Isaías 10
David Guzik · Citado em PreceptAustin
Isaías 10
Guzik comments that... When the Assyrians conquered other nations, it wasn’t enough for them to just win a military victory. They had a perverse pleasure in humiliating and subjugating their conquered foes. They would do everything they could to bring them low. Here, God says, “You have rejected Me, so without Me you shall bow down in humiliation and degradation before your enemies.” (Isaiah 10 Commentary) ESV Study Bible adds that... In his writings, the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III boasted of stacking the corpses of his defeated enemies and heaping up piles of their skulls (cf. Nah. 3:3). To give up in the face of such an enemy is profound despair. (ESV Study Bible) In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away and His hand is still stretched out - This is the fourth time this sad refrain has occurred (Isaiah 9:12, 17, 21, 10:4) and marks the close of the prophecy of divine judgment on the Northern Kingdom. This is a fascinating refrain given the fact that this passage describes what would seem to be final punishment (especially "fall among the slain" = death) Guzik commenting on the fourth use of this phrase... reminds us that God’s judgment is persistent. It moves from phase to phase until it finds repentance. This means that it makes sense for us to repent now, because God’s judgment is persistent for all eternity. “If even physical death does not satisfy the fierce anger of this holy God, what dread and punishment lies beyond the grave?” (Grogan) It makes perfect sense for this message of coming judgment to follow the announcement of the Messiah. His coming was announced, but the people were not ready for Him, and the predicted judgment would come before they were ready. (Isaiah 10 Commentary) Isaiah 10:5 Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger and the staff in whose hands is My indignation,: (Assyria: Ge 10:11) THE FALL OF THE BOASTFUL ASSYRIAN EMPIRE Woe - see note on Isaiah 10:1 see note Young comments that... All that we do has been foreordained of God, and to Him we are responsible. When we are employed in some momentous task we should look to Him and acknowledge His greatness for using us as He has. This Assyria did not do. Puffed up with pride, she thought that she was conducting affairs in accordance with her own wishes. Instead of recognizing the sovereignty of God, she believed herself to be sovereign...When a nation is thus charged with the execution of God’s wrath and looks not to God, it itself can only become the object of woe. (The Book of Isaiah 3 Vol. Edward J. Young) Assyria - God's rod and staff. Solomon explains that... Jehovah has made everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil. (Pr 16:4) Vine comments that... Verses 5 to 19 give a striking example of how God has used gentile nations to chastise His earthly people, permitting these nations to attain to a high degree of domination. They on their part have prided themselves on what they consider to be their own attainments, and on this account have brought upon themselves the retributive judgments of the Lord. The river nearest to Israel is the Euphrates. The Northern Kingdom whose capital was Samaria was eventually defeated by Assyria, the Assyrian advances on Judah did not result in her defeat - Why? God's protective hand was on Judah. And He answered the prayers of Hezekiah in 2Ki 19:15-19,10+. Who would have thought the prayers of one godly Judean king would save Jerusalem for Assyrian defeat? God would eventually use Nebuchadnezzar as His servant [Jer 25:9, 27:6, 43:10] to defeat and demolish Judah and Jerusalem in 586BC. 🙏 THOUGHT - Beloved if God is in control of kingdoms rising and falling, what is there in your life which you think is beyond His control? And remember His timing is not necessarily your timing!) There is one sad, somewhat ironic note regarding Hezekiah. His prayer noted above was clearly a high point but later in his life he became prideful and showed the Temple treasures to the Babylonian representative (over 50 years before Babylon became a world power in 626 BC cemented with fall of Nineveh, Assyria in 612 BC). For that transgression, God made a promise of punishment, not in Hezekiah's time but later and because of Hezekiah's sin! Read about this sad epilogue to Hezekiah's godly reign... Isaiah 39:1-4+ At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 Hezekiah was pleased, and showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and his whole armory and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. 3 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where have they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon.” 4 He said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasuries that I have not shown them.” Isaiah 39:5-8+ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD of hosts, 6 ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house and all that your fathers have laid up in store to this day will be carried to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the LORD. 7‘And some of your sons who will issue from you, whom you will beget, will be taken away, and they will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” 8Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “For there will be peace and truth in my days.” The rod of My anger - While God is not the Author of evil, He does on occasion use wicked men and nations to punish even His own people when they fall into sin and idolatry. When this punishment is completed, however, those evil kingdoms or individuals inevitably meet even more severe judgments (Isaiah 10:12). So while Assyria was His primary rod for punishing the Northern Kingdom, Babylon was the primary instrument He used to punish the Southern Kingdom, the prophet Habakkuk recording... For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that fierce and impetuous people who march throughout the earth to seize dwelling places which are not theirs. (Hab 1:6, cp 2Chr 36:17, Jer 25:9). Rod (07626)(shebet) is literally a club or heavy blunt wooden stick as a weapon to kill by striking the victim or opponent (2Sa 23:21; 1Ch 11:23) and in the present context refers (figuratively) to the nation of Assyria as God's "rod of discipline" with which He judges Israel. Anger (0639) (ap) means nose and thus depicts hard breathing or nasal snorting that accompanies exasperation. In short, ap therefore describes anger which is felt as an emotion. It is the Lord's anger which empowers Assyria to be His rod of discipline on His people. Henry
Isaías 10
Guzik comments that... When God allows destruction - whether in outright judgment or loving correction - it is always righteous, and never unfair. In fact, His judgment overflows with righteousness! (Isaiah 10 Commentary) Arnold Fruchtenbaum The Remnant of Israel - According to Romans 11:25, 26, 27, all Israel will be saved. According to Isaiah 10:20–23, only the Remnant will be saved. This is not a contradiction if understood in the context of Israel’s national salvation. Zechariah 13:8, 9 points out that two-thirds of the Jewish population will be destroyed during the Tribulation. Only the Remnant will survive, the escaped of Isaiah 4:2; 10:20; 37:31, 32; Joel 2:32; and Obadiah 1:17. The remaining one-third become believers, so at that point all Israel and the remnant of Israel become one and the same, as Micah 2:12, 13 shows. I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel. The all of thee and the remnant of Israel become identical, for with Israel’s national salvation the whole nation joins the Remnant (Mic 2:12). Then, Messiah returns to rescue them (Mic 2:13).(Future Israel - go to page 20) Isaiah 10:23 For a complete destruction, one that is decreed, the Lord GOD of hosts will execute in the midst of the whole land.: decreed: Isa 14:26,27 24:1-23 Da 4:35 The English translation of the Septuagint gives a slight variation... He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because the Lord will make a short work in all the world. Complete destruction (03617) (kalah) means completion as when God said Pharaoh would "surely drive (them) out...completely (kalah)." (Ex 11:1). In the present context the idea is annihilation (cp Nahum 1:8 = "complete end", Da 11:16 = "destruction") Kalah - 18v in the OT - Gen 18:21; Ex 11:1; 2Chr 12:12; Neh 9:31; Isa 10:23; 28:22; Jer 4:27; 5:10, 18; 30:11; 46:28; Ezek 11:13; 20:17; Dan 9:27; 11:16; Nah 1:8f; Zeph 1:18. NAS = annihilation(1), complete destruction(5), complete end(4), completely(4), destroy*(2), destruction(2), end(1), entirely(1), full end(2). There is one other use of kalah in Isaiah... And now do not carry on as scoffers, Or your fetters will be made stronger; For I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts of decisive (charats - see "decreed" below; Lxx = suntemno = to cut in pieces, to cut short, to cut off, to cut short, figuratively to abruptly end an allotted time!) destruction (kalah; Lxx = sunteleo = bringing something to its promised, ultimate finish) on all the earth. (Isaiah 28:22) Decreed (02782) (charats) is a verb that has the primary sense of cut means to determine (as if to cut out), to speak about something with an assurance or confidence. For example God "cuts out" or determines the length of human life (Job 14:5 "his days are determined [charats]"). If God says (decrees) it that settles it whether we choose to believe or not to believe! Charats - 12v in the OT - Ex 11:7; Lev 22:22; Josh 10:21; 2Sa 5:24; 1Ki 20:40; Job 14:5; Isa 10:22, 23; 28:22; Da 9:26, 27; 11:36. NAS = act promptly(1), bark*(1), decided(1), decisive(1), decreed(3), determined(3), maimed(1), uttered(1). Charats is used in one of the greatest prophecies in the entire Bible (Da 9:24-27)... Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off (crucifixion) and have nothing, and the people (Roman empire) of the prince who is to come (Antichrist) will destroy the city and the sanctuary (Occurred in 70AD). And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined (charats). 27 And he (Antichrist) will make a firm covenant with the many for one week (7 Years), but in the middle of the week (see Mt 24:15, 2Th 2:3,4 - marks beginning of the Great Tribulation - Mt 24:21) he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed (charats), is poured out on the one who makes desolate. (Daniel 9:26-note, Da 9:27-note, context = Da 9:24-note, Da 9:25-note) Comment: If you have never studied this great prophecy, you owe to yourself (especially in light of the "signs of the times"!) to read it prayerfully, carefully and literally, as it is without doubt (in my mind) the greatest specific prophecy in all Scripture, because it predicts essentially to the day, the first coming of the Messiah, His subsequent crucifixion and rejection and the coming of the counterfeit "Christ", the Antichrist (Anti has two senses = [1] Instead of, in place of and [2] Against, opposed to.) (Charats is also used in Daniel's description of the future Antichrist) Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods; and he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done. (Da 11:36-note) Comment: The Hebrew word for indignation (zaam) is also used in Isaiah 10:5 and Isaiah 10:25. Lord GOD of hosts - "the Lord, the Lord of Heaven's Armies" (NLT) In Isaiah 14 we read a declaration similar to that in Isaiah 10:23... This is the plan devised against the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out against all the nations. For the LORD of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back? (Isa 14:26, 27) Comment: In this passage in Isaiah 14 the ultimate fulfillment applies not just to Israel, but to "all the nations (goyim = Gentiles)," when Christ returns. (Second Coming) History is indeed "His Story" and He is actively at work in His world (Ps 50:12) carrying out His purposes. No opposition can defeat God's plans (Nu 11:23 Job42:2 Je32:17 Ge18:14 Mk 10:27 Lk 1:37). No people or nation is automatically excluded from His plan. God is Sovereign over human history (Isa 10:26). All nations will have to submit to his judgment. This principle will be seen in relation to other nations--both small and great--in the oracles that follow. God is not like a man who makes plans and finds he has no power to put them into effect. Perfect wisdom and absolute power find their unity in God. In the midst of the whole land - "In the midst of all the earth" (Amplified). The Septuagint translates "whole land" with the Greek phrase "te oikoumene hole" which literally means the entire inhabited earth. This begs the question of "Has there been a "complete destruction" of the entire inhabited world in the history of mankind (the flood is a past event in reference to this prophecy so is not relevant)?" Since the answer to this is "no", it suggests that the ultimate fulfillment of this passage refers to a future time of world wide destruction, which would be very compatible with the Great Tribulation (cp Mt 24:21, 22) which is terminated by the Second Coming of Jesus. Young seems to agree with the preceding interpretation writing that the determined end will be executed... in the midst of the earth and so will affect the whole earth. It is the last judgment, from which no man can flee. It is not some local judgment, confined to the boundaries of Palestine, but one in which all the earth is involved. (Bolding added) (The Book of Isaiah 3 Vol. Edward J. Young) Motyer comments that... the whole land/in the midst of all the earth/land indicates that the acts of God take place in the actuality of history and in the life of this world. (Bolding added) Isaiah 10:24 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, "O My people who dwell in Zion, do not fear the Assyrian who strikes you with the rod and lifts up his staff against you, the way Egypt did. : ( my people: Isa 4:3 12:6 30:19 46:13 61:3 Heb 12:22, 23, 24 Do not fear: Isa 8:12,13 33:14, 15, 16 35:4 37:6,22,33, 34, 35 The way Egypt did: Ex 1:10-16 14:9,21-31 15:6-10 THE GOD OF ARMIES SAYS... DO NOT FEAR My people - Using the possessive pronoun "My", God is reminding them of His faithfulness to His covenant promises to their fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (cp Ge 22:17). And given the preceding context, the ones who should especially have no reason to fear are those who are part of the blessed believing Jewish remnant (cp Lk 12:4) Who dwell in Zion - In Jerusalem. This address is directed to the Southern Kingdom, Judah. Do not fear - In the midst of wrath God remembers mercy and offers comfort. Beloved, have you not experienced these comforting words from your Father in a time when you were fearful? Beloved, this is one of the great words of comfort from our heavenly Father, so it should not surprise us that it permeates the pages of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation (See below for 58 mentions of do not fear in 57v in the NAS)... Ge 15:1; 21:17; 26:24; 35:17; Ex 14:13; Nu 14:9; 21:34; Dt 1:21; 3:2, 22; 31:8; Josh 8:1; 10:8, 25; Jdg 6:23; Ru 3:11; 1Sa 12:20; 2Sa 9:7; 13:28; 1Kgs 17:13; 2Kgs 6:16; 17:34; 1Chr 22:13; 28:20; 2Chr 20:15, 17; 32:7; Ps 55:19; 64:4; Is 10:24 40:9 41:10, 13 14; 43:1, 5; 44:2; 51:7; 57:11; Jer 10:5; 46:27 28; La 3:57; Joel 2:21 22; Hag 2:5; Zech 8:13, 15; Mal 3:5; Mt 10:26, 28, 31; Lk 5:10; 12:7; 18:4; 1Pe 3:14; Re 2:10 Related phrase "do not be afraid" (47x in 46v in the NAS - ) - Ge 43:23; 46:3; 50:19, 21; Ex 20:20; Dt 20:1, 3; 31:6; Josh 11:6; Jdg 4:18; 1Sa 4:20; 22:23; 23:17; 28:13; 2Ki 1:15; 19:6; 25:24; Neh 4:14; Ps 49:16; Pr 3:25; Isa 37:6; 44:8; Jer 1:8; 40:9; 42:11; Ezek 3:9; Da 10:12, 19; Zeph 3:16; Mt 1:20; 14:27; 17:7; 28:5, 10; Mk 5:36; 6:50; Lk 1:13, 30; 2:10; 8:50; 12:4, 32; Jn 6:20; Acts 18:9; 27:24; Rev 1:17 These words of comfort were frequently on the lips of Jesus instructing us... Do not be afraid, (present imperative + negative = Command to stop something that is in progress - stop being afraid!) little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. Motyer... He (God) knows that the end will be destruction and deportation (Isa 6:11f. Ed: Referring to the coming Babylonian captivity some 100 years after this prophecy), but he also knows that the Assyrians will not be the agents in this. (The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction & Commentary) Guzik... The Lord is telling His people, “Judgment and correction are coming, and it will hurt. But I have a plan, so don’t be afraid.” This is a hard word to believe, because judgment and correction, by their very nature, hurt! Yet we can decide to not be afraid and trust in the Lord, even when it hurts....Why shouldn’t they fear? Because the Assyrians are not in charge, the Lord is. We can always be comforted by the fact that God will never leave His people to the mercy of their enemies. Even when He uses the Assyrians to bring judgment and correction, He is still in charge. DOES THE ASSYRIAN HAVE A DOUBLE REFERENCE? The Assyrian - Harry Ironside sees a double fulfillment in Isaiah 10 and specifically interprets the Assyrian as historically fulfilled in the empire of Assyria which came against Jerusalem after defeating the Northern Kingdom in 722BC. But Ironside also sees the Assyrian as a shadow of the future Antichrist who will come against Jerusalem in the last days (cp Zech 12:2, 3, 4, 14:2, 3). Thus
Isaías 10
Guzik explains why God gives such detail regarding the cities of Judah pointing out that... Because of the word of comfort and encouragement in the previous section, Judah might think that God wouldn’t send judgment among them at all. This section, with the specific mention of many cities of Judah, is meant to show that God will indeed allow the invasion of the Assyrians, even though He will restore after the attack. (Isaiah 10 Commentary) Isaiah 10:29 They have gone through the pass, saying, "Geba will be our lodging place." Ramah is terrified, and Gibeah of Saul has fled away. : The pass: 1Sa 13:23 14:4 As noted all these villages are very near Jerusalem and thus Isaiah was graphically depicting the slow, steady movement of the savage Assyrian forces toward the capital city. Geba (map) - Assyrians would make this their lodging place. Ramah (map) Gibeah (map) Isaiah 10:30 Cry aloud with your voice, O daughter of Gallim! Pay attention, Laishah and wretched Anathoth! : Gallim: 1Sa 25:44 Laish: Jud 18:7,29 Anathoth: Jos 21:18 1Ki 2:26 Jer 1:1 32:8 Gallim (exact location not known but just north of Jerusalem) Laish (exact location not known but supposedly about a mile NE of Jerusalem) Anathoth Isaiah 10:31 Madmenah has fled. The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge. : Madmenah: Jos 15:31) Fled...sought refuge - A picture of the unstoppable marauding forces of the Assyrians. Wolf comments that... With a deft poetic touch, Isaiah told how the enemy moved through twelve different locations, coming ever closer to the capital. Madmenah Gebim Isaiah 10:32 Yet today he will halt at Nob; He shakes his fist at the mountain of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. : Nob: 1Sa 21:1 22:19 Ne 11:32 shakes: Isa 10:24 11:15 13:2 19:16 Zec 2:9 Mountain: Isa 2:2 37:22 Nob (5-6 kilometers NE of Jerusalem) He will halt at Nob - The Assyrian invasion of Judah would advance no further than Nob. In the preceding passages, Isaiah paints a picture of an unstoppable, fearsome flood of forces from Assyria. And then he says they will halt. God let them go so and no further. God was true to His Word as history proved. He shakes his fist - Reflecting the pompous attitude of the Assyrians and similar to the earlier description of "the Assyrian who strikes you with the rod and lifts up his staff against you." The daughter of Zion (Isa 1:8 10:32 16:1 37:22 52:2 62:11) - Jerusalem capital city of Judah. The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery notes that... Often the word daughter is found in expressions such as “daughter of Zion” (e.g., Is 1:8; Jer 4:31; Mic 4:10; Mt 21:5), “daughter of Sidon” (Is 23:12) and “daughter of Babylon” (Jer 50:42). This Hebrew idiom reflects a double metaphor common in the culture of the ancient Near East: a capital city was personified as a woman, and the inhabitants of that city collectively as her “daughter.” A pagan city was personified by a female goddess whose husband was the local patron deity; Zion or Jerusalem remained distinct as she whose husband was the one true God, Yahweh. During times of war when a city was overrun and its population exiled, the city was considered to be a barren woman, rejected by her husband-deity (Is 54:1). Thus her daughters, the collective inhabitants, depended on her for identity but also shaped her future by their actions. For instance, Isaiah proclaims to “barren” Jerusalem, “Rejoice, O barren woman!” (Is 54:1) and prophesies a return of the inhabitants to that city and an unprecedented future glory for it. Because of Isaiah’s use of these idioms, Jesus fulfills prophecy by addressing Jerusalem as “daughter of Zion” (Mt 21:5), and the apostle Paul quotes Isaiah 54:1 and announces in Galatians 4:26 that Jerusalem above is “free” and that she is the “mother” of Christians. (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery- Leland Ryken, James C. Wilhoit, Tremper Longman III ) Isaiah 10:33 Behold, the Lord, the GOD of hosts, will lop off the boughs with a terrible crash; Those also who are tall in stature will be cut down and those who are lofty will be abased. lop: Isa 10:16-19 37:24-36,38 2Ki 19:21-37 2Ch 32:21 tall: Am 2:9 lofty: Isa 2:11-17 Job 40:11,12 Da 4:37 Lk 14:11 See another prophecy of the breaking of Assyria - Isaiah 14:24,25, 26, 27. See comments regarding a In A Single Day for passages describing God's miraculous intervention and His lopping off the boughs of Assyria with a terrible crash. Behold (02009) (hinneh) is an interjection (= a word in speaking or writing, thrown in between words connected in construction, to express some emotion or passion) often seeks to grab the reader's attention and says something like - Look! Pay attention! Don't miss this next point! Hinneh draws attention to an important fact or action that follows and in a sense demands our attention. Vine adds that it is notable that when behold (hinneh) is used in Isaiah, it always introduces something relating to future circumstances. Given the relentless march of the Assyrian army toward Jerusalem, the reader is ready to hear of Jerusalem being overthrown, but instead we hear "Behold!" This stops the reader in his tracks so to speak and gives a radically different prediction for the fate of Jerusalem. The God of armies would lop off the boughs of the Assyrian army. What a picture of mighty Assyria's abrupt fall from power! Uses of hinneh in Isaiah - Isa 3:1; 5:7, 26, 30; 6:7f; 7:14; 8:7, 18, 22; 10:33; 12:2; 13:9, 17; 17:1, 14; 19:1; 20:6; 21:9; 22:17; 24:1; 25:9; 26:21; 28:2, 16; 29:8, 14; 30:27; 34:5; 35:4; 36:6; 37:7, 11, 36; 38:5, 8, 17; 39:6; 40:9f; 41:15, 27; 42:9; 43:19; 47:14; 48:7, 10; 49:12, 22; 51:22; 52:6, 13; 54:11; 58:9; 59:9; 60:2; 62:11; 65:1, 6, 13f, 17f; 66:12, 15. Tall in stature...lofty - God repeatedly emphasizes the pride and arrogance of the Assyrians. Cut down (01438) (gada') means to fell (as a tree), to cut down or off. Figuratively describes severing the "tall in stature" Assyrians as if one were cutting a tree down. This is poetic justice for the "axe" (Assyria) who boasted in Isaiah 10:15 would itself be "axed" for its arrogance! Motyer has an interesting note comparing this section to the first verse of the next chapter Isaiah 11:1, which is clearly a prophecy of the Messiah... The cutting down of the lofty trees can only refer to the destruction of Assyria. This provides the perfect foil for the Messianic shoot, but it is extremely dramatic after five verses of Assyrian self-confidence, inexorable progress and affrontery! In contrast to the bogus sovereignty of the king, the real Sovereign (hā’ādôn) takes centre stage. (The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction & Commentary) Abased (08213) (shaphel) means literally in a physical sense to be low and by bringing the Assyrians to a lower place, it was a picture of God's humbling of this arrogant people. Isaiah 10:34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe, and Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One cut down: Isa 10:18 37:24 Jer 22:7 46:22,23 48:2 Na 1:12 Lebanon: Zec 11:1,2 mighty one: Isa 31:8 37:36 Ps 103:20 Da 4:13,14,23 2Th 1:7 2Pe 2:11 Rev 10:1 Rev 18:21 Guzik comments that "The forests of Lebanon were known for their large, mighty cedar trees. God will judge the proud among Judah - and all the nations for that matter - and leave a once mighty forest of those of high stature as if they were just stumps. The bigger they are, the harder they fall! Lebanon will fall (Isa 2:13, 37:24) - Isaiah's point is that if even Lebanon which was famous for its thick forests of cedar trees and would fall before God, Assyria should not think it could escape the powerful hand of the Lord of Armies (Hosts). Young adds that "As elsewhere the Assyrian is compared to Lebanon. “Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs” (Ezek. 31:3). But great as Lebanon was, it would fall by means of a Mighty One, and that Mighty One is the punishing God of Israel. The forest, mighty like Lebanon, is gone. The trees are felled, the thickets cut down. The Mighty One remains, Lord over all. He has protected His people and demonstrated His faithfulness. (The Book of Isaiah 3 Vol. Edward J. Young) By the Mighty One - Once again we see that the Lord is the active "Agent" of the Assyrian "defoliation". This chapter repeatedly emphasizes the Sovereignty of God in the affairs of mankind. Mighty (0117) ('addiyr) means strong, powerful, majestic, awesome. The use in Psalm 93 gives a good sense of the picture as it describes our great God... More than the sounds of many waters, Than the mighty breakers of the sea, The Lord on high is mighty (Lxx = thaumastos = wonderful, worthy of our amazement). (Ps 93:4)