ISAIAH 10 A REMNANT OF ISRAEL WILL RETURN
A remnant of Israel will return
This verse
highlights the perversion of justice by those entrusted to uphold it. God’s
judgment shall be upon rulers, magistrates, and judges who enact unjust laws
and oppressive statutes — especially upon those who declare cruel and
unrighteous judgments and cause them to be recorded.
Isa 10:2 To 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!
Thus, by
denying justice to the needy, they turn away the poor, the widows, and the
orphan from making rightful claims and seeking help and relief from oppression.
Since there is none to preserve justice or protect, widows are exploited, and
orphans are robbed.
Isa 10:3 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?
The prophet
asks rhetorical questions: What will these esteemed men — those entrusted with
preserving justice and the rights of the vulnerable — do in the day of their
judgment, when destruction shall come from afar in the form of foreign enemies,
especially after they have trampled upon justice and compassion? Whom will they
turn to for help? Where will they leave their glory when devastation comes upon
them?
Isa 10:4 Without 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.
If they do not make
God their refuge, they shall go into captivity or fall by the sword. Yet, for
all this, the LORD’s anger is not turned away, and His hand remains stretched
out — a symbol both of relentless judgment and lingering mercy for those who
might yet repent.
Assyria as an instrument of God
Isa 10:5 O
Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine
indignation.
The Lord
addresses the Assyrian king as His instrument — the rod and staff of His fury
and indignation. The Assyrians had been appointed by the Lord to inflict
punishment upon His rebellious people.
Isa 10:6 I 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.
God exhibits
His sovereignty over the kings of the earth by showing how the Assyrian king,
under His direction, would come against the land of Judah, for its people had
become objects of His wrath through rebellion and impiety. The enemy was given
authority to subdue, plunder, disregard them, and trample them underfoot like
the clay in the streets.
Isa 10:7 Howbeit 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.
It had not been
the Assyrian king’s purpose to be an instrument in the hand of God to execute
His designs; he had his own
plans to accomplish. His intention and desire were to destroy,
devastate, and annihilate the political existence of many kingdoms. Yet the
supreme God can overrule the wrath and wickedness of men to His own glory.
The Assyrian speaks
Isa 10:8 For he
saith, Are not my princes altogether kings?
The Assyrian
king arrogantly boasts that his princes hold the dignity and authority of
kings. They wield royal power and bear the splendour and majesty of sovereigns,
equalling in status the monarchs of the earth.
Isa 10:9 Is
not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria
as Damascus?
The Assyrian
king continues his proud claims of conquest, recounting the cities captured by
his ancestors. These cities are listed in geographical order from north to
south: Calno, near the Tigris; Carchemish, on the Euphrates; Hamath, a renowned
city in Syria; Arpad, located near Hamath; Samaria, the capital of Israel; and
Damascus, the capital of Syria. Each had fallen to the might of the Assyrian
army at different points in history.
Isa 10:10 As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;
Here the
Assyrian king declares that these conquered kingdoms were idolaters, whose
graven images were, in his eyes, greater and more impressive than those of
Jerusalem and Samaria. Yet, their idols had been powerless to save them. It is
grievous that a heathen king could look upon the people of God and see them no
differently from idolaters.
Isa 10:11 Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?
The Assyrian
king confidently assures himself of an inevitable victory over Jerusalem, just
as he had triumphed over Samaria and its idols. He believed that, though
Jerusalem’s gods were fewer and feebler than those of Samaria, they too would
fall before his power.
The Lord’s judgment on Assyria
Isa 10:12
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.
The Lord
declares through the prophet Isaiah that when He has completed His purpose upon
Mount Zion, its government, and the people of Jerusalem — having used the
Assyrian as His instrument — He will punish the king of Assyria for his pride,
self-importance, and arrogant bearing.
The Assyrian’s
plans would prosper only insofar as they served God’s greater design, and no
further. When their role in His work was fulfilled, they would fall entirely
under His judgement. Their success in advancing God’s purposes would not excuse
them from their own guilt. They would be punished for their intentions,
not for God’s sovereign use of their actions. Thus, wicked men are often
employed in God's providence, yet ultimately judged, and through this the
righteousness of God is revealed and the wellbeing of the faithful promoted.
Isa 10:13 For 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:
The Assyrian
king arrogantly attributed his conquests to his own power, might, wisdom, and understanding,
refusing to acknowledge the hand of the Lord. He boasted of changing the
boundaries of kingdoms, seizing their valuable and precious possessions, and subduing their
inhabitants as a mighty warrior. These victories were permitted by the Lord,
and it would not be long before He turned His hand in judgement against
Assyria.
Isa 10:14 And 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.
The Assyrian king describes the
ease with which he had subdued the kingdoms and had seized their treasures.
This is illustrated through an imagery of gathering a nest of eggs or young,
with the parent bird away and no resistance being offered so much as by the flutter
of a wing, a chirp, or a noise of alarm. His boastful claim of having
‘gathered all the earth’ reveals the height of his arrogance, as he portrayed
the terror of his name producing absolute silence and submission wherever he
went.
Isa 10:15 Shall the axe 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.
God reproves
the pride and arrogance of the Assyrian king. The axe cannot boast against the
one who wields it, nor the saw exalt itself over the one who guides it. A rod
cannot move of its own accord, nor can a staff lift itself. Likewise, the
Assyrian was merely an instrument in the hand of God. He was a free moral
agent, endowed with the power of choice, and he freely intended and executed
his plans against his enemies; yet, he was under the sovereign control of God,
who overruled his designs to accomplish divine purposes.
Isa 10:16
Therefore 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.
The Lord of
hosts, the Almighty, would bring down the great and powerful warriors of the
Assyrian army, who had grown rich through their many victories. Beneath all the
splendour and pride of the Assyrian king, the Lord would kindle a consuming
fire that would swiftly and completely destroy his power and glory.
Isa 10:17 And 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;
The Light of
Israel — Yahweh Himself — would be as a fire, and His Holy One a flame,
consuming the Assyrian host. The common soldiers, likened to thorns and briers,
would be swiftly devoured in a single day.
Isa 10:18 And
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.
The Lord would
utterly consume the Assyrian princes, officers, and nobles — the glory of his
forest — together with the wealth and prosperity of their land, leaving nothing
behind. Both their persons and possessions would waste away completely,
vanishing like a man who fades and wastes away into nothingness, leaving no
trace of strength, honour, or remembrance.
Isa 10:19 And the
rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write
them.
After this
devastation, so few would remain of Assyria’s people that a child could easily
number them or even be able
to write their names. The once-mighty nation would resemble a desolate
forest with only a handful of trees left standing.
A Remnant Will Return
Isa 10:20 And 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.
Isaiah now
describes the effect of God’s judgment — both upon the Assyrians and upon
Israel. Those who survive the devastation and remain of the house of Jacob
shall no longer depend on the Assyrians for protection, nor form alliances with
them. Having witnessed the futility of human help, the remnant will learn to
trust in the LORD alone, with sincere and steadfast hearts.
Isa 10:21 The
remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty
God.
This faithful
remnant shall turn back to God, abandoning idolatry and false confidences, and
shall once again worship the Almighty.
Isa 10:22 For
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.
Though Israel
may be as numerous as the sand of the sea, only a portion will return to their
land and to their God. The devastation, determined and declared by God, will
consume both the land and its people. Yet this judgment will ultimately produce
an abundance of righteousness, resulting in justice and restoration.
Isa 10:23 For
the Lord GOD of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst
of all the land.
The LORD of
hosts will surely bring His determined judgment to completion throughout the
land, as decreed.
Isa 10:24
Therefore 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.
The Lord
comforts Zion, urging them not to fear the Assyrians. Though they may strike
them, and severely oppress them, as Egypt did in former days, they will not be
utterly destroyed. God will deliver them from this cruel oppression.
Isa 10:25 For
yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in
their destruction.
In a short
while, God’s fierce anger against His people will come to an end, having
fulfilled its purpose. His wrath will then turn to the destruction of the
Assyrians.
Isa 10:26 And
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.
The LORD
promises to raise a whip against the Assyrians, just as He did against the
Midianites at the rock of Oreb (Judges 7:19–25). He will also bring deliverance
as He once did at the Red Sea, when Moses lifted his rod over the waters (Exodus
14:26–31).
Isa 10:27 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.
On that day of
deliverance, the Assyrian’s oppressive yoke shall be removed and destroyed by
divine intervention. Spiritually, this may also allude to the breaking of sin’s
oppressive burden through the Messiah, the Anointed One.
Isa 10:28 He
is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath laid up his
carriages:
Here begins a
vivid tracing of the Assyrian army’s advance toward Jerusalem, passing through
towns and villages rather than large cities. They march through the town of Aiath, near Bethel—
also known as Ai — and continue through Migron and Michmash which are strategic locations along the
military route. The Assyrians station their carriages and wagons in the city of
Michmash.
The Assyrian army
crosses a narrow pass near Michmash between two hills or large steep rocks (1 Sam 14: 4 – 5) and they camp at
Geba. As the invasion advances, terror and confusion spread: the people
of Ramah tremble in fear, while the inhabitants of Gibeah, the hometown of King
Saul, flee, leaving the town desolate. All these places lie within the tribal
territory of Benjamin, north of Jerusalem.
Isa 10:30 Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim: cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth.
The prophet
Isaiah calls on Gallim, a town north of Jerusalem, to raise a cry of alarm at
the enemy’s approach. This warning was to alert nearby settlements, including Laish
(possibly an older or alternative name for a local village) and Anathoth, a
once-walled Levitical town now broken down and vulnerable. The advancing
Assyrian force would soon lay these places desolate, impoverishing their
people.
Isa 10:31
Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee.
Madmenah, whose
name means dunghill, is not mentioned elsewhere in Scripture and is
believed to have been a small agricultural settlement near Jerusalem. Similarly
obscure is Gebim, another minor settlement north of the city. Both their
inhabitants, alarmed by the enemy’s relentless advance, abandon their homes and
flee for safety.
Isa 10:32 As
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.
The Assyrian
army halts for a day at Nob, a priestly town within sight of Jerusalem’s walls.
From this vantage point, the enemy defiantly shakes his hand in a gesture of
contempt and threat towards Mount Zion, the fortified hill on which Jerusalem
was built.
Isa 10:33
Behold, 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.
The Assyrian army has almost
reached their prized possession, Jerusalem. Yahweh, the Lord of hosts will cut
down the Assyrian king, who in his pride and magnificence is likened to a
beautiful bough struck down to inspire terror. The chief men and officers of
the army will be brought down and the proud and arrogant shall be humbled. This prophecy recalls the earlier imagery comparing the
Assyrian army to a dense forest destined to be felled (Isaiah 10:16–19).
Isa 10:34 And
he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall
by a mighty one.
The Lord will
decisively cut down the “forest” of the Assyrian army with instruments of iron.
Here, Lebanon, typically a symbol
of strength and majesty, poetically represents the Assyrian host, which shall be destroyed by the
Almighty.
*******
Concluding Remarks:
The Assyrian king’s invasion talked about in the early chapters of
Isaiah and this chapter particularly refers to Tiglath-Pilesar III and not
Sennacherib that many commentaries talk about as their time-periods differ.
- Tiglath-Pileser III (reigned 745–727 BC)
was known for his military reforms and expansion of the Assyrian Empire.
He conquered much of the Levant, including parts of Israel, and is
mentioned in the Bible as the Assyrian king who took Damascus and
exiled its people.
- Sennacherib (reigned 705–681 BC) was
famous for his invasion of Judah during King Hezekiah’s reign. He
besieged Jerusalem but failed to capture it, an event recorded in
both the Bible and Assyrian records.
While both kings expanded Assyrian
control and interacted with Israel and Judah, they ruled at different times and
had distinct military campaigns.
ADDITIONAL REFERENCES:
Nadali D. Sieges and similes of sieges in the royal annals: The conquest of Damascus by Tiglath-Pileser III. Rivista di storia, ambienti e culture del Vicino Oriente Antico. 2009;6. Available from: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sargon/downloads/nadali_kaskal6_2009.pdf
- Millard AR. Tiglath-Pileser III and the Biblical World. The Biblical Archaeologist. 1991;54(1):10-23. Available from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3210143 [Accessed 16 June 2025].
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