Isaiah 10:5-23 Notes, God is in charge of the nations

Isa 10:5-11 (ESV) Ah, 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?"


• So, this is well before Assyria is destroyed. What do we learn about God's sovereignty in these verse?
• So while God does interfere with the free will of individuals, he does "somehow" arrange and use nations to accomplish his will
• BUT we also see limitations, how?
• His control over nations is not absolute, that is, nations can go farther than he desires
• In no case is he unaware or caught off guard
• What is Assyria's problem?
• Pride
• Believing they are better than the other nations
• Believing that there are idols are what achieved their victories
• So how does this apply in the 21st century?
• Our idols are our creations
• Our pride is not just in our power, but in our thinking
• We believe that we accomplish things on our own, completely, and we don't give thanks (example from Shenandoah)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzzyZ1M-kVU
• See movie clip saved to desktop




Isa 10:12-15 (ESV) When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he will punish the speech 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!


• So God here relays the speech of the King of Assyria, what does the King believe?
• He is the one with the power, wisdom, and intellect
• He decides what happens to people, no one else
• No one can stop him
• What does God say in response?
• You are the tool
• You are not the wielder
• APPLICATION:
• First of all, this is in response to nations
• God does direct leaders (in some subtle way that does not take away their free will)
• But, in world affairs, God is in control. Sometimes the axe takes matters into their own hands and God deals with it (knowing full well that it would happen)


Isa 10:16-19 (ESV) 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.


• This passage is literally fulfilled in chapters 36-37, and specifically Isa 37:36
• Isa 37:36 (ESV) And the angel of the Lord went out and struck down a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.
• Who is the Angel of the Lord and how does that fit with Isa 10:17?
• The Angel of the Lord usually refers to God himself -- a pre-incarnate Jesus
• In vs 16, it says a wasting sickness, and then a burning fire. Verse 17 continues the idea of a fire. What happened or how do we interpret?
• We can't know for sure, except 185,000 died
• If it was a disease, the bodies were probably burned
• In which case, both prophecies were true. They died of a wasting disease, almost overnight, and then the bodies were burned
• APPLICATION: So here is one way God rules: He does directly intervene in the affairs of nations


Isa 10:20-23 (ESV) 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.


• Again, we have the key phrase, "in that day," most likely referring to the end times
• Here we refer to a remnant of Israel and survivors of the house of Jacob. Who is Jacob?
• Jacob is Israel, but Jacob is more than just Israel the Norther Kingdom
• The remnant of Jacob means that a remnant from all the tribes
• Revelation makes this clear when it counts out 12k from 12 of the 13 tribes
• What is the decree?
• Destruction overflowing with righteousness -- it is sin which has brought this about
• It will be a full end. Revelation makes that very clear
• APPLICATION: