The Bible provides us with perspectives that absolutely rock
our common worldviews. A very common
worldview today (and it is even held by many Christians) is that God has nothing to do with the
world’s politics. It is thought that He
leaves that to the world’s rulers. It is thought that He is watching this world
from a distance, and some Christians believe that He will only intervene at the
end of time, when things have thoroughly gotten out of hand.
Well, the Bible knows nothing of this kind of thinking.
Nothing! Isaiah shows us that God is at
work in this world in a sovereign, hands-on way. Even though we do not see Him
physically, He is the unseen hand ruling the world, upholding it moment by
moment.
Nothing exists or happens in this world which He doesn’t
know.
Nothing that happens in this world catches Him by surprise.
God is involved in the political happenings of our world. In
and through it all He does not command evil, but He does allow evil to have its
way for a while, so that our world may learn to see its own folly. In the
history of nations God is frequently seen to be handing nations over to the
kind of rulers they deserve.
Do we
have any influence in all of this?
Yes! We must pray and work. The Bible teaches us to pray
(that is, to speak to and ask God) for our governing authorities, that we may
lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way (1Tim 2:2). The Bible teaches also that Christians must
work positively, working as salt and light in this decaying world.
From this text we
learn to see God’s hand in the affairs of this world in that,
1. Assyria is God’s
chastising tool upon His wayward
nation (10:5-7)
2. Assyria is an arrogant boastful nation (10:7-11 ; 13-14)
3. Assyria will be
in for a nasty surprise, for God will
judge her (10:12;10:15-19)
4. God will
preserve His people, in the midst of it all political chaos (10:20-34)
1. 10:5-7 Assyria, God’s surprising instrument of chastisement
In Isaiah 7:1 -10:4 God has
revealed to Isaiah that He would use
Assyria [i]
as an instrument of judgment against Syria, Israel, and Judah, who were at this
time at war among themselves. God was not standing by
idly. He was handing over these nations to Assyria: “Ah Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury.”
Do you see the Great Shepherd at work here? “… the
rod of my anger … the staff in their
hands is my fury”. The rod and the
staff are a shepherd’s tools to guide and correct his sheep. Assyria fulfilled that function right
now, as God used her to correct Syria, Israel, and Judah. In that sense Assyria
was the servant of God - but only in that sense. Later in Isaiah 44:28
that same idea
is expressed, when a century and a half later God calls Cyrus,
the Persian ruler to be His shepherd to
deliver Israel from Babylonian captivity and to punish the Babylonians for their brutal ways.
Back to Assyria. The Lord says, “against
a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command him to take spoil and to seize plunder and to
tread them down like the mire of the streets.” (10:6b).
The language here leaves us in no doubt that God was using the Assyrians who were the political
superpower at that time. The Assyrians were an efficient, well developed army
in its day. They were the first to develop iron weapons, being superior to the
bronze weapons, commonly used at that time. Their skill allowed them to make
weapons and protective items, so more soldiers could use them. They were the
first army to have a separate engineering unit, which could set up ladders and
ramps, and fill in moats, and dig tunnels to help the soldiers get into a
walled city. They were also among the first to build chariots. These
technological advancements allowed the Assyrians to expand their empire.[ii]
What is surprising in all this is that
God would use a pagan nation, an
arrogant nation to chastise His people. In this next section we will
explore the arrogance of the Assyrians.
2. Assyria - an arrogant boastful
nation (10:7-11 ; 13-14)
We have seen that Assyria is a tool in God’s hand.
But how does Assyria see herself? Chapter 10:7-11 and 10:
13-14 give us insight here. Assyria,
although she is given this momentary authority by God, we find this assessment
of her own attitude: "(But he-
Assyria) 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” (10:7). Assyrians think that they are the masters of their own destiny. The arrogance of the king of Assyria is described
in 10:13, “For he says, By the strength of my hand have I done it, and by my
wisdom, for I have understanding; I remove the boundaries of people, and plunder their treasures; like a bull I bring
down those who sit on thrones…” (10:13,14). Here we learn that,
although Assyria was indeed an
instrument in God's hand, and since she
was doing the will of the
LORD, that this fact did not free her from employing her own motives
for attacking Syria, Israel, and Judah. Not at all!
Although she was given a free hand from God, it was in her
heart to destroy, and cut off not a few nations. When
we read of the account of the Assyrian besiegement of Jerusalem in Isaiah 36:10
(cf. 2Kings 18:25) we take note that the commander of the Assyrians appeared to
have been aware of his divine mandate from the God of Israel. But it is equally
clear in that context that Assyria thought little of the God of Israel. The
Assyrian commanders appropriated to themselves much glory, but in truth, their enablement
came from the sovereign God, who had enabled them to rule at a time such as
this.
Do you see what is happening here? Assyria had an over -
inflated view of herself. She regarded her
commanders to be on the level of the
kings of other nations: "For he
says, 'Are not my commanders all kings? Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not
Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus?” The cities mentioned in
10:9,10 were systematically conquered by
the Assyrians, and in so doing they
boasted that none of their territorial gods
had been able to help them.
Observe the pride of the Assyrians. Consider their boastful
language: “As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols, whose
carved images were greater than those of
Jerusalem and Samaria, shall I not do to
Jerusalem and her idols as I have done to Samaria and her idols?'" (10:10,11). They thought of the
God of Israel as nothing more than one of the idols that they had
conquered in Samaria or in many other cities. They glory in their own strength
and wisdom and power. This is asking for
trouble! The Assyrians were going to be in for a rude surprise!
3. Assyria will be in for a nasty surprise,
for God will judge her (10:12; 10:15-19)
This brings us to the next point. Do not think that God
Almighty overlooks anything! In this very text God the Almighty vows to
severely discipline the Assyrians.
10:12 “When the Lord has finished all his
work on Mt 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…”
In 10: 15 -19 the LORD uses the pictures of an axe, a
saw, a rod, and a staff to make the point that a tool should never take credit for what the workman does with the tool. The skill is in the user,
not in the tool. Assyria was the tool.
God was the workman, but Assyria took the glory. And now she must face God herself.
10:16 “Therefore the
Lord God of hosts will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors…”. In Isaiah 37:36 we read how God, in history actually
judged the Assyrians: “And the
angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185 000 in the camp of the
Assyrians”. That was the end of the Assyrian attempt to conquer Jerusalem, and that is
basically also the end of the Assyrian empire. How those that think they stand
beware lest they fall. How the mighty have fallen! God is a terrible Judge! Let the arrogant and
unrepentant take note! It is a terrible
thing to fall into the hand of the Living God.
As we pause to reflect on this, one of the greatest
perplexities for the thoughtful reader of Scripture is how God could possibly
use such a pagan, arrogant nation to chastise among others, his own people? We shall find that there is nothing uncommon
about God’s strategy. 140 years later we
shall find a similar situation. In Jeremiah’s and in
Habakkuk’s day (605 and 686 B.C.) God raised up the ruthless, godless
Babylonians to chastise
the Southern kingdom, Judah (Hab.
1:6-11), and after which He
promptly announced judgment on Babylon
herself (Hab. 2:6-17)!
Here we deal with the mystery of God’s ways in the temporary
judgements of the peoples of the world, and especially in the judgement of His
backslidden people. Here we deal with the
fact that the LORD can use a wicked nation like the Assyrians to punish His own
people’s wickedness. He could use godless nations as the rod of His anger,
whilst at the same time judging theses
godless nations, saying to them, "woe upon you Assyria!" (10:5). It is true that the backslidden church has suffered much at the hand of an ungodly world over these
last 2000 years. All this is seen and ordained by God who
uses this wicked world to
chastise His own.
Scripture teaches us that God can use wicked people to further His will, without ever approving of
their wickedness, and in the end judging their
wickedness. This is repeatedly seen in
the Scriptures. Joseph's brothers sinned against Joseph, but God used it for
His purpose, and He disciplined Joseph's brothers. Saul sinned against David,
but God used it for His purpose, and God judged Saul. Judas sinned against
Jesus, but God used it for His purpose, and He judged Judas. The wicked assault
the people of God, and God uses that for
their sanctification, but in the end, the wicked will be judged for their wickedness.
God is absolutely able to bring good out of evil- even the evil done to his beloved children. See what good God has
brought out of the cross! But those
who designed and desired the evil
cross will need to meet
their Maker in the day of judgement. We cannot know exactly
how God will bring about the good, but
we can trust Him for the outcome. God
does care about all the evil done in this world, and He will bring about His
judgment according to His perfect will and timing. Again, we cannot know when
that will be, but it will happen!
4. What about Israel? In the midst of
it all
God will preserve a remnant (10:20-34)
God must judge all sin, including that sin that
is found among His people. “He
is of purer eyes that to see evil and
cannot look at wrong” (Habakkuk 1:13). How then shall anyone escape? In the midst of all this, God has a word for
the worried – for the righteous, who feel themselves to be pawns in the
game. What about the
true, faithful people of God that are found in every generation? What about them? Are they
just a lost cause, are they
just incidental to this story, or
are they, as the militarists say, ‘collateral damage’ in this eternal wrangle between God and evil?
Not at all!
The story of the Bible now takes on another profound turn as
we are introduced to the doctrine of the remnant ...the survivors of the house of Jacob (10:20) … the remnant of Jacob (10:21).
Chapter 10 closes with real hope and gives us ultimate
perspective and application:
(i) (10:22) “Destruction is decreed, overflowing with
righteousness”. When God allows the destruction of his own
cause - Israel or the church, we must know that it is always righteous, and
never unfair. God’s judgment overflows
with righteousness and the outcome will always be good! The church of our own day, so
beset with compromise and worldly ways desperately needs to be cleaned out by God. Will not God not use our enemies to do that?
(ii) (10:23) “For the Lord GOD of hosts will make a full
end”. An end of what? An end of
Judah's trust in nations like Assyria. They will never again depend on him who
defeated him. In the same way, God must cleanse the church to stop
her dependence on worldly solutions in terms
of her work in this world.
(iii) (10:24) “Therefore
… be not afraid of the Assyrians…”. God is telling His people, "I will chastise you, and it will hurt.
But I have a plan, so don't be afraid." This may not be nice to hear,
but it is oh so necessary. It hurts to be disciplined and corrected. Yet
we must tell ourselves to continue
to trust God, even when it hurts.
Weeping will last for a night. Joy comes in the morning.
(iv) (10:26) God can- just as he did before! Two examples are
used:
a.
Gideon’s
victory over the Midianites, and the Red
sea crossing. “And the LORD of hosts will wield
against them a whip, as when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb.” This
is a reference to Judges 7:25 which describes Gideon's miraculous victory over the Midianites at the
rock of Oreb. Now God's judgment on
Assyria would be as miraculous and complete as Gideon's victory was. We have already
seen how the LORD killed 185,000
Assyrians in one night.
b.
“And his staff will be over the sea, and he will lift it as he did in
Egypt,” is a reference
to Exodus 14:16 in which we find
a description of how God
used Moses staff to divide the Red Sea. In the same way, He
would do something totally miraculous against Assyria.
(v) (10:27 -34) “In that day that his burden will depart
from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck…”. In
10:28-32 follows a
prophetic description of the arrival of the army of the Assyrians. The
listing of cities from the north to the south, describes the route of the Assyrian invasion. Nob is found on the outskirts of Jerusalem. This is as far
as the army of the Assyrians came against Judah. There they were stopped. Here the LORD killed
185,000 Assyrians in one night (10:33,34).
The buck stops with the Lord God of hosts. Everything rises
and falls before the Sovereign God.
Do
you know of any human dynasty or world
power that has endured for any
significant time?
No! They all come and go.
Our text is indeed a grand celebration of the sovereignty of
God. So then, do not fear what man can
do. Of what account is he? Fear God. We
need to be reminded again of what Isaiah had previously said in 8:11-13,
11For the LORD spoke
thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way
of this people, saying: 12“Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls
conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13But the LORD of
hosts, him you shall honour as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your
dread.
Now that is biblical perspective.
Let God’s Word be true and
every man a liar!
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