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.
No comments:
Post a Comment