A Remnant Will Return

Isaiah 10:1-4 closes the series of woes with a charge against lawmakers who "write oppressive decrees," robbing the poor of their rights so "that widows may be their plunder." God asked them, "To whom will you flee for help?" The refrain returns one last time: "For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still."

Verses 5-19 reveal a surprising truth about history. God called Assyria "the rod of my anger" and used it to discipline a profane nation. Yet the Assyrian king did not mean so; it was "in his heart to destroy." He boasted about his own strength and wisdom, saying he had gathered the riches of the peoples like eggs from a nest. God's reply exposes the folly of pride: "Should an ax brag against him who chops with it?" God remains sovereign even over empires that do not know him, and he would punish the king's "willful proud heart."

Verses 20-34 turn to the remnant. Though Israel was "like the sand of the sea," only a remnant would return "to the mighty God," the same title given to the child in 9:6. In the New Testament, Paul quotes verses 22-23 in Romans 9:27-28 to show that God keeps a faithful remnant. God told Zion, "don't be afraid of the Assyrian," because "his burden will depart from off your shoulder." The chapter ends with the Assyrian army marching close to Jerusalem, shaking its fist at Zion, until God cuts down the proud like trees of a forest.