Chapter of His Heart: Isaiah 10

The Just, The Humble, and The Faithful

You can read Isaiah 10 here.
God targets three different groups of people in this chapter and I want to spend some time on each group. Lets try to remember that even though God was speaking to a specific group of people in the old testament, if we are honest with ourselves, we can find traces of their traits in all of us.  I was in a church service once and the preacher approached the pulpit and said "Good evening, before we begin I would like you all to put away your shovels." He said it as naturally as if he were asking you to turn your phone on silent for the service. When he looked up and saw that no one had any idea what he was talking about, the preacher explained that too often when we hear a sermon or read a word from God we think "I know who he's preaching to" or "So-and-so needs to hear this, maybe it would straighten  him/her out". We come to church with our shovels out, so to speak, and when the preacher gives the sermon we scoop it up with our shovels and toss it on someone we think needs to hear it. We don't stop to examine our own lives to see if the words pertain to us before we self-righteously toss the message to that "sinner" in the next pew. So today as you take a minute to read this chapter, put your shovel down and let God's word sink into your heart and bring to the surface anything you may need to attend to.

The first group of people we hear about are the Judges of Israel. In Bible times Judges were appointed by God over every tribe in the nation to govern the people. God saw that the Judges were becoming corrupt and dealing unfairly with the people. God promises that these unjust acts would be dealt with and the people who committed them would be punished.

"What will you do when I punish you…To whom will you turn for help? Where will your treasures be safe? -Isaiah 10:3

God could not tolerate injustice. Those people, and the things those people owned, were destroyed. When you deal with people, are you fair? Are you looking out for others or for yourself? Remember the Judges when you think you can get away with treating people unfairly, because God will not let you go unchecked.

The Assyrians are the second group God uses as an example, and they represent people who take credit for God's works.  God had used the Assyrians as a tool to punish Israel for her disobedience. God allowed them take Israel captive, but Assyria was taking the credit. Arrogantly they boasted of their strength and what they had accomplished, even vowing to destroy Israel's "god". They didn't realize that God was the deciding factor in their victory. If it were not for God's hand moving in their favor the Assyrians never would have made it past the city limits.

"But can an ax boast greater power than the person who uses it? Is the saw greater than the person who saws? Can a rod strike unless a hand moves it? Can a wooden cane walk by itself?" -Isaiah 10:15

We never do anything unless it is in, through, with, or by God. We couldn't draw another breath without His power. Things don't just happen, God happens. Assyria was destroyed because of it's pride in it's own strength. The Bible has a lot to say about pride, and probably one of the most well known passages on the topic is Proverbs 16:18 "Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall." That's exactly what happened to the Assyrians and that's why we can't let pride touch our hearts. The moment we believe we can do anything in our own strength is the moment we fall.

The last group is the faithful followers of Israel. Lets flash back to Isaiah 6, God left us a little clue to His plan when He promised a remnant.

"..but as a Terebinth or Oak tree leaves a stump when it is cut down, so Israel's stump will be a holy seed."-Isaiah 6:13

 After all the punishment and plundering of Israel that was to come, God would honor those who were steadfast in their faith. They would be the remnant, they would be the holy seed. Flash forward to chapter 10 and the remnant is mentioned again. God has already decided to destroy the land of Israel but He promises hope to the faithful. Again He calls them "the remnant" and again He promises that they will be spared. They will return to God and to their land. The definition of the word remnant is 'a fragment, a scrap or a trace'. Sometimes it may seem like you are the remnant, like you are the faithful follower and everyone else has jumped ship. It may seem like you are being faithful but you are still being punished with those who are not. Remember the Israelites who were faithful. Because they never gave up their trust in God, He used them to grow a new nation of believers. Out of the scraps God brought hope.

I hope we didn't let our shovels sneak back out while we were reading, because honestly I think this chapter was a reminder we all could use. When the opportunity arises, be the one to deal fairly even when others aren't. Because God's heart loves the just. If someone compliments you on an achievement, remember who's strength got the job done, and give Him the credit. Because God's heart empowers yours. Those who follow faithfully will be remembered by God, those who are the remnant will be restored. Because God's heart honors the faithful.