There is a wonderful connection to royalty, or those who consider themselves royal, with words for the king of Assyria in the 10th chapter of Isaiah. But first God says there should be profound grief and distress for the way they rule with unjust laws and what I would consider deception in what it written, or what we call the industry of propaganda we have today, all while they prey on their subjects. And after all, television propaganda is just men and women reading what was written as it scrolls on a teleprompter with guidance from producers in their earpieces.
Isaiah 10:1–3
[1] Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression, [2] to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey! [3] What will you do on the day of punishment, in the ruin that will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth? (ESV)
And God was using Assyria to destroy Israel, and punish Judah though they received a reprieve until Babylon was wielded as another weapon by God, as they refused to rely on God alone and did wickedness in His sight. And the word of God just drips with the arrogance of the king of Assyria which you can apply to all in power who unjustly rule for their own enrichment taking advantage of the people, forsaking all that is right.
Isaiah 10:13–14
[13] 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. [14] My hand has found like a nest the wealth of the peoples; and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken, so I have gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved a wing or opened the mouth or chirped.” (ESV)
But God’s answer has language that applies to the destruction of Assyria, but also with connotations for the end of the tribulation and the return of Jesus Christ to rule the whole earth. But the serious point to be had is the foundational truth God states, “the LORD will destroy, both body and soul”, regarding all who do wickedness and reject His salvation. As it was in a day with Assyria besieging Jerusalem, it will be a day when the Messiah Jesus returns to the earth to finally take His throne over His people Israel. And when the Day of the Lord comes and Christ returns, He said, “the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths” (Zechariah 14:12).
Isaiah 10:16–19
[16] Therefore the Lord GOD of hosts will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors, and under his glory a burning will be kindled, like the burning of fire. [17] The light of Israel will become a fire, and his Holy One a flame, and it will burn and devour his thorns and briers in one day. [18] The glory of his forest and of his fruitful land the LORD will destroy, both soul and body, and it will be as when a sick man wastes away. [19] The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few that a child can write them down. (ESV)
Maranatha!
Isaiah 10
[1] Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees,
and the writers who keep writing oppression,
[2] to turn aside the needy from justice
and to rob the poor of my people of their right,
that widows may be their spoil,
and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
[3] What will you do on the day of punishment,
in the ruin that will come from afar?
To whom will you flee for help,
and where will you leave your wealth?
[4] Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners
or fall among the slain.
For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.
Judgment on Arrogant Assyria
[5] Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger;
the staff in their hands is my fury!
[6] Against a godless nation I send him,
and against the people of my wrath I command him,
to take spoil and seize plunder,
and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
[7] But he does not so intend,
and his heart does not so think;
but it is in his heart to destroy,
and to cut off nations not a few;
[8] for he says:
“Are not my commanders all kings?
[9] Is not Calno like Carchemish?
Is not Hamath like Arpad?
Is not Samaria like Damascus?
[10] As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols,
whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
[11] shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols
as I have done to Samaria and her images?”
[12] 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. [13] 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.
[14] My hand has found like a nest
the wealth of the peoples;
and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken,
so I have gathered all the earth;
and there was none that moved a wing
or opened the mouth or chirped.”
[15] Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it,
or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?
As if a rod should wield him who lifts it,
or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!
[16] Therefore the Lord GOD of hosts
will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors,
and under his glory a burning will be kindled,
like the burning of fire.
[17] The light of Israel will become a fire,
and his Holy One a flame,
and it will burn and devour
his thorns and briers in one day.
[18] The glory of his forest and of his fruitful land
the LORD will destroy, both soul and body,
and it will be as when a sick man wastes away.
[19] The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few
that a child can write them down.
The Remnant of Israel Will Return[20] In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. [21] A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. [22] For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. [23] For the Lord GOD of hosts will make a full end, as decreed, in the midst of all the earth.
[24] Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: “O my people, who dwell in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with the rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did. [25] For in a very little while my fury will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction. [26] And the LORD of hosts will wield against them a whip, as when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb. And his staff will be over the sea, and he will lift it as he did in Egypt. [27] And in that day his burden will depart from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because of the fat.”
[28] He has come to Aiath;
he has passed through Migron;
at Michmash he stores his baggage;
[29] they have crossed over the pass;
at Geba they lodge for the night;
Ramah trembles;
Gibeah of Saul has fled.
[30] Cry aloud, O daughter of Gallim!
Give attention, O Laishah!
O poor Anathoth!
[31] Madmenah is in flight;
the inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety.
[32] This very day he will halt at Nob;
he will shake his fist
at the mount of the daughter of Zion,
the hill of Jerusalem.
[33] Behold, the Lord GOD of hosts
will lop the boughs with terrifying power;
the great in height will be hewn down,
and the lofty will be brought low.
[34] He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an axe,
and Lebanon will fall by the Majestic One. (ESV)