“When the LORD has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:
“How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury ceased!…”
“I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, descendants and posterity,” declares the LORD. “And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of hosts.” (Isaiah 14:3-4, 22-23 ESV)
At first I was caught up in the idea of rest from our pain and turmoil. Let’s be honest, that sounds great. But then I was distracted by this word I did not expect to be in there: taunt. The Bible says we are going to taunt the king of Babylon. We are going to taunt those who have oppressed us. And I don’t think it’s talking about the rival football team. I don’t think it’s even talking about our human opposition. I think it’s talking about Satan. Babylon is used as a term for the earthly rule of the enemy many times in the scriptures. I’ve seen the t-shirts that say, “Satan sucks” and so forth and while I agree with them in principle, in practice I am not sure that is the best approach. Satan is much more powerful than I am, and I can’t imagine taunting him. Taunting! But that is what the scripture says. That’s what God is promising. We “will take up this taunt”. It will happen.
But why do we get to take up the taunt? “I will rise up against them.” God will rise up against His enemies, against those who enslaved us. We get to be like that little brother on the basketball court who has a big brother who is the star. We can mouth off all we want because he is going to win the game. Our taunt is not an example of our own pride, but is confidence in our God. I look forward to the day when I have such a clear understanding of the might of my God that my confidence in the victory is unshakeable. And I guess I’ll have to learn to taunt.
Your thoughts?
Todd
Oh my, is this a word for me today, in the middle of an “I’m so small” moment? Thanks for being the bearer of good news.
I’m with the basketball analogy, and I tend to agree although, for me, it’s more like a bully and big brother scenerio. There’s nothing sporting or honorable about a bully. Oppressor, intimidator, thug. Of course, I’m no match. But apparently I don’t have to be. Thank God!
The enemy is the source of all the uglies, true. But what to do when the “human opposition” is game to manifest his mess through their behavior? Taunt? So in that sense, I think taunting could be applicable to people, and some days it’d feel darn good to be able to do it and get away with it.
It’s interesting to me though, that Christ didn’t make a habit of taunting the enemy’s underlings. He just exercised authority (or exorcised authoritativly). I think I’d rather follow his lead and leave trash talking the devil alone.
During the month of October, my Pastor, Dana Key, did a series of sermons on Angels and Demons. I learned so much, but one of his statements has truly impacted the way I think about satan. He said that we will be amazed at how small satan really is – especially compared to our amazing Lord. We may walk by and gawk at satan and his smallness and wonder why we let something so weak consume so much of our energy. We can live knowing that the we have access to the power that has victory! I’ve read the end of the book…we win!
Jerry Masters Hey Todd, my name is Jerry Masters and I was around the Memphis music scene for many years, including the group the Hombres in the late 60s and then in Muscle Shoals for many years. I was blessed to be a part of making a lot of hit records there as a bass player and recording engineer. I just wanted you to know how muc…h I’ve enjoyed “discovering” your talent. Man, what a unique, God given voice you have and the anointing is like oil from the Valdez. I got knocked off my horse in 1982 and have been serving Him for many years, including five years with the Will McFarlane Band. God bless you in your Ministry man, and my prayers go with you as you lead the sheep into the right fold. God has chosen you before the foundation of the world and I so appreciate your obedience and gentle spirit that comes off on your records and appearances. Also tell John Fry, Terry Manning and Larry Nix I said hello.
Good thoughts Todd; I was good right up until the last sentence, then you cracked me up.
I’m with you on the not taunting Satan part; that’s a fight I don’t want. He is a lot bigger than we are, but he isn’t bigger than Jesus. If we belong to Christ and have His Holy Spirit within, Satan has no power over us. We need to focus on Jesus, and let Him win those battles that are too big for us. One thing that strikes me as interesting in the epistles is that when the disciples encountered a spiritual enemy, demon, they didn’t freak out and panic, they just dealt with it and went on their way. I don’t remember reading about them taunting those demons or Satan though, apparently that’s for another day.
Blessings,
Tess
I think peace is taunting to the enemy. What he wants is our destruction, our turmoil, agony, and confusion. But when we’re with God, we have true peace. And satan hates this. 🙂