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Isaiah, Prophet of Salvation, Book 3, part 14

Isaiah 14:30 prophesies to Philistia,

³⁰ Those [bekore, “firstborn”] who are most helpless [dal, “poor, weak, needy”] will eat, and the needy [ebyown, “destitute, poor, lowest class”] will lie down in security; I will destroy your root with famine, and it will kill off your survivors.

Most commentators have little or nothing to say about this verse. Who are these “who are most helpless?” Are they the poorest of the Philistines? If so, the prophet offers no explanation before telling us that the “root” of Philistia was to be destroyed with famine.

The KJV reads, “the firstborn of the poor,” which is accurate, but this is a Hebrew idiom that means “the poorest of the poor” (Bullinger). These, the prophet says, will eat in the midst of famine. The parallel explanatory statement is that “the needy will lie down in security.” The most natural way to read this is to say that God will assist and save those poor Philistines who are of the lower class. It implies that their rich upper class will suffer loss.

The Need for Skilled Workers

It was common practice, after conquering cities or nations, to take the skilled workmen away and make them citizens of the conquering nation. This was done largely for economic reasons, because this would increase commerce, build the nation’s power, and increase the size of its population. The Philistines were skilled at working iron, and for this reason they had chariots to protect their country (1 Samuel 13:5). Hence, the Assyrians would benefit militarily from their skilled labor.

A century later, we find Babylon doing this with Judah. At first they took the skilled help only, but at last they took even some of the unskilled labor. Jeremiah 52:15, 16 says,

¹⁵ Then Nebuzardan, the captain of the guard, carried away into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the artisans [amown, “skilled workers”]. ¹⁶ But Nebuzardan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

Perhaps this was also the Assyrian policy toward the Philistines. The poorest of the poor became virtual slaves working the land that was claimed by the Assyrians. Yet slaves must be fed in order to do the manual labor required to farm the land, and they must also be protected from harm. Hence, they will eat during a time of famine, and they will lie down in security in the midst of armed conflict.

This view remains consistent with the latter half of Isaiah 14:30, for it does not contradict the prophecy that there would be “famine” in Philistia that would “kill off your survivors.” The “root” being destroyed was the root or heart of the Philistines themselves, the upper class that defined the character of the nation itself.

Isaiah 14:31 continues,

³¹ Wail, O gate; cry, O city; melt away, O Philistia, all of you; for smoke comes from the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks.

The gate of a city was where the judges sat to judge cases. It was where the administration of government took place. So Isaiah was telling the Philistine judges and government officials to “wail” at their loss. To “melt away” was also a Hebrew idiom that usually referred to their loss of courage (Joshua 2:11), resulting in desertions (Joshua 2:24).

The “smoke” coming from the north was the Assyrian army. An approaching army would have stirred up dust. Smoke coming from one’s nostrils was also a Hebrew idiom for (2 Samuel 22:9) anger, or “heat.” Thus, Isaiah uses the “smoke” as a metaphor for the fury of the Assyrian army as it was coming to conquer and destroy the Philistine cities.

Answering the Messengers

The prophet concludes his oracle against Philistia in Isaiah 14:32,

³² How then will one answer the messengers [malak, “deputy, agent, angel”] of the nation? That the Lord has founded Zion, and the afflicted of His people will seek refuge in it.

The “messengers” communicated and negotiated between nations and between armies. The prophet visualizes messengers sent to the Assyrian army commander, seeking to know the demands and purpose for the attack and also wanting to know their terms of peace. But in this case, it is the Assyrian messengers who have come to present their demands. How, then, should one answer their demands? Should a nation or city submit to the invaders or fortify the city to prepare for war?

The answer is “that the Lord has founded Zion, and the afflicted of His people will seek refuge in it.” In other words, “Zion” is the place of refuge, where God protects those who believe. One would hardly expect the Philistines to find refuge in Zion in Jerusalem, but the prophet gave them the answer, nonetheless. It was the answer to Judah as well, not merely that they should fight the Assyrian army but that they should trust in the God who had “founded Zion.”

Isaiah’s later prophecies (especially Isaiah 56:6, 7, 8) show the prophet’s universal view, inviting foreigners to worship at the temple in Jerusalem. So when the prophet gives Philistia the true solution to their troubles, it is not out of place, even though it is unlikely that any of the Philistines at that time believed his words.

Of course, as I have said before, Zion was the divinely-appointed seat of government in the time when the presence of God yet dwelt in the temple of Solomon in the earthly Jerusalem. A century later, God forsook that place (Jeremiah 7:14) and founded a new refuge represented by Mount Sion (or Hermon, Deuteronomy 4:48; Hebrews 12:22 KJV). Sion is the symbolic seat of government for the heavenly Jerusalem, for it is the place where Jesus was transfigured and where He was pronounced the “My beloved Son” (Matthew 17:5). Hence, Sion is the refuge and gathering place for the Son of God and the sons of God.

God’s dwelling place has thus changed location, requiring us to reapply Isaiah’s words to the appropriate “refuge” after Christ’s resurrection and ascension.