Isaiah 10 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Isaiah 10

10:1   Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees,
    and the writers who keep writing oppression,
2   to turn aside the needy from justice
    and to rob the poor of my people of their right,
  that widows may be their spoil,
    and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
3   What will you do on the day of punishment,
    in the ruin that will come from afar?
  To whom will you flee for help,
    and where will you leave your wealth?
4   Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners
    or fall among the slain.
  For all this his anger has not turned away,
    and his hand is stretched out still.

Judgment on Arrogant Assyria

5   Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger;
    the staff in their hands is my fury!
6   Against a godless nation I send him,
    and against the people of my wrath I command him,
  to take spoil and seize plunder,
    and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
7   But he does not so intend,
    and his heart does not so think;
  but it is in his heart to destroy,
    and to cut off nations not a few;
8   for he says:
  “Are not my commanders all kings?
9   Is not Calno like Carchemish?
    Is not Hamath like Arpad?
    Is not Samaria like Damascus?
10   As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols,
    whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
11   shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols
    as I have done to Samaria and her images?”

12 When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he¹ will punish the speech² of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes. 13 For he says:

  “By the strength of my hand I have done it,
    and by my wisdom, for I have understanding;
  I remove the boundaries of peoples,
    and plunder their treasures;
    like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones.
14   My hand has found like a nest
    the wealth of the peoples;
  and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken,
    so I have gathered all the earth;
  and there was none that moved a wing
    or opened the mouth or chirped.”
15   Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it,
    or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?
  As if a rod should wield him who lifts it,
    or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!
16   Therefore the Lord GOD of hosts
    will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors,
  and under his glory a burning will be kindled,
    like the burning of fire.
17   The light of Israel will become a fire,
    and his Holy One a flame,
  and it will burn and devour
    his thorns and briers in one day.
18   The glory of his forest and of his fruitful land
    the LORD will destroy, both soul and body,
    and it will be as when a sick man wastes away.
19   The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few
    that a child can write them down.

The Remnant of Israel Will Return

20 In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. 22 For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. 23 For the Lord GOD of hosts will make a full end, as decreed, in the midst of all the earth.

24 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: “O my people, who dwell in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with the rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did. 25 For in a very little while my fury will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction. 26 And the LORD of hosts will wield against them a whip, as when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb. And his staff will be over the sea, and he will lift it as he did in Egypt. 27 And in that day his burden will depart from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because of the fat.”³

28   He has come to Aiath;
  he has passed through Migron;
    at Michmash he stores his baggage;
29   they have crossed over the pass;
    at Geba they lodge for the night;
  Ramah trembles;
    Gibeah of Saul has fled.
30   Cry aloud, O daughter of Gallim!
    Give attention, O Laishah!
    O poor Anathoth!
31   Madmenah is in flight;
    the inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety.
32   This very day he will halt at Nob;
    he will shake his fist
    at the mount of the daughter of Zion,
    the hill of Jerusalem.
33   Behold, the Lord GOD of hosts
    will lop the boughs with terrifying power;
  the great in height will be hewn down,
    and the lofty will be brought low.
34   He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an axe,
    and Lebanon will fall by the Majestic One.

Footnotes

[1] 10:12 Hebrew I
[2] 10:12 Hebrew fruit
[3] 10:27 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain

Commentary

v1-2: See 9.15-16; the influence of bad leaders; they issued oppressive decrees, and unjust laws, favouring the rich, and making the poor, particularly, suffer. Their authority was bolstered by false prophets (9.15).

v3-4: The Lord will judge those who mistreat others. They might avoid justice, and promote injustice, but they could never escape from God's judgment.

v5-6: Words directed to Assyria, to v19. Assyria was used by God to judge unbelieving Israel, see 8.3-4.

v7: Yet Assyria was ignorant of this calling. His only purpose was one of destruction and expansion. It is in the power of God to use the works of the wicked for the blessing of His people, and His own glory.

v8: Assyria's military commanders, he claimed, were kings.

v9-11: See 36.19; 37.3, referring to past victories. He expected to defeat Jerusalem in the same way, 36.18-20, thinking that Jerusalem depended on some local deity, rather than on Almighty God.

v12: Judgment would therefore fall upon Assyria for his pride, "Woe to the Assyrian," v5.

v13-14: Assyria attributed his victories to his own strength, speaking about himself, "I...me...my"

v15: Assyria was the rod of the Lord's anger, and would not be allowed to exalt itself above the Lord.

v16-19: Judgment would come as a fire kindled in the midst of the nation. The once mighty nation would become weak and fall. The image is of a forest fire, leaving just a few trees standing.

v20-23: Words addressed to Israel, as the prophet prophesied that Israel would learn its lessons. Israel had previously trusted in Assyria (2 Kings 15.19-20), but that had gained him nothing, since Assyria soon returned to defeat Israel.

A remnant returned (2 Chr 30.11), trusting in God. They had enjoyed prosperity as a populous nation, but were now reduced to a small remnant. This was no accident of history, but the hand of God upon His own people. The remnant will return; in Hebrew Shear Jashub, the name of Isaiah's son, 7.3.

v24-25: The section, v24-34 describes Assyria's then future attack on Judah, see chapters 36-39.

Words now addressed to Judah, "my people who live in Zion", the next nation in Assyria's sights. The rod of Assyria was at God's command (v5), and the removal of that rod was also at God's command. Judah was warned here, but also reminded that the rod would be removed, and Assyria itself destroyed.

v26-27: The yoke imposed by Assyria would also be removed. Their defeat provided relief for Judah. God had defeated other nations, Midian and Egypt, and could destroy Assyria too.

v28-32: The journey of the Assyrian army to Jerusalem. On arrival at Jerusalem, they "shake their fist," threatening to attack the city. See 36.1-2, where the arrival of the Assyria army at Jerusalem is described.

v33-34: The Lord Himself will break off the boughs, felling the lofty trees, humbling the pride of Assyria. Sennacherib himself was killed, 2 Kings 19.36-37.