{"id":25224,"date":"2023-02-12T22:00:58","date_gmt":"2023-02-13T05:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/isaiah-9_8-10_4-copy\/"},"modified":"2023-02-07T22:54:01","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T05:54:01","slug":"isaiah-10_5-34","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/isaiah-10_5-34\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ax Holder Is More Important Than The Ax"},"content":{"rendered":"

Isaiah 10:5-34 \u00a0 Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Isaiah 10:5-34.<\/p>\n

Isaiah 10:5-19 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath!
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I 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.
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But 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.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0‘Are not my commanders all kings?’ he says.
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0‘Has not Calno fared like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad, and Samaria like Damascus?
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols, kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria–
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?'”
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When 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.
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For 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.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0As 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.'”
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Does 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!
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Therefore, the Lord, the\u00a0LORD\u00a0Almighty, will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors; under his pomp a fire will be kindled like a blazing flame.
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The 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.
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The splendor of his forests and fertile fields it will completely destroy, as when a sick man wastes away.
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And the remaining trees of his forests will be so few that a child could write them down.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 5-19:\u00a0 God was using Assyria as an instrument to carry out God\u2019s wrath against nations like Judah and Israel.\u00a0 However, Assyria was oblivious to this fact and pridefully assumed that all of its power and dominance was the result of Assyria\u2019s own power, prowess and ability.\u00a0 For example, in this passage:
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0the 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).
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0the King of Assyria boasts that by his own strength and wisdom he conquered other nations (v13-14)<\/p>\n

So in response to Assyria\u2019s 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.\u00a0 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).\u00a0 Once again we see that pride comes before a fall.<\/p>\n

Isaiah 10:20-27 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0In 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\u00a0LORD, the Holy One of Israel.
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God.
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Though your people, O Israel, be like the sand by the sea, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, overwhelming and righteous.
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The Lord, the\u00a0LORD\u00a0Almighty, will carry out the destruction decreed upon the whole land.
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Therefore, this is what the Lord, the\u00a0LORD\u00a0Almighty, 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.
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Very soon my anger against you will end and my wrath will be directed to their destruction.”
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0LORD\u00a0Almighty 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.
\n27\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0In 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.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 20-27:\u00a0 Here God promises that while much of Israel and Judah will be destroyed as He ordained, a faithful remnant will remain (v21-23).\u00a0 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).\u00a0 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).\u00a0 Thus the Israelites need not fear the Assyrians, but should fear the Lord (v24).<\/p>\n

Isaiah 10:29-34 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n28\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0They enter Aiath; they pass through Migron; they store supplies at Micmash.
\n29\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0They go over the pass, and say, “We will camp overnight at Geba.” Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul flees.
\n30\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Cry out, O Daughter of Gallim! Listen, O Laishah! Poor Anathoth!
\n31\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Madmenah is in flight; the people of Gebim take cover.
\n32\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0This day they will halt at Nob; they will shake their fist at the mount of the Daughter of Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem.
\n33\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0See, the Lord, the\u00a0LORD\u00a0Almighty, will lop off the boughs with great power. The lofty trees will be felled, the tall ones will be brought low.
\n34\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He will cut down the forest thickets with an ax; Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 28-34:\u00a0 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).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0God is sovereign.\u00a0 He can choose to use whomever He wants to accomplish His purposes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is possible to be used by God and be completely oblivious to it. \u00a0God would prefer to work with people in a way where the people and God are aware of one another and working actively together<\/strong>.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When God uses you or enables you to achieve great success, be humble about it.<\/strong>\u00a0 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.\u00a0\u00a0Recognize that without God you would have nothing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Just as God was telling His people not to put their hope in Assyria but in Him,\u00a0place your hope not in people or things, but in the LORD who alone is sovereign and all powerful<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Father, You are Sovereign and You can use whomever You want.\u00a0 So may I not become prideful when I experience any kind of success, knowing that without You none of it would be possible.\u00a0 May You be my hope, not something or someone else.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Isaiah 10:5-34.<\/p>\n

Isaiah 10:5-19 (NIV)
\n5\u00a0\u00a0“Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath!
\n6\u00a0\u00a0I 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.
\n7\u00a0\u00a0But 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.
\n8\u00a0\u00a0‘Are not my commanders all kings?’ he says.<\/p>\n

On verses 5-19:\u00a0 God was using Assyria as an instrument to carry out God\u2019s wrath against nations like Judah and Israel.\u00a0 However, Assyria was oblivious to this fact and pridefully assumed that all of its power and dominance was the result of Assyria\u2019s own power, prowess and ability.\u00a0 For example, in this passage:
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0the 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).
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0the King of Assyria boasts that by his own strength and wisdom he conquered other nations (v13-14)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25226,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25224"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25227,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25224\/revisions\/25227"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}