◄ Isaiah 10:11 ►
and as I have done to Samaria and its idols, will I not also do to Jerusalem and her idols?"
Study Bible
and as I have done to Samaria and its idols,

Assyria had conquered Samaria in 722 BC, bringing the Northern Kingdom to an end through siege, deportation, and resettlement of foreign peoples. Samaria’s idolatry and covenant rebellion had invited God’s judgment, though Assyria wrongly credited its victory to the superiority of its own gods and military power.

2Ki 17:18-20 So the LORD was very angry with Israel…
2Ki 17:11-12 They burned incense on all the high places…
Mic 1:6-7 Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble…

will I not also do to Jerusalem and her idols?”

The Assyrian king boasts that Jerusalem will fall as easily as Samaria. Judah also contained idolatry despite the temple in Jerusalem, yet the Lord would not permit Assyria to destroy the city at that time. Assyria was God’s instrument of discipline, not a power free to exalt itself above Him. Jerusalem’s later fall to Babylon would confirm that covenant privilege cannot protect a people determined to persist in unfaithfulness.

2Ki 21:13-15 I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line…
2Ch 33:3-7 For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah…
Ezk 8:5-18 “Son of man,” He said to me, “now lift up your eyes…

Persons / Places / Events
1. Assyria
A powerful empire used by God as an instrument of judgment against Israel and Judah. The Assyrian king is the speaker in this verse, boasting of his conquests.

2. Samaria
The capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, which fell to the Assyrians in 722 BC due to its idolatry and disobedience to God.

3. Jerusalem
The capital of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, which is being warned of impending judgment similar to that of Samaria if it continues in idolatry.

4. Idols
Represent the false gods and the spiritual unfaithfulness of both Samaria and Jerusalem, which led to their downfall.

5. Isaiah
The prophet through whom God delivers this message, warning Judah of the consequences of their idolatry and calling them to repentance.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereignty in Judgment
God uses nations like Assyria to execute His judgment, demonstrating His control over history and nations.

The Danger of Idolatry
Idolatry leads to spiritual and physical destruction. Believers must guard against modern forms of idolatry, such as materialism or self-worship.

Repentance and Deliverance
While judgment is certain for unrepentant sin, God offers deliverance to those who turn back to Him, as seen in the eventual deliverance of Jerusalem.

The Faithfulness of God
Despite the unfaithfulness of His people, God remains faithful to His covenant promises, providing hope for restoration.

Warnings as Acts of Mercy
God's warnings through prophets like Isaiah are acts of mercy, giving His people the opportunity to repent and avoid judgment.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the historical context of Assyria's conquest of Samaria and threat to Jerusalem help us understand the message of Isaiah 10:11?

2. In what ways can modern believers identify and address idolatry in their own lives, drawing from the lessons of Samaria and Jerusalem?

3. How does the account of Jerusalem's deliverance under King Hezekiah (2 Kings 18-19) illustrate the power of repentance and faith in God's promises?

4. What does Isaiah 10:11 teach us about God's character, particularly His justice and mercy, and how should this influence our relationship with Him?

5. How can we apply the principle of God's sovereignty over nations and history to current global events and our personal lives?
Connections to Other Scriptures
2 Kings 17
Describes the fall of Samaria and the reasons for God's judgment, highlighting the idolatry and disobedience of Israel.

2 Kings 18-19
Details the siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrians and God's deliverance of the city under King Hezekiah, contrasting the outcomes of Samaria and Jerusalem.

Exodus 20:3-5
The Ten Commandments, where God commands His people to have no other gods and to avoid idolatry, setting the standard that both Samaria and Jerusalem violated.

Jeremiah 7:30-34
Warns of the consequences of idolatry and disobedience, similar to the message in Isaiah 10:11.
Sermons
Assyria the Rod of JehovahE. Johnson Isaiah 10:5-15
Man in His Folly and God in His RighteousnessW. Clarkson Isaiah 10:5-19
Assyria an Instrument of VengeanceJ. Parker, D. D.Isaiah 10:5-34
Nations Instruments in the Hands of GodJ. Parker, D. D.Isaiah 10:5-34
O AssyrianProf. J. Skinner, D. D.Isaiah 10:5-34
Our Assyria May be the Forces of NatureProf. G. A. Smith, D. D.Isaiah 10:5-34
Our Assyria May be the WorldProf. G. A. Smith, D. D.Isaiah 10:5-34
The Judgment of the World PowerProf. J. Skinner, D. D.Isaiah 10:5-34
People
Anathoth, Assyrians, Egyptians, Isaiah, Jacob, Laish, Oreb, Saul
Places
Aiath, Anathoth, Arpad, Assyria, Calno, Carchemish, Damascus, Egypt, Gallim, Geba, Gibeah, Hamath, Jerusalem, Laishah, Lebanon, Madmenah, Michmash, Midian, Migron, Mount Zion, Nob, Ramah, Samaria, Zion
Topics
Dealt, Grievous, Idols, Images, Jerusalem, Samaria, Sama'ria, Worthless
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Isaiah 10:5-11

     1175   God, will of

Isaiah 10:7-11

     6186   evil scheming

Isaiah 10:10-11

     5367   kingdoms

Library
Light or Fire?
'And the Light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day.'--ISAIAH x. 17. With grand poetry the prophet pictures the Assyrian power as a forest consumed like thistles and briers by the fire of God. The text suggests solemn truths about the divine Nature and its manifestations. I. The Essential Character of God. Light and Holiness are substantially parallel. Light symbolises purity, but also knowledge and joy. Holiness …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Nob. Bahurim.
That Nob was placed in the land of Benjamin, not far from Jerusalem, whence Jerusalem also might be seen,--the words of the Chaldee paraphrast, upon Isaiah 10:32, do argue. For so he speaks; "Sennacherib came and stood in Nob, a city of the priests, before the walls of Jerusalem; and said to his army, 'Is not this the city of Jerusalem, against which I have raised my whole army, and have subdued all the provinces of it? Is it not small and weak in comparison of all the fortifications of the Gentiles, …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Covenanting Predicted in Prophecy.
The fact of Covenanting, under the Old Testament dispensations, being approved of God, gives a proof that it was proper then, which is accompanied by the voice of prophecy, affording evidence that even in periods then future it should no less be proper. The argument for the service that is afforded by prophecy is peculiar, and, though corresponding with evidence from other sources, is independent. Because that God willed to make known truth through his servants the prophets, we should receive it …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

If Then the Prophets Prophesied that the Son of God was to Appear Upon The...
If then the prophets prophesied that the Son of God was to appear upon the earth, and prophesied also where on the earth and how and in what manner He should make known His appearance, and all these prophecies the Lord took upon Himself; our faith in Him was well-founded, and the tradition of the preaching (is) true: that is to say, the testimony of the apostles, who being sent forth by the Lord preached in all the world the Son of God, who came to suffer, and endured to the destruction of death …
Irenæus—The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching

His Holy Covenant
"To remember His Holy Covenant; to grant unto us that we, being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, should serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all our days."-LUKE i. 68-75. WHEN Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, he spoke of God's visiting and redeeming His people, as a remembering of His Holy Covenant. He speaks of what the blessings of that Covenant would be, not in words that had been used before, but in what is manifestly a Divine revelation …
Andrew Murray—The Two Covenants

The Instrumentality of the Wicked Employed by God, While He Continues Free from Every Taint.
1. The carnal mind the source of the objections which are raised against the Providence of God. A primary objection, making a distinction between the permission and the will of God, refuted. Angels and men, good and bad, do nought but what has been decreed by God. This proved by examples. 2. All hidden movements directed to their end by the unseen but righteous instigation of God. Examples, with answers to objections. 3. These objections originate in a spirit of pride and blasphemy. Objection, that …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

King of Kings and Lord of Lords
And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, K ING OF K INGS AND L ORD OF L ORDS T he description of the administration and glory of the Redeemer's Kingdom, in defiance of all opposition, concludes the second part of Messiah Oratorio. Three different passages from the book of Revelation are selected to form a grand chorus, of which Handel's title in this verse is the close --a title which has been sometimes vainly usurped by proud worms of this earth. Eastern monarchs, in particular, …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

Humility is the Root of Charity, and Meekness the Fruit of Both. ...
Humility is the root of charity, and meekness the fruit of both. There is no solid and pure ground of love to others, except the rubbish of self-love be first cast out of the soul; and when that superfluity of naughtiness is cast out, then charity hath a solid and deep foundation: "The end of the command is charity out of a pure heart," 1 Tim. i. 5. It is only such a purified heart, cleansed from that poison and contagion of pride and self-estimation, that can send out such a sweet and wholesome …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Purposes of God.
In discussing this subject I shall endeavor to show, I. What I understand by the purposes of God. Purposes, in this discussion, I shall use as synonymous with design, intention. The purposes of God must be ultimate and proximate. That is, God has and must have an ultimate end. He must purpose to accomplish something by his works and providence, which he regards as a good in itself, or as valuable to himself, and to being in general. This I call his ultimate end. That God has such an end or purpose, …
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

A Discourse of the House and Forest of Lebanon
OF THE HOUSE OF THE FOREST OF LEBANON. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. That part of Palestine in which the celebrated mountains of Lebanon are situated, is the border country adjoining Syria, having Sidon for its seaport, and Land, nearly adjoining the city of Damascus, on the north. This metropolitan city of Syria, and capital of the kingdom of Damascus, was strongly fortified; and during the border conflicts it served as a cover to the Assyrian army. Bunyan, with great reason, supposes that, to keep …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Of Antichrist, and his Ruin: and of the Slaying the Witnesses.
BY JOHN BUNYAN PREFATORY REMARKS BY THE EDITOR This important treatise was prepared for the press, and left by the author, at his decease, to the care of his surviving friend for publication. It first appeared in a collection of his works in folio, 1692; and although a subject of universal interest; most admirably elucidated; no edition has been published in a separate form. Antichrist has agitated the Christian world from the earliest ages; and his craft has been to mislead the thoughtless, by …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Providence of God
Q-11: WHAT ARE GOD'S WORKS OF PROVIDENCE? A: God's works of providence are the acts of his most holy, wise, and powerful government of his creatures, and of their actions. Of the work of God's providence Christ says, My Father worketh hitherto and I work.' John 5:17. God has rested from the works of creation, he does not create any new species of things. He rested from all his works;' Gen 2:2; and therefore it must needs be meant of his works of providence: My Father worketh and I work.' His kingdom …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Concerning Christian Liberty
CHRISTIAN faith has appeared to many an easy thing; nay, not a few even reckon it among the social virtues, as it were; and this they do, because they have not made proof of it experimentally, and have never tasted of what efficacy it is. For it is not possible for any man to write well about it, or to understand well what is rightly written, who has not at some time tasted of its spirit, under the pressure of tribulation. While he who has tasted of it, even to a very small extent, can never write, …
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

And for Your Fearlessness against them Hold this Sure Sign -- Whenever There Is...
43. And for your fearlessness against them hold this sure sign--whenever there is any apparition, be not prostrate with fear, but whatsoever it be, first boldly ask, Who art thou? And from whence comest thou? And if it should be a vision of holy ones they will assure you, and change your fear into joy. But if the vision should be from the devil, immediately it becomes feeble, beholding your firm purpose of mind. For merely to ask, Who art thou [1083] ? and whence comest thou? is a proof of coolness. …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

Isaiah
CHAPTERS I-XXXIX Isaiah is the most regal of the prophets. His words and thoughts are those of a man whose eyes had seen the King, vi. 5. The times in which he lived were big with political problems, which he met as a statesman who saw the large meaning of events, and as a prophet who read a divine purpose in history. Unlike his younger contemporary Micah, he was, in all probability, an aristocrat; and during his long ministry (740-701 B.C., possibly, but not probably later) he bore testimony, as …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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