6/08/17 Isaiah 10:15-23 “What
is man that he should dispute with God?”
Isaiah 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.
boast – glorify oneself
heweth – divide into pieces. Shall the axe glorify itself above (or in opposition to) the one who uses it to chop the wood?
shaketh – wields; waves; swing to and fro (or back and forth as a saw might be used). Shall the saw magnify (exalt; boast of) itself above the one who draws it back and forth?
As if the rod could brandish itself against the one that holds it! It’s unthinkable that a mere rod could shake the arm of them (the plural majesty of God?) that shake it!
As if the staff of wood could lift up that which isn’t made of wood (“no wood”, or “not-wood”)! It’s unthinkable that a staff (which is made of wood) could be able to lift up the “not-wood” (living arms or hands) that hold it, use it, and wield it!
Note the connection with Isaiah 10:5 – O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.
Can the creature tell the Creator what to do?
Isaiah 45:9 – Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! [Let] the potsherd [strive] with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
Can the creature accuse God of anything?
Romans 9:20-21 – 20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed [it], Why hast thou made me thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
Calvinists make a great song and dance about these verses, claiming that God created vessels of honour (the elect) and vessels of dishonour (the non-elect). Note carefully that it doesn’t actually say that God purposely creates one vessel for honour (the election) and another for dishonour (the non-election). What it does very clearly say is that God may choose to make of His creation whatever He wills, and not one of His creatures may question it. It is a challenge concerning authority, not necessarily a statement of achievement! Has God also the power to throw all mankind into hell for their sin? Yes! But does He do so? No, not to all mankind!
Nor does it say that if God were to make vessels of honour and dishonour, that such vessels cannot be permitted to change their state. That is, nowhere does it say, for instance, that vessels of dishonour cannot become vessels of honour. In fact, the Bible clearly teaches that vessels of dishonour may be, by purging (by thorough cleansing), made vessels of honour.
2 Timothy 2:20-21 – 20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. 21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, [and] prepared unto every good work.
However, all that these verses teach is that the Creator, and not the creature, has the right alone to determine what He desires, and it’s His right alone also to have all the glory for all things. Man cannot question why God should do what He does!
Isaiah 55:8 – For my thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither [are] your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
Isaiah 42:8 – I [am] the Lord: that [is] my name: and my
glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
Isaiah 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, the Lord of hosts – adon adonay tsaba. Note that in Isaiah 1:24 “the Lord, the Lord of hosts” = adon Yᵉhovah tsaba. Old Testament scribes have placed a correction (called a “qere”) – Yᵉhovah – in the margin of Isaiah 10:16, but leaving the original word (called a “kethiv”) in the actual writings. They would have considered “adonay” to be incorrect, and therefore put their preferred term “Yᵉhovah” in the margin. It is likely that Isaiah would have originally recorded the term here the same way that he did in Isaiah 1:24.
The Assyrian king might be king over many kings, but not even that claim can come close to the title of Lord of all creation, or Lord of hosts.
The Lord, the Lord of hosts, will send leanness (a wasting away; scantiness of measure) among those fat ones (which here has to mean those who have grown “fat” on the spoils and plunder, that is, made rich), and under his glory (that is, the glory of the Assyrian king) will be kindled a burning (“there will burn a burning”) like the burning of a fire.
Note the passive tense “will be kindled”, rather than the active tense of “he shall kindle”.
The riches of the Assyrians will become leanness for them, and their glory will go up in smoke as if burned in a fire.
Babylon also gets “burned”: she cannot escape God’s judgment as by fire.
Isaiah 47:14 – Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: [there shall] not [be] a coal to warm at, [nor] fire to sit before it.
Note that Israel and Judah have already been judged as by fire because of their sin.
Isaiah 5:24 – Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, [so] their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
All will be judged according to whatever they build their lives on.
1 Corinthians 3:12-13 – 12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
The fatness and leanness of Jacob (Israel) in the day that Damascus (Syria) falls.
Isaiah 17:4 – And in that day it shall come to pass, [that] the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean.
Isaiah 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 – a name for God. God is light; Jesus is the light of the world.
1 John 1:5 – This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
John 8:12 – Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
John 1:9 – [That] was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
Light is generally seen as a fire of some sort, based upon some measure of heat or glowing. Even led lights produce heat; high-powered led driving lights have heat-sinks to offload the heat they develop or else they would overheat. And God is a consuming fire, dwelling in unapproachable light.
Hebrews 12:29 – For our God [is] a consuming fire.
1 Timothy 6:16a – Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto;
This same fire which consumes the enemies of Israel (Vs 16) is also the light of salvation to God’s people, here noted as Israel.
his Holy One for a flame – the Holy One of Israel is a consuming fire; the same idea appears to be expressed twice to emphasise the burning of the judgment of God.
Thorns and briers were symbolic of the enemies or opposition of God’s people
Ezekiel 2:6 – And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns [be] with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they [be] a rebellious house.
In today’s passage, thorns and briers would represent the Assyrians who would be destroyed for their arrogance in dealing out judgment upon God’s people. They were the thorns and briers tormenting Israel, and because of their haughty boasting their tormenting armies would be burned up in God’s judgment upon them in their turn.
Note Paul’s thorn in the flesh was a “messenger” (the word is mostly translated “angel”) of his enemy, satan.
“there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me,” – 2 Corinthians 12:7.
Isaiah 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.
consume – complete; bring to an end; finish; put an end to; cause to fail; use up.
glory – abundance; riches; glory; honour; reputation; dignity; reverence.
fruitful – karmel (as of growth in a plantation, garden or orchard) cf Mt Carmel.
soul – soul; life; creature; person; seat of appetites, emotions and passions; activity of the will or character.
body – flesh (of body, humans or animals); the body (of flesh) itself.
standardbearer – to be sick
fainthearted – to waste away
Thus, literally, as a sick (man) wastes away. The “standardbearer” (KJV), while not an exact translation, was probably to signify that if the standardbearer fell, then the rest of the army was fallen.
Isaiah continues to pronounce God’s judgment upon the Assyrian army (which was probably that which came against Judah (and Hezekiah) in 701 BC – see 2 Kings 18 & 19.
And shall consume (destroy; exterminate) the glory (abundance; riches; reputation) of his (Sennacherib and his Assyrian army) forest (probably signifying the abundance of his might) and of his fruitful field (probably that which produced good results) – this army is mighty and gets results! – both soul and body (flesh), that is, both spiritual and physical.
They shall be like sick men just wasting away (possibly to death – note the word “consume” which signifies that they are brought to an end.
This was literally fulfilled when Sennacherib came against Hezekiah in 701 BC.
2 Kings19:35-36 – 35 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they [were] all dead corpses. 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.
Isaiah 10:19 – And the rest
of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.
rest – shᵉ’ar (residue; remnant; remainder) This word is used in this verse plus 4 times in the next three verses. It is also the first part of Isaiah’s son Shearjashub: “the remnant shall return”.
write – write down; engrave; register; record (possibly names here)
Those who weren’t destroyed (exterminated) in this judgment would be so few that a young child would be able to count them; that is, without difficulty. 2 Kings 19:36 doesn’t actually say that the whole army was destroyed; only that all of the 185,000 who died were as dead corpses. Sennacherib survived to go home again (and probably some few remaining men with him). The “forest” (his mighty army) has been decimated!
Isaiah 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.
Those who are left of Israel and those who have escaped (been delivered; can mean “remnant”) of the house of Jacob after the judgments so far will no longer stay upon (rely upon for help; trust in) him (the Assyrian) who smote (conquered; destroyed) them, but will instead stay upon (trust in) the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth (with faithfulness; with sincerity).
The Assyrian (Sennacherib) is no longer able to help himself, let alone others, because his massive and mighty army has been destroyed, and Sennacherib has gone home to lick his wounds. It was God who delivered Hezekiah and Jerusalem from the Assyrian, because it was upon God that they trusted this time.
2 Kings 19:14-19 – 14 And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said, O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest [between] the cherubims, thou art the God, [even] thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. 16 Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, Lord, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God. 17 Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands, 18 And have cast their gods into the fire: for they [were] no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. 19 Now therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou [art] the Lord God, [even] thou only.
Isaiah 10:21 – The remnant
shall return, [even] the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.
remnant – shᵉ’ar
shall return – shuwb
Note Isaiah 7:3 – Shᵉ’ar Yashuwb (Shearjashub) “a remnant shall return”
As a matter of interest, before Sennacherib came against Jerusalem, Hezekiah had made plans for all Israel to keep the Passover in Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 30:5-6 – 5 So they
established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beer–sheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the passover unto the Lord God of Israel at Jerusalem: for they
had not done [it] of a long [time in such sort] as it was written.
6 So the posts went with the letters from the king and his
princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of
the king, saying, Ye children of Israel, turn again unto the Lord God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant of you, that are
escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria.
the mighty God – the same term as found in Isaiah 9:6 – For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
This may relate back to the prophecy of Immanuel in Isaiah 7:14.
Isaiah 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.
consumption – killayown (completion; destruction; consumption; annihilation)
decreed – cut; mutilate; sharpen; decide (be decisive)
For even though there shall be so many of your people Israel (as many as the sand of the sea), yet only a small number (a remnant only) shall return (come back). The consumption (the consuming; annihilation; destruction) (of the nation) that is decreed (by God) shall overflow with righteousness (the righteousness of God).
Note the promise made to Abraham after he had sacrificed the ram in place of his son, Isaac.
Genesis 22:17 – That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which [is] upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
The judgment of extermination of the nation of Israel that will reduce it to a mere remnant is more than righteous, that is, God’s righteousness demanded that He destroy the whole nation, yet in His mercy He has permitted a remnant to return. God had every right and more to exterminate them completely, yet didn’t quite; an example of God’s mercy and grace to His special people, Israel.
Hath not the potter power over
the clay? (Romans
9:21)
Isaiah 10:23 – For the
Lord God of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of
all the land.
consumption – kalah (completion; termination; full end; complete destruction; consumption; annihilation) This appears to be a stronger term than “consumption” in Vs 22. Rather than just “destruction”, here it means “utter destruction”.
a consumption, even determined – Pulpit Commentary says it is “a consummation – a final and decisive end of things, even determined” that is, determined beforehand. An utter destruction that was not a mere afterthought but had been determined on the whole land (“in the midst of all the land”) before the occasion arose.
Cambridge – “For
an extermination and a decisive work is the Lord Jehovah of Hosts about to
execute in the midst of the whole earth (or land).” (where “decisive”
comes from “decreed” in Vs 22).
The same phrase (a consumption, even determined) occurs in Isaiah 28:22 – Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord God of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.
and again in Daniel 9:27 – And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
That is, the consumption (utter destruction) has been determined upon this people from beforehand; it is prophesied and will therefore certainly happen.
all the land – ‘erets (land; the whole earth [as opposed to a part]; inhabitants [also the whole population]; the land of Israel)
And, it will happen to all the land, that is, all the inhabitants of the land which, here, is Israel. A remnant will survive, but a very small number compared with the number that will be destroyed.
However, nowhere does it demonstrate that this was anything other than the consequences of man’s free will being exercised to rebel against holy God! Even that verse that the calvinists claim “proves” that God’s sovereignty forces man to be either good or evil (honourable or dishonourable) does not and cannot say what they claim it to say.
Romans 9:20-21 – 20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed [it], Why hast thou made me thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
It’s a long stretch from God having the right to choose how He creates, to God actually forcing man to be saved or lost (elect or non-elect). Calvinists don’t like to think of their God as condemning the non-elect to hell (even though Calvin clearly taught such) because it makes their God look like a vindictive ogre. However, there are only two options for eternity, heaven and hell, and if the calvinist God doesn’t choose you for heaven, then you are certainly going to hell. Therefore, to teach that the calvinist God is not responsible for condemning the non-elect to hell is a frank admission that the calvinist God only has sovereignty over those he has determined to be his elect! And they claim that their teachings take a higher view of God’s sovereignty! Rubbish!
Their God also only has foreknowledge of the elect (according to MacArthur’s definition of the foreknowledge of God); their God therefore is forced to foreordain everything the non-elect do, simply because he hasn’t any idea what they will choose until they choose it!
Lorraine Boettner (The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination) pictures the calvinist God as disappointed and unhappy if he cannot foreordain the actions of man.
Common sense tells us that no
event can be foreknown unless by some means, either physical or mental, it has
been predetermined. ….
Furthermore, if the acts of free
agents are in themselves uncertain, God must then wait until the event has had
its issue before making His plans. ….
To deny God the perfections of
foreknowledge and immutability is to represent Him
as a disappointed and unhappy
being who is often checkmated and defeated by His creatures. ….
for foreknowledge implies
certainty and certainty implies foreordination.
So, either the calvinist God predestines the lost to hell or he is not sovereign! Calvinists must choose one option or the other; they cannot deny both!
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