Isaiah · chapter 10 of 66
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Isaiah 10 pronounces a woe on those who make unjust laws and then presents Assyria as the rod of the Lord's anger, which boasts of its conquests and will be punished for its arrogance. The Lord promises that a remnant of Israel will return and that his people should not fear Assyria. The chapter ends with the Assyrian army advancing toward Jerusalem and the felling of its forests.
After describing God's judgment on Israel, chapter 10 raises an important question: what about the empire God uses to punish? Isaiah answers that Assyria is not an independent power but a tool in the Lord's hand, and that its pride will also be judged. It is a key teaching on God's sovereignty over the nations.
The chapter begins with a woe on those who decree unrighteous decrees and write oppressive sentences to deprive the poor, widows and orphans. The Lord asks what they will do on the day of punishment and of ruin that comes from afar.
Then the Lord pronounces woe on Assyria, the rod of his anger and the staff of his fury, sent against a godless nation. But Assyria does not see it that way: in its heart is to destroy and cut off nations, and it boasts of its victories over cities and kings. When the Lord has finished his work on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, he will punish the fruit of the arrogance of the king of Assyria. He asks whether the axe boasts over the one who chops with it, or the saw magnifies itself against the one who wields it. So the Lord will send wasting sickness among its warriors and kindle a fire, and the glory of its forest will be consumed; the trees left will be so few that a child could count them.
On that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of Jacob will no longer lean on the one who struck them but will lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return to the mighty God. Though Israel be like the sand of the sea, only a remnant will return, and the destruction decreed will bring righteousness. So the Lord tells his people who dwell in Zion not to fear Assyria, for in a very little while the anger will end. The chapter then describes the Assyrian army's march through towns north of Jerusalem and ends with the Lord, who by his power will fell the tall trees of Lebanon.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The prophet pronounces woe on those who make unjust laws to deprive the poor of justice and rob widows and orphans. God takes it seriously when legal power is used to oppress.
Assyria is called the rod of the Lord's anger and the staff of his fury. God uses the empire as an instrument of judgment, without that freeing it from responsibility for its cruelty.
The Lord asks whether the axe can boast over the one who chops with it. This exposes the absurdity of Assyria's pride: it is a tool in God's hand with no power of its own.
A remnant will return to the mighty God, though the people be numerous as the sand of the sea. Paul quotes these verses in Romans 9:27-28 to speak of the faithful remnant of Israel.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Those who decree unrighteous decrees and write oppressive sentences against the poor, widows and orphans. — Isaiah 10:1-2
Answer: The rod of his anger and the staff of his fury. — Isaiah 10:5
Answer: To destroy and cut off nations, boasting of its victories. — Isaiah 10:7-8
Answer: Whether the axe boasts over the one who chops with it or the saw magnifies itself against the one who wields it. — Isaiah 10:15
Answer: It will no longer lean on the one who struck it but will return to the mighty God. — Isaiah 10:20-21
Answer: Not to fear Assyria, though it strikes them, because his anger will soon end. — Isaiah 10:24-25
Isaiah 10 teaches that no human power, however great it seems, is outside God's control. This comforts those living under unjust governments or threats that seem unstoppable. In a small group, we can pray for rulers and trust that the Lord judges justly.
At the same time, the chapter warns against the pride of thinking our achievements are ours alone. Any talent, position or success is an instrument in God's hand. And those in authority must remember that laws and decisions will also be judged by how they treated the poor.
Isaiah 10 teaches that God uses the nations and also judges them, and that he protects his remnant. Chapter 11 turns toward hope: from a cut-down stump a shoot will grow from the house of Jesse, a king filled with the Spirit of the Lord.
The text teaches that the Lord governs history and can use one nation to punish another without approving its wickedness. That is why Assyria is answerable to him and will be judged for its arrogance and cruelty. The chapter does not explain every mystery, but it affirms that God is sovereign and just.
Isaiah announces that not all Israel will respond, only a faithful remnant. The name of Isaiah's son, Shear-jashub, already announced it. Romans 9:27-28 takes up these words to explain that God has always kept a remnant by grace.
They are places north of Jerusalem, such as Aiath, Michmash, Geba, Gibeah, Anathoth and Nob, through which the Assyrian army would advance until it could see the city. The passage describes its march toward Jerusalem, and then the Lord intervenes.