Wisdom Wednesday: Wisdom in Isaiah Part 2
The Foolish King
Submitted by Debbie’s Dad
“For he [ the king of Assyria] has said,
“By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this,
For I have understanding;
And I removed the boundaries of the peoples
And plundered their treasures,
And like a mighty man I brought down their inhabitants
(Isaiah 10:13) NASB 95
This series of devotions explores the wisdom theme throughout the Book of Isaiah, and this study considers God’s assessment of the false wisdom of the King of Assyria. Isaiah wrote throughout the reign of four kings of Judah: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (1:1), for over 40 years. God revealed His view of the powerful kings of Assyria during the period when they threatened Northern Israel. Assyria’s armies brutally conquered the Northern tribes of Israel over a 40-year period in three waves, under three successive Assyrian Kings:
- In the first wave, King Tiglath‑pileser III (745–727 BC) began by annexing northern territories around the Sea of Galilee and deporting many jews
- In the second wave, Shalmaneser V (727–722 BC) attacked deeper into Israel and sieged the capital, Samaria, where King Hosea ruled.
- Sargon II (722–705 BC) completed the conquest; Samaria fell. And deported 27,290 Israelites (according to his own inscriptions)
Sennacherib, the son of Sargon II, was the king who, four years after his accession to the throne, led the 701 BC campaign against Judah while King Hezekiah was king.
In these decades of ominous threats and unrelenting military campaigns against the Jewish people, God spoke through Isaiah to chastise for sin, warn of the future, and comfort those who turned back to Him. Isaiah prophesied that Assyria would eventually be defeated, and a glorious future kingdom would arrive.
Chapter 10 describes how the threat of Assyria to even come and destroy the southern kingdom of Judah, as a tool (a PayPal “rod of anger”) that God is using to warn Judah of the potential punishment for the sins of the leaders and people:
“Shall I not do to Jerusalem and her images just as I have done to Samaria and her idols?” (Isa 10:11)
In verse 13, Isaiah turns to describe God’s punishment for the King of Assyria. He describes the king’s heart as arrogant and haughty (height, lofty, conceited) (10:12). Building on the successes of prior kings, Sennacherib (If this is the specific king God was describing) was an arrogant man. In verse 13 we see how he described his pompous impression of himself (this is my paraphrase) :
“I did this by the power of my own.
And I did this by my own wisdom,
Because I have understanding;
I removed the boundaries of the Israelites and stole their treasures,
And like a mighty man I brought down their inhabitants”
The king attributed his military success to his own power, wisdom, and understanding. Notice that I underlined the I’s above. We often say that a person who says “I did this, I did that…” has an “I” problem. This is arrogance and false wisdom.
It was the wisdom of the fool that did not realize he was being used by God to punish His sinful people.
God asked, “
“Is the axe to boast itself over the one who chops with it?
Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it?
That would be like a club wielding those who lift it,
Or like a rod lifting him who is not wood.” (Isa 10: 15)
Those who say there is no God (Psalm 14:1) and boast that their accomplishments are by their own wisdom and their own hand are fools. Isaiah warned that God said, “… those who are tall in stature will be cut down, and those who are lofty will be abased,” Isa 10:33.