Destruction Overflows In Righteousness

Isaiah 10 and the Meaning of the Assyrian Assault

All right, today we are going to be in Isaiah chapter 10, verse 20. So if you have a Bible or a phone with a Bible on it, please go ahead and turn there. And this passage we'll be reading comes in a section of Isaiah that is about an assault of Assyria on Israel and on Judah.

And this is God explaining to us the divine meaning of these events. These events are not just something that happened randomly, but they are divinely coordinated. And he's going to explain to us what this meant and is going to give us information about what we should think about events in our life as well.

So beginning in Isaiah 10, verse 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.

A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob to the mighty God. 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.

For the Lord God of hosts will make a full end as decreed in the midst of the earth. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we ask that you would reveal to us your word, that it would speak to our hearts, that it would change and transform us, and that we would accept your truths no matter how hard they be, for truth is good no matter how difficult it is.

And God, I pray that through the preaching and proclamation of your word, that your purposes would be accomplished, and that your kingdom would be expanded, in Jesus' name, amen. Imagine, if you will, a great tragedy comes across the globe that wipes out a fraction of the world's population.

It's not hard to do, given that we are in the middle of a pandemic with a certain death rate percentage, but the Bible speaks of something more. Through this pandemic, you see the effect it has on the economy, you see the effect it has on people's lives as they lose their loved ones.

The Bible speaks of something much greater, something where not a small percentage are taken away, but only a small percentage remain. This is something that comes up time and time again, this notion of a remnant, that God comes and he judges the world, or he judges even those specific set of people, and he leaves only a remnant.

Now this is a difficult truth, it's a reason why a lot of people reject God, they don't like the notion of a God who only saves a few, they don't think that seems fair. And many Christians even have trouble explaining this to others.

Many Christians don't know what to think about this, they think that this is something they just have to put up with, you know, God is good, he does many good things, but this is just one of those things they have to put up with, with their otherwise good God.

But that's not the case. This notion of a remnant is a good thing. God and the way he conducts his judgment is indeed a good thing. And this passage holds the secret to embracing that, so that we can not just endure his judgment, but rejoice in the Lord throughout it.

So here, where Assyria comes and wipes out much of Israel so that only a remnant remains, we'll see the key to embracing this theology of a remnant. And the key point in all of this is that God's destruction overflows in righteousness.

That is the key to embracing this, that God's destruction overflows in righteousness. And he begins to, while that is stated directly in verse 22, he begins to state it and show that that is the case even in this first verse, verse 20.

And 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. Say they will no more lean on him who struck them, him who struck them being Assyria.

You see, Ahaz, the king of Judah, had made an alliance with Assyria, an alliance that had been forbidden by God. God had told him that he would protect Ahaz from his enemies, but Ahaz did not trust in the Lord.

He chose rather to trust in Assyria. But now Assyria has turned on the whole nation, Israel and Judah, and has struck them. Now this phrasing, struck them, the one who struck him, is significant because it's not the first time here in the near context that this has come up.

It came up before in chapter 9, verse 13, spoke of him who struck them. It said the people did not turn to him who struck them, nor inquire of the Lord of hosts. Now what's going on there is a parallel.

The Lord of hosts is the one who struck them in Isaiah 9, verse 13. But here in Isaiah 10, verse 20, the one who struck them is Assyria. So Isaiah is intentionally comparing two parties, two parties that have both struck Israel.

You have Assyria that has struck Israel, and you have the Lord that has struck Israel. So what is the difference between these two? The difference is that Assyria strikes in malice, but the Lord strikes in goodwill, with good intention, to correct his people.

This is the nature of the Lord striking. Many people reject the Lord because of his hard providences, because of the hard things in their lives. They've lost a loved one that they can't forgive God for.

They've had something terrible happen to them that they can't forgive God for. But you must understand that these hard providences are God's goodwill towards people whom he is telling to turn to him, to turn away from those other things that strike you, and turn to me because I strike in goodwill.

Now every other thing in your life that you might rely on will strike you. Everything else is unreliable. Everything will fail you because everything changes. Your health will ultimately fail, your job may change, it may not always be there for you, relationships ebb and flow.

You cannot rely on them for your fulfillment, for your meaning in life. The only thing that can give that that is unchanging is the Lord. All else will strike you in malice, but the Lord, he strikes with goodwill to get you to turn to him so that you will rely on him fully and experience true happiness, true fulfillment.

Now you might ask, why must it happen this way? Why could not God let righteousness overflow by some means other than destruction? He hints at why in this verse. He says that they will lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.

Now what do you think of when you think of God being holy? Maybe you think, well, he never sins. That's true, he never sins, he is set apart, but there's something more that's important here in the context of Isaiah, and this is often what it is talking about in Isaiah when it speaks of God as the Holy One of Israel.

It means that he will not be mocked, that these people who have rebelled against him will not be successful in mocking the Lord. Yes, he is holy in that he is set apart, and because he is set apart, he is untouchable.

And those who try to touch him, if they dishonor this honorable one, there must be some accounting for that. There must be some recognition that God cannot be mocked. Now if God were to bring about righteousness some other way, then by turning people with his strong and painful arm, they would not recognize this truth, and they would not appreciate God for who he is.

And appreciating God for who he is is the only way to have true fulfillment, the only way to have true happiness. God in his striking is doing so in goodwill, and there is no alternative. There is no alternative that would lead to equally good outcomes.

It says that they will turn to him in truth. There are many people who claim to follow the Lord. There were many people in Israel who claimed to follow the Lord, but did not. They were not truly his people.

So God is turning them to obey him in truth. It's the same case for us, for those who identify as Christians. Many people claim to follow Christ, but I can tell you with a certainty that a vast majority of those who claim the name of Christ do not truly know him.

God's destruction turns people toward him, calling them to repent, to truly know him. Whatever it is that you embrace in your life as your meaning, as your fulfillment, even if you say that you trust in Christ, if you do not trust in other things ultimately, jobs, relationships, et cetera, turn to the Lord.

Turn to the Lord. All these other things will end up striking you in malice. This will happen in that day. The first phrase of this verse, in that day. And in the context of Isaiah, this refers to the next generation because Ahaz has embraced Assyria rather than the Lord.

He has relied on this alliance with Assyria, even though Assyria ended up turning on him. In the next generation, Hezekiah, Ahaz's son, will have the option of either trusting in the Lord or trusting in Egypt.

And there's a drama that plays out. Hezekiah decides rightly to trust in the Lord and to lead the people to trust in the Lord. So in part, it has what this was referring to. But there is a greater fulfillment yet to be had when one day all those who remain, all of God's holy remnant will rely on Him in truth.

They will lean on Him in truth and not just in words. If God is speaking to you now, listen to Him. Listen to Him now. Do not wait. Do not tarry. If He is speaking to you, rely on Him in truth. God's destruction, the purpose of it is to overflow in righteousness.

The Remnant Will Return and the Promise to Abraham

Now, that comes about in two ways. First way, here in verse 21. A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob to the mighty one of God. God will make a righteous people for Himself. He will make the people righteous.

He will provide a remnant. Now, once again, we have another phrase where this is not the first time in this section of Isaiah that this phrase has come up. A remnant will return. Now, if I told you to go look for it in your Bible, you might be a little hard-pressed to find it because in your English Bible, it says something very different, but it's the exact same words.

In chapter 7, verse 3, Isaiah comes to Ahaz to tell him to trust in the Lord rather than trusting in Assyria. And he brings with him his son. And his son's name is Shear-Jashub, or using a more Hebrew pronunciation, Shear-Jashub.

Now, that is the same two words, that same phrase that means a remnant will return. See, Isaiah, when speaking to Ahaz to tell him to trust in the Lord, he is giving him hope by bringing along his son named a remnant will return.

So God told Ahaz then, and now that Ahaz has made the wrong choice and trusted in Assyria, this still stands, that a remnant will return. God will make for Himself a righteous people. And then He continues to describe the other way, that His destruction will overflow with righteousness.

For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Now before, in this phrase, a remnant will return, the focus was on returning. These people would return. They would turn to the Lord.

They would be righteous. They would become righteous. Now the focus is on a remnant will return, only a small number of people. All others will be wiped away. For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, this is the promise that was given to Abraham in Genesis.

Abraham was told that his descendants would be as the sand of the sea. And God is now saying that He is going to take that promise away. Now how is it acceptable for God to take away a promise? Well, you see, His promise was twofold.

For one, He was giving it to Abraham about his physical descendants. And that came with a covenant that could be broken. And the people have broken that covenant. And so God is taking it away. However, there's another aspect to this that is explained in the New Testament.

Galatians 3, 7 says that those who are faith are the sons of Abraham. I might add the true sons of Abraham. See, those who trust in the Lord are Abraham's true sons. And those are the ones that God will expand as the sand of the sea.

So God will remove this one people who claims to be His so that righteousness can overflow. So that those who actually follow Him may abound and increase. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness.

Election, Mercy, and Romans 9

Now how will all this come about? What is the distinction between those that God makes righteous and those that God removes? Well, the answer is here. It is decreed. It is decreed which ones. Now this passage is cited, is quoted by the Apostle Paul in Romans 9.

He quotes this very verse and says,. For though your people Israel be as a sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. And thankfully, the Apostle Paul interprets this for us and tells us what it means and how we ought to think of it.

He says that this applies to those in Israel who at the time of Jesus claimed to follow the Lord but did not actually follow the Lord. And God preserved only a small set of the people. And in that same passage, in that same passage, he describes the reason that he chooses some and the reason he does not choose others.

And he says very clearly using various different examples throughout the Old Testament. He uses the example of Esau and Jacob and shows that God chose one and not the other before they were even born.

You see, people often imagine when they think of the remnant, Oh, God does this culling where he removes the wicked and keeps the righteous. That's one way of thinking of it. But there's an inaccuracy in that and that none are righteous.

If you look at this previous verse, a remnant will return. What does that imply? That they needed to return, that they had erred. You see, all the people have turned away from God. And this was stressed earlier in Isaiah where he said, The head and the tail, the rich and the poor, the high and the low, every single person has turned away from God.

And so he, by his mercy, will take some and make them righteous. Now, why does God only choose some? Why does he not choose all? That answer is also explained in Romans 9. And if you have not read Romans 9 in detail before, that passage that interprets this one for us, consider that your homework.

Go home, read Romans 9, see what it has to say about Isaiah 10, 22, because it tells us who God is merciful to and why he is merciful to them and what his purposes are in preserving a remnant and how his destruction overflows.

But God explains here that he only chooses a few so that they might know his mercy. You see, if God were to choose everyone, they would not truly know his mercy. They would not realize how merciful he's being, even if he chose most people.

If that were the default, that most people were saved, they would not realize how merciful God is. But God wants us to be able to appreciate his gift more. He wants us to know his mercy. And that in itself is a wonderful gift.

You know, if I were to give two people a diamond ring, right, I would give you a diamond ring and this other person a diamond ring, but I would give one person a diamond ring with a card or a placard that explained that this is a real diamond.

And I left the other person to think, well, this must just be glass. Who is going to appreciate the gift more? The one who has this verification, this is a real diamond ring. Now, in each case, the ring is equally valuable, but one person is going to appreciate that and know the quality of the gift and know the quality of the giver.

See, God wants you to truly know his mercy and he is not satisfied to let you know that in part. This is a hard providence. This is a hard, hard providence that God will not save most, that he will only save a few.

But he explains that this is for the good of his people so that they might not have a partial salvation, being able to partially appreciate what he has done, partially appreciate who he is and partially be happy, but so that they might be fully blessed, fully knowing the mercy of the Lord, fully knowing who he is.

That in itself is a gift. This is bitter, bitter medicine, but this is the sugar that lets it go down so that God's destruction overflows in righteousness. It is a gift to us. Now, you might look at the world and wonder, you know, what is God doing and the destruction that he's bringing even now?

Well, if you look through history, you will see what he's done in the past through persecution. He has purified his church in the early years and then there ceased to be persecution. And what happened?

The church became more corrupt because it was allowed to grow corrupt. And so people went off to monasteries to try to achieve something pure, but then those became corrupt. And then the reformation came and there's a time of hostility towards the true church.

And once again, there is a purity that arises from that. There is righteousness that overflows from God's destruction. And now you look around the world today and you see what's going on. You see a sexual ethic being advanced that causes workplaces to adopt policies that cause Christians to get fired.

You see the ease with which governments feel fine declaring churches non-essential. You see these things and you wonder what will happen to the church as hostility to the church increases, as destruction increases.

I'll tell you what, destruction will overflow in righteousness. This is the promise that we have so that we can endure these things and embrace these things. This is the promise. Now, God accomplishes this by taking some and removing them, taking others and making them righteous.

And the way he makes them righteous is through Jesus Christ, his son. You see, if they are already sinners, if they need to return to the Lord, the only way they may become righteous is if they have the righteousness of another and the righteousness of that other is Jesus Christ.

See, when he died on the cross, he bore destruction. He bore the punishment owed to those who don't receive it. And in doing so, Jesus Christ credited his righteousness to those who trust in him. This is how this destruction overflows in righteousness.

There's all these different ways that destruction overflows in righteousness. This is the most profound in the cross, in that destruction that Jesus experienced on the cross it overflowed in righteousness so that people might be counted righteous as God's eyes.

And then more than that, through his sacrifice, they might begin to become more and more righteous as God sanctifies them and cleanses them. And while they experience hard providences in this life, those are things where God is calling people to be more patient, to lean on him more.

You see, it is not up to man to decide. It is not whether or not you are part of the remnant. It is not a matter of whether or not you are doing better than others, right? It's not a contest. It is not a contest to say, oh, well, God is removing the most wicked.

So as long as I'm not of the most wicked, I will be fine. That is not the way to think of it. The way to think of it is those who are in his son, those who have trusted in his son have the perfect righteousness, not just a mediocre righteousness, but the perfect righteousness to be able to survive this judgment.

If you trust in the Lord with your whole heart, you will be saved. If you have not trusted in him, this is the only way. It continues on in verse 23. For the Lord God of hosts will make a full end as decreed in the midst of the earth.

This will be complete. Each time we've seen God's name here, there's been a purpose, right? The holy one of Israel, he will not be mocked. The mighty one of God, he has the power and strength to turn hearts that are unrighteous, to make them righteous, something miraculous.

And here he calls himself through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord God of hosts, meaning that he has military strength to defeat all his enemies. He will destroy them all. Those who claim to be among his people who are not truly his people, those Christians who claim to be Christians, but do not truly follow Christ, Assyria, Satan, all powers of darkness, are sinful flesh that still needs to be mortified as we continue, even as saved people to rebel against the Lord.

God will remove all these things, leaving only what is pure. The whole earth will be destroyed and made new so that what is left will be pure. And then we will be with Jesus forever, enjoying the goodness of what he has given us, not in part, as it might be the case if he had decided not to allow his destruction to overflow in righteousness, but we will enjoy it in full knowing the goodness and mercy of God watching his destruction overflow in righteousness.

You have not trusted in the Lord. Trust in him today. And if you have trusted in the Lord, take each ounce of destruction you see in the world, each hard providence in your own life and listen to that call to lean on the Lord and do not lean on anything in the world because destruction overflows in righteousness.

He is merciful. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for what you have accomplished in your son, Jesus Christ, for the righteousness that you have provided for us. And though it is difficult to do so, we thank you for your destruction which overflows in righteousness.

I pray that this would not be something that we are afraid of or embarrassed of as we speak to the world, that we would not be embarrassed of a God whose destruction overflows in righteousness, but that we would be proud and we would boast in the Lord and that all our pride would be found in you and not in ourselves or in anything else.

I ask that we would lean wholly on you and that you would increase us in righteousness so that we might know true happiness through your presence. In Jesus' name, amen.