“Consider it, take counsel and speak out.”

This is among the worst passages of the Bible… Even Dexter would cringe...

Judges 19:22 While they were enjoying themselves, the men of the city, a perverse lot, surrounded the house, and started pounding on the door. They said to the old man, the master of the house, "Bring out the man who came into your house, so that we may have intercourse with him." 23 And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, "No, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. Since this man is my guest, do not do this vile thing. 24 Here are my virgin daughter and his concubine; let me bring them out now. Ravish them and do whatever you want to them; but against this man do not do such a vile thing." 25 But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine, and put her out to them. They wantonly raped her, and abused her all through the night until the morning. And as the dawn began to break, they let her go. 26 As morning appeared, the woman came and fell down at the door of the man's house where her master was, until it was light. 

27 In the morning her master got up, opened the doors of the house, and when he went out to go on his way, there was his concubine lying at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold. 28 "Get up," he said to her, "we are going." But there was no answer. Then he put her on the donkey; and the man set out for his home. 29 When he had entered his house, he took a knife, and grasping his concubine he cut her into twelve pieces, limb by limb, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel. 30 Then he commanded the men whom he sent, saying, "Thus shall you say to all the Israelites, 'Has such a thing ever happened since the day that the Israelites came up from the land of Egypt until this day? Consider it, take counsel, and speak out.' "

I really hate this passage.  

I don't want to read it. I want to cut it out and burn it. If I got to edit the Bible this is something I would like to leave out.

But it is there.

There are so many things to discuss in this passage but the part that comes to mind is verses 29 and 30.

Over the past few years the world has become more aware of the evil that we do. Chemical warfare in Syria, sexual abuse throughout the world, slavery, racism, evil and injustice. In South Africa the 'Rainbow' nation is rising up to say that you can't just paint a giant rainbow over our problems.

We need to face the reality of our problems.

This is the emotion that Judges 19:29-30 brings to mind.

After the concubine has been raped to death - the Levite cuts her body into pieces and posts pieces to each of the twelve tribes of Israel.

This is not a parcel that anyone would want to receive. Some severed and bloody body part.

This gruesome act highlights the plight of all the victims of injustice and violence.

With the message:

"Has such a thing ever happened…. Consider it, take counsel, and speak out."

I want to ignore the horrors, the rapes, the injustice, the hopelessness of the children of our land. I want to ignore the things that ministry brings me into contact with.

But we need to be confronted by the gruesome reality of what is happening.

Consider it, take counsel, and speak out.

My reaction to the news of brokenness and injustice - the suffering of God's people is often similar to the reaction that I'd have if I got a parcel with a severed limb in it. I'd be shocked, disgusted, traumatized but I'd quickly drop it and get the necessary therapy to help me forget.

But what about the response the Levit counsels:

"Consider it, take counsel and speak out."

Psalm 72 - a Prayer for our Leaders

South Africa waited for the ANC to make a decision at the national conference last weekend.  The contest was between Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Cyril Ramaphosa.  Ramaphosa won by a hair's breadth.  As I was reading Psalm 72 in preparation for Christmas season preaching I thought it was a fitting word of prayer for anyone in power.  So here is my reflection from my prayers this morning.  In the form of an open letter to the president.

Dear ANC President Ramaphosa,

This is my prayer for you, a reflection on Psalm 72 a song sung when Kings were crowned in the time before Christ.  Some of the verses of Psalm 72 are good words for a President in our time.  The prayer of verse 1:

1 Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness.

The Psalmist prays that the king would want the sort of justice that God wants.  The kind of righteousness that God wants.  The God of the Hebrews, the God of Christians is a God whose primary characteristic is to lead people out of slavery and into freedom.  To lead the people into ‘Shalom’, into peace.  This peace is not platitude, but real peace - born out of justice and righteousness.  Sometimes the word ‘shalom’ is translated as ‘prosperity’. South Africa needs to be led into justice with grace and peace.  This is the will of God.  

This is a difficult direction to lead in, inequality in our land is positively mountainous - but my prayer is that you will be ‘endowed’ with justice and righteousness; the heart of the love of God for all of God’s people.  So that you will be able to lead us all into ‘prosperity.’  Prosperity is not having an overly big house and stupidly powerful cars and more than enough money.  Prosperity is having your daily bread, security, the leisure to rest, the freedom to live a dignified life and to share with others.

This prosperity - this Shalom - is the product of justice and righteousness.

2 He will judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice.

As the Psalmist leads us in prayer for the King it is interesting that he speaks to God in this way - he could say: “He will judge ‘his’ people…”  But instead the Psalmist says: “He will judge your people…”  All people everywhere are created in God’s image.  All people are sacred, wonderful, fearfully made.  If the King is endowed with God’s justice, then the King will lead God’s people in God’s way.  

The Psalmist realises God’s special concern for the afflicted ones.  Those who live in dire poverty, those who are sick, those who are mentally ill… all of these people are God’s people.  It will be your task to lead us into justice; especially for the weakest, the most downtrodden, the most easily abused.  The poor, the elderly, the mentally ill and the orphan are the most neglected in our land - with God’s heart, lead them (and all of us) with justice.  

It is the King’s task to ‘judge’ God’s people.  To judge is to see what is wrong and implement a process that will redress those wrongs.  As the King judges - the King restores justice.  I pray that you will have the courage to lead South Africa into justice.  

3 The mountains will bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness.

Sadly the mountains of our land, especially the highveld mountains with their rich deposits of ore have been pillaged.  The wealth did not bring prosperity to the people - instead they brought slavery to some and an overabundance of wealth to others; much of that prosperity has left our shores.  But, there is still enough in our land to ensure that each and every citizen has what they need.  The nations of the world recognize the wealth of Africa; they take advantage of our economic and social tensions to drive us into debt - Africa has enough; Africa has more than all the other nations of the world.  Yet our people live in dire poverty.

It seems that the promise of verse 3 is dependent on the realisation of verses 1 and 2 - the need for justice; especially for the afflicted.  The hills, says the Psalmist will yield the ‘fruit of righteousness’ - these ‘fruits of righteousness’ refer to character - fruit of the Holy Spirit according to Christians: generosity, gentleness, kindness, joy, peace, self control, patience, peacefulness etc. But they are also literal fruits to feed the hungry.

How economists manage the circumstances that lead to the most beneficial extraction of minerals and production of food is such a complicated matter that I don’t fully understand how it all works.  The tensions of mine ownership, land ownership and risk / benefit / cost are for economists to debate.  But I know that if we find the right balance we will be able to create an economy in which there is economic security for all people.

4 - He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; he will crush the oppressor.

Someone has said that a truly just society is one where anyone would be happy to be born to any family, race, or place because every child would always have all the opportunities they need to determine their own future.  This is not the case in South Africa.  Children are the victims of our unjust past; especially in terms of the education that they are destined to receive.  A good King ‘saves the children of the needy’ - sets up a decent future for these children.  To save our children we need to make sure that no matter where you were born you will have the resources and the help needed to become who you were meant to be.

Free education for all depends on a healthy economy and a healthy economy depends on good quality education for all.  This is the nuclear power plant that we need.  And the true beginning of radical (roots based) economic transformation.  Solid investment in education.  Especially in education for those who are born into the most dire situations of poverty.

The second part of verse 4 - ‘he will crush the oppressor’ is also a tough one.  Who is the oppressor that needs crushing?  The problem of politics in South Africa is a lack of debate which stems from identifying everyone other than us as the ‘oppressor’.  People are more united by what they are against, than by what they are for.  Bell Pottinger recognised that you could justify a lot of bad decisions by identifying an enemy named White Minority Capital and then inciting anger and violence against this ‘oppressor’ as a rallying cause to protect people who were corrupt and engaged in oppressive activities themselves.

Perhaps the best way to ‘crush’ oppressors is to name them honestly.  To educate and inform each other about how our attitudes become tools of oppression.  To liberate oppressors from being oppressors by showing them - and leading them - into a better way.  

Instead of creating a world where we each try to out oppress each other - through honest engagement perhaps we can reach a place where oppression is identified and rooted out - and thus crushed in a way that does not lead to more oppression.  This will take bold leadership - and sometimes will lead to uncomfortable conversations.  But we need you to lead us and inspire us into this direction.

5-7 He will endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations.  He will be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth.  In his days the righteous will flourish; prosperity will abound till the moon is no more.

At this point the Psalmist starts to point towards a more Divine King (God) than an earthly one.  But this is the hope of the people - that truly anointed kings.  Kings endowed with God’s justice and righteousness as verse 1 prayed - will rule with God’s heart.  It is not the person in power, but in terms of the Psalm, God’s Holy Spirit endowing the King with Godly wisdom that is in power.

As we read the Old Testament we discover only a few good kings.  Power has a tendency to make even the best kings go bad.  See Saul, David, Solomon all the Kings of Israel.  They get it right sometimes but only when they place their heads hands and hearts firmly into the head, hand and heart of God who guides them.  Psalm 146:3 reminds us:

“You can’t depend on anyone, not even a great leader.  Once they die and are buried, that will be the end of all their plans.”
- Psalm 146:3

Even great leaders will die.  The majority of religions believe that each of us will have to answer to the creator for the decisions we made in our life times.  As a president - the decisions you make will have a lot more consequence than most people’s decisions.  And so I pray that you would have the integrity to lead us into justice with grace.

8-11  His kingdom will reach from sea to sea, from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.  The peoples of the desert will bow down before him; his enemies will throw themselves to the ground.  The kings of Spain and of the islands will offer him gifts; the kings of Sheba and Seba will bring him offerings.  All kings will bow down before him; all nations will serve him.

Again - the Psalmist is praising a Divine King.  At Christmas time we are reminded of the sages who came to lay their gifts at Jesus’ feet.  A fulfillment of these words about Godly Kings.  For a while the world looked to South Africa as a model of reconciliation and restoration.  The most powerful rulers looked to us for advice and help in matters of diplomacy.  Do the difficult task of leading us into justice - and the world will look to us.  We will see foreign investment, we will wield influence without using force and violence.  South African can show the world a better way.

12-14 He rescues the poor who call to him, and those who are needy and neglected.  He has pity on the weak and poor; he saves the lives of those in need.  He rescues them from oppression and violence; their lives are precious to him.

The Psalmist keeps coming back to this theme.  It is almost the primary task of the King to see that the poor, needy, weak, neglected, oppressed and violated are rescued.  One area in which we need to see real radical transformation is in the cause of justice for the poorest and weakest.  In the Western Cape we see too few police in the poorest areas and lots in the richest.  It is this kind of distribution of resources that reveals our priorities.  Crime in the suburbs and against the rich seems to garner all of the media’s attention.  But what about the poor?  

As a person in power it might be tempting to see the rich investors as your most precious citizens.  But a godly King will lead those rich investors in such a way that the poor, needy, weak, neglected, violated and oppressed are rescued.  Because all people are precious to God.

15-17 Long live the king!  May he be given gold from Sheba; may prayers be said for him at all times; may God’s blessings be on him always!  May there be plenty of corn in the land; may the hills be covered with crops, as fruitful as those of Lebanon.  May the cities be filled with people, like fields full of grass.  May the king’s name never be forgotten; may his fame last as long as the sun.  May all nations ask God to bless them as he has blessed the king.

With South Africa’s divided politics whoever is in power is guaranteed to have a lot of enemies.  You became president of the ANC with a very narrow margin of victory.  It looks like the next national elections will further erode the ANC’s power.  This is not always a bad thing.  Democratically elected officials need to remember that they in some way also represent the people who didn’t vote for them.

As citizens we have a responsibility to pray for good leaders.  To support them with our prayers, deeds and taxes.  Even if we didn’t vote for them.

18-20 Praise the LORD, the God of Israel!  He alone does these wonderful things.  Praise his glorious name for ever!  May his glory fill the whole world.
Amen! Amen!

This is the end of the prayers of David son of Jesse.

As the Psalm draws to a conclusion - David points firmly in God’s direction.  It is only in God’s power that a leader can lead in God’s way.  And so we pray that a new leader would lead in such a way that God’s glory would fill the whole world.

In the final verse, we read the comment: “This is the end of the prayers of David…”  As David writes this prayer we know that he doesn’t pray for himself; but rather for his son, Solomon, and for the legacy of Kings that will follow.

Your time of leadership will come to an end, just as David’s did.  You might not achieve all the goals you set out to achieve - but - when the time comes; hand over gracefully - with a prayer that bestows as much blessing and hope as this one does.

God bless, strengthen, guide you, and endow you with justice and righteousness to lead this nation into justice with grace and peace.

This is my prayer for those who lead our nation at this time.

God bless,

Rev Angus Kelly

Can I get my child baptised if I’m not a member of the church?

The way I see it - when you bring your children to be baptised you are asking to be a member of the church.  So yes - you’re welcome to join the church and get your children baptised all at once.

When parents bring their children to be baptised we ask them to publicly make the following commitments:

I ask you now to respond to God's love and grace to your child / children by making these promises:

Will you love these your children, caring for them in body, mind and spirit?

Will you ensure that they are nurtured in the faith and life of the Christian community?

Will you set before them a Christian example, that through your prayers, words and deeds, they may learn the way of Christ?

With God's help we will.

The minister says to the godparents:

Will you help these parents to nurture their children in the Christian faith?

With God's help we will.

Will you love these your children, caring for them in body, mind and spirit?

I always remind prospective parents of children to be baptized that they are very good at making sure their children are cared for in body and mind.  Planning education, diet, healthy activities etc.  But the greatest worry is ‘spirit’.

Are we nurturing our children spiritually?

Teaching them to pray?

Teaching them to worship?

Teaching them to serve God?

Helping them to realise that they are not just body and mind, but they are soul too.

Will you ensure that they are nurtured in the faith and life of the Christian community?

We live in the age of individuality and isolation - but Jesus calls us into community.  Jesus teaches enemies to sit together around the same table and share bread and wine.  Jesus says to the most deplorable sinners: “Your sins are forgiven…”  Jesus calls us to be together with those whom he loves - and not just the people that we love.

To be a Christian community we need to learn to be a diverse group of people together.  People who speak different languages, think different thoughts - and occupy different economic positions.

This is not easy; it goes against our better judgment sometimes.  Jesus calls us to make an effort to be a part of something greater than ourselves.

We do this by creating a church community.  Old and young, rich and poor, black, white, normal and odd who gather together as often as possible to break bread, to pray and to hear God’s word together.

We do this by creating a Sunday School and Youth Groups where children can meet together to learn worship and grow.

Most of the people who ask if their children can be baptised are not currently part of a Christian community.

Having babies tends to isolate people.  Sunday morning is that one chance to sleep in - to clean up - to rest and restore.  Being part of Christian community becomes too difficult a burden to bear.

In short - we expect you to be a member of the church in order to make this commitment.  The good news - we have low standards and high expectations.

Our high expectations:  You devote yourself to becoming Christ-like and you help others to do the same.

Our low standards:  According to our ‘Book of Order’ (AKA rule book) -

CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP

3.1.  The conditions, privileges and duties of membership in the Methodist Church follow the tradition common to the Methodist People from the beginning. Membership is not conditional upon the profession of theological tenets, or dependent upon traditional authority or ecclesiastical ritual. It is based upon a personal experience of the Lord Jesus Christ, brought about by the Spirit, ranging from the earliest signs of Divine Grace in the soul to its crowning blessedness in the joy of ‘perfect love’, and upon a sharing of such gifts of grace with others seeking or enjoying a similar experience.

3.2.  All persons are welcomed into membership who sincerely desire to be saved from their sins through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and show the same in life and conduct, and who seek to have communion with Christ Himself and His people by taking up the duties and privileges of the Methodist Church.

According to my interpretation of the above, if you can answer yes to these questions - you count as a member:

Do you want to be more like Jesus?

Do you need all the help you can get?

Do you want to be all the help you can be?

Even if you haven’t been to church for the last 20 years - you are always welcome back.  Life with kids is crazy busy - but we’d love it if we could help each other along the way.

By coming to church as regularly as possible you do an important part of what you promise to do when you bring your child to be baptised:

1 - Care for them in body, mind and spirit.

2 - Nurture them in the faith and life of Christian Community.

3 - …

The third commitment we ask you to make is the hardest:

Will you set before them a Christian example, that through your prayers, words and deeds, they may learn the way of Christ?

This is the hardest thing that we parents are asked to do - not just to to tell them about Jesus - but to show them what Jesus is like through our words and deeds.  Our children’s first impressions of God come through our example.  To do this difficult task we need all the help we can get and Jesus offers us all the help we need:

Through the renewing power of God the Holy Spirit.

Through reading the scriptures and praying.

Through supporting each other in a diverse Christian community as we gather to worship God and share communion.

None of us are ‘there yet’ but we’re all a work in progress.

Before the Baptism

Before the baptism those bringing their children to be baptised and the whole congregation affirm the following together:

Do you turn away from evil and all that denies God;
And do you turn to God trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour,
and in the Holy Spirit as Helper and Guide?

By the grace of God I do.

To everyone present:

Do you believe in God the Father, creator of heaven and Earth?

We do.

Do you believe in his Son, Jesus Christ, who redeemed humankind?

We do.

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies the people of God?

We do.

Together we confess our faith in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit - and we commit to resisting evil and allowing Jesus, our saviour to be our rescuer and the Holy Spirit to be our guide.

Our confession of faith in Father, Son and Holy Spirit is a summary of the Apostle’s Creed - an ancient summary statement of the faith of the earliest Christians:

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

Amen.

Please speak to me or contact the office if you would like to have your child baptised.  Baptism services take place at least once every three months at any of our three services on a Sunday.

God bless,

Rev Angus Kelly

Also Please see:

Frequently Asked Questions

Liturgy for Baptism and Confirmation

Submit your Details for our Membership Role

Hi Tech Preacher

Logos Bible Software

You really have to just visit their website to see what Logos is about.  https://www.logos.com/
To buy the whole thing is quite pricey - but lucky for me I was a very early adopter - when it was still called 'libronix' and I bought my first package on a sale at Scripture Union years ago - when it still came in CD form.

Mostly I use the NRSV with Greek and Hebrew parallels.
I find the Anchor Bible Dictionary very useful.
And the IVP Bible Background commentaries and dictionaries.

Kindle

Kindle is really useful for preaching prep.  I am frustrated by not being able to lend people my books - but I'm also pleased that I'm not constantly losing books.  Best thing is I can make the most of any moment.  Kindle on my phone, iPad, PC, and Kindle means I can highlight and annotate wherever I am and those highlights are available when I check in to my PC.

Duet App

It is great to be able to connect in a second screen via USB through the Duet App.  Running books, libraries etc. all on one computer I can easily glance from left to right at all my windows.

This is also helpful when planning worship - I set up the presentation program on one screen and keep all the order of service lists etc. on the other side.

Macbook Pro - 2011

Macs are expensive.  But after 5 years this one is still running strong.  Battery life is significant - lasting about 5 hours at a time.  Included programs like Keynote and Pages + the upgrades of the OS for free make a mac a no brainer.  Only problem is they're getting more and more expensive :(.

Microsoft Word

I like Microsoft Word because I can use shortcuts for Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3 formats and write a structured document quickly.  I can also use the 'Draft' view in order to minimize my word processor into the left hand corner.

#Halloween Taunting the King of Babylon Isaiah 14 - Bible Study

Many Christians have made Halloween about the devil.

The truth is it is not about the devil - it is about the soul.  All the scary stuff is meant to invite you to take a good look at your soul; is it a ghostly rotting corpse - or a shining light?

Medieval morality plays were designed to 'scare the hell' out of you.  A character who did something evil was carried off by people dressed as demons - and a character who did what was good would be rescued by beautiful angels.  The night of "All Halo's Eve" became an opportunity to think of the darkness and torment of crooked souls; following the night of terror - a day of hope - all souls day.  A reminder that human evil can be defeated.  Souls do not need to be ugly.

The prophet Isaiah warns Israel about her impending exile under the evil, tyrannical, Babylonian King.  He tells the Israelites that this King will eventually be overthrown and the people will take up a taunt against the king of Babylon.  This kind of taunt is a part of the theological thinking behind a festival like Halloween.

A reminder of mortality.
A reminder of justice in death - the great equalizer; a warning taunt to tyrants.

Isaiah 14:4-23

...you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:
    How the oppressor has ceased!
    How his insolence has ceased!
    5      The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked,
    the scepter of rulers,
    6      that struck down the peoples in wrath
    with unceasing blows,
    that ruled the nations in anger
    with unrelenting persecution.
    7      The whole earth is at rest and quiet;
    they break forth into singing.
    8      The cypresses exult over you,
    the cedars of Lebanon, saying,
    “Since you were laid low,
    no one comes to cut us down.”
    9      Sheol beneath is stirred up
    to meet you when you come;
    it rouses the shades to greet you,
    all who were leaders of the earth;
    it raises from their thrones
    all who were kings of the nations.
    10      All of them will speak
    and say to you:
    “You too have become as weak as we!
    You have become like us!”
    11      Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,
    and the sound of your harps;
    maggots are the bed beneath you,
    and worms are your covering.

    12      How you are fallen from heaven,
    O Day Star, son of Dawn!
    How you are cut down to the ground,
    you who laid the nations low!
    13      You said in your heart,
    “I will ascend to heaven;
    I will raise my throne
    above the stars of God;
    I will sit on the mount of assembly
    on the heights of Zaphon;
    14      I will ascend to the tops of the clouds,
    I will make myself like the Most High.”
    15      But you are brought down to Sheol,
    to the depths of the Pit.
    16      Those who see you will stare at you,
    and ponder over you:
    “Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
    who shook kingdoms,
    17      who made the world like a desert
    and overthrew its cities,
    who would not let his prisoners go home?”
    18      All the kings of the nations lie in glory,
    each in his own tomb;
    19      but you are cast out, away from your grave,
    like loathsome carrion,
    clothed with the dead, those pierced by the sword,
    who go down to the stones of the Pit,
    like a corpse trampled underfoot.
    20      You will not be joined with them in burial,
    because you have destroyed your land,
    you have killed your people.

    May the descendants of evildoers
    nevermore be named!
    21      Prepare slaughter for his sons
    because of the guilt of their father.
    Let them never rise to possess the earth
    or cover the face of the world with cities.

22 I will rise up against them, says the LORD of hosts, and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, offspring and posterity, says the LORD. 23 And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction, says the LORD of hosts.

Scary Bits

The Welcome Committee (Isaiah 14:9-11)

9      Sheol beneath is stirred up
    to meet you when you come;
    it rouses the shades to greet you,
    all who were leaders of the earth;
    it raises from their thrones
    all who were kings of the nations.
    10      All of them will speak
    and say to you:
    “You too have become as weak as we!
    You have become like us!”
    11      Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,
    and the sound of your harps;
    maggots are the bed beneath you,
    and worms are your covering.

The New King James inspired New Revised Standard Version gives these verses a beautiful dark poetry.  This is the stuff of horror movies.

Verse 9 - Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come...

Sheol is the name for the place of the dead.  It is almost as if the writer is reveling in death's hunger for the soul of the king of Babylon.  If that wasn't scary enough:

it rouses the shades to greet you...

The NIV is probably a little less scary - and a bit more explanation occurs in the translation:

The grave below is all astir to meet you at your coming; it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you—
- Isaiah 14:9 (NIV)

This is the stuff of Halloween... an open grave with scary spirits waiting to greet you.  The King of Babylon, just like all the rich, powerful, arrogant, evil leaders who have gone before him and will come after him will be met by 'the spirits of the departed'.

Got goosebumps yet?

Verse 10 - You too have become as weak as we!

As we remember the beginning of this passage - verse 4 says:  'You will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon...'

I think the reader is meant to imagine all the 'spirits of the departed' especially 'those who were leaders of the earth' in ghostly forms taunting the King of Babylon:
 "You too have become as weak as we!"

I imagine this taunt in a hissing, evil voice repeated again and again.

"You too have become as weak as we!  You have become weak like us!"

Those who taunt the king of Babylon are making the king of Babylon afraid of death.  Reminding him of his mortality.

Got goosebumps yet?

Verse 11 - ...maggots are the bed beneath you, and worms are your covering.

I don't think this verse needs much explanation.  Maggots and worms swarm around decaying flesh.  Isaiah's imagination allows us to feel them gently tickling.  They really do give me the creeps.  Imagine waking up to that sensation.

Got goosebumps yet?

Verses 12-17 - The Folly of Pride

The King of Babylon was the leader of a great super power.  Verses 12-18 describe his power... "...the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms..." He called himself the 'Day Star'; the King James renders this 'Lucifer' which means bringer of light and has become a common term for Satan.

In his arrogance, the king of Babylon used all of his power to do evil.

Verse 18 - Cast out from the grave

This really is the stuff of a great horror movie.  Isaiah is describing a truly tormented soul - the kings of the nations may rest in their tombs (Verse 17) but the king of Babylon is so evil that the grave casts him out... and he is doomed.  Either to die exposed - not buried.  Or - and this is a scarier interpretation - doomed to not die, but to be like:

'loathsome carrion, clothed with the dead... like a corpse trampled underfoot.'
- Verse 18

Now remember this is a taunt... this is very angry, hurt people, bent on revenge telling the king of Babylon what might happen to him.  Telling him about what awaits him in death... a great humbling.

Verse 23 - Hedgehog...

And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog...
- Isaiah 14:23

And finally - to taunt the king of Babylon and point out just how insignificant his life is.  Isaiah tells the people to tell him that hedgehogs will inherit all his wealth.  Little creatures that live under bushes and really couldn't care about all of his power and influence.

Goosebumps

The taunt of the King of Babylon in Isaiah 14:12-23 is meant to scare the hell out of you.  It is meant to make you think about your soul, with sober fear, you are meant to turn to God.  It is like learning to drive carefully by almost having an accident when you were driving foolishly.

Praying thanks...

John Ortberg speaks of writing a thanksgiving letter to someone you're grateful for.  Write it, make an appointment to see them - and then read the letter to them.

You can imagine receiving such an appointment as a little bit awkward.  But it would be quite moving.

Writing the thanksgiving letter and reading it would also be quite an experience.

How about with God?

When we say grace before a meal, when we express our thanks in songs and prayers of praise at church - do we really feel the gratitude.

The art of talking to your soul...

I've been reading Soul Keeping by John Ortberg.  Something that has struck me is the idea of talking to your soul.  Especially this verse in Psalm 42.

11      Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.

- Psalm 42:11

It made me think of the nature of a conversation with your soul.  In conversation as if I was separate from my soul.  There is some wisdom in saying talk to your soul.

This is different to talking to yourself.

When you talk to yourself YOU feel pressure to respond.  So you say to yourself: "Cheer up!"  But you don't - and then you feel guilty for not listening to yourself.

When you talk to your soul you accept your sadness - and you say to your soul; as if it was separate from you - "Cheer up!"  And there is no pressure for you to respond.  You are talking to something deep inside you.  And you are allowed to speak to yourself quite freely and honestly without feeling guilty about not cheering up - not listening to yourself.

And so the Psalmist talks to his soul:  "Why are you cast down?  Why are you disquieted?" And the Psalmist advises his soul:  "Hope in God"  Witnessing and encouraging:  "I shall again praise him, my help and my God."

Try it.