Nothing will remain but to crouch among the captives or fall among the slain. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised. Nothing will remainThis phrase emphasizes the totality of the judgment that is to come. In the Hebrew context, the word for "nothing" (אַיִן, 'ayin) signifies a complete absence or void. Historically, this reflects the dire consequences faced by those who oppose God's will, leaving them with no options or resources. It serves as a stark reminder of the futility of resisting divine judgment. but to crouch among the captives
The imagery of "crouching" (כָּרַע, kara) suggests a position of submission and defeat. In ancient times, captives were often humiliated and forced into subservient positions. This phrase indicates the inevitable humiliation and subjugation that comes upon those who defy God. It is a call to humility and repentance, recognizing that pride leads to downfall. or fall among the slain
The word "fall" (נָפַל, naphal) in Hebrew often denotes a violent or sudden collapse. Historically, this reflects the fate of those who are destroyed in battle or judgment. The phrase underscores the severity of God's wrath, where the only alternative to captivity is death. It serves as a sobering reminder of the consequences of sin and rebellion. In all this, His anger has not turned away
This phrase highlights the persistent nature of God's righteous anger (אַף, aph). Despite the calamities described, God's anger remains because the people have not repented. It reflects the biblical principle that God's justice is unwavering and that His anger is a response to continued disobedience. It calls believers to introspection and repentance, understanding that God's patience has limits. yet His hand is still upraised
The "upraised hand" (יָד, yad) is a symbol of God's power and readiness to act. In the context of ancient Near Eastern culture, an upraised hand often signified impending action or judgment. This phrase indicates that God's judgment is not yet complete, and His power is still poised to execute justice. It serves as both a warning and an invitation to repentance, reminding believers of God's sovereign control and the opportunity for mercy if they turn back to Him. Persons / Places / Events 1. IsaiahA major prophet in the Old Testament, Isaiah is the author of the book. He prophesied during the reigns of several kings of Judah and is known for his messages of judgment and hope. 2. AssyriaThe dominant empire during Isaiah's time, often used by God as an instrument of judgment against Israel and Judah for their disobedience. 3. Judah and IsraelThe divided kingdoms of God's chosen people. Isaiah's prophecies often addressed their sin and the impending judgment they faced. 4. Captives and SlainRefers to the fate of those who would not heed God's warnings. They would either be taken captive by foreign powers or killed. 5. God's Anger and JudgmentThe overarching theme of this passage is God's righteous anger against sin and His continued judgment upon His people for their disobedience. Teaching Points The Consequences of DisobedienceGod's judgment is a direct result of persistent disobedience. Just as Israel faced consequences, we too must be aware of the spiritual repercussions of turning away from God. God's Righteous AngerGod's anger is not arbitrary but is a response to sin and injustice. Understanding this helps us appreciate His holiness and justice. The Call to RepentanceEven in judgment, God's hand is "still upraised," indicating His desire for repentance. We are called to examine our lives and turn back to God. Hope in God's DisciplineWhile the passage speaks of judgment, it also implies hope. God's discipline is meant to correct and restore, not just to punish. Living in ObedienceThe ultimate application is a call to live in obedience to God's commands, recognizing that His ways lead to life and blessing. Bible Study Questions 1. How does understanding the historical context of Isaiah 10:4 enhance our comprehension of God's judgment? 2. In what ways can we see God's hand "still upraised" in our lives today, calling us to repentance? 3. How do the themes of judgment and hope in Isaiah 10:4 relate to the New Testament teachings on God's discipline? 4. What are some modern-day "captivities" or "slayings" that result from disobedience to God, and how can we avoid them? 5. How can we apply the lessons from Isaiah 10:4 to ensure we are living in alignment with God's will and avoiding His righteous anger? Connections to Other Scriptures Deuteronomy 28This chapter outlines the blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience, providing a backdrop for understanding the consequences faced by Israel and Judah. Amos 4:6-12Similar to Isaiah, Amos speaks of God's repeated attempts to bring His people to repentance, yet they did not return to Him. Hebrews 12:5-11This passage discusses God's discipline as a sign of His love, which can be related to the purpose behind God's judgment in Isaiah. People Anathoth, Assyrians, Egyptians, Isaiah, Jacob, Laish, Oreb, SaulPlaces Aiath, Anathoth, Arpad, Assyria, Calno, Carchemish, Damascus, Egypt, Gallim, Geba, Gibeah, Hamath, Jerusalem, Laishah, Lebanon, Madmenah, Michmash, Midian, Migron, Mount Zion, Nob, Ramah, Samaria, ZionTopics Anger, Bound, Bow, Bowed, Captives, Cringe, Crouch, Except, Fall, Nothing, Nought, Prisoners, Remains, Slain, Spite, Stretched, Turn, Upraised, Wrath, YetDictionary of Bible Themes Isaiah 10:1-4 5504 rights
9250 woe Library Light or Fire?
'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.'--ISAIAH x. 17. With grand poetry the prophet pictures the Assyrian power as a forest consumed like thistles and briers by the fire of God. The text suggests solemn truths about the divine Nature and its manifestations. I. The Essential Character of God. Light and Holiness are substantially parallel. Light symbolises purity, but also knowledge and joy. Holiness …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureNob. Bahurim.
That Nob was placed in the land of Benjamin, not far from Jerusalem, whence Jerusalem also might be seen,--the words of the Chaldee paraphrast, upon Isaiah 10:32, do argue. For so he speaks; "Sennacherib came and stood in Nob, a city of the priests, before the walls of Jerusalem; and said to his army, 'Is not this the city of Jerusalem, against which I have raised my whole army, and have subdued all the provinces of it? Is it not small and weak in comparison of all the fortifications of the Gentiles, …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Covenanting Predicted in Prophecy.
The fact of Covenanting, under the Old Testament dispensations, being approved of God, gives a proof that it was proper then, which is accompanied by the voice of prophecy, affording evidence that even in periods then future it should no less be proper. The argument for the service that is afforded by prophecy is peculiar, and, though corresponding with evidence from other sources, is independent. Because that God willed to make known truth through his servants the prophets, we should receive it …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting If Then the Prophets Prophesied that the Son of God was to Appear Upon The...
If then the prophets prophesied that the Son of God was to appear upon the earth, and prophesied also where on the earth and how and in what manner He should make known His appearance, and all these prophecies the Lord took upon Himself; our faith in Him was well-founded, and the tradition of the preaching (is) true: that is to say, the testimony of the apostles, who being sent forth by the Lord preached in all the world the Son of God, who came to suffer, and endured to the destruction of death …
Irenæus—The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching His Holy Covenant
"To remember His Holy Covenant; to grant unto us that we, being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, should serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all our days."-LUKE i. 68-75. WHEN Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, he spoke of God's visiting and redeeming His people, as a remembering of His Holy Covenant. He speaks of what the blessings of that Covenant would be, not in words that had been used before, but in what is manifestly a Divine revelation …
Andrew Murray—The Two Covenants The Instrumentality of the Wicked Employed by God, While He Continues Free from Every Taint.
1. The carnal mind the source of the objections which are raised against the Providence of God. A primary objection, making a distinction between the permission and the will of God, refuted. Angels and men, good and bad, do nought but what has been decreed by God. This proved by examples. 2. All hidden movements directed to their end by the unseen but righteous instigation of God. Examples, with answers to objections. 3. These objections originate in a spirit of pride and blasphemy. Objection, that …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion King of Kings and Lord of Lords
And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, K ING OF K INGS AND L ORD OF L ORDS T he description of the administration and glory of the Redeemer's Kingdom, in defiance of all opposition, concludes the second part of Messiah Oratorio. Three different passages from the book of Revelation are selected to form a grand chorus, of which Handel's title in this verse is the close --a title which has been sometimes vainly usurped by proud worms of this earth. Eastern monarchs, in particular, …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2 Humility is the Root of Charity, and Meekness the Fruit of Both. ...
Humility is the root of charity, and meekness the fruit of both. There is no solid and pure ground of love to others, except the rubbish of self-love be first cast out of the soul; and when that superfluity of naughtiness is cast out, then charity hath a solid and deep foundation: "The end of the command is charity out of a pure heart," 1 Tim. i. 5. It is only such a purified heart, cleansed from that poison and contagion of pride and self-estimation, that can send out such a sweet and wholesome …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning Purposes of God.
In discussing this subject I shall endeavor to show, I. What I understand by the purposes of God. Purposes, in this discussion, I shall use as synonymous with design, intention. The purposes of God must be ultimate and proximate. That is, God has and must have an ultimate end. He must purpose to accomplish something by his works and providence, which he regards as a good in itself, or as valuable to himself, and to being in general. This I call his ultimate end. That God has such an end or purpose, …
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology A Discourse of the House and Forest of Lebanon
OF THE HOUSE OF THE FOREST OF LEBANON. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. That part of Palestine in which the celebrated mountains of Lebanon are situated, is the border country adjoining Syria, having Sidon for its seaport, and Land, nearly adjoining the city of Damascus, on the north. This metropolitan city of Syria, and capital of the kingdom of Damascus, was strongly fortified; and during the border conflicts it served as a cover to the Assyrian army. Bunyan, with great reason, supposes that, to keep …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 Of Antichrist, and his Ruin: and of the Slaying the Witnesses.
BY JOHN BUNYAN PREFATORY REMARKS BY THE EDITOR This important treatise was prepared for the press, and left by the author, at his decease, to the care of his surviving friend for publication. It first appeared in a collection of his works in folio, 1692; and although a subject of universal interest; most admirably elucidated; no edition has been published in a separate form. Antichrist has agitated the Christian world from the earliest ages; and his craft has been to mislead the thoughtless, by …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 The Providence of God
Q-11: WHAT ARE GOD'S WORKS OF PROVIDENCE? A: God's works of providence are the acts of his most holy, wise, and powerful government of his creatures, and of their actions. Of the work of God's providence Christ says, My Father worketh hitherto and I work.' John 5:17. God has rested from the works of creation, he does not create any new species of things. He rested from all his works;' Gen 2:2; and therefore it must needs be meant of his works of providence: My Father worketh and I work.' His kingdom …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Concerning Christian Liberty
CHRISTIAN faith has appeared to many an easy thing; nay, not a few even reckon it among the social virtues, as it were; and this they do, because they have not made proof of it experimentally, and have never tasted of what efficacy it is. For it is not possible for any man to write well about it, or to understand well what is rightly written, who has not at some time tasted of its spirit, under the pressure of tribulation. While he who has tasted of it, even to a very small extent, can never write, …
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation And for Your Fearlessness against them Hold this Sure Sign -- Whenever There Is...
43. And for your fearlessness against them hold this sure sign--whenever there is any apparition, be not prostrate with fear, but whatsoever it be, first boldly ask, Who art thou? And from whence comest thou? And if it should be a vision of holy ones they will assure you, and change your fear into joy. But if the vision should be from the devil, immediately it becomes feeble, beholding your firm purpose of mind. For merely to ask, Who art thou [1083] ? and whence comest thou? is a proof of coolness. …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius Isaiah
CHAPTERS I-XXXIX Isaiah is the most regal of the prophets. His words and thoughts are those of a man whose eyes had seen the King, vi. 5. The times in which he lived were big with political problems, which he met as a statesman who saw the large meaning of events, and as a prophet who read a divine purpose in history. Unlike his younger contemporary Micah, he was, in all probability, an aristocrat; and during his long ministry (740-701 B.C., possibly, but not probably later) he bore testimony, as …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Isaiah 10:4 NIVIsaiah 10:4 NLTIsaiah 10:4 ESVIsaiah 10:4 NASBIsaiah 10:4 KJV
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