden" is an exception to the rest? The strength of the language especially points to a mightier destruction than the one that godly king of Judah brought about. So its proper fulfilment awaits the latter day.
Another writer traces the same line and names who finishes it:
Verses 28-32 give the judgment of the Philistines, who remain from the Canaanites. Hezekiah worked to bring them into submission. The Lord Jesus will finish it with a more terrible destruction when He sets up His throne in Zion. When Babylon, the Assyrian and the Philistines are finally put down, the poor and needy remnant will lie down in safety, and Zion will be their stronghold.
Why does a small nation get a message of its own?
It is instructive to see that in the coming day Jehovah will deal with smaller powers as well as the greatest, according to how they behaved toward Israel... It is useless to argue that they are now unknown, or to assume that they have died out.
- Rod — Philistia celebrated a broken rod: the kings of Judah who struck them were dead. The celebration was premature.
- Root — from that same broken royal line came something more dangerous. It came first in Hezekiah, who struck them as far as Gaza.
- Reach — the language is too strong for Hezekiah alone. Commentators say it looks on to a final judgment by the Lord Jesus.
- Scale — the God who judges Babylon and Assyria also singles out a small neighbour. Being minor or forgotten is no shelter.
- Refuge — when Babylon, Assyria and Philistia are finally put down, the poor and needy lie down in safety, and Zion is their stronghold.
And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety; but I will kill thy root with famine, and thy remnant shall be slain.
This verse sits inside a short message aimed at Philistia, Israel's old neighbour on the coast (Isaiah 14:28–32). One sentence holds two opposite futures: food and rest for the poor of God's people, famine and death for Philistia. Who are the poor who receive that promise, and when does it come true?
Isaiah dates this message by a death. Philistia had suffered under earlier kings of Judah, and the passing of Ahaz looked like the moment their trouble ended. One writer names the people behind the picture language of verse 29:
The Philistines had good reason to fear the kings of Judah. So Isaiah wrote a special prophecy for them at this time, telling them not to rejoice at king Ahaz' death: "In the year that King Ahaz died came this oracle." … "Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod that struck you [Uzziah] is broken [at Ahaz' death], for from the serpent's root [as they regarded him] will come forth an adder [Hezekiah], and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent."
Hezekiah did strike the Philistines. But the words of verse 30 reach past anything he did. That is why commentators look beyond his day.
The strength of the language points to a mightier destruction than the one that godly king of Judah inflicted. Its proper fulfilment therefore awaits the latter day. Then the twofold working of divine power will appear in full. On the one hand, "the firstborn of the poor will graze, and the needy lie down in safety." On the other, Jehovah will not only break the rod. He will kill the root of Philistia with famine and slay its remnant.
The promise is not addressed to Philistia at all. It belongs to the weakest of God's own people. It arrives only after the powers that troubled them fall, one by one.
Verses 28–32 give the judgment of the Philistines, who are what is left of the Canaanites. Hezekiah worked for their submission. The Lord Jesus will finish it by a more terrible destruction when He establishes His throne in Zion. Once Babylon, the Assyrian, and the Philistines have finally fallen, the poor and needy remnant will lie down in safety, and Zion will be their stronghold.
Almost the same picture appears in Zephaniah: feeding and lying down with nothing to fear. One writer names the two changes that make it possible.
"[Those who are left in Israel] shall do no injustice and speak no lies, nor shall there be found in their mouth a deceitful tongue. For they shall graze and lie down, and none shall make them afraid." All the old reason for outward fear will be gone. Even before that, the grace of God will have worked a moral change within them. Outward things can never form the heart in any case.
Verse 29 spoke of a serpent's root that breeds something worse. Here God kills that root, and the survivors above it. Amos states the same end for Philistia in plain terms.
They had been guilty of transgression upon transgression, so Jehovah would not turn back here either. He would deal with their iniquity at once. He would not just carry them off, but wipe them out as a people. "The remnant of the Philistines shall perish, says the Lord Jehovah."
The message does not stop with Philistia's collapse. It closes by naming the one place that holds.
The true aim is to line up Christ's complete destruction of Israel's old enemy at home with the final judgment of Babylon and Assyria. This brings out Jehovah's founding of Zion in that glorious day, where the afflicted of His people take refuge. Zion is the divine contrast with Babylon, Philistia, or any other Gentile boast.
- Occasion — Ahaz died, and Philistia thought the rod that struck them was broken. The prophecy tells them not to celebrate.
- Gift — God promises this safety to the poor and needy, the lowest of His people, not to the strong.
- Cost — Safety takes two things: the enemies outside fall, and grace changes the heart inside.
- Reach — The language is too strong for Hezekiah's victory alone. Its full fulfilment waits for the latter day.
- Result — Root and remnant of Philistia go. Zion stands, founded by the Lord as the refuge of His afflicted people.
Howl, O gate! cry, O city! thou, Philistia, art wholly dissolved; for there cometh from the north a smoke, and none remaineth apart in his gatherings [of troops].
The burden of Isaiah 14:29-32 was given in the year King Ahaz died, and the Philistines took that death as good news. One commentator sets out what "the rod that smote you" pointed back to, and why the Philistine hope was misplaced.
Now both Uzziah and Ahaz were gone, and "the rod that struck" the land of the Philistines was "broken." The enemy had learned to despise Judah in the days of unworthy Ahaz. "For the LORD humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had made Judah act sinfully and had been very unfaithful to the LORD." Why should they fear his son? But let them not celebrate. "For from the serpent's root will come forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent." The first fulfilment of this came in the reign of Hezekiah, who "struck down the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city" (2 Kings 18:8).
reason: meta lead-in; unsourced gloss on city gates
Here the prophet bursts out with the greatest energy, calling on the gate to howl and the city to cry out: "Wail, O gate; cry out, O city; melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you! For smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks" — that is, in his gathering of troops. So the threat is an overwhelming force, kept up without pause, that will sweep everything before it, as far as the Philistines are concerned.
"Palestina" is the name older translations use here. It does not cover the whole land of Canaan.
In verses 29 and 31 "Palestina" seems to mean "Philistia," the country to the south west of Jerusalem. At that moment all might seem peaceful, but their judgment was coming, and their only hope and trust was to rest in Zion.
Their territory was small, but their record against Israel was long.
It is a striking thing. These people owned only a very small strip of the land of Canaan, yet the land has taken its name from them, for Palestine means the land of the Philistines. But Scripture gives it this name only when it foretells the judgment of it: Exodus 15:14; Isaiah 14:29, 31; Joel 3:4. They first came into prominence in Genesis 21, where they robbed Abraham of a well of water by force. They were Israel's most persistent enemies throughout their history in the land. There is more about them in the Old Testament than about any other nation but Israel, and the last mention of them in Scripture is, "I will cut off the pride of Philistia," Zechariah 9:6.
Hezekiah's campaign was real, but the language of these verses reaches past him. One writer places this short section in its wider setting, where Philistia falls in company with Babylon and Assyria.
Verses 28-32 give the judgment of the Philistines, the remains of the Canaanites. Hezekiah worked to bring them into submission. The Lord Jesus will finish it by a more terrible destruction when He establishes His throne in Zion. When Babylon, the Assyrian, and the Philistines finally fall, the poor and needy remnant will lie down in safety, and Zion will be their stronghold.
Commentators differ over who the invader from the north was.
Commentators, as usual, differ widely over the partial fulfilment in the past. Some understand Jewish rulers. Others understand a line of Assyrian kings, and the slain Sargon followed by Sennacherib. But whatever that was, the true aim is to set Christ's complete destruction of Israel's old enemy inside the land alongside the final judgment of Babylon and Assyria. This brings out the LORD's founding of Zion in that glorious day, where the afflicted of His people take refuge. Zion is the divine contrast with Babylon, Philistia, or any other Gentile boast.
- Rejoicing — Philistia cheered at Ahaz's death, because the rod that struck them was broken. They cheered too soon. Out of that same root came Hezekiah, who struck them as far as Gaza.
- Smoke — the gate and the city must howl, because an army is coming from the north. Not one soldier straggles from the ranks. This force sweeps everything before it.
- Name — Scripture names the land after the Philistines only when it foretells judgment on it. They were Israel's most persistent enemies, from the well they stole from Abraham to the day their pride is cut off.
- Reach — Hezekiah only began the work. The Lord Jesus will finish it when He sets up His throne in Zion. God deals with small nations as well as great ones, by how they treated Israel.
- Refuge — the section ends with Zion, not smoke. The LORD founded it Himself, as the contrast to every Gentile boast, and the afflicted of His people are safe there.
And what shall be answered to the messengers of the nation? That Jehovah hath founded Zion, and the afflicted of his people find refuge in it.
Isaiah's series of "burdens" against the nations ends with a message about Philistia, Judah's old neighbour and enemy, and it closes with a question about what to tell foreign envoys. The reply says nothing about armies or treaties; it points to a city God Himself founded, and to who is safe inside it.
The burden came in the year King Ahaz died, and the Philistines took that death as good news. One commentator sets out why they celebrated too soon:
Now not only Uzziah but Ahaz were gone. The rod of the one who struck the land of the Philistines was broken. The enemy had learned to despise Judah in the days of unworthy Ahaz... Who was his son that they should fear him? Let them not rejoice, however. "For from the serpent's root will come forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent." The first fulfilment of this came in the reign of Hezekiah. Of him 2 Kings 18:8 records that "he struck down the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city."
The burden's full force waits for a later day, when God's power works in two directions at once:
Its proper fulfilment therefore awaits the latter day. Then the twofold application of divine power will appear in full. On the one hand, "the firstborn of the poor will graze, and the needy lie down in safety." On the other, Jehovah will not merely break the rod, but kill the root of Philistia with famine and slay its remnant... Here too the end is deliverance for the tried of His people.
The point of the reply is the word "founded." Zion did not rise the way the great cities of the ancient world rose:
Jehovah will have founded Zion (Isa. 14:32; Jer. 30:18-40). Human counsel had settled the foundations of other cities. Tyre and Babel had risen through the wisdom and the might of man. But God had chosen a place for His own name in the earth, just as He had formed a people for His own praise.
Its meaning comes from when and how God laid it:
Zion does not mean simply Jerusalem, for that city too would finally fall under God's judgment. Zion was founded by the Lord in His mercy when He stepped in and raised up David, so that it has become a symbol of the mercy and grace of God. This we see in a scripture such as Hebrews 12:22. In that grace, which Zion represents, the godly poor among the people will trust. They did so in days that are past. They will do so in days that are to come.
That timing is the whole argument. Zion came last, after everything else in Israel had collapsed:
They were taken up from the depth of ruin, and after that state Zion was won. So it is the kingdom established in power after the people had been ruined completely. They had gone through every change meant to help, yet every experiment only sank them deeper into the dust. Nothing shows grace so well. It is not only great activity of goodness, but perfect goodness shown after all had been lost.
The refuge is not for the strong or the self-assured. The people who take it are marked by poverty of spirit and sorrow:
Notice that what is least and most despised among men is where God finds His pleasure. It is a "poor and afflicted people" who shall be left in the middle of Jerusalem. They are poor in spirit and contrite before God because of the many sorrows they have passed through. It is these who shall trust in the name of Jehovah, as their Rock of Ages.
Some readers take Zion as a picture of the church. One writer holds the promise to the literal mountain and the literal people:
In verses 28-32 is the judgment of the Philistines, the remnant of the Canaanites. Hezekiah worked for their submission. The Lord Jesus will finish it by a more terrible destruction when He establishes His throne in Zion. When Babylon, the Assyrian and the Philistines are put down at last, the poor and needy remnant shall lie down in safety. Zion shall be their defence. Never in God's word does that mountain mean anything but itself, being wholly inapplicable to the church.
- Question. Envoys arrive from a foreign power. The reply God supplies says nothing about Judah's strength.
- Answer. Everything rests on one fact — Zion has a Founder, and He is the Lord.
- Founder. Human wisdom and might raised Tyre and Babel. God chose Zion as the place for His own name.
- Grace. God gave Zion only after every other help had failed. That is why it stands for mercy, not merit.
- Refuge. The shelter belongs to the afflicted and poor of His people. They enjoy it in full when Christ takes His throne there.