What Secularized Christians May Expect from the Lord – Isaiah 10:5-34
10 (5) 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. (7) However, this is not what he intends, nor what he has in mind; his purpose is to destroy and bring to an end many nations. (8) 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? (12) Therefore, when the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will declare, I will punish the king of Assyria for what his stout heart has expressed and for the pomp of his haughtiness; (13) because 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. (15) Should the axe raise itself above the one who swings it, or should the saw magnify itself above the one who uses it?—as if a rod were to wield the one who lifts it up, or if a staff were to pick up the one who is not made of wood! (16) Therefore, the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, will send a devastating disease upon his sturdy warriors; under his pomp a fire will be kindled like a blazing flame. (17) The Light of Israel will become a fire, and their Holy One will be a flame; in a single day it will burn and consume his thorns and briers. (18) He will consume the splendor of his forest and his fertile fields—both body and soul; it will be like when a sick man wastes away. (19) The remaining trees of his forest will be so few that even a child could count them.
(20) 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; (22) for even if your people, O Israel, were as numerous as the sand of the seashore, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, a destruction that is overwhelming and righteous. (23) Utter destruction, as has been decreed, shall the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, execute upon the whole land.
(24) Therefore, this is what the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, says, O my people, who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian, even though he may beat you with a rod and lift up a club against you, like Egypt did to your forefathers—(25) because 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!
(28) He approaches Aiath, he has passed through Migron; he stores his supplies at Micmash. (29) They have gone through the mountain pass, and they say, We will camp over night at Geba. Ramah trembles. Gibeah of Saul has fled. (30) Cry out, O daughter of Gallim! Be on guard, O Laishah! O poor Anathoth! (31) Madmenah is in flight! The people of Gebim flee for safety! (32) This very day he will reach Nob: he will shake his fist at the mountains of the daughter of Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem. (33) Look! The Lord, Jehovah of hosts, will lop off the boughs with a terrifying stroke; the tall trees shall be cut down, and the lofty shall be brought low. (34) He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe, and Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.
Now proceed to the next section of this study, entitled, Exploring the Passage.
