Isaiah 10:5-19 - The Rod of God’s Anger

What kind of nation would God use to punish Israel? Some might expect God to make a just nation His “rod” (5) or His “axe” (15). But in Isaiah 10:5-19, the prophet makes it clear that God chose a very unjust nation, Assyria. 

God uses Assyria to judge Israel because Israel has totally betrayed Him. As God’s favored nation, Israel has His word, His Temple, and His priesthood, yet they lived in idolatry and sin like other nations. 

As God brings His wrath on Israel, God says, “I send it [Assyria] against a godless nation and command it against the people of My fury, to capture spoil and to seize plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets” (6). Ironically, the “godless nation” is Israel, the only nation with the true God dwelling in it. 

In verses 5-14, God explains that while He allows the Assyrians to be brutal (6), He hates that the nation is so arrogant: “For it says, ‘Are not my princes all kings? Is not Calno like Carchemish, or Hamath like Arpad, or Samaria like Damascus? … Shall I not do to Jerusalem and her images just as I have done to Samaria and her idols?’” (8-9). They see nothing special about Israel. To them, Israel and its God are the same as any other nation and its gods.

The king of Assyria likewise boasts like this, “By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this.” (13) He takes credit for what God enables and empowers him to do. But God will not let His name be dishonored like this.

In verses 15-19, after He fulfills His will in Israel, God promises to send His wrath on Assyria. He states He will “send a wasting disease among [Assyria’s] stout warriors,” and “burn and devour [Israel’s] thorns and briars in a single day.” (16-17) That means God would respond to Assyria’s ongoing attacks on Israel with a one-day slaughter of its armed forces.

Both prophecies were fulfilled in Isaiah’s lifetime. 

In three places (2 Kings 18:13; Isaiah 36:1; 2 Chronicles 32:1), the Bible records that around 701 BC King Sennacherib of Assyria sent his armies on a campaign through “all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.” Sennacherib likewise records this campaign in at least three prisms that have been discovered by archaeologists. He wrote, “I besieged and captured forty-six of his fortified cities, along with many smaller towns, taken in battle with my battering rams.”

Despite this success, God brought a devastating judgment on Assyria when they besieged Jerusalem. When Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem lamented and cried out to God (Isaiah 37), He delivered them. 2 Kings 19:35 and Isaiah 37:36 state, “The Angel of Yahweh went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians.” God finally humbled proud Assyria.

By judging both nations, God proved He doesn’t show partiality (Deuteronomy 10:17). Both countries were sinful. Both countries needed to recognize the supremacy of the true God, Yahweh. But only one turned to Him in faith, so only one was rescued.

If we’re honest, we’ll admit we aren’t any better. As Paul writes in Romans 3:9, “What then? Are we better? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin.” This passage is a reminder that we deserve judgment, the rod of His anger. As we gaze on His judgment, we gain clarity on our need for His grace. As the apostle Paul wrote, “But by the grace of God I am what I am.” (1 Corinthians 15:10). Let us be like Hezekiah and call on Him in our time of need.

Pastor David

PREVIOUS ARTICLES

1/22/2026 – The Patience of God – Bryan

1/15/2026 – "The Shepherd who Left Home" – Ed

1/08/2026 – Isaiah 9:8-10:4 – David

1/01/2026 – The Goodness of God – Bryan

Weekly Word Archive (2025 and earlier)