Isaiah 14:24Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Babylon shall be transformed into a desolate wasteland, and it will remain so indefinitely. He declares that all He has determined, confirmed through His judgment to annihilate the Assyrians in His land and in His mountains, will be accomplished; they will be trodden down, their possessions will be taken away, and their glory will vanish.

Sennacherib sent his envoy Rabshekah from Lachish to Jerusalem. Surrounding the city with Assyrian forces, Rabshekah blasphemed the glory of God and spoke with a savage disdain, declaring, "Let not Hezekiah deceive you, saying, 'Your God will surely deliver you from the hand of the Assyrians'" (Isaiah 36:18). However, when he attempted to impose bondage upon those who were originally free, claiming for himself and his master an unfounded glory, he faced unforeseen disaster. For upon rising early in the morning, he discovered all the bodies lifeless (2 Kings 19:35). He learned firsthand that the Leader of the faithful is all-powerful, and that nothing can stand against His divine will.

Similarly, the holy mountain of God, where the Assyrians ‘will be trodden down,’ symbolizes him who has flourished in righteous deeds and has ascended in wisdom and understanding; through him, enemies will be subdued. God will liberate us from every yoke that the Assyrians have imposed. They held themselves in high regard because they burdened the people of God, leading astray those who were captivated by sin. With the assurance that our adversaries will be vanquished in God’s domain and crushed on His holy mountains, let us strive to dismantle their authority entirely. For if we embody the mountains of God, then the ‘foundations’ of God (Psalm 86:2) will reside within us, as the truth of His word will be firmly established in our hearts, with virtuous deeds built upon faith. Yet, we must entirely detach ourselves from sin to be liberated from the yoke of the Assyrians, finding refuge under the lordship of Christ. We cannot bear two burdens—the yoke of the Lord and the yoke of Assyria: ‘For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?’ (2 Cor. 6:14).

The unforeseen adversary rushes not only to seize the sacred land but also to dominate those who have excelled in virtues, likened to mountains, as expressed in the psalm, ‘His foundations are upon the mountains of the saints’ (Psalm 86:1). Notice the distinction: the enemy is defeated upon the earth, but it is the Lord Himself who treads on the mountains of God. Ultimately, as all adversaries come under Christ’s authority—leading to the demise of death—the burdensome yoke of the Assyrian, which once oppressed the saints, will be lifted from them. The LXX translates the term as χΰδος, meaning their glory shall be removed from them, allowing them to behold the goodness of rest and the richness of the land. They will willingly place themselves under the yoke of Christ to cultivate the earth.

Thus, Issachar, meaning ‘reward,’ derives its name from virtues. As it is written in the prophet, ‘there is a reward for those who serve the Lord’ (Jeremiah 31:16) and in another passage, ‘behold, the Lord God comes with recompense’ (Isaiah 40:10), who will give each person according to their deeds. The crushing and trampling of the Assyrians—representative of the opposing forces—are also foretold in the Gospel: ‘Behold, I give you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy.’ The Apostle affirms, ‘God will crush Satan under your feet shortly’ (Rom. 16:20).