John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 10:24

"Therefore thus saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian, though he smite thee with the rod, and lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt." — Isaiah 10:24 (ASV)

Therefore, thus says the Lord Jehovah of hosts. He continues with the same consolation, which belongs to the godly alone, who at that time, undoubtedly, were few in number.

A great number of people gloried in the name of God and wished to be considered His people, but there were few who actually lived out what they professed in words. Therefore, He does not address everyone indiscriminately, but only those who needed consolation.

The kingdom having been destroyed, they might have been fearful about themselves and their affairs, and might have judged their own condition by that of others; therefore, it was necessary to comfort them. This distinction should be observed, for otherwise, it would be inconsistent to address such different statements to the same people.

And shall lift up his staff against thee in the way of Egypt. He adds a basis for consolation: namely, that this calamity will be nothing more than the lifting up of a rod to chastise them, but not to destroy them. The preposition ב (beth) denotes resemblance. דרך (derech) means a pattern, and therefore I interpret it, after the pattern of Egypt. It is as if He had said, “Though the Assyrian is cruel and in many ways aims at your destruction, yet he will only wound you, he will not slay you.”

He therefore mentioned the pattern of the Egyptian bondage, which was indeed very wretched but not deadly (Exodus 1:14, Exodus 12:51). It is customary for the Prophets, in times of perplexity or disorder, to remind the people to reflect on that deliverance by which God miraculously rescued them from the hands of Pharaoh, who was a very cruel tyrant.

Therefore, the meaning is: “Just as the Lord was victorious at that time and destroyed the Egyptians who had conspired for your destruction, so now He will quickly vanquish the Assyrians.”

Others interpret it, in the way of Egypt, because the Assyrians made war against the Jews on account of the Egyptians. But that interpretation cannot be accepted; and if we carefully examine the matter, it will be found that no interpretation is more appropriate than the one I have proposed, which is also approved by the most learned commentators. There are two clauses that form a contrast: the oppression that the Egyptians laid upon them, and the calamity that would soon afterwards be inflicted by the Assyrians. “Just as the oppression of the Egyptians was not deadly, so too the oppression of the Assyrians will not be. You have experienced My strength and power against Pharaoh, and so you will also find it against Sennacherib.” If we did not explain the clauses in this way, they would not be consistent with each other.