1Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; 2to 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! 3And 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? 4Without 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.
The previous three judgments left the northern kingdom of Israel with an increasing scarcity of resources. In that situation the leaders, instead of seeking to protect those most affected, sought to plunder them. The poor and the afflicted in Israel, especially the widows and orphans, needed help from their leaders to have their needs met, but instead, their leaders invented ways to take away what rightfully belonged to those in need.
In response, God would bring the fourth step of judgment against the northern kingdom. The phrase “in the day of visitation” is similar to the expression “in that day,” which ultimately speaks of the future Day of the LORD. Thus, this fourth judgment is a harbinger of what is to come. God warned them of a “desolation which shall come from far.” This fourth step of judgment is the attack and complete deportation of the people of the northern kingdom by the Assyrian king Shalmaneser:
“And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it. And at the end of three years they took it: even in the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria, and put them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes....” (II Kings 18:9-11)
Isaiah implied that when God called them to account, the people would find themselves with no recourse. They would have no one to look to for help and no place to store their former wealth and prestige. Rather, the desolator that would come from afar would treat them worse than prisoners are treated. The people of Israel would fall in battle with other corpses on top of them. Yet, even after Shalmaneser’s attack and the people’s being carried away as captives to Assyria, God’s anger against the northern kingdom would not be assuaged. His hand would still be stretched out to bring on them further judgment.
5O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. 6I 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.
The Hebrew text of verse 5 begins exactly as that of verse 1: “Woe to Asshur....” The judgment against Assyria will be the topic of this chapter, beginning with verse 12. But before God judges Assyria, He will use that nation to judge Israel. Verses 5-6 introduce the fifth step in God’s smiting of His people, as prophesied in the latter half of verse 4.
God’s indignation (see also verse 25) will first be against His people who have rebelled against Him. Then He will show indignation against those who sought opportunity to harm Israel (Isaiah 13:5 re Babylon; 26:20 and 30:27 re the nations).
In verse 6, God said, “I will send him [Asshur] against an hypocritical nation....” Verse 11 makes clear that the “nation” includes both the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. Isaiah’s use of the expression “in that day” in verses 20 and 27 tells us that the fulfillment of this prophesied judgment will take place in the future, in the Day of the LORD, during the years immediately preceding the second coming of Christ.
7Howbeit 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. 8For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings? 9Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus? 10As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria:11 Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?
Verses 7-11 reveal the thoughts of the king of Assyria. Since the target in the mind of this king is Jerusalem, the historical fulfillment would be Sennacherib. But Sennacherib only threatened to enter Jerusalem (II Kings 18:17; Isaiah 36:1-2); God judged him and his army before they could succeed (II Chronicles 32:21). Verse 12 speaks of a future Assyrian who will enter the city.
In verse 6, God said, “I will send him...I will give him a charge....” The king of Assyria was only a tool in the hands of God. Verse 7 says, “Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so.” The Assyrian king thought that his actions were only part of his own plan to expand his empire. He saw Samaria and Jerusalem as no different from other cities that he had conquered. Ironically, while Israel should have been a witness to the Assyrian king that the LORD is the one true God, the Assyrian king correctly declared the uselessness of Israel’s idols.
12Wherefore 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. 13For 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: 14and 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. 15Shall the ax 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.
The king of Assyria saw all of his successes as proof of his own greatness. He boasted that no one had the courage to even try to stop him. God said that the Assyrian leader was only an ax, a saw, and a stick of wood that He had used.
In the past, God stopped the Assyrian king Sennacherib and his army when they threatened Jerusalem. Isaiah told Hezekiah, “Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it” (II Kings 19:32). The Assyrian king of the past never touched Jerusalem. Yet, verse 12 above begins with the words, “Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem,....” There will be a future Assyrian king who will enter and conquer Jerusalem.In Revelation 11:1-2, John was told what would happen to the city: “And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.”
At the middle of the future seven-year Tribulation period, another Assyrian king, the Antichrist, will invade and take possession of the city of Jerusalem. But, according to Revelation 11:1, God will not let him take possession of the rebuilt temple, its altar, or the believing remnant in the city. Perhaps the two witnesses spoken of in Revelation 11:3-6 will be instrumental in protecting the temple. Isaiah 28:14-20 also speaks of this future attack. At that time, “the overflowing scourge shall pass through” (28:18); it will not be turned back. The invasion by the Roman army in 70 A.D. brought great destruction in Jerusalem but was not the final step in God’s judgment against Israel. The Roman military commander Titus was not from the region of Assyria, the temple standing at that time was not protected, and the spiritual return of Israel promised in verses 20-22 of this chapter has not yet taken place.
16Therefore 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. 17And 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; 18and shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth. 19And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.
In Isaiah 9:14, concerning the second step of God’s judgment against the northern kingdom of Israel, Isaiah said, “Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.” This “one day” probably referred to the attack and first deportation to Assyria by Tilgathpileser (see notes under 9:13-17). Now, in 10:17, Isaiah speaks again of “one day” when the attacker Assyria will be judged by God. In this verse, God calls Himself “the light of Israel” and “his [Israel’s] Holy One.” Though Israel had been disobedient to Him, the LORD still identified Himself with His people. He will burn and devour the thorns and briers of Assyria’s pride. He will consume all that the Assyrians glory in. So little will be left that even a youth may write it in a list.
A partial fulfillment of this prophecy took place when God destroyed the Assyrian army under Sennacherib (II Kings 19:35-36), but verse 20 tells us that the “one day” spoken of in verse 17 has its ultimate fulfillment “in that day;” that is, in the future Day of the LORD. There will be yet another Assyrian attacker in the future, the Antichrist. His commercial center will be Babylon. It is striking that three times in Revelation 18 (verses 10,17,19), kings, merchants and traders by sea lament the destruction and burning of Babylon that had come “in one hour.”
20And 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. 21The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. 22For 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. 23For the Lord GOD of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.
Verses 20 and 27 both contain the expression “in that day.” Clearly, the prophecies in verses 20-23 have not yet been fulfilled. They will be fulfilled in the future Day of the LORD. King Ahaz looked to Assyria to defend him against the alliance between Ephraim and Damascus (II Kings 16:7-9), but Israel has not yet begun to “stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.” In the future, the nation will yet again “stay upon him that smote them” when they again trust in the Assyrian – this time, the Antichrist.
Verse 23 begins with the words, “The remnant shall return....” These Hebrew words are “sh’ar yashuv,” the same words as form the name of Isaiah’s son Shearjashub (7:3). Isaiah took his son with him to tell king Ahaz not to fear the kings of Samaria and Damascus. His son’s name declared that God would preserve a remnant of His people. The ultimate fulfillment of the prophecy expressed in Isaiah’s son’s name will come when a remnant of Israel returns “unto the mighty God.” This return, then, will be first spiritual. It has not happened yet. The title “the mighty God” is the same as that given to the promised child and son in 9:6.
Verses 22-23 speak of a future annihilation that will take place in Israel, a judgment from which only a remnant of the people will survive; that remnant will return to true faith in the LORD. Verse 23 says, “For the Lord GOD of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.” The Hebrew expression which is translated “a consumption, even determined” is found in only two other places in the Old Testament:
“Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.” (Isaiah 28:22)
“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” (Daniel 9:27)
The context of the first passage is that of a future attack on Jerusalem by Assyria. The context of the second passage is that of a destruction of Jerusalem which will occur at the hands of the Antichrist at the middle of the one-week (seven-year) Tribulation period. Both passages are speaking of the same event. Isaiah 10:23 is also speaking of that event.
24Therefore 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. 25For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction. 26And 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. 27And 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.
In verse 24, God tells His people who live in Zion not to fear the Assyrian. He says that Assyria will smite Zion with a rod and oppress the city as Egypt oppressed Israel in the past. The people of Zion are not to fear because after a short time, God will destroy Assyria.
Yet, in history, Assyria never smote the city of Jerusalem. Rather, God stopped them before they could attack (II Kings 19:32,35-36). As verse 27 states, the deliverance spoken of in Isaiah 10:24-27 will occur “in that day;” that is, in the future Day of the LORD. In that day, the Assyrian, the Antichrist, will smite the city of Jerusalem.
God held indignation against Jerusalem (see also verse 5). In the past He used and in the future He will use Assyria to bring judgment on His people Israel. Then His indignation and judgment will be against those who hurt His people (see also 13:5, indignation against Babylon). The future seven-year Tribulation period which precedes the return of Christ to reign will be a time of God’s showing His indignation, first toward Israel and then toward Israel’s enemies. The prophet Daniel referred to this time of indignation as the context of the actions of the Antichrist:
“And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.” (Daniel 11:36)
In Isaiah 26:20, Isaiah again spoke of this period of indignation and gave counsel to the believing remnant of Israel who will be present at that time: “Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.”
In 9:4, Isaiah said, “For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.” Then, in 9:6, he explained that this deliverance would come through a child born, a son given to the nation. Now, in 10:26, Isaiah says, “And the LORD of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb....” In this verse, Isaiah also compared the ultimate punishment on Assyria to the slaughter of the Egyptians at the Red Sea. These two events have in common that in each case God gave the victory without Israel’s having to fight. A uniqueness in the victory over Midian is that God caused the Midianites to fight against one another (Judges 7:22).
In the future, the waters of the Euphrates, near the region of Assyria, will be dried up as God dried up the waters of the Red Sea in the past: “And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared” (Revelation 16:12). In speaking of the Antichrist, Daniel wrote, “But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many” (Daniel 11:44). It may be that the kings crossing the Euphrates from the east will be rivals to Antichrist. Like in the victory over Midian, God may have Israel’s enemies fight against one another.
Verse 27 says, “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 Hebrew phrase translated “because of the anointing” literally says, “from the presence of (olive) oil.” It is God’s Anointed One, who will be so identified in Isaiah 61:1, whose presence will bring the destruction of the yoke of the Assyrian of the future.
28He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath laid up his carriages: 29they are gone over the passage: they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is fled. 30Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim: cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth. 31Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee. 32As 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. 33Behold, 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. 34And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.
Verses 28-32 describe the approach of the king of Assyria toward Jerusalem. Isaiah prophetically gives step-by-step details of this approach, details not given in the books of Kings or Chronicles. In history, this approach was that of Sennacherib. God “lopped off” Sennacherib and his army like a bough of a tree would be chopped off. Verse 32 does not say, “in that day.” The Hebrew text only says “the day” or “today” – that is, the day in view in Isaiah’s dramatization of the king’s approach. “Lebanon” refers to the wooded range of mountains beginning just north of what was the border of the northern kingdom of Israel. These mountains and their trees pictured the army of Assyria because they stood like an array of troops ready to attack.
The approach of Sennacherib prefigures the future final approach of the Antichrist, probably at the end of the seven-year Tribulation. This parallel becomes clear in view of the start of the next chapter; the final defeat of the Assyrian will usher in the kingdom of Christ. That kingdom is the topic of chapters 11 and 12. Verse 34 says, “And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.” Psalm 2:9, speaking of the day when the Son of God takes possession of the nations of the earth, says, “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron....” The word translated “mighty” in verse 34 is translated “glorious” in Isaiah 33:21 in reference to the LORD. The “mighty one” who will “cut down the thickets of the forest with iron” will be Yahweh the Son. He will destroy the army of the Antichrist, the Assyrian of the future, as quickly as God destroyed the army of Sennacherib in the past:
“And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.” (Revelation 19:19-20)
Note: All Scriptures are quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.