OUR FATHER RESERVES THE AUTHORITY TO LIFT UP KINGS AND TO TEAR THEM DOWN.

The book of Isaiah chapter 19 verse 4 says this;

I will hand the Egyptians over to the power of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

In this verse, the Egyptians, who were an actual oppressive force over the people of God when they had sorjourned to Egypt and had been turned into slaves, are standing in for the systems of oppression over God's people.

The text describes a method by which an oppresive power is visited upon with judgement where a harsh and cruel master is placed over the harsh and cruel masters.

The difficulties and agonies that they impose on their victims are now imposed on them through the placement of a harsh leader over them.

That with which they had afflicted those who were under them, settled on their own heads.

This brings discouragement and disunity to the oppressive society and ultimately causes their disassembly. 

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OUR FATHER WHO JUDGES THE WICKED ANGELS

The book of Isaiah chapter 14 verse 9 says this;

The realm of the dead below is all astir to meet you at your coming; it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you— all those who were leaders in the world; it makes them rise from their thrones— all those who were kings over the nations.

In revisiting this passage, having looked at two aspects of the descent of the king of Babylon into the realm of the dead namely;

• The contrast between the heights to which he aspired to ascend and the depths of the pit into which he fell

• The failure of the hope that the kings of the earth had in him when they saw that he was now as feeble as they themselves were

We will now look at the descent itself and the conditions that brought about the fall of the king of Babylon.

The king of Babylon, an Anti-Christ figure, also called 'the Assyrian', having gained dominance over the nations of the earth,  is judged for the wickedness, cruelty and devastation that he brought to the whole world.

This judgement broke the authority that was being wielded as verse 5 and 6 say;

The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers, which in anger struck down peoples with unceasing blows, and in fury subdued nations with relentless aggression.

Defeated by the Lord, the king of Babylon is relegated to the realm of the dead and so, as verse 12 says;

How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!

Having 'fallen' and been 'cast down', the Assyrian is then 'brought down' to the 'depths' of the pit as verse 15 says;

But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.

Then, having reached the depths of the pit, he is brought down further and covered over in worms as verse 11 says;

All your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with the noise of your harps; maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you.

And he is also covered with the bodies of those who had been slain as verse 19 says;

But you are cast out of your tomb like a rejected branch; you are covered with the slain, with those pierced by the sword, those who descend to the stones of the pit.

As he falls, the deceased kings who inhabit the realm of the dead ponder his fate as they gaze upon him as he descends.

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OUR FATHER WHO JUDGES FALSE PROPHETS

The book of Ezekiel chapter 13 verse 4 says this;

Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals among ruins.

This verse is an indictment against the prophets of God's people who were operating out of their own imaginations and following their own spirits rather than following the Spirit of God.

Their abdication of the office of the true prophet caused these 'foolish' prophets to be blind to the breaches in the spiritual fortifications of the people of God and as a result, on the day of the Lord, the walls did not hold up against the assault of the enemy.

In this state, the false prophets are compared to jackals or scavengers that haunt the ruins of the civilization they were pretending to provide oversight for while opportunistically living off the people therein.

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OUR FATHER WHO FAVORS THE RIGHTEOUS WHO ABIDE IN HIS PRESENCE

Psalm chapter 4 5  verse 10 2 says this;

Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.

This verse records the psalmist asking his Lord for attention so that he can bring his prayers before Him early in the morning.

The psalmist then articulates the posture that is required to bring such prayers before God.

• Articulate the requests before God
• Wait expectantly
• Be righteous before God
• Be humble before God
• Be honest
• Travel to the house of God
• Be reverent towards God

The Lord will grant favor to the righteous who follow  these practices as verse 12 says;

Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO FIRST JUDGES HIS OWN PEOPLE

The book of Jeremiah chapter 5 verses 2 - 3 says this;

Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’  still they are swearing falsely.”

Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.

This passage speaks of the people of Jerusalem who should have been righteous but instead were perpetrating evil and were treacherous toward the Lord.

Even though they feigned religious observance of the ways of God by using the buzz words of spiritual talk, inwardly, they were deceptive and unjust. 

Even though the Lord moved to correct them by chastisement but they were unresponsive to the Lord's discipline.

They just doubled down on their resolve to continue with only what pleased them and they rejected the calls to renounce their evil ways and to return to the Lord.

In their case, the Lord had tallied the population to see if there was even one righteous man in their midst and He had resolved to relent on His destruction of Jerusalem if even a singular righteous person could be located.

Even searching among the poor and among the influential had yielded no one who was righteous and so destruction was imminent.

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OUR FATHER WHO JUDGES BUT LEAVES A REMNANT

The book of Ezekiel chapter 9 verse 10 says this;

So I will not look on them with pity or spare them, but I will bring down on their own heads what they have done.”

The severe judgement of death that was being brought to Jerusalem was triggered by these things that were found abundantly in Jerusalem;

• Bloodshed
• Perversion
• Injustice
• Slandering the Lord

The Amplified version says it this way;

The wickedness (guilt) of the house of Israel and Judah is extremely great; the land is full of blood and the city is full of perversion and injustice; for they say, ‘The Lord has abandoned the land; the Lord does not see [what we are doing].’

The people in Jerusalem at the time, were already a remnant but that remnant, by practicing great evil, invited judgement upon themselves and were to be reduced to an even smaller remnant of people who had been repulsed by the things that were happening in their city.

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Amen.

OUR FATHER WHOSE GLORY WILL APPEAR OVER HIS PEOPLE

The book of Isaiah chapter 60 verse 2 says this;

See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.

There is an approaching time when darkness will envelope the whole earth that will echo the darkness that was upon the surface of the deep described in Genesis chapter 1 verse 2.

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Also coming is a deep (or thick) darkness that will be over the peoples of the earth but, while in this state, the Lord will rise upon us and His glory will appear over us replacing the darkness.

In fact, so bright will the Lord's glory shine on His people, that the nations of the earth will be drawn to them as verse 5 says; 

“Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO CANNOT ABIDE BY INJUSTICE

The book of Isaiah chapter 59 verse 4 says this;

No one calls for justice; no one pleads a case with integrity.

They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.

The context surrounding this verse reveals the sinful condition that a society can establish in their midst that causes the Lord's face to be hidden from the people. 

Whereas the Lord is able to save His people and can hear their prayers, nevertheless, the atmosphere of murder, deception, injustice, violence, treachery, rebellion, witchcraft and oppression that His people have cultivated creates a gulf between God and His people so that He will not hear them.

This verse specifies the corrupted legal system of this society that functions on deception and those who participate in it do so without integrity and trade in lies.

They imagine ways to manipulate the legal system for their own benefit and as a result, evil is birthed in the land when injustice is applied to the innocent.

Mercifully, the Lord intervenes in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ to save us as Isaiah chapter 59 verse 20 says;

“The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,” declares the Lord.

Amen.

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