Isaiah 10:20-27 – A Remnant
Those who truly were the people of God, those who were looking to him for deliverance, those who, through the words of the prophets and through the working of the priests in the temple, were looking ahead to the One Whom God would send to take away their sin, they would be preserved, and they would be called a remnant. These people that we see here in verses 20- 22 had escaped the corruption of the professed people of God. They’d thrown away all confidence in themselves. They’d thrown away all confidence in their so-called outward strength or their inward strength, because they saw that they had none. By God’s grace, they were no longer holding on to the things that the rest of the people did. They weren’t looking for deliverance by means of idols. They weren’t looking for deliverance by means of other military powers. They weren’t looking for deliverance by their own cleverness. No, they, by God’s grace, had returned to Him. They were now looking to the One Who would come. They were looking to Jesus.
Now, most of the people were not believers, sadly, and they were destroyed. But God preserved a true people of His through all the Assyrian invasion, and in time to come, through the persecution under Manasseh and the revival in the days of Josiah. He preserved them through their exile to Babylon and brought them back and made them thrive back in the land and in Persia as well.
What is God sending the Assyrian with? A sword? No, it is a rod. And there’s a big difference. For the rod is for correction. It will be used to beat out the wickedness, and it will be used by God to turn the hearts of the remnant to himself. So those who are the remnant are told it will hurt, but it’s going to bless. It’s will hurt, but it will not destroy. A sword will be used, but not with you. The destroyer will be destroyed, as has happened before.
Questions
- Who are the remnant?
- How is a rod different from a sword?
Prayer Points
- Pray that God will continue to preserve His remnant.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.