The judges were making laws that made victims by denying rights to the poor, orphans and widows. The prophet sees dooms day coming for them—God is going to use Assyria as his weapon to punish Israel then he is going to destroy Assyria for its sins. The prophet even tells the route and places where the invading army will camp—then with swift swinging axes God is chopping down Assyria. The full drama is told in the exposition.
Exploring God's Axe of Judgment and the Promise of Restoration
Isaiah 10:1
Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed;
They were enacting unjust statutes and making laws that made victims.
Cross References
- Hab 2:12 Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!
- Psa 94:20 Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?
- Read: Mat 23:13-16; Dan 3:4-7; Mic 3:1-4
Isaiah 10:2
To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!
They made laws that denied people of their right—justice had been hijacked—the poor couldn’t afford a lawyer, widows had their property and dignity taken away—no justice for the unfortunate—the disadvantaged had no advantage—the defenseless were exploited—orphans were oppressed.
Cross References
- Isa 29:21 That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought.
- Mal 3:5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.
- Read: Lam 3:35; Amo 5:11-12; Isa 1:23; Isa 5:7; Isa 3:14
Isaiah 10:3
And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?
What will you do when God arrives for an inspection? What will you do when ruin comes? When God calls you into account what will you do? Who will you run to when disaster strikes? Where will you leave your wealth for safe keeping? Where will you leave your children—who will keep them safe? This was not going to be a friendly chit-chat visit. Remember that God has visitation rights.
Cross References
- Isa 26:21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
- Hos 9:7 The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred.
- Read: Luk 19:44; 1Pe 2:12
Isaiah 10:4
Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
They will find themselves under the heaps of slain prisoners on the battlefield and despite all this God is still angry with them. His hand is still threatening to strike again.
Cross References
- Lev 26:17 And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.
- Lev 26:36-37 And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth.
- Read: Jer 37:10
Isaiah 10:5
O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.
Assyria is the staff in God’s hand and he is using her armies as his military strength and weapon.
Cross References
- Jer 51:20-24 Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms...
Isaiah 10:6
I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
This profane and irreligious and faithless nation was under the wrath of God and he had given charge to Syria to attack Israel and take their treasures—seize their wealth and loot their homes—plunder and trample them like dirt under their feet.
Cross References
- Isa 41:25 I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come... and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.
- Read: Isa 45:1-2; Zec 10:5
Isaiah 10:7
Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.
Assyria had another agenda—Assyria had in mind to exterminate the people of nations that he captured.
Cross References
- Mic 4:11-12 Now also many nations are gathered against thee... But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they his counsel...
Isaiah 10:8
For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings?
The king of Assryia had in mind that he would make all his boys (princes) kings of the land that he had captured.
Cross References
- Act 13:27-30 ...they have fulfilled them in condemning him.
Isaiah 10:9
Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus?
Syria is boasting that Calno of Babylonia is like Carchemish on the Euphrates and that Hamath in Upper Syria is like Arpad and that Samaria is like Damascus. Not one of these cities had been able to stop Assyria’s war machine.
Isaiah 10:10
As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;
All of these kingdoms had fallen into the hands of Assyria and although they had idols and graven images he had finished them off and destroyed their idols.
Cross References
- 2Ki 19:17-19 Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands...
- Read: 2Ki 18:9-10
Isaiah 10:11
Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?
Is there any reason why I shouldn’t give Jerusalem the same treatment?
Cross References
- Isa 37:10-13 Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria...
Isaiah 10:12
Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.
When God finishes his work on mount Zion and Jerusalem then he is going to punish the arrogant vaunting haughty heart of the king of Assyria and his proud look and scornful eyes.
Cross References
- Isa 14:24-27 The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass... That I will break the Assyrian in my land...
- Read: Isa 31:8; Isa 37:36-38
Isaiah 10:13
For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man:
The king of Assyria claimed that he had done it all by himself—by his own might and power. His boast was that he knew more than anyone—He claimed to have removed landmarks and took their hoarded wealth—defeated kings and brave soldiers.
Cross References
- Deu 8:17 And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.
- Read: 2Ki 17:6; 2Ki 17:24; 1Ch 5:26; 2Ki 16:8
Isaiah 10:14
And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.
He had garnered the wealth of nations like going to the hen house and gathering eggs from the nest and no one was powerful enough or had enough nerve to flap a wing, open its beak in protest or utter a chirp.
Cross References
- Pro 18:12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.
- Nah 3:1 Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;
- Read: Hab 2:5-11
Isaiah 10:15
Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.
This poor fool had bragged and boasted about the kings he had defeated. He was a highfaluting swagger with a claptrap that needed to be shut up. And God is about to take this vainglorious, self-praising, windy cook-a-hoop down a notch or two. He was a mere axe in the hand of the hewer (God) or to put it another way he was a rod in the hand of the shepherd (God).
Cross References
- Jer 51:20-23 Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations...
- Read: Rom 9:20-21
Isaiah 10:16
Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire.
God will take the hot air out of his baloon—he will send some kind of a debilitating disease among his solders and as for the king he is going to get burned. This guy has set himself up for a hard fall. Napoleon said: “Don’t interfere with your enemy while he is in the process of destroying himself.”
Cross References
- Isa 14:24-27 ...That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot...
- Read: Isa 37:6-7; Isa 37:29; Isa 37:36; 2Ch 32:21
Isaiah 10:17
And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day;
These Assyrian thorn bushes are going to get burned and the fire that burns them will be the Holy One and he will use Israel to light the flame. The prophet is expert at using puns and word-play.
Cross References
- Isa 66:15-16 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind...
- Read: Isa 66:24; Num 11:1-3; Num 16:35
Isaiah 10:18
And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth.
Some more word-play and puns as he describes Assyria as a forest and fruitful field consumed by fire and then uses the words soul and body to describe a disease ridden body wasting away like a man with a debilitating disease.
Cross References
- Jer 21:14 But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the LORD: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof...
- Read: Eze 20:47-49
Isaiah 10:19
And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.
These trees of the forest (Assyrian solders) will be few—a school kid could count them on his fingers when God gets finished with them.
Cross References
- Isa 37:36 Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand...
Isaiah 10:20
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
When the Assyrian solders meet their doom the residue that is left of Israel will not longer look to Assyria for help but will return to the Lord the Holy One of Israel.
Cross References
- Isa 37:31-32 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward...
- Read: Rom 9:27-29; 2Ki 16:7
Isaiah 10:21
The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.
The remains of the left over remnant will come back to the mighty God.
Cross References
- Isa 17:7-8 At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.
- Read: Isa 19:22; Isa 65:8-9; Hos 6:1
Isaiah 10:22
For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.
God will finish what he started—although the people was as populous as sand of the sea, only a remnant remained. The ordered destruction will proceed as planned by the Lord and it will overflow like a mighty stream because it was a righteous decree.
Cross References
- Hos 1:10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea...
- Read: Rom 9:27; Rom 11:5-6; Isa 6:11; Rom 9:28
Isaiah 10:23
For the Lord GOD of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.
God is going to empty the earth, and make it waste, and scatter her inhabitants.
Cross References
- Isa 14:26-27 This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth...
- Read: Isa 24:1-3
Isaiah 10:24
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt.
The prophet tells the people of Zion not to be alarmed or lose heart by their terrorism. The Assyrians will treat you like former times in Egypt.
Cross References
- Isa 37:6 And Isaiah said unto them... Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard...
- Read: Isa 12:6; Isa 30:19; Isa 37:33-35
Isaiah 10:25
For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction.
In a little while I will turn my righteous anger against them and finish them off.
Cross References
- Isa 14:24-25 The LORD of hosts hath sworn... That I will break the Assyrian in my land...
- Read: Isa 17:13-14; Isa 30:30-31; 2Ki 19:35
Isaiah 10:26
And the LORD of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and as his rod was upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt.
Assyria’s slavery will be lifted like the mighty workings of Gideon at the rock of Oreb or as Moses lifted up his rod on the Red Sea.
Cross References
- 2Ki 19:35 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand...
- Jdg 7:25 And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb...
Isaiah 10:27
And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.
The load that they had been carrying would be taken away and the slave yoke from off their necks.
Cross References
- Nah 1:9-13 What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end... For now will I break his yoke from off thee...
- Read: Isa 14:25-26
Isaiah 10:28-29
He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath laid up his carriages: They are gone over the passage: they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is fled.
The Assyrian army has arrived, according to their intelligence reports they have camped at Aiath, passing Migron and they are storing their baggage at Michmash. Aiath, or Ai, was situated a little east of Bethel about twelve miles north of Jerusalem; Michmash about three miles nearer, where there was a narrow pass between two sharp hills; Geba and Ramah are about three miles more to the south; Gibeah a mile and a half more southward; and Anathoth within three miles of Jerusalem. They were last seen at the pass or ravine and are now setting up camp. Ramah is terrified and trembles with fright and Saul’s home town is on the run.
Cross References
- Hos 5:8 Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah...
- Hos 9:9 They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah...
Isaiah 10:30
Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim: cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth.
The inhabitants seize their belongings and children and head for the mountains or walled cities. They are paralyzed with fear. Anathoth is the home town of Jeremiah.
Cross References
- Jer 32:8 ...Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth...
Isaiah 10:31-32
Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee. As yet shall he remain at Nob that day: he shall shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.
Everyone is panic stricken—scurrying for safety—in a mad flight for protection. The crowd of people running for their life looked like a Walmart crowd on black Friday. While the army is camping at Nob he will send his top officers to Jerusalem to intimidate and frighten them into surrendering.
Isaiah 10:33
Behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled.
Our God is going to get out his large loppers and lop the limbs and take his axe and chop down this forest of solders and he will humble this king and he will run back to Syria where his own son will assassinate him.
Cross References
- 2Ki 19:21 This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee...
- Read: 2Ki 19:22-35
Isaiah 10:34
And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.
God is going to cut down the thickets of underbrush and this Lebanon like forest of solders will be chopped down like a forest that is clear cut. As they high-tail it back to Assyria a child will be able to count the survivors. Halleluiah!
Cross References
- Isa 37:24 ...I will cut down the tall cedars thereof...
- Jer 22:7 And I will prepare destroyers against thee... and they shall cut down thy choice cedars...
- Read: Jer 46:22-23; Zec 11:1-2; Nah 1:12