Isaiah 10 - Bible Study in 5 Minutes

Isaiah 10 Short Summary:

Isaiah prophesied that God would use Assyria as a tool to punish wicked Israel. After using them, He would ruin them and punish them for their pride and blasphemy. Though the threat from Assyria was great and the destruction promised to be devastating, God swore to preserve a remnant of His people through whom He would work in future days.

Isaiah 10 Bible Study

TIMELINE:

• As mentioned previously, the prophetic ministry of Isaiah spanned the reigns of King Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

• The prophecies of Isaiah 10 were spoken during the reign of King Ahaz (7:1).

KEY CHARACTERS:

• Isaiah – The son of Amoz (1:1). God commissioned Isaiah as His prophet to Judah.

• The Citizens of Israel – The people of the northern kingdom of Israel. They had been rebelling against God for many decades.  

• The Assyrian Empire – God was going to use the proud king of Assyria and his army to punish the immoral people of Israel.

DEFINITIONS:

• Jacob (10:20) – Jacob was the father of the 12 Tribes of Israel. His name is sometimes used to refer to the collective nation that grew out of the 12 Tribes (the Nation of Israel).

OUTLINE:

• CONTINUED REBUKE TO ISRAEL’S OFFICIALS (10:1-4):

  • Continuing His denunciation of the evil in Israel, God rebuked their judges and law keepers who warped justice, troubled the poor, and spoiled widow’s possessions.

  • God warned they would have nowhere to run when His justice found them.

• ASSYRIA, THE TOOL OF GOD (10:5-19):

  • Next, God turned His attention towards Assyria.

  • He began by reminding Assyria that they were just a pawn in His world.

  • The Assyrian king thought of himself as God. He thought his power came from his army and intellect. He fancied himself as the one who reshaped the boundaries of the earth and tore down enemy kingdoms.

  • The Assyrian monarch considered the god of Israel to be just another weak idol, like those of the other nations he conquered.

  • God, through Isaiah, reminded the king that he was very small compared to God, and God would employ him and his nation as a tool to accomplish His will. He would serve the God of Israel, and he was so simple that he would do it without even knowing it.

  • God would use the Assyrians to punish the sinful people of Israel, but then God would humble the pride of the Assyrian emperor.

  • Assyria was like a strong man and a mighty forest, but God promised to make it into a famished man and a field of flimsy trees.  

• THE REMNANT OF GOD’S PEOPLE (10:20-27):

  • God promised that as Assyria conquered Israel and attempted to conquer Judah, He would preserve a remnant of the people.

  • Though the Assyrian threat would be great, God’s people were not to fear total extermination. God would eventually take the burden of Assyria away by judging them and humbling their nation.

• ASSYRIA’S MARCH ON JERUSALEM AND THE LORD’S AXE OF JUDGEMENT (10:28-34):

  • Verses 28-32 are a poetic description of the Assyrian army marching on Jerusalem.

  • Verses 33 and 34 are a poetic description of God meeting the Assyrian army at the hill of Jerusalem.

  • Assyria’s army is described as a forest (as in verses 18 and 19) and God is pictured as opposing them with a timber axe, ready to hew the mighty forest to the ground.  

  • You can read about the fulfillment of this poetic prophecy in 2 Kings 19:24-26.

APPLICATION:

• Proud and arrogant people who refuse to be shaped by their Maker will be used by Him as hammers to refine the righteous and shape history on the anvil of God’s will.

• The wicked who resist the Maker will be made into His tools to shape the righteous.

• The king of Assyria was a highly arrogant person, so God used him to refine His people and steer human history in the direction He wanted.

• There may be proud, haughty, and unrepentant people in your life. Think of how God may have shaped you for the better through their negative influence.

• Their presence in your life may be jarring and unpleasant, but that doesn’t mean it’s unfruitful.

• Every blacksmith has a few blunt instruments for pounding out the steel. Maybe God will use a few proud people in our lives to shape us into the people we need to be.