Isaiah 10 - A Remnant Will Return

I.  Oppression in Israel (1 - 4)

Verses 1 to 4 are continuation of the verdict against Israel from the last chapter. The government passed laws that promotes oppression to the needy. The rich would take advantage of the poor and the widows. All these to grab and horde riches. But when the judgment comes, their wealth will come to nothing. 

II. Assyria: Jehovah’s rod (5-19)

God will use Assyria as a rod of His anger. (10:5)  The rod is a long stick used to guide sheep and to correct those that rebel. 

Though Assyria was a godless nation, God can still use them to do His mission (10:6). I believe God still uses kings, leaders and nations as instruments of his will on earth today. Joseph, for example, was bullied by his brothers so that he can become someone great in Egypt and save the people. 

That's why when our leaders are unfair or incompetent, or if we are having conflict with other nations, the first thing for us to do is to discern what God is trying to do. It could be for correcting us or the majority of the population for not listening to God. 

And we don't have to worry about the wicked - God will bring judgment on them too. Assyria thinks that their success is due to their own strength and for their own glory, and God knows it. (10:7, 13) In fact, Assyria believed that God was just another idol, like those of many nations that they have conquered, and that they will have no problem taking over Samaria and Jerusalem. (10:10-11). 

An instrument is not better than the master that wields it, and have nothing to boast about. In the same way, as Christians, we are to be servants and must decrease as Christ is increased. Everything we do, or enabled to do, is for God's glory. Jesus said: "So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, “We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.” (Luke 17:10) 

So when Assyria has done what God allowed it to do,  God will punish the arrogance of Assyria as well. (10:12)  Isaiah said that one day "Israel will become a fire and the Holy One a flame" (10:17). We know the Babylonians eventually conquered the Assyrians, but this could also be a prophecy of the future where Assyrian represents the territory of current Syria and Iraq. 

III. A Remnant Will Return (19-27)

The coming events will prove to Judah that they should have relied on God, and not in Assyria. (10:20)  This was opposite of what Ahaz did (Chapter 7), who appealed to Assyria and seek their protection, paying them treasures from the temple as "protection money". 

God promised here again that even though the destruction will come as a punishment, it was done in righteousness and with a purpose. They are not to be afraid of the Assyrians when they come. God will intervene like how He did in the days of the Egyption slavery and the war with Midian.  (10:21-27).   

We know that later, God sent an angel who killed 185,000 Assyrians who camped outside of Jerusalem. (2 Kings 19:35) The "burden" of Assyria will be removed on that day. (10:27)

The final outcome for Judah is that they will be preserved and a remnant will return. This may not just mean the remnants from the war with Assyria, but with Babylon and also with the Romans as well. 

IV.  Prophecy of the arrival of the army of the Assyrians. (28-32)

This prophetic poetry confirmed to the people that the Assyrians will attack Judah. The towns Aiath, Migron,  Michmash, and Geba are towns of Judah listed from North to South. There will be fear and crying and flight of people when they march through and killed both young and old.

The Assyrians will get as near to Jerusalem as Nob (10:32). That's when God stepped in and killed 185,000 within a single night, and Sennacherib retreated. It is as if to show Judah that this army is so overpowering and untouchable, that they can only be stopped by God's intervention. It reminded me how five Arab nations could not destroy Israel after its independence in 1948 in numerous attacks.

This Assyrian invasion was not at the same time as the destruction of the Northern Kingdom in 722 BC, but a different attack in 701 BC, during the days of Hezekiah. Hezekiah had seen what Assyria did to Israel and he decided to remove the idols and reformed the priesthood and worship after he replaced Ahaz as King in 715 BC.

Hezekiah's son Manasseh, who became king at age of 12 (696 BC as co-regent with Hezekiah and sole ruler in 686 BC ), never saw the existence of Israel and was too young during the attack on Jerusalem to appreciate what God had done. Manasseh reversed everything his father did and started pagan worship. He restored polytheistic worship of Baal and Asherah and persecuted the Prophets, including possibly murdering Isaiah. He himself participated in the sacrificial cult of Moloch which consisted of sacrificing young children or passing them through fire (2 Kings 21).

This is an example of a "second generation" of Christian children who did not go through the fire of the faith, and can easily depart from God. We must constantly remind our Children how we were and how God saved us.

“Love the LORD your God and always obey all his laws. Remember today what you have learned about the LORD through your experiences with him. It was you, not your children, who had these experiences.  ... Remember these commands and cherish them. ...Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you are resting and when you are working." (Deuteronomy 11: 1-2, 18-19)

How often has God stopped something terrible from happening in our lives? Many of us have accidents, illness, loss of jobs, or some bad news happening to our loved ones. God had always stepped in to prevent bigger tragedies. Let us be discerning to the message and to be grateful for His loving and righteous intervention!