Isaiah 10:5-34 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Isaiah 10:5-34.
Isaiah 10:5-19 (NIV)
5 “Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath!
6 I send him against a godless nation, I dispatch him against a people who anger me, to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets.
7 But this is not what he intends, this is not what he has in mind; his purpose is to destroy, to put an end to many nations.
8 ‘Are not my commanders all kings?’ he says.
9 ‘Has not Calno fared like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad, and Samaria like Damascus?
10 As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols, kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria–
11 shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?'”
12 When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes.
13 For he says: “‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding. I removed the boundaries of nations, I plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued their kings.
14 As one reaches into a nest, so my hand reached for the wealth of the nations; as men gather abandoned eggs, so I gathered all the countries; not one flapped a wing, or opened its mouth to chirp.'”
15 Does the ax raise itself above him who swings it, or the saw boast against him who uses it? As if a rod were to wield him who lifts it up, or a club brandish him who is not wood!
16 Therefore, the Lord, the LORD Almighty, will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors; under his pomp a fire will be kindled like a blazing flame.
17 The Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One a flame; in a single day it will burn and consume his thorns and his briers.
18 The splendor of his forests and fertile fields it will completely destroy, as when a sick man wastes away.
19 And the remaining trees of his forests will be so few that a child could write them down.
On verses 5-19: God was using Assyria as an instrument to carry out God’s wrath against nations like Judah and Israel. However, Assyria was oblivious to this fact and pridefully assumed that all of its power and dominance was the result of Assyria’s own power, prowess and ability. For example, in this passage:
– the King of Assyria boasts that his commanders are kings (v8) and that the cities of Judah and Israel are destroyed just like other cities that the Assyrians defeated (v9-11).
– the King of Assyria boasts that by his own strength and wisdom he conquered other nations (v13-14)
So in response to Assyria’s boasting, here in Isaiah 10:5-34, God says that He will punish Assyria for its pride (see verse 12) and bring Assyria down (v16-19), such that Assyria will ultimately become just like the very nations that it cut down. God wants to remind Assyria that Assyria is nothing without the Lord, just like an axe has no power without the person wielding it (v15). Once again we see that pride comes before a fall.
Isaiah 10:20-27 (NIV)
20 In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of the house of Jacob, will no longer rely on him who struck them down but will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.
21 A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God.
22 Though your people, O Israel, be like the sand by the sea, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, overwhelming and righteous.
23 The Lord, the LORD Almighty, will carry out the destruction decreed upon the whole land.
24 Therefore, this is what the Lord, the LORD Almighty, says: “O my people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians, who beat you with a rod and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did.
25 Very soon my anger against you will end and my wrath will be directed to their destruction.”
26 The LORD Almighty will lash them with a whip, as when he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb; and he will raise his staff over the waters, as he did in Egypt.
27 In that day their burden will be lifted from your shoulders, their yoke from your neck; the yoke will be broken because you have grown so fat.
On verses 20-27: Here God promises that while much of Israel and Judah will be destroyed as He ordained, a faithful remnant will remain (v21-23). That faithful remnant will turn to God and God will eventually deliver them from Assyria, just as God had delivered His people from Egypt many centuries before (v25-27). At that time the faithful remanent will no longer rely on Assyria but on God, not on the axe but on the One who holds the axe (v20). Thus the Israelites need not fear the Assyrians, but should fear the Lord (v24).
Isaiah 10:29-34 (NIV)
28 They enter Aiath; they pass through Migron; they store supplies at Micmash.
29 They go over the pass, and say, “We will camp overnight at Geba.” Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul flees.
30 Cry out, O Daughter of Gallim! Listen, O Laishah! Poor Anathoth!
31 Madmenah is in flight; the people of Gebim take cover.
32 This day they will halt at Nob; they will shake their fist at the mount of the Daughter of Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem.
33 See, the Lord, the LORD Almighty, will lop off the boughs with great power. The lofty trees will be felled, the tall ones will be brought low.
34 He will cut down the forest thickets with an ax; Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One.
On verses 28-34: These verses describe the Assyrians sweeping through parts of Judah and Israel (v28-31) but they are stopped by the Lord who cuts them down (v32-34).
What can we learn from this?
– God is sovereign. He can choose to use whomever He wants to accomplish His purposes.
– It is possible to be used by God and be completely oblivious to it. God would prefer to work with people in a way where the people and God are aware of one another and working actively together. But even in cases where the people are unaware, God can still use that people, only in a blunt instrument kind of way where there is no relationship.
– When God uses you or enables you to achieve great success, be humble about it. Be careful not to assume that all of the success, accomplishments and power you achieve is simply due to your own ability or hard work. Recognize that without God you would have nothing.
– Just as God was telling His people not to put their hope in Assyria but in Him, place your hope not in people or things, but in the LORD who alone is sovereign and all powerful.
Father, You are Sovereign and You can use whomever You want. So may I not become prideful when I experience any kind of success, knowing that without You none of it would be possible. May You be my hope, not something or someone else. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
