"Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith?
or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod
should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should
lift up itself, as if it were no wood..."
These
words were spoken to the arrogant King of Assyria, who had boasted of his rise
in power, attributing it to "his own hand"; he was the
"axe"; the "saw"; the "rod" and the
"staff". His attitude of himself as a rod/staff was as if he were
"no wood".
How
futile man is when he reasons that he exists and prospers by his own doing.
Later,
in chapter 45:9,
Isaiah again writes:
"...does the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you
making?' or 'Your work has no hands'?"
"Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker..."
God
raised up the king of Assyria for His own purpose...to punish His own people,
Israel for their disobedience. Once that was accomplished, God would punish
(destroy) the king and the Assyrians, because they too were wicked. In Isaiah 10:6, God said, "I send it (Assyrians) against a godless
nation" (Israel).
The
king of Assyria had different plans: "Yet
it does not so intend, nor does it plan so in its heart, but rather it is its
purpose to destroy and to cut off many nations." - v. 7
God
would allow the King to remain in power just long enough to punish Israel, and
then he would be destroyed. In v. 12
Isaiah said, "So it will be that when
the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will
say, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and
the pomp of his haughtiness.”
God
deals with us in like manner; let us remember Isaiah's words: "Woe to the one who quarrels with his
Maker".
12/9/2020
rdb
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