Isaiah 10:28

Isaiah 10:28 says, He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath laid up his carriages:  This relates how rapidly Sennacherib had overpowered the people of Judah and how little resistance they put up to his advancement according to Matthew Henry. He had even housed his chariots there.  The world may overpower us as followers of Christ today, but we don’t need to make it easy for them by giving up our opposition to the evil in the world.   

Verse twenty-nine adds, They are gone over the passage: they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is fled. The people of Judah, though they knew the power of God, fled from the Assyrians without a fight.  We should never allow fear of the world to cause us to run away from God and His power.  Even if we die, we will still live forever with God, so there is no reason to be afraid.   

Verse thirty continues, Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim: cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth.  Isaiah said that the people of Anathoth, a priest's city, should be shouting encouragement to others instead of lamenting their weakness when compared to the enemy.  We as Christians when everything seems to be overpowering us need to shout praises to God instead of only talking about our weakness as we face of our enemies.   

Verse thirty-one states, Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee.  Isaiah said instead of the people of Gebim gathering to fight, they had gathered to flee.  We as Christians when we gather today even in the face of what seem to be overpowering enemies need to gather in opposition to these enemies and not just so that we can give up without a fight.   

Verse thirty-two adds, 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.  Isaiah said that even though Sennacherib would get in sight of Jerusalem and shake his hand against it, he would not defeat it.  This is the promise of God to believers in Christ today.  The evil forces in the world may get close to us and even shake their hands in power against us, but they will never defeat us spiritually unless we lose faith in God.   

Verse thirty-three continues, 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.  Isaiah said that those who thought themselves to be so powerful in their fight against Judah, God’s chosen people, would be brought down by the power of God.  This is what we as followers of Christ must remember today.  We do not fight by our power, but by the power of God, and there is no one who can stand against Him.   

Verse thirty-four concludes, And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.  This is a reference to how vast the army of Assyria was.  Their spears when lifted up looked like a forest, but God was going to hew them down.  As Christians, we may see our enemies as overpowering today, but God will cut down every one of them, even if we lose the battle in this lifetime.   We simply need to stand fast spiritually by our faith in God. 

Isaiah 10:20

Isaiah 10:20 says, 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 said there was coming a day when the remnant of descendants of Jacob would no longer be ruled by those who had defeated them, but they would be ruled by God and rest under His authority and power.  I believe that those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord are a part of the remnant that will one day spend their lives with God forever.  Matthew Henry seems to imply that we must work to make sure we are part of that remnant, but I believe that faith in Jesus Christ alone makes us a part.  We then do what God calls us to do, not to try and make sure we are a part of the remnant in God’s view, but because we are thankful that He has made us a part by our faith in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who lived, died, and rose again to make salvation possible.   

Verse twenty-one adds, The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.  This remnant though they were few in numbers, would return to God.  Isaiah was telling them that they were still a part of God’s people.  Sometimes, we may feel alone in serving God, but He will always have at least a remnant that is true to Him, and we as followers of Christ will always be a part of that remnant.   

Verse twenty-two continues, 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.  Isaiah reminded them once again that the people of Israel had once been as numerous as the sand of the sea, but now though they were reduced to a very few, they should overflow with righteousness.  We may not be as numerous as Christians as we once were when compared to the overall number of people in the world, but we are still to overflow with righteousness.   

Verse twenty-three concludes, For the Lord God of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.  Matthew Henry says this consumption or destruction of the people of Israel who had turned away from Him would come from God Himself.  It doesn’t matter what the world may do to us as Christians, but it only matters that we remain true to God.  He will one day send all those who don’t away to everlasting destruction, even some who had professed to be Christians but were only so in name only. 

Verse twenty-four states, 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.   

Verse twenty-five states, For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction.  Isaiah said that it wouldn’t be long before the servitude of Israel to Assyria would end which happened because God was angry at their actions.  God will always be angry at sin, but the indignation that it brings to people can end as soon as they accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.  If we are a Christian, and we have strayed away from God, He is going to be angry at the sin in our lives also, but it only has to last until we repent and start to obey Him again.   

Verse twenty-six adds, 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.  Isaiah said God was about to punish Sennacherib as He had punished Midian, which had occurred by an invisible hand according to Matthew Henry and as He had destroyed Egypt when the people of Israel were set free.  God had allowed Assyria to defeat His people because they had nearly all turned against Him, but he was about to destroy Assyria and restore those people of Israel who had remained true to Him to their rightful place.  We as followers of Christ may suffer in the world today because too many who call themselves God’s people haven't accepted His gift of salvation and work for their own glory instead of for His glory, but one day, we will be called to our rightful place where all our enemies will be defeated.   

Verse twenty-seven continues, 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.  Isaiah said that when that day of restoration came, that all the power of Assyria would be lifted, as the fear of them would no longer be on the people of Israel.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, all our enemies are defeated, and we don’t need to fear them anymore.  God has already given us the victory and all we have to do is rest safely in His hands by faith.   

Isaiah 10:12

Isaiah 10:12 says, 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.  God said that one day He would punish Sennacherib who was king of Assyria for thinking he was more powerful than God simply because God had not prevented him from defeating the people of Judah and Jerusalem.  God had not abandoned His people forever, nor had He lost His power.  He had just let the people be punished for their sins by removing His protection from them.  As followers of Christ, God will never desert us, though at times the people in power in the world today may think that they have defeated us.   

Verse thirteen adds, 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:  Sennacherib continued to boast about his own power.  When rulers today begin to boast about how they have done things by their own power and deny the power or existence of God, they put themselves in danger.  God will never allow this to be true forever, even if they never lose power in this lifetime.  There is coming a day when they will find out how powerless they really are.   

Verse fourteen continues, 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.  Sennacherib then compared his treatment of God’s chosen people to stealing eggs from a chicken.  He said he took everything they had and that they didn’t even raise a peep.  There are still people today who see Christians as nothing more than a chicken to be robbed.  They see not only Christians as powerless, but they see their God as powerless too.  They may defeat us physically, but they will never defeat us spiritually, since our victory comes from God.   

Verse fifteen concludes, 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 then compared Sennacherib’s thinking he was more than an instrument of destruction himself, an axe in this case, to the one who used it.  Sennacherib had only been allowed to defeat the people of Judah and Jerusalem because God had removed His protection from them and not because he was more powerful than God.  A person or a nation today may believe themselves to be more powerful than God because they have had success in defeating God’s people, but at best they will have been an implement used by God.

Verse sixteen states. 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.  Isaiah said that God was going to now punish Sennacherib by making his people who had plenty and had grown fat a leanness, or lack of enough food.  Sennacherib had thought himself to be powerful in defeating the people of Judah, and they weren’t the ones who were going to bring him down.  God Himself was going to do that.  We may win or lose wars against evil in the world today, but our God never will.  He may allow evil powers to run free over His people, but the victory is already ours, because it is His.   

Verse seventeen adds, 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, Jesus Christ, the coming Messiah, would one day burn bright in the land.  We know that Jesus Christ has already come to shed His light on sin and death, and that He will one day return to burn brightly over all the world.  This is when those who have grown fat or rich by doing evil in the world will see how weak and powerless they really are.   

Verse eighteen continues, And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth.  Isaiah said that God had proclaimed that when He came in judgment over Sennacherib that his glory in his material possessions would come to an end, because they would be removed.  Anything people of the world may glory in today as they stand in opposition to God will one day be totally destroyed.  This also applies to anything that we as followers of Christ may have allowed to become more important to us than doing God’s will is.   

Verse nineteen concludes, And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.  Isaiah said even the trees in the forest would be few.  God is the One Who owns everything, and He is the One Who has the power to end everything as well.  So, if we are putting our faith in the things of this world, we have to acknowledge that one day, they are going to be destroyed.