Isaiah 10 Devotional

The Axe in God's Hand

“Does an axe raise itself above the one who swings it? Does a saw boast over him who saws with it? It would be like a rod waving the one who lifts it, or a staff lifting him who is not wood!”Isaiah 10:15 (BSB)

Assyria thinks it is building an empire. God says it is a tool. He calls Assyria the rod of his anger, sent against a godless people, but Assyria intends to destroy many nations (10:5-7). Its king boasts that he did it all by his own strength and cleverness, gathering the wealth of nations like eggs from an abandoned nest (10:13-14). God answers with a question: can an axe boast against the hand that wields it (10:15)?

The chapter is hard. God does use a cruel empire to discipline a people whose leaders wrote unjust laws and preyed on widows and orphans (10:1-2). But he also judges the axe for its pride, and he tells his people in Zion not to fear, because his anger toward them will soon turn (10:24-25). A remnant will return to the Mighty God (10:21), the same title given to the child in 9:6. Whatever power seems to be swinging at you today, it does not hold the handle. God does.

To think about: What power in your life seems to be in control right now, and how does knowing God holds the handle change how you face it?