Isaiah 10
-God will not let His anger turn
away nor will He let His Hand not be stretched out against Assyria as well
because of their haughtiness and evil practices. This nation would shortly be
cut down by the Babylonian Empire, never to be a world power again. The LORD
used this nation as an instrument of His discipline upon His people and the
surrounding nations, but their time of recompense would come for all to see.
Woe is pronounced upon Israel and all who: enact evil statutes, constantly
record unjust decisions, deprive the needy of justice, rob the poor of their
rights, take spoil from widows, and plunder the orphans (Isaiah 10:1-2). These
will have no place to leave their wealth in the day of punishment as their
devastation comes from afar. They will have no one to flee to and they will
abide with the captives or fall among the slain (Isaiah 10:3-4).
-God uses an excellent
illustration to portray how He used the Assyrians and why they should never
have become arrogant. The axe does not boast of what is has done to the one who
chops with it, nor does the saw exalt itself over the one who wields (uses) it.
That would be like a club wielding those who lift it or a rod of wood lifting
the user of it (Isaiah 10:15). God exudes the fact that He is sovereign and how
He will now prove His point with this prideful nation of Assyria. He will
destroy them with a wasting disease in their stout warriors and show Israel who
their true Savior is. Assyria’s downfall came in 612 B.C., long after their
repentant revival in the time of Jonah, when Nineveh fell to an allied army composed of Medes, Persians,
Chaldeans, Babylonians, Scythians, and Cimmerians who besieged and sacked it.
Once Assyria’s army was destroyed, a remnant group of God’s people stopped
relying on their earthly power and gravitated back to a supernatural source in
their LORD. Although it was only a fraction of the people (see Isaiah 11:10-16)
who returned to Judah, the LORD was with them keeping His covenant (Isaiah
10:20-27).
-The remaining verses map out basically the path that Assyria would take in
invading the Holy Land when they took over the Northern Kingdom and threatened
Jerusalem (Isaiah 10:28-34). *Application* God will eventually punish the fruit
of anyone who has an arrogant and hard heart with self-absorbed pomp and
splendor in haughtiness (Isaiah 10:12). Those who rely on the power of their
own hands and their own worldly wisdom, who think they can rely on their own
understanding so as to change things by their own way with evil intent and
practices will be brought down in judgment by the King of the Universe who has
all power and authority (Isaiah 10:13). You cannot outflank God. He rules, so
be humble and submissive. His plans are the only ones that will succeed in the
end, so join His side of things. You’ll find that He is good and His rewards
last eternally. Count on this truth!
Verse to Memorize: Isaiah 10:20
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