Isaiah 10 TOOLS IN GOD’S HAND It is of vital importance that we are conscious of the presence of the Lord among us as His people. Even though it may create in us a godly fear, reverence and respect, it is probably the greatest privilege we have as an assembly of those who gather together in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of His promise to be in our midst, there is strength and power against the enemies of God and His word. If for some reason we forget the fact that He is there when we meet, we are in grave danger of departure, and of substituting forms and traditions of men for the truth of God. That will lead to either a mere form of godliness, or outright ungodliness. Then our gatherings are no more than that of a social club because the light of a “lampstand” of truth has been removed.
That is what happened to Israel and why the prophecies of Isaiah were so important, even though the people of Israel didn’t realize that. Because of their attitude toward the things of God, they were soon taken away captives, and have been a spiritual nonissue in the world until now. They have become a recognized nation in the world, but there is no moral or spiritual authority in their influence. That can be the result of an assembly of God’s people who turn to that which pleases people and is accepted as suitable to the tolerant and comfortable lifestyle of this ungodly age. The desire for the work of God and the assemblies of God’s people to be “relevant” can be taken way too far, to where we have nothing spiritual and lasting to offer people in the name of the Lord.
The unrighteous, boastful people of Israel were facing judgment because of their failure and unwillingness to repent of their sin and turn in humility to the Lord. The leaders would not repent of their abuse of power and oppression. They were passing sentences on people for their own personal gain. Consequently, they were facing personal judgment from God in which there would be no way to escape. Those in leadership roles would lose everything they had and would be led away as captives into bondage. To ignore the needs of a nation by passing unjust laws that are oppressive for those who labor, and are beneficial for those selfish leaders, will ultimately bring oppression and judgments on “law-makers.” Those who are supposed to uphold existing laws that find their origin in God, are held responsible to do that. They are supposed to be “ministers of righteousness.”
Israel passed through times of material success and favorable circumstances in which they compromised not only with those people around them but had idols scattered all over the promised land. The kings of Judah were faced with the power of Assyria that had conquered Syria and the northern tribes of Israel. The Assyrian army was poised to come against Judah, so Isaiah prophesied regarding what would happen to them at that time, and it will be repeated in the times of the tribulation that will yet come upon the Jews. The internal condition of a nation cannot be hidden forever.
We need to always be aware that our God knows everything about us, from our attitude and motivation, to our actions and the results. What we are within as individuals, assemblies and nations cannot be considered hidden from God. He has unchanging spiritual principles and stated laws that He will uphold. It is our responsibility to know the word of God well enough to conduct ourselves by them and help others who are younger in the faith to learn and practice them. The assemblies of God are designed by God to function as a living organisms with each person who forms a part of the testimony, gifted to meets the cooperative needs of the whole body of believers.
An anti-God, prideful, self-centered nation that thinks all their blessings have come from their own schemes and ingenuity, is due to fall. A great economy that disregards the condition of the poor and is dependent on the unfortunate conditions imposed on the rank and file of the population, will come to ruin. The luxuries of the leaders and their willful, covetous attitude, will condemn them before the people and leave them all destitute before a just God. Israel is an example of that. Even though there were faithful prophets and some who were God-fearing people, the majority was content to continue their worldly lifestyle and spiritual hypocrisy, and did not pay attention to the warnings of those ancient preachers.
God allowed the Assyrians to be the tool in His hand to bring justice and judgment upon the Jews. The Assyrians also thought they had been successful in conquering other nations by their own power, skill in warfare and cruelty. They had their own agenda and did not accept the fact that they were no more than an axe in the hands of a lumberjack or a saw in the hand of a carpenter. Through His prophet Isaiah, God warned them they would be brought down in defeat by His power through another great power He would use against them.
The haughty attitude of people who do not recognize divine sovereignty over the affairs of men, will doom them to their own destruction. God’s chosen instrument for judgment one time, who credits themselves for their successes which they think they have done it on their own, will be themselves judged in God’s own time and by whom He chooses. Those who God uses to maintain law and order and may be called upon to carry out deserved judgment on evildoers, are not immune from God’s justice when they do not acknowledge His power and authority.
To the conquering Assyrians, those they conquered were in their eyes, no more than a bunch of eggs to be stolen from a nest. They didn’t realize all they were was a tool to be used by God for a short period of time. God was the One who was using them to execute justice upon the guilty, and the same God would use others to execute justice upon them for their arrogance and pride. There is a day coming when the judgments of God will be felt worldwide. During the tribulation, there will be a remnant of Jews who will repent of their sin and turn to the Lord in faith.
It is then God will show them mercy and will protect them when they turn to Him for protection. Most of the Israelis today are in the same frame of mind and reference to the Lord as those Jews were in Isaiah’s time. But the true Israel will be people of faith. They will begin as a small remnant of people which will become a powerful nation and the supreme world power under the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Like the Assyrian army in the past that came within two miles of Jerusalem at a place called Nob, before Sennacherib could take Jerusalem, he was called back to defend the Assyrians themselves. It will be like that in the future at the end of the tribulation. There will be a concerted effort to overthrow and annihilate the Jews, and then the Lord will step in and bring an end to the plans of men and nations. When God moves in defense of His own people, no military power or arrogant leaders of an invading army will be able to touch “the apple of His eye.”
God is always ready to work on behalf of those who put their unreserved faith in Him. When our confidence is in the Lord and not in ourselves or other people, He acts in grace to meet our need. Faith in God will be the key to survival of the remnant of the Jews in the future as it was to those in the past to whom Isaiah prophesied. That same faith is the key to God working on our behalf today. When we take the eyes of our faith off of the Lord and direct our expectations of success to material gain or other means of physical, material and spiritual things, we will lose everything.
When our faith is in God, and our trust in the Lord is real to me and to others, the outcome will be right. It will be just what God wants and will be to our greatest blessing. Lasting benefits are not always material things. That is probably the greatest deception many people have. They think “things” and “success,” are evidence of God’s favor and are “blessings.” They may be, but by nature they are only temporary benefits. When God has His way with me and I commit myself to pleasing and obeying Him, the blessings are spiritual and lasting. The purposes of God make no room for the pride of man to usurp authority and claim success for himself. God has, does, and always will, use who He chooses and for the purposes He has. Those will ultimately be the best possible blessings for us, even though at the present time it may seem like they are unsurmountable difficulties.