Then the firstborn of the poor will find pasture, and the needy will lie down in safety, but I will kill your root by famine, and your remnant will be slain. The poorest of the poor will find pastureThis phrase speaks to the divine provision and care for the most vulnerable in society. The Hebrew word for "poorest" is "דַּל" (dal), which conveys a sense of being low, weak, or thin. In the ancient Near Eastern context, the poor were often marginalized and lacked basic necessities. The promise that they "will find pasture" is deeply significant. Pasture symbolizes sustenance, rest, and security. In a spiritual sense, this reflects God's heart for justice and His commitment to provide for those who are often overlooked by society. It echoes the pastoral imagery found throughout Scripture, where God is depicted as a shepherd caring for His flock ( Psalm 23:1-2). and the needy will lie down in safety
The term "needy" in Hebrew is "אֶבְיוֹן" (evyon), which refers to those who are destitute or in want. The promise that they "will lie down in safety" is a profound assurance of peace and protection. In the ancient world, lying down was an act of vulnerability, as it left one exposed to potential threats. However, this phrase assures that God Himself will be their protector, allowing them to rest without fear. This reflects the broader biblical theme of God as a refuge and fortress for those who trust in Him (Psalm 46:1). But I will destroy your root with famine
The word "root" in Hebrew is "שֹׁרֶשׁ" (shoresh), which often symbolizes the source or foundation of life and strength. In this context, it refers to the foundation of the oppressors or enemies of God's people. The declaration of destruction "with famine" indicates a complete and utter removal of their power and influence. Famine, a severe shortage of food, was a common judgment in the ancient world, often seen as a direct act of divine intervention. This phrase underscores God's sovereignty and His ability to bring down the proud and powerful, fulfilling His justice. it will slay your survivors
The term "survivors" in Hebrew is "שְׁאֵרִית" (she'erit), which refers to the remnant or those who remain after a calamity. The use of the word "slay" indicates a decisive and final act of judgment. This phrase serves as a sobering reminder of the consequences of opposing God's will and mistreating His people. It highlights the ultimate futility of relying on human strength and the certainty of divine justice. In a broader theological context, it points to the eschatological hope that God will one day set all things right, vindicating the righteous and judging the wicked. Persons / Places / Events 1. The Poorest of the PoorThis phrase refers to those who are most destitute and marginalized in society. In the context of Isaiah, it often symbolizes those who are oppressed or downtrodden but will find relief and provision through God's intervention. 2. The NeedySimilar to the poorest of the poor, the needy are those who lack basic necessities and protection. The promise of safety indicates God's provision and care for them. 3. RootIn this context, the "root" symbolizes the foundation or source of a nation or people. The destruction of the root implies a complete and thorough judgment. 4. FamineA severe shortage of food that leads to widespread hunger and suffering. In biblical terms, famine is often seen as a form of divine judgment. 5. SurvivorsThose who remain after a calamity or judgment. The mention of their destruction underscores the totality of God's judgment against the wicked. Teaching Points God's Provision for the NeedyGod promises to care for the most vulnerable, ensuring they find pasture and safety. This reflects His heart for justice and compassion. Divine Judgment on the WickedThe destruction of the root and survivors signifies God's complete judgment on those who oppose Him. It serves as a warning to turn from wickedness. Reversal of FortunesThe passage highlights a theme of reversal, where the lowly are lifted, and the proud are brought low. This encourages humility and trust in God's justice. Trust in God's SovereigntyBelievers are reminded to trust in God's sovereign plan, knowing He will provide for His people and execute justice in His timing. Hope for the OppressedThe promise of safety and provision offers hope to those who are oppressed, assuring them of God's ultimate deliverance. Bible Study Questions 1. How does Isaiah 14:30 reflect God's character in terms of justice and compassion? 2. In what ways can we, as believers, participate in God's work of providing for the needy and oppressed in our communities? 3. How does the theme of reversal in Isaiah 14:30 challenge our understanding of success and security in today's world? 4. What are some practical steps we can take to trust in God's provision and sovereignty, especially during times of personal or communal hardship? 5. How do the promises in Isaiah 14:30 encourage us to respond to situations of injustice and oppression around us? Connections to Other Scriptures Psalm 23This psalm speaks of God as a shepherd who provides pasture and safety, similar to the promise given to the poorest and needy in Isaiah 14:30. Matthew 5:3-6Jesus' Beatitudes highlight the blessedness of the poor and those who hunger, promising them the kingdom of heaven and satisfaction, echoing the themes of provision and safety. James 1:9-11James speaks of the humble being exalted and the rich fading away, paralleling the reversal of fortunes seen in Isaiah 14:30. People Ahaz, Isaiah, Jacob, Lucifer, SaraphPlaces Babylon, Lebanon, Philistia, ZionTopics Confidence, Death, Delighted, Destroy, Eat, Famine, Feed, Firstborn, First-born, Helpless, Kill, Killed, Lie, Needy, Pasture, Poor, Poorest, Remnant, Rest, Resting-place, Root, Safe, Safety, Security, Seed, Slain, Slay, Slayeth, Survivors, SwordDictionary of Bible Themes Isaiah 14:30 5511 safety
6703 peace, divine OT Isaiah 14:29-30 4504 roots
4823 famine, physical Library The victory of Life (Preached at the Chapel Royal. )
ISAIAH xxxviii. 18, 19. The grave cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee. I may seem to have taken a strange text on which to speak,--a mournful, a seemingly hopeless text. Why I have chosen it, I trust that you will see presently; certainly not that I may make you hopeless about death. Meanwhile, let us consider it; for it is in the Bible, and, like all words in the Bible, was written …
Charles Kingsley—The Water of Life and Other SermonsThe Life and Death of Mr. Badman,
Presented to the World in a Familiar Dialogue Between Mr. Wiseman and Mr. Attentive. By John Bunyan ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. The life of Badman is a very interesting description, a true and lively portraiture, of the demoralized classes of the trading community in the reign of King Charles II; a subject which naturally led the author to use expressions familiar among such persons, but which are now either obsolete or considered as vulgar. In fact it is the only work proceeding from the prolific …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 The First Trumpet.
The first trumpet of the seventh seal begins from the final disturbance and overthrow of the Roman idolarchy at the close of the sixth seal; and as it was to bring the first plague on the empire, now beginning to fall, it lays waste the third part of the earth, with a horrible storm of hail mingled with fire and blood; that is, it depopulates the territory and people of the Roman world, (viz. the basis and ground of its universal polity) with a terrible and bloody irruption of the northern nations, …
Joseph Mede—A Key to the Apocalypse The Evil of Sin visible in the Fall of Angels and Men.
1 When the great Builder arch'd the skies, And form'd all nature with a word, The joyful cherubs tun'd his praise, And every bending throne ador'd. 2 High in the midst of all the throng, Satan, a tall archangel, sat, Amongst the morning stars he sung [1] Till sin destroy'd his heavenly state. 3 ['Twas sin that hurl'd him from his throne, Grov'ling in fire the rebel lies: "How art thou sunk in darkness down, "Son of the morning, from the skies!" [2] 4 And thus our two first parents stood Till sin …
Isaac Watts—Hymns and Spiritual Songs Epistle xviii. To John, Bishop.
To John, Bishop. Gregory to John, Bishop of Constantinople [1586] . At the time when your Fraternity was advanced to Sacerdotal dignity, you remember what peace and concord of the churches you found. But, with what daring or with what swelling of pride I know not, you have attempted to seize upon a new name, whereby the hearts of all your brethren might have come to take offence. I wonder exceedingly at this, since I remember how thou wouldest fain have fled from the episcopal office rather than …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great Epistle xxi. To Constantina Augusta .
To Constantina Augusta [1593] . Gregory to Constantina, &c. Almighty God, who holds in His right hand the heart of your Piety, both protects us through you and prepares for you rewards of eternal remuneration for temporal deeds. For I have learnt from the letters of the deacon Sabinianus my responsalis with what justice your Serenity is interested in the cause of the blessed Prince of the apostles Peter against certain persons who are proudly humble and feignedly kind. And I trust in the bounty …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great That the Ruler Should Be, through Humility, a Companion of Good Livers, But, through the Zeal of Righteousness, Rigid against the vices of Evildoers.
The ruler should be, through humility, a companion of good livers, and, through the zeal of righteousness, rigid against the vices of evil-doers; so that in nothing he prefer himself to the good, and yet, when the fault of the bad requires it, he be at once conscious of the power of his priority; to the end that, while among his subordinates who live well he waives his rank and accounts them as his equals, he may not fear to execute the laws of rectitude towards the perverse. For, as I remember to …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great The Doctrine of Satan.
I. HIS EXISTENCE AND PERSONALITY. 1. EXISTENCE. 2. PERSONALITY. II. HIS PLACE AND POWER. 1. A MIGHTY ANGEL. 2. PRINCE OF POWER OF THE AIR. 3. GOD OF THIS WORLD. 4. HEAD OF KINGDOM OF DARKNESS. 5. SOVEREIGN OVER DEATH. III. HIS CHARACTER. 1. ADVERSARY. 2. DIABOLOS. 3. WICKED ONE. 4. TEMPTER. IV. OUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS SATAN. 1. LIMITED POWER OF SATAN. 2. RESIST HIM. V. HIS DESTINY. 1. A CONQUERED ENEMY. 2. UNDER ETERNAL CURSE. VI. DEMONS. THE DOCTRINE OF SATAN. Throughout the Scriptures Satan is set …
Rev. William Evans—The Great Doctrines of the Bible The Disciple, -- Master, Some People Say that the Comfort and Joy that Believers Experience...
The Disciple,--Master, some people say that the comfort and joy that believers experience are simply the outcome of their own thoughts and ideas. Is this true? The Master,--1. That comfort and abiding peace which believers have within themselves is due to My presence in their hearts, and to the life-giving influence of the fullness of the Holy Spirit. As for those who say that this spiritual joy is the result only of the thoughts of the heart, they are like a foolish man who was blind from his birth, …
Sadhu Sundar Singh—At The Master's Feet The Power of God
The next attribute is God's power. Job 9:19. If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong.' In this chapter is a magnificent description of God's power. Lo, he is strong.' The Hebrew word for strong signifies a conquering, prevailing strength. He is strong.' The superlative degree is intended here; viz., He is most strong. He is called El-shaddai, God almighty. Gen 17:7. His almightiness lies in this, that he can do whatever is feasible. Divines distinguish between authority and power. God has both. …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Sargon of Assyria (722-705 B. C. )
SARGON AS A WARRIOR AND AS A BUILDER. The origin of Sargon II.: the revolt of Babylon, Merodach-baladan and Elam--The kingdom of Elam from the time of the first Babylonian empire; the conquest's of Shutruh-nalkunta I.; the princes of Malamir--The first encounter of Assyria and Elam, the battle of Durilu (721 B.C.)--Revolt of Syria, Iaubidi of Hamath and Hannon of Gaza--Bocchoris and the XXIVth Egyptian dynasty; the first encounter of Assyria with Egypt, the battle of Raphia (720 B.C.). Urartu …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 7 Use to be Made of the Doctrine of Providence.
Sections. 1. Summary of the doctrine of Divine Providence. 1. It embraces the future and the past. 2. It works by means, without means, and against means. 3. Mankind, and particularly the Church, the object of special care. 4. The mode of administration usually secret, but always just. This last point more fully considered. 2. The profane denial that the world is governed by the secret counsel of God, refuted by passages of Scripture. Salutary counsel. 3. This doctrine, as to the secret counsel of …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion The Holy War,
MADE BY SHADDAI UPON DIABOLUS, FOR THE REGAINING OF THE METROPOLIS OF THE WORLD; OR, THE LOSING AND TAKING AGAIN OF THE TOWN OF MANSOUL. THE AUTHOR OF 'THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS.' 'I have used similitudes.'--Hosea 12:10. London: Printed for Dorman Newman, at the King's Arms in the Poultry; and Benjamin Alsop, at the Angel and Bible in the Poultry, 1682. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. Bunyan's account of the Holy War is indeed an extraordinary book, manifesting a degree of genius, research, and spiritual …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 Covenanting According to the Purposes of God.
Since every revealed purpose of God, implying that obedience to his law will be given, is a demand of that obedience, the announcement of his Covenant, as in his sovereignty decreed, claims, not less effectively than an explicit law, the fulfilment of its duties. A representation of a system of things pre-determined in order that the obligations of the Covenant might be discharged; various exhibitions of the Covenant as ordained; and a description of the children of the Covenant as predestinated …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting Opposition to Messiah in Vain
He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision. T he extent and efficacy [effects] of the depravity of mankind cannot be fully estimated by the conduct of heathens destitute of divine revelation. We may say of the Gospel, in one sense, what the Apostle says of the Law, It entered that sin might abound (Romans 5:20) . It afforded occasion for displaying the alienation of the heart of man from the blessed God, in the strongest light. The sensuality, oppression and …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2 Isaiah
CHAPTERS I-XXXIX Isaiah is the most regal of the prophets. His words and thoughts are those of a man whose eyes had seen the King, vi. 5. The times in which he lived were big with political problems, which he met as a statesman who saw the large meaning of events, and as a prophet who read a divine purpose in history. Unlike his younger contemporary Micah, he was, in all probability, an aristocrat; and during his long ministry (740-701 B.C., possibly, but not probably later) he bore testimony, as …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Isaiah 14:30 NIVIsaiah 14:30 NLTIsaiah 14:30 ESVIsaiah 14:30 NASBIsaiah 14:30 KJV
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