“When the Lord has finished all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes. For he says: ‘By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding; I remove the boundaries of peoples, and plunder their treasures; like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones.'” Isaiah 10:12,13
Devotional Thought For The Day
The unbelieving always have wrong notions about God, and therefore they cannot come to an accurate understanding of themselves, their purposes, their relative power, and what is coming to them. It is an amazing account, God’s use of the Assyrians to punish the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The Assyrians were such a brutal and godless nation that even the prophet Jonah didn’t want to go there. It stretches our minds to think that God would utilize this brutality to accomplish His own purposes. This history is especially inconsonant with the Exodus account and the good will and blessing God bestowed upon the descendants of Abraham. The ten northern tribes were conquered and removed from the land by these Assyrians, never to be heard from again. Their dismal history is recorded in the books of the Kings and Chronicles, which provides us with the proper background and context to understand this absolute judgment of God. Their unbelief had also blinded them in regard to the character and nature of God, their God-given purpose in His plan of the salvation of all mankind, their vulnerability, and what becomes of those who pervert and corrupt the true knowledge of God in the world. Their reprehensible unbelief, idolatry, and immorality was intensified by the fact that God had so richly blessed them and that they bore His Name and represented Him to the world.
But the Assyrians, and especially their king, remained all the more reprehensibly arrogant and barbaric. So the tool God utilizes to carry out certain purposes is dispensable. It is never the tool that has the power, intellect, wisdom, or treasures; all comes from God’s hand. The unbelieving never grasp this, or even have an inkling as to the reality. They huff and puff, posture and prance, and think that they can do whatever they want without any fear of God’s judgment and wrath. They look upon the resources and strengths entrusted to them and consider themselves invulnerable, impervious to any threat or disaster. Their heart becomes boastful and arrogant, and this is expressed in their speaking and adopted into their appearance. Ultimately, they consider what they have been able to do in the past and assume that their power is unassailable and permanent. But God is unlimited and has complete power and control over all things, and when the temporary purposes of the godless are accomplished, God also brings His judgment upon them and they are whisked away like a dry leaf in the wind. Thus the Babylonians, another utterly brutal and spiritually insentient nation, put an end to Assyrian power. They were removed from power by the Persians, who were conquered by the Greeks, whose empire was ultimately taken over by the Romans, who fell to northern barbarians.
As Christians living in the world today, we are blessed with insights and true wisdom into the affairs of nations and human history – if we do not capitulate to the thinking, customs, and posturing of the unbelieving around us. We understand God’s purposes – that all should be saved by faith in Jesus Christ and knowledge of the truth. [1 Tim. 2:4] We know that we live and are blessed to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth. We know that all flesh is like grass, and that the unbelieving [who are incorrigibly committed to evil and rebellion against God] will ultimately be swept into the eternal fire and torment, that the Almighty Christ will come again with glory to usher in new heavens and a new earth. We know that earthly empires, especially those which become godless and arrogant, have limited time and purposes in God’s administering of human history. We can recognize this ignorance and arrogance for what it is – in their speaking and posturing, and we pray God’s mercy, for we know what is coming. And none of this is frightening or daunting to us for we know that Jesus is with us always to the end of the age, working all things together for the good of those who love Him. [Matt. 28:20; Rom. 8:28] So we continue living in faith, in accord with God’s purposes, trusting in His Word, and looking forward to the end.
While we cannot determine what will become of the hearts, minds, lives, and destinies of those living around us, we can contemplate God’s plan and purpose and live in accord with it. We can understand what happens when those who bear His Name and represent Him to others capitulate to unbelief, idolatry, and immorality, and actually obscure and distort His character, nature, and will for mankind. We understand that this is happening with certain groups of Christians, certain church bodies, even today. We can see the dangers of these temptations in the lives of fellow Christians, and the damage it causes. So we have adequate information to utterly reject all arrogance and to keep current affairs in proper perspective and judgment. And we have much to pray about, and much to steel and strengthen ourselves for. The Word of God, which abides forever, will continue to instruct us and strengthen us in faith and true godliness, so that we are able to endure all things to the end. We know that we will endure even as kingdoms and nations rise and fall, for we are God’s dear children, living in faith and under God’s blessings, and He is the true power and authority over all things.
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, help us to keep proper perspective on earthly powers and authorities, and forbid that we fall into fear or arrogance. Grant us wisdom and understanding in regard to the affairs of human history that we are living today. Especially keep us firm in our faith and trust in You, informed each day as to Your will, Your plans and Your purposes for Your people and for all of mankind. Help us to winsomely witness to those around us, and draw many to Your love and salvation. Amen.