Isaiah 14:3-7 "And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve, (4) That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! (5) The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers. (6) He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth. (7) The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing."
To this point in Isaiah, the Lord has been speaking to the people concerning a
coming time of persecution. It was to be a time when they would be carried away
into a strange land to serve in bondage. The picture has not been one of great
beauty for the people; rather, they would be bond slaves to a people who did
not care for them. But even as He has given that picture, now God is showing
them that there is hope to which they can hold. After a time in that bondage,
the Lord would intervene and bring them back to a place of peace and rest. The
persecutor would be persecuted. The ruler would be ruled. The slave would
be set free. The mourning would be turned into singing. Upheaval would be
quietened and at rest. What a glorious God we serve!
We all go through times of upheaval in our lives. We go through times when it
seems the world is against us and we have nowhere to turn. It seems that
everything in our lives is ruled by that which would destroy peace within us.
But we have the blessed hope that the Lord who we serve will always have the
final say in all matters. Just as the king of Babylon was brought down and his
sceptre was broken, so shall it be with all that would oppress us. We are to
remain true to our Lord and that peace which passes all understanding will keep
our hearts and minds even in the toughest of times. We are called upon to trust
our Lord at all times. Be assured that He shall prevail.