Below are some preliminary questions to assist in the study of this passage. For a comprehensive study of the passage, download the Study Guide (PDF download).
1. Describe the attitude and thinking of the Assyrians as it is revealed in Isaiah 10:8-11 (printed below).
He says, Are not all of my commanders kings? (9) Has not the fate of Calno been the same as Carchemish? Has not the fate of Hamath been the same as Arpad, and that of Samaria the same as Damascus? (10) As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols—kingdoms whose sacred images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria—(11) shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols the same as I have done to Samaria and her idols? (Isaiah 10:8-11)
In verses 8-11 we are given insight into the mind of this great military power of Assyria that was now advancing against Judah. “He says, ‘Are not all of my commanders kings?’” Here is godless arrogance and great confidence in his own might. “Has not the fate of Calno been the same as Arpad, and that of Samaria the same as Damascus?” (verse 9) He gives a list of his impressive triumphs, fueling his sense of invincibility. “As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols—kingdoms whose sacred images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria—(11) shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols the same as I have done to Samaria and her idols?” (verses 10-11) He foolishly equates the God of Judah with the idols of the pagan nations he has already conquered.
2. Verses 13-14 (printed below) reveal to us more of the Assyrian’s heart. What do we learn about them from these verses?
…he has said, By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding. I have removed the boundaries of the nations and have plundered their treasures. With the strength of a bull I have brought down those who sit on thrones. (14) As a man reaches into a nest, so my hand reached for the wealth of the nations; as a man gathers abandoned eggs, so have I gathered up all the countries. There was none who flapped a wing or opened its beak or even chirped. (Isaiah 10:13-14)
He attributes his victories to his own strength and wisdom: “he has said, ‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.’” (verse 13a) He gloats over his triumphs: “I have removed the boundaries of the nations and have plundered their treasures. With the strength of a bull I have brought down those who sit on thrones.” (verse 13b) Note: it was God who set the boundaries of the nations (Acts 17:26), but the Assyrian boasts that he has removed those boundaries—the Assyrians were the first empire to engage in the deportation and re-colonizing of their conquered peoples on a massive scale. He has become intoxicated by the swiftness and ease of his conquests: in verse 14 he describes himself as a man stealing eggs from an unattended bird’s nest—indeed, with the exception of Egypt, Tyre, and Arabia, the Assyrians had conquered the whole of the Middle East.
3. But, speaking in verses 5-6 (printed below), what does the Lord say about the Assyrians?
O Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my indignation! (6) I will send him against a godless nation. I will commission him against a people who incite my wrath, to seize the spoil and snatch the prey, and to trample them down like mud in the streets. (Isaiah 10:5-6)
The Lord identifies the Assyrian as “the rod of my anger” sent against a “godless (or, secular) nation.” The Lord declares, “I will commission him against a people who incite my wrath, to seize the spoil and snatch the prey.” This great and ruthless foreign power is an instrument in God’s hands being used to chastise and judge those people who had been called to be God’s people but who had allowed themselves to become secularized.
4. The Lord is about to employ the ruthless nation of Assyria as His instrument to chasten His people who have become secularized. According to verses 20-21 (printed below), what effect will this chastening produce in His people?
On that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of the house of Jacob, will no longer rely upon the one who struck them down; rather, they will truly rely upon Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel. (21) Only a remnant will return—yes, the remnant of Jacob—to the Mighty God (Isaiah 10:20-21)
In foretelling what is about to befall the nation of Judah, the Lord also foretells the effect these severe measures shall have upon His people (verses 20-21). Their present sense of self-reliance and reliance upon men—they “will no longer rely upon the one who struck them down” is a reference to Ahaz and the leaders of Judah initially calling upon Assyria for deliverance from Syria and Israel, (cp. 2 Kings 16:7-8)—shall be replaced by a genuine reliance upon the Lord their God (verse 20). These people shall prove to truly be the people of God by returning to the Lord their God, the One from whom they had departed (verse 21). Note: while verses 20-21 contain the promise that “a remnant” shall return unto the Lord, verses 22-23 emphasize that it is only a remnant.
5. When His chastening work has had its reforming effect on His people, what will the Lord then do to the Assyrians and what will He do for His people? See Isaiah 10:25-27 (printed below)
…in a very brief time my indignation against you will be completed, and then my anger will be focused on his destruction. (26) Jehovah of hosts will lash him with a whip, like the time when he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb. Jehovah of hosts will raise his staff over the sea, he will lift it up the way he did in Egypt. (27) On that day his burden will be lifted from your shoulders and his yoke will be lifted from your neck—the yoke will be broken because you will have become so fat! (Isaiah 10:25-27)
The Lord will, in due time, bring His judgment upon the Assyrian empire (verse 25b-26), He did so by causing Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians to conquer them. The Lord will cause His people to be delivered from the Assyrian oppression: “his burden will be lifted from your shoulders and his yoke will be lifted from your neck” (verse 27a). The Lord will cause His people to once again experience His abundant blessing: “the yoke will be broken because you have become so fat!” (verse 27b)—i.e.; the fatness that results from the Lord’s blessing shall cause the yoke to burst from off the neck of His people. This is the point we must be careful to appreciate: when His Old Testament people became secularized, the Lord resorted to severe measures against them; and it was only after those measures had their desired effect upon the people—turning their hearts and lives back to the Lord their God—that the Lord could minister His comfort, assurance and promise of blessing.
