12 “How you have fallen from heaven,
O [g]star of the morning, son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the earth,
You who have weakened the nations!
13 “But you said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God,
And I will sit on the mount of assembly
In the recesses of the north.
14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’
15 “Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol,
To the recesses of the pit.
16 “Those who see you will gaze at you,
They will [h]ponder over you, saying,
‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
Who shook kingdoms,
17 Who made the world like a wilderness
And overthrew its cities,
Who did not [i]allow his prisoners to go home?’
18 “All the kings of the nations lie in glory,
Each in his own [j]tomb.
19 “But you have been cast out of your tomb
Like [k]a rejected branch,
[l]Clothed with the slain who are pierced with a sword,
Who go down to the stones of the pit
Like a trampled corpse.
20 “You will not be united with them in burial,
Because you have ruined your country,
You have slain your people.
May the offspring of evildoers not be mentioned forever.
21 “Prepare for his sons a place of slaughter
Because of the iniquity of their fathers.
They must not arise and take possession of the earth
And fill the face of the world with cities.”22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the Lord of hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon name and survivors, offspring and posterity,” declares the Lord. 23 “I will also make it a possession for the hedgehog and swamps of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” declares the Lord of hosts.
As we continue with the prophecy against Babylon and her king, we see a brief description of its glory, “…star of the morning, son of the dawn… You who have weakened the nations!” Then immediately the story turns, “But you said in your heart…”
Were it not for that, perhaps Babylon would not have fallen. After all, God himself had called them to pour out judgment on Israel. Israel itself had previously been commanded by God to destroy sinful nations who were consumed with wickedness.
But their hearts were turned away from God, even seeking to usurp His power, as if that could ever be done… Yet we try to do the same thing in our own lives. We insist on doing things ourselves, in our own way. Far too often, we seek God only as a last resort.
Rather, God should be our first consideration, in any situation, and on every day. This day has not gone as I had planned, but God has used it anyway, and I would not change it now. My way was not one of compassion, but He had other ideas, and I’m glad we listened.
What will God do next in my life, and in yours? Will we let Him be Lord of our lives, or will we say in our hearts that we can do better? Guard your heart, that it not be exalted against our God and King. Live each moment for him, and put your self interests away. Like Paul expressed to the church at Corinth, our flesh must die daily, that Christ may live in us.