Isaiah 10
God’s Sovereignty over The Punishment and Preservation of Israel
Chapter 10:1-4 continues Isaiah’s prophecy of coming judgment for Israel. As a tool in the hand of God, the Assyrians would surely come. But because of His faithful love, the wrath of the Lord of heaven’s armies would also be unleashed against Assyria. God would both punish the rebellious and preserve a remnant.
God’s Hand Is Raised to Strike
Vs. 1-2 - Woe to those enacting crooked statutes and writing oppressive laws to keep the poor from getting a fair trial
Vs. 4 - In all this, his anger has not turned away, and his hand is still raised to strike.
This section closed out Isaiah’s pronouncement of judgement on His rebellious people with a fourth repetition of the phrase “his hand is still raised.” God would continue to judge His people until He accomplished His divine redemptive purpose. He would rescue, but not before He rebuked.
Special blame is placed on the judges and civil leaders who, through injustice and corruption, have oppressed the people while making themselves rich. But their wealth will not save them when God sends a foreign army to destroy the nation and take its survivors captive. - Don Fleming
God Will Use Assyria
A Godless Nation
Vs. 5-6 - Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger— the staff in their hands is my wrath. I will send him against a godless nation; I will command him to go.
In the previous section (Isaiah 7:1-10:4), the LORD revealed that He would use Assyria as an instrument of judgment against Syria, Israel, and Judah. But what about Assyria? Weren’t they even more wicked than Syria, Israel, or Judah? Yes, the Assyrians were wicked; yet the LORD could use them as the rod of My anger. At the same time, none of this excused Assyria, so the LORD says, “woe to Assyria.” - David Guzik
A similar shift in the object of divine judgment occurred in the case of the Babylonians. God raised up the Babylonian armies between 605 and 686 B.C. to punish Judah (Habakkuk 1:6-11), and then He announced judgment on Babylon (Habakkuk 2:6-17; Isaiah 14:5). - Wolf
It is a curious thing that God would judge the sins of His people by sending a nation guilty of even greater sin. This was the central struggle of Habakkuk’s prophecy.
Habakkuk struggled with how to understand God's actions in history, especially his use of an unrighteous nation as the instrument of his justice. God's answer to Habakkuk’s objection was that “the righteous one will live by faith” (2:4). - Joe Sprinkle
A Divine Tool
Vs. 15 - Does an ax exalt itself above the one who chops with it? Does a saw magnify itself above the one who saws with it?
Assyria, again personified, manifested arrogance and haughtiness by boasting that all her victories were the result of her own strength and intelligence. - Thomas Constable
God Will Judge Assyria
I Will Punish
Vs. 12 - But when the Lord finishes all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for his arrogant acts and the proud look in his eyes.”
Vs. 25 - In just a little while my wrath will be spent and my anger will turn to their destruction.
Assyria is merely a tool that God uses to do his work, but when that tool tries to make itself greater than the one who uses it, it must be destroyed. - Don Fleming
Since Assyria was an instrument in God’s hand, since they were doing the will of the LORD, does this excuse their attack on Syria, Israel, and Judah? Not at all! Though they were instruments in God’s hand, they did not mean so, nor does his heart think so. They didn’t care at all about God’s will or glory in the matter. - David Guzik
This segment presents Yahweh as the transcendent God who controls the destiny of all nations. He creates history just as He created the cosmos. The victory of the Assyrians did not prove the superiority of her gods, nor did Judah’s defeat mean that Yahweh was inferior. Assyria did not consciously serve God. She planned to pursue her own selfish purposes and to destroy many nations to expand her own empire. She mistakenly thought she was sovereign. - Thomas Constable
The Lofty Tree
Vs. 33 - But look! The Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will chop down the mighty tree of Assyria with great power! He will cut down the proud. That lofty tree will be brought down.
In the final verses of this chapter, Isaiah paints a vivid picture of an Assyrian attack on Jerusalem - the setting up of the base camp, the rapid approach over the mountains and through the valleys, the conquest of towns along the way, the flight of the citizens. But the Assyrian army is suddenly smashed by God, like a giant tree that is chopped down and comes crashing to the ground. - Don Fleming
God Will Preserve His People
A Remnant Will Return
Vs. 20-22 - On that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer depend on the one who struck them, but they will faithfully depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the Mighty God. Israel, even if your people were as numerous as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return.
The LORD told Judah to not trust in Assyria as their deliverer when the threat from Syria and Israel came (Isaiah 7). The LORD promised that He would deliver them from Syria and Israel and that they did not have to trust in Assyria. But Ahaz, king of Judah, did not take God’s counsel and trusted in Assyria. The LORD would then use Assyria to defeat Syria and Israel as He had promised, but He would also use Assyria to judge Judah. Now, the LORD wants to prepare Judah for the attack from Assyria, reminding them that He is still in charge and they can still trust Him.
This shows the remarkable grace and longsuffering of God. We would not criticize the LORD if He said, “You want to trust in the Assyrians and not in Me? Fine. You are now on your own. Good luck.” But even in the midst of the judgment they deserved, brought through the Assyrians, God wants to comfort His people and bring them hope. - David Guzik
My Anger Will End
Vs. 24-25 - Therefore, the Lord God of Armies says this: “My people who dwell in Zion, do not fear Assyria, though they strike you with a rod and raise their staff over you as the Egyptians did. In just a little while my wrath will be spent and my anger will turn to their destruction.”
Isaiah prophesied that God’s anger would not burn against His people forever. He would both punish and preserve His people, and a day would soon come when His wrath would turn to the judgment of the Assyrians.
God’s wrath against His covenant people is temporary, but His wrath against Assyria will end in their destruction. - Tremper Longman III
