Matthew Henry Commentary Isaiah 10
Matthew Henry Commentary
Isaiah 10
Matthew Henry Commentary
Isaiah 10
"Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers that write perverseness; to turn aside the needy from justice, and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey! 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? They shall only bow down under the prisoners, and shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still." — Isaiah 10:1-4 (ASV)
These verses are to be joined with the preceding chapter. Woe to the superior powers that devise and decree unrighteous decrees! And woe to the inferior officers that draw them up, and enter them on record! But what will sinners do? Where will they flee?
"Ho Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, the staff in whose hand is mine indignation! I will send him against a profane 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. Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few. For he saith, Are not my princes all of them kings? Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus? As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria; shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols? 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. For he hath said, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I have understanding: and I have removed the bounds of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures, and like a valiant man I have brought down them that sit [on thrones]: and my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the peoples; and as one gathereth eggs that are forsaken, have I gathered all the earth: and there was none that moved the wing, or that opened the mouth, or chirped. Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? shall the saw magnify itself against him that wieldeth it? as if a rod should wield them that lift it up, [or] as if a staff should lift up [him that is] not wood. Therefore will the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory there shall be kindled a burning like the burning of fire. And the light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame; and it will burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day. And he will consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and it shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth. And the remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few, so that a child may write them." — Isaiah 10:5-19 (ASV)
See what a change sin made. The king of Assyria, in his pride, thought to act by his own will. The tyrants of the world are tools of Providence. God designs to correct his people for their hypocrisy and bring them nearer to him; but is that Sennacherib's design? No; he designs to gratify his own covetousness and ambition.
The Assyrian boasts what great things he has done to other nations, by his own policy and power. He does not know that it is God who makes him what he is and puts the staff into his hand. He had done all this with ease; none moved the wing or cried as birds do when their nests are rifled. Because he conquered Samaria, he thinks Jerusalem would fall as a matter of course.
It was lamentable that Jerusalem should have set up graven images, and we cannot wonder that she was excelled in them by the heathen. But is it not equally foolish for Christians to emulate the people of the world in vanities, instead of keeping to things which are their special honour? For a tool to boast, or to strive against him who formed it, would be no more absurd than for Sennacherib to vaunt himself against Jehovah. When God brings his people into trouble, it is to bring sin to their remembrance, to humble them, and to awaken them to a sense of their duty; this must be the fruit, namely, the taking away of sin.
When these points are gained by the affliction, it will be removed in mercy. This attempt upon Zion and Jerusalem will come to nothing. God will be as a fire to consume the workers of iniquity, both soul and body. The desolation will be as when a standard-bearer faints, and those who follow are thrown into confusion. Who is able to stand before this great and holy Lord God?
"And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and they that are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again lean upon him that smote them, but shall lean upon Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. A remnant shall return, [even] the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. For though thy people, Israel, be as the sand of the sea, [only] a remnant of them shall return: a destruction [is] determined, overflowing with righteousness. For a full end, and that determined, will the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, make in the midst of all the earth. 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. For yet a very little while, and the indignation [against thee] shall be accomplished, and mine anger [shall be directed] to his destruction. And Jehovah of hosts will stir up against him a scourge, as in the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and his rod will be over the sea, and he will lift it up after the manner of Egypt. And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall depart from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed by reason of fatness. He is come to Aiath, he is passed through Migron; at Michmash he layeth up his baggage; they are gone over the pass; they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah trembleth; Gibeah of Saul is fled. Cry aloud with thy voice, O daughter of Gallim! hearken, O Laishah! O thou poor Anathoth! Madmenah is a fugitive; the inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety. This very day shall he halt at Nob: he shaketh his hand at the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. Behold, the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, will lop the boughs with terror: and the high of stature shall be hewn down, and the lofty shall be brought low. And he will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one." — Isaiah 10:20-34 (ASV)
Through our afflictions, we may learn not to place our confidence in created things. Only those who return to him in truth, not in pretense and outward profession alone, can comfortably rely on God. God will justly bring this wasting away upon a people who provoke him, but will graciously set limits to it. It is against the mind and will of God, that his people, whatever happens, should give in to fear.
God's anger against his people lasts only for a moment; and when it is turned away from us, we do not need to fear the fury of man. The rod with which he corrected his people will not only be laid aside but thrown into the fire. To encourage God's people, the prophet reminds them of what God had previously done against the enemies of his church. God's people will be delivered from the Assyrians.
Some think it points to the deliverance of the Jews from their captivity, and even further, to the redemption of believers from the tyranny of sin and Satan. And this, because of the anointing; for his people Israel's sake, the believers among them who had received the anointing of Divine grace, and for the sake of the Messiah, the Anointed of God. Here is, Isaiah 10:28–34, a prophetic description of Sennacherib's march towards Jerusalem when he threatened to destroy that city.
Then the Lord, in whom Hezekiah trusted, cut down his army like the felling of a forest. Let us apply what is written here to similar matters in other ages of the church of Christ. Because of the anointing of our great Redeemer, the yoke of every antichrist must be broken from his church: and if our souls partake of the anointing of the Holy Spirit, complete and eternal deliverances will be secured for us.
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