Adult Class
December 2006-May 2007
Isaiah
Lesson 6: Assyria and Its Judgment
In the previous lesson, we saw that God urged Ahaz to trust Him in time of danger. Then, God promised a coming Messiah. He gave a message of great hope and grace and of a wonderful future. But first, the judgment must come upon the people who had rejected God. He had raised up a world empire for the purpose of punishing Israel and Judah. And that punishment certainly would be executed.
9:8-10:4—God’s anger is revealed
God reveals the reasons for His judgment on Israel in a series of four indictments. God never inflicts punishment without explanation.
9:8-12—Arrogance. God sends a message, and His word will land with unstoppable force upon the northern kingdom. Their problem was one of arrogance. They had already suffered from invasion, yet they believed they could simply rebuild—bigger and better than ever. Their future was very bright in their minds. But God had other plans that included even more raids against the kingdom. His anger would not be turned aside by the paltry punishment inflicted by Philistines and Arameans.
One of the “seven deadly sins,” those sins considered to be at the root of all other sins, is that of “pride.” This is not joy at accomplishment, but arrogance that takes credit for all good things and considers itself responsible for every blessing. These people considered themselves responsible for their own well-being. We must beware ever coming to the position of believing that we have accomplished all the good in our lives.
9:13-17—Corrupt leadership. The entire nation is guilty before God, yet the leaders are responsible for the corruption of the kingdom. The problem here was that the governmental leaders and the spiritual leaders both led the people away from God. They taught lies and lived in corruption. As a result, even those specially favored by God, the widows and orphans, will be destroyed along with the evildoers.
In our own society, we may decry the leadership we elect, but we have a responsibility to act in righteousness always. The opinion-shapers of our society are often hostile to our faith. That is not a new problem and is no excuse for our abandoning our faith. The way we live and conduct ourselves impacts those around us!
9:18-21—Wickedness. The pervasive sin of the people set in motion events that destroyed everything around. Once the attitudes of selfishness and violence are unleashed, nobody is safe. The residents of the northern kingdom would turn on each other and fight against each other, uniting only in their mutual hatred for Judah. This internal strife would weaken the kingdom even further.
Unity among a people makes them strong; discord half defeats them before opposition is encountered. We must devote ourselves to our brethren in Christ and seek to help them. We gain nothing by fighting among ourselves, and we strengthen the hand of the enemy when we waste our energy in disunity.
10:1-4—Lawlessness. When the leaders twisted the laws to suit themselves and made it impossible for ordinary people to gain justice, they destroyed their own future as well. They were specifically charged to uphold justice for all, to take no bribes, to regard nobody as privileged—whether rich or poor—and to apply the law equally. Without an independent legal system, the poor had no hope of prevailing over their oppressors. Now that invasion is imminent, the corrupt officials could hardly cry “foul!”
In many countries this is a genuine and current problem. We sometimes see false dealing in courts of law; in many places it is routine. And when the law is mocked by those charged to uphold it, society is on its way to anarchy. If we wish to be treated fairly, we must treat others with perfect fairness.
10:5-34—God’s Instrument Identified
God had purposed to bring Assyria against Israel, but Assyria did not acknowledge that it was God’s design! That empire decided that it was its own idea to invade and ravage Syria and Israel. They even had designs on Judah and Jerusalem. The list of cities in verse 9 relates a 300-mile march south toward Samaria and Jerusalem. Each of the listed cities fell before the Assyrians over a 21-year period. None of the idols of those cities saved them from the Assyrians. It might have been natural for them to assume that Jerusalem’s God could not save it, either. However, they did not recognize the difference between idols and the Living God.
God determined to use Assyria and then to punish it for its own sins after His purposes were concluded. Assyria was a tool, not a power. After God punished that empire and destroyed it, He promised grace for the remnant left in Jerusalem. In fact, He promised that the destruction visited upon Samaria would not touch Jerusalem. In spite of Assyria’s arrogance, God would bring them down. And, in fact, this happened as we will see in future chapters.
Frequently we see in the pages of the Bible that people believe they are doing their own will when, in fact, they are working out the purposes of God. Samson thought he had found his one true love, when actually God was using this to deliver His people from the Philistines (Judges 14:4). Caiaphas did not realize he was revealing the true will of God when he plotted the judicial murder of Jesus (John 11:49-52). In such cases, God is using the vicious mentality and twisted character of the people to bring about His ends. They are doing what they want in one way; in another, they are fulfilling the will of God. Pharaoh in the Exodus, Judas Iscariot, Pilate and others have decided on ungodly courses of action that were fully in keeping with God’s overall plan. What we must keep in our minds is that God works His plans out even with the efforts of ungodly people. We must determine to remain in His will at all times.