Isaiah 14:22-25 - Surely as I have planned, so it will be

14:22

We should remember that this was all given many years before Babylon was the dominant power. We may not understand why God allows such evil regimes to rise and prosper, but we can always be certain that a judgement is already planned for them. Evil always has to pay a price at some point. The Lord rises against them, and the judgement will be severe.

14:23

This verse seems to give hedgehogs a unduly important role in life! The word translated “hedgehog” in ESV could also mean porcupine. What it means is that wild animals will take over the land, and animals of little account. Utter destruction will come upon the land.

14:24,25

This verse outlines the ultimate reality that we need to grasp if we are to understand the world at all. When God plans something that is what will happen. It is the Lord’s will that prevails. Having addressed Babylon, events that were many years ahead, His concern now turns to the immediate future and so involved Assyria. The Assyrians would be defeated “on my land”. Babylon would be defeated in her own land, Assyria had invaded Israel, would invaded most of Judah, but would be defeated there. So why did God go into great length about Babylon first? They would see that the Assyrian prophecies came true, and history would record it as such. This would show that the Babylon prophecies must be taken seriously, they too would come to pass. And for us, all this shows that the kingdoms of this world will all pass away.