Whether you prefer the RSV translation “I will make it a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water,” or (perhaps more appropriate for Halloween) the NABRE translation “I will make it a haunt of hoot owls and a marshland,” we can definitely agree that there’s something odd going on in Isaiah 14:23. And as we look outside our windows this week, with October 31 approaching, we can definitely agree that there’s something odd going on out there too. Now, while I do not think that Isaiah was writing a prophecy about Halloween decorations when he mentions a maggoty couch and a wormy blanket (Isa 14:11), I do think our celebration of Halloween needs to be informed by the haunt of the hoot owl.
Much of Isaiah 14 is a “taunt-song against the king of Babylon” (Isa 14:4), which—although maybe not as catchy as Shakespeare’s witches in MacBeth—“Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble”—is still well-suited to late October. Assisted by darkening days and decaying leaves, Halloween, like the prophet, announces, “Below, Sheol is all astir preparing for your coming” (Isa 14:9). While this verse is firstly in reference to the death of the king of Babylon and secondly to Lucifer (see Isa 14:12), there is another day when “Sheol is all astir,” preparing for another king: the King, the Lord.
Thus, the context of Isaiah’s spooky prophecy is one of great hope: “the Lord will take pity on Jacob and again choose Israel . . . on the day when the Lord gives you rest from your sorrow and turmoil” (Isa 14:1-3). Similarly, All Hallows’ Eve would have no meaning without the Solemnity of All Saints celebrated the next morning. All the horrors of the earth have to flee into the streets outside on Halloween because they cannot withstand Christ and all the saints in glory.
The Lord takes pity.
Evil is real. It is unjust and is totally against our nature. Just as the creepiness of Halloween tries to claim all of October, evil tries to creep beyond its bounds, but it is crushed by the dawn of All Saints, under the banner of Christ. Following behind that banner and “looking to Jesus as the pioneer and perfecter of our faith”(Heb 12:2), the saints “have conquered” (Rev 12:11), and we can rightfully hope that God will do the same in us.
The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked,
the staff of the tyrants
That struck the peoples in wrath
with relentless blows;
That ruled the nations in anger,
with boundless persecution.
The whole earth rests peacefully,
song breaks forth. (Isa 14:5-7)
The Lord makes this promise concerning evil: “I will make it a haunt of hoot owls and a marshland; I will sweep it with the broom of destruction, oracle of the Lord of hosts” (Isa 14:23). On that day of peace, evil will become nothing more than the haunt of hoot owls—or perhaps, “a possession of the hedgehog.”
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Photo by Alan & Elaine Wilson (CC BY-SA 3.0)
