Isaiah 10:20 - Meaning and Application

The prophet had said before (Isaiah 10:12) that the Lord would finish his whole work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem by letting Sennacherib invade the land. Now he explains what that work would be. It would be twofold, conversion for some and destruction for others.

First, some would be brought to faith, and this trouble would become useful to them. It would produce the peaceful fruit of righteousness, though for a time it was painful rather than pleasant. These are only a remnant (Isaiah 10:22), the remnant of Israel (Isaiah 10:20), the remnant of Jacob (Isaiah 10:21), a very small number compared with the many people of Israel, who were as numerous as the sand of the sea. Converting grace is given to only a remnant, those set apart by God from the rest. When we think how many people were in Israel, and how many were in the visible church, and then remember that only a remnant will be saved, we should make every effort to enter the narrow gate and fear that we may come short.

This remnant of Israel are those who escaped from the house of Jacob. They escaped the sins of the house of Jacob and kept their integrity during a time of widespread turning away from God. That was a true escape. Because they escaped the house’s corruption, they also escaped its ruin and would be kept safe in a time of common trouble. Their lives would be given to them as plunder (Jeremiah 45:5). The righteous are saved only with difficulty.

This remnant would be turned away from trusting in human help. This trouble would cure them of that weakness. They would no longer depend on the one who struck them, meaning they would no longer lean on the Assyrians for help against other enemies, since they had learned that such helpers can become their worst enemies. Suffering teaches caution. Hard experience teaches people how foolish it is to lean on a support that may turn into a rod of correction. This is part of the promise given to a returning people, “Assyria shall not save us” (Hosea 14:3). We often learn through affliction not to make human strength our confidence.

They would also return to God, to the mighty God, one of the names given to the Messiah (Isaiah 9:6), and to the Holy One of Israel. The remnant would return, as was already pictured in the prophet’s son Shear-jashub, whose name means “a remnant shall return” (Isaiah 7:3). After the siege of Jerusalem was lifted, they would not only go back to their homes and land, but also back to God and their duty. They would repent, pray, seek his face, and reform their lives. Those who escape are a returning remnant, because they return to God and rest on him. Only those who return to God can safely trust in him. We may have humble confidence in God when we are careful to obey him. They would stay on the Holy One of Israel in truth, not just in outward profession.

The apostle Paul applies this promise of a converted and saved remnant of Israel to the Jews who first received the gospel (Romans 9:27). This shows that it was nothing new for God to leave a great many of Abraham’s descendants to judgment, while saving only a remnant. The children of Israel were as numerous as the sand of the sea, according to the promise (Genesis 22:17), yet only a remnant would be saved.

Second, others would be consumed. The Lord God of hosts would make a consumption (Isaiah 10:23). This does not mean, as in Isaiah 10:18, the destruction of the Assyrian army, but the wasting of many Jewish families and estates by the Assyrian invasion. This is mentioned to show the power and goodness of God in preserving the chosen remnant, and to show what will become of those who refuse to return to God. They will be worn down by this consuming judgment, this general decay in the middle of the land.

This consumption is God’s own work, because he is its author. The Lord God of hosts, whom no one can resist, will bring it. It is also decreed. It is not the result of a sudden impulse, but something already planned and fixed. It is determined not only that there will be such a judgment, but also how far it will spread, how long it will last, who will be affected, and who will be spared.

It is an overflowing consumption that will cover the land like a flood and sweep away what stands in its way. Yet though it overflows, it is not random. It is carried out in righteousness, which means both wisdom and justice. God will rightly bring this judgment on a sinful people, and he will wisely and graciously limit it. It will go only as far as he appoints, and no farther.