Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 10:15
Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? [or] shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake [itself] against them that lift it up, [or] as if the staff should lift up [itself, as if it were] no wood.
15. To a believer in the divine government of the world the self-exaltation of Assyria is as ludicrous as if a tool were to vaunt itself against the man who uses it. The two last clauses are exclamations.
against them that lift it up ] A plural of majesty, indicating that Jehovah is meant. Some Hebrew MSS., however, have the singular.
should lift up itself, as if it were no wood ] Lit. should lift up not-wood. (See R.V.) “Not-wood” is a compound noun like “not-man” in ch. Isa 31:8; “one who is not wood” i.e. a man.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Shall the axe … – In this verse God reproves the pride and arrogance of the Assyrian monarch. He does it by reminding him that he was the mere instrument in his hand, to accomplish his purposes; and that it was just as absurd for him to boast of what he had done, as it would be for the axe to boast when it had been welded with effect. In the axe there is no wisdom, no skill, no power; and though it may lay the forest low, yet it is not by any skill or power which it possesses. So with the Assyrian monarch. Though nations had trembled at his power, yet be was in the hand of God, and had been directed by an unseen arm in accomplishing the designs of the Ruler of the universe. Though himself free, yet he was under the direction of God, and had been so directed as to accomplish his designs.
The saw magnify itself – That is boast or exalt itself against or over him that uses it.
That shaketh it – Or moves it backward and forward, for the purpose of sawing.
As if the rod – A rod is an instrument of chastisement or punishment; and such God regarded the king of Assyria.
Should shake itself … – The Hebrew, in this place, is as in the margin: A rod should shake them that lift it up. But the sense is evidently retained in our translation, as this accords with all the other members of the verse, where the leading idea is, the absurdity that a mere instrument should exalt itself against him who makes use of it. In this manner the preposition al over, or against, is evidently understood. So the Vulgate and the Syriac.
The staff – This word here is synonymous with rod, and denotes an instrument of chastisement.
As if it were no wood – That is, as if it were a moral agent, itself the actor or deviser of what it is made to do. It would be impossible to express more strongly the idea intended here, that the Assyrian was a mere instrument in the hand of God to accomplish his purposes, and to be employed at his will. The statement of this truth is designed to humble him: and if there be any truth that will humble sinners, it is, that they are in the hands of God; that he will accomplish his purposes by them; that when they are laying plans against him, he will overrule them for his own glory; and that they will be arrested, restrained, or directed, just as he pleases. Man, in his schemes of pride and vanity, therefore, should not boast. He is under the God of nations; and it is one part of his administration, to control and govern all the intellect in the universe. In all these passages, however, there is not the slightest intimation that the Assyrian was not free. There is no fate; no compulsion. He regarded himself as a free moral agent; he did what he pleased; he never supposed that he was urged on by any power that violated his own liberty. If he did what he pleased, he was free. And so it is with all sinners. They do as they please. They form and execute such plans as they choose; and God overrules their designs to accomplish his own purposes. The Targum of Jonathan has given the sense of this passage; Shall the axe boast against him who uses it, saying, I have cut (wood); or the saw boast against him who moves it, saying, I have sawed? When the rod is raised to smite, it is not the rod that smites, but he who smites with it.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 10:15
Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith?
—
The Divine supremacy
All the various orders of creatures, natural and supernatural, animate and inanimate, are under the control of the Divine Being, who uses them for the accomplishment of His own purposes. The Assyrians were not conscious of being the Lords servants; it was, therefore, no virtue in them to be employed in His service. Mark the speech of the king of Assyria, it is vain and fulsome enough. Here observe–
I. THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD.
1. This is a doctrine of Scripture.
2. The term sovereignty is suitable here, since it is significant of the supremacy of the Divine Being. Where shall we go for manifestations of the Divine sovereignty?
(1) To creation.
(2) The moral government of the world furnishes the most striking illustration of the Divine sovereignty.
II. THE SUBJECTION OF MEN.
1. Man is not a merely passive instrument, but an active being, dependent upon and under the control of his Maker.
2. Man is a voluntary agent, has in possession a power which we call will, and an awful power it is either for good or evil. It imports responsibility.
3. Still, whatever may be said about the will of man, or the will of a nation, considered as a power, it must be allowed that man and his circumstances, that nations with all their complicated affairs, are under the control of the Divine Being.
4. The Divine Being is still at the head of the nations of the earth, directing and controlling all their affairs, for the accomplishment of His own ends; just as a man directs and controls the mountain stream, for the working of his mill, or the watering of his lands.
III. THE SIN OF SLIGHTING THE DIVINE BEING.
1. It is obvious that man has no choice as to whether or no he will have to do with his Maker. Mans choice is as to whether or no he will pursue a line of conduct befitting the relation in which he stands to God; whether he will obey or disobey, honour or slight God.
2. It is in the very nature of a creature to be dependent; man is a creature, and therefore dependent upon God for everything essential to his temporal welfare; and certainly not less so for everything essential to his spiritual welfare.
3. It is therefore irrational, and indeed grossly sinful, for those who excel others in station, in fortune, in respect to anything that may be justly deemed an advantage, to ascribe the difference altogether, or even mainly to their own skill and efforts; as though there were no God, or as though
He were unable, or unwilling, to interfere with human affairs (1Co 4:7).
4. God is jealous of His honour. He cannot give His glory to another.
5. The case of Nebuchadnezzar, as recorded in Dan 4:1-37, furnishes a remarkable illustration of the supremacy of the Divine Being, and of the sin of alighting it. We infer–
(1) That it is the will of God that there should be various distinctions among men with regard to circumstances; that some should be above others.
(2) It is the imperative duty of man, whatever his rank or position in society, to acknowledge the Divine Being uniformly and constantly.
(3) The Divine supremacy ought to be cheerfully acknowledged in every, household.
(4) Let the nations of the earth acknowledge the Divine authority.
(5) The Church especially is bound to honour God. (W. Winterburn.)
The worker and his tools
These words describe one of the common temptations of strong men in every sphere of action. Pointing to power in the sphere of human industry, we say, Shall the earn boast itself against him that heweth therewith?
I. THE REAL CONNECTION OF HUMAN INDUSTRY WITH GOD. Useful and fine art belongs to the original idea of man as a working being. Man is conformed to the design of his nature when muscle and nerve, mind and heart, are taxed in the productions of human industry.
1. This is made evident by the constitution of man. Sinfulness does not belong to the Divine ides of man. Hence mans inward nature does not approve of sin. But industry produces no such stress and confusion in the soul.
2. This is further seen in the kind of world which God has made our present home. Some things He has hidden, and others so constituted that we must search, discover, adapt, apply, and manufacture, before we can get from the earth (although full of Gods riches) what we really need. The toil and sorrow which are now connected with labour do not pertain to the original ordinance of labour. But even this discipline is merciful. In prison labour the criminal is sometimes required to turn a wheel connected with a loaded crank. The power is applied to no useful purpose, but is merely intended to weary the prisoner, and thus to punish him. And one bitter element in this correction is this, the prisoner knows that his labour produces nothing. Now, God has superadded toil to work, but with toil He has connected increase.
3. The mode in which Scripture speaks of the arts sustains the doctrine we now propound. Not one word is written in the Bible against the highest development of human industry. On the contrary, much is to be found in the Scriptures of the nature of sanction. When the desire to possess the products of industry becomes lust, and when the possession involves pride, then the creations of art assume a position and sustain a relation which is of the world, and not of the Father. But this shows that the evil is in the excess, and not in the thing itself. The New Testament confirms our remarks. Jesus Christ was the reputed son of an artisan, and, though He chose a condition of poverty, He did not clothe Himself in sackcloth nor refuse to partake of the luxuries of the rich. Not a word did He say against human industry, although He reprobated and denounced every vice and feller of His times, and at the time of His death He was wearing an entire woven coat, for which Roman soldiers cast lots. The apostles trod in the steps of the Saviour. Paul does not require Lydia, a seller of purple, to change her occupation. Let us learn to separate human handiwork from human sin. Art is safe when God is recognised in it.
II. THE DISCONNECTION OF INDUSTRIAL PURSUITS FROM GOD IN THE MINDS OF MEN GENERALLY. Men have either excluded God entirely from art, or they have worked as if on Divine sufferance. And because God has not been in their thoughts, they have felt that God was not in their craft, and they have taken to themselves all the glory. While idolaters have had a God for every art and for all important branches of human enterprise, Christians have too often thought that they must call art the world, and while they use and enjoy its varied products, verbally abuse them. We do not so read human nature. We do not so read Divine providence. We do not so read our Bible. And we are warned against this spirit by the words before us. Man is made a producer; and when he produces by his labour he fulfils one part of his mission. Now in this shall God be forgotten! God! whose earth this is? God! whose are the precious and the useful metals, and to whom belong the trees of the forest and the cattle upon the hills? Shall God be forgotten? God! we are His workmen; we use His tools; we employ His materials, and we labour in His factory. God forgotten? How unseemly and ungrateful is this!
1. The evil complained of in the text may exist either in a negative or a positive state. Say that God is not in the thoughts. There is no rejection of God, but God is not present. The man thinks of himself–he does not think of God.
2. The sources of this evil are religious ignorance and alienation from God.
3. The forms in which this evil is developed are such as these–Gods law is not applied to human labour. Work is not performed in a devotional spirit. Gods honour is not sought thereby. And you have one of two things–a man in appearance everywhere irreligious, or a man in appearancereligious everywhere but in his business. And then what have you? A whited sepulchre, a man-lie, or a rebel, open and avowed, against God the Creator. Trace this to its results. Banish religion from human industry, and you remove the chief salutary restraint! Then man will hold his brother in slavery; then men will cheat and lie and overreach and keep back the hire of the labourer.
4. The doctrine of what is commonly termed Justification by faith, has a most intimate connection with this subject. The substance of that doctrine is, that when a sinner truly repents and believes in Jesus Christ, God, instead of putting him upon a probation, immediately receives him to childlike communion. This shows that a Christian may at once have communion with God on every subject that concerns him.
5. Pride, covetousness, oppression, and cruelty are the four transgressions, chiefly named as Gods reason for the overthrow of Nineveh and Babylon, Egypt and Tyre. Without true religion the progress of art fosters these evils.
6. The duties especially incumbent upon the Christians of this land, in connection with their daily labour, are, the unfailing recognition of Divine providence, humility, justice, and kindness. There are no colours so brilliant, no forms so graceful, no combinations so complete, no products so perfect and abundant as those which exist apart from human skill and toil. Man, in comparison with the Great Worker, has done nothing.
7. You will not have failed to mark Gods calling the mightiest by this name, axe and saw; also Gods intimating the uselessness of all boasting, as if it were no wood; and Gods threatening to teach the axe and saw their real position; and you will take this lesson–if we do not make God of infinitely more consequence than man, He will make us feel how much lower than man His curse can sink us; and then, when like
Nebuchadnezzar, we feel less and lower than man, we may, in this severe school, learn to praise, and extol, and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and all whose ways are judgment, and who is able to abase those that walk in pride. (S. Martin.)
Proud boastings not overlooked by God
God keeps an account of all mens proud and haughty words, with which they set heaven and earth at defiance. They that speak great and swelling words of vanity shall hear of them again. (Matthew Henry.)
Absurd brag
Oh what a dust do I maker said the fly upon the cart wheel, in the fable. What destruction do I make among the trees! saith the axe. (Matthew Henry.)
God to be honoured
Bengel, when a tutor, addressing a letter to an old pupil, said, Either refrain, dear Reuss, from writing to me, or do not apply to me such superlative expressions. I should quietly, like a fond father, place it all to the account of your love, were I not afraid that my allowing it will bring upon me a heavy responsibility. For the same reason I wish it were not said here at daily prayers our most reverend tutors. I believe that if Herod had been displeased with the acclamation, It is the voice of a god and not of man, he would not have been struck dead in such a horrible manner. Gods honour is an awfully tender thing, and may be injured before we are aware.
Napoleon Bonapartes presumption
When Bonaparte was about to invade Russia, a person who had endeavoured to dissuade him from his purpose, finding he could not prevail, quoted to him the proverb, Man proposes, but God disposes; to which he indignantly replied, I dispose as well as propose. A Christian lady, on hearing the impious boast, remarked, I set that down as the turning point of Bonapartes fortunes. God will not suffer a creature with impunity thus to usurp His prerogative. It happened to Bonaparte just as the lady predicted. His invasion of Russia was the commencement of his fall. (J. Whitecross.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 15. No wood – “Its master.”] I have here given the meaning, without attempting to keep to the expression of the original, lo ets, “the no-wood;” that which is not wood like itself, but of a quite different and superior nature. The Hebrews have a peculiar way of joining the negative particle lo to a noun, to signify in a strong manner a total negation of the thing expressed by the noun.
“How hast thou given help ( lelo choach) to the no-strength?
And saved the arm ( lo oz) of the no-power?
How hast, thou given counsel ( lelo chochmah) to the no-wisdom?”
Job 26:2-3.
That is, to the man totally deprived of strength, power, and wisdom.
“Ye that rejoice ( lelo dabar) in nothing.”
Am 6:13.
That is, in your fancied strength, which is none at all, a mere nonentity.
“For I am God, ( velo ish,) and no-man;
The Holy One in the midst of thee, yet do not frequent cities.”
Ho 11:9.
“And the Assyrian shall fall by a sword ( lo ish) of no-man;
And a sword of ( lo adam) no-mortal, shall devour him.”
Isa 31:8.
“Wherefore do ye weigh out your silver ( belo lechem)
for the no-bread.”
Isa 55:2.
So here lo ets means him who is far from being an inert piece of wood, but is an animated and active being; not an instrument, but an agent.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? How absurd and unreasonable a thing is it for thee, who art but an instrument in Gods hand, and canst do nothing without his leave and help, to blaspheme thy Lord and Master, who hath as great a power over thee, to manage thee as he pleaseth, as a man hath over the axe wherewith he heweth!
As if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up; or, as it is rendered in the margin, and by other interpreters, as if a rod should shake (i.e. shall pretend to shake, or should boast that it would or could shake; which may easily be understood out of the foregoing words) them
that lift it up. As if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood; as if a staff should forget that it was wood, and should pretend or attempt to lift up itself either without or against the man that moveth it; which is absurd in the very supposition of it, and were much more unreasonable in the practice. Nor are thy boasts less ridiculous.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
15. Shall the instrument boastagainst Him who uses it? Through free in a sense, and carryingout his own plans, the Assyrian was unconsciously carrying out God’spurposes.
shaketh itmoves itback and forward.
staff . . . lift . . . itself. . . no woodrather, “as if the staff (man, theinstrument of God’s judgments on his fellow man) should set aside(Him who is) not wood” (not a mere instrument, as man).On “no wood” compare De32:21, “that which is not God;” Isa31:8 shows that God is meant here by “not wood”[MAURER].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith?…. Hitherto are the words of the Assyrian monarch; and here begin the words of the prophet, rebuking him for his pride, and deriding his vain boasting, in attributing that to himself, to his wisdom and power, who was but an instrument, which belonged to God, the sole Governor and wise orderer of all things; which was all one as if an axe should ascribe the cutting down of trees to itself, and insist on it that the man that cut with it had no share in the action, nor was it to be ascribed to him; than which nothing is more absurd. The sense is, that the king of Assyria, in taking cities, and conquering kingdoms, and adding them to his own, was only an instrument in the hand of God, like an axe in the hand of one that hews down trees; and therefore it was vain and ridiculous to take that to himself which belonged to the Lord, on whom he depended as an instrument, as to motion, operation, and effect; from whom he had all power to act, all fitness for it, and efficacy in it, as the axe has from the person that makes and uses it, or any other instrument, as follows:
[or] shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? or draws it to and fro; which is the sense of the Targum, Septuagint, and Vulgate Latin versions, and others; and which further exposes the vanity and arrogance of the Assyrian monarch, who had no more concern in the spoiling of nations, and destruction of kingdoms, than the saw has in cutting of timber that is hewn; which has its form, its sharp teeth, not of itself, but from the maker; and when thus made, and fit for use, cannot draw itself to and fro, and cut trees in pieces, which are felled by the axe, but must be moved by another; and to insult the mover of it, as if it was not his act, but its own, is not more absurd than what this haughty prince was guilty of, in boasting of his power, wisdom, and prudence, in the above mentioned things:
as if the rod should shake [itself] against them that lift it up m; for such was the king of Assyria, he was no other than the rod of the Lord’s anger, Isa 10:5 and which he lifted up, and with it chastised his people; wherefore for him to behave haughtily against the Lord, and arrogate that to himself which was the Lord’s doing, was as if a rod should shake itself against him that lifts it up; or, “as if a rod should shake those that lift it up”: as if there were more power in the rod than in them that take it up and strike with it; yea, that even the rod moves them, and not they the rod, which is wretchedly absurd:
[or], as if the staff should lift up [itself, as if it were] no wood n; but something more than wood, an animate creature, a rational agent, whereas it is nothing else but wood; or “as if a staff should lift up” itself against that which is “not wood”, like itself, but is a man, that can move himself and that too; or “as if a staff should lift up” that which is “not wood”; attempt to bear, carry, move, and direct that which is not material like itself, but is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, even the almighty God. De Dieu thinks that is not a verb, but a noun of the plural number, of , “a mountain”: and renders it, “as if a rod should shake those that lift it up: and as if a staff were mountains, and not wood”. The Targum is,
“when a rod is lifted up to smite, it is not the rod that smites, but he that smites with it.”
The sense is, that the Assyrian monarch was only a rod and staff in the hand of the Lord, and only moved and acted as used by him; whereas, according to his vain boast, he was the sole agent, and all was done by his own power and prudence; and was so far from being moved and directed by the power and providence of God, that he was the director of him; which is infinitely more absurd than the things instanced in.
m Ben Melech observes, that this is to be understood of the blessed God; and the word being in the plural number, it is the same way, of speaking as in Josh. xxiv. 19. “the Holy Gods is he”.
n Gussetius thinks this clause contains an ironical answer to the above questions, “shall the axe boast itself?” c. “shall the saw magnify itself?” c. they should, “as the rod should shake itself” c. just in like manner as that does, and so by lifting up itself, ceases to be wood; and which being sarcastically spoken, carries in it a strong negative, that the axe and saw should not glory, or magnify themselves, and no more should the king of Assyria. Vid. Comment. Ebr. p. 360.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
This self-exaltation was a foolish sin. “Dare the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith, or the saw magnify itself against him that useth it? As if a staff were to swing those that lift it up, as if a stick should lift up not-wood!” “ Not-wood ” is to be taken as one word, as in Isa 31:8. A stick is wood, and nothing more; in itself it is an absolutely motionless thing. A man is “ not-wood,” an incomparably higher, living being. As there must be “not-wood” to lay hold of wood, so, wherever a man performs extraordinary deeds, there is always a superhuman cause behind, viz., God Himself, who bears the same relation to the man as the man to the wood. The boasting of the Assyrian was like the bragging of an instrument, such as an axe, a saw, or a stick, against the person using it. The verb henph is applied both to saw and stick, indicating the oscillating movements of a measured and more or less obvious character. The plural, “those that lift it up,” points to the fact that by Him who lifts up the stock, Jehovah, the cause of all causes, and power of all powers, is intended.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
15. Shall the axe boast? He now ridicules more strongly the mad effrontery of the Assyrians in imagining that he could create mountains of gold; for he tells us that the case is the same as if an axe or a hammer should despise the hand which sets them in motion, and should be proud of their activity, though it is manifest that they have no power of their own to move. But before explaining the subject more fully, I shall touch briefly on the words.
Like the rising up of a rod against him that raiseth it. (164) This second class of the verse is somewhat obscure. The matter is plain enough, but in the form of expression there is some ambiguity, in consequence of which commentators greatly differ. Yet, when I examine the matter closely, the rendering which I have given appears to flow more naturally than the others. “What is this? If a staff rise against the hand of him that raiseth it, and forget that it is wood, what a shocking exhibition will it be!” For it is not uncommon that the particle את, ( eth) which is the sign of the accusative, should mean against; and the copulative ו ( vau) is often superfluous. We shall thus have a meaning which is not ambiguous, and which agrees with the words of the Prophet. He formerly reproached the Assyrian for ascribing to his schemes and his army the victories which he had gained. He now says, that in this manner he boasts against God, just as if an axe, reckoning as nothing the hand of him that cuts, claimed the praise of a workman, or a staff, as if it were not dead wood and without any strength of its own, rose up against him that wielded it.
Hence we learn that men rise up against God, whenever they ascribe to themselves more than is proper, and that in such cases they war not with men but with God himself. Away, then, with those proud and blasphemous expressions, “By my power and wisdom and perseverance I have done and contrived and accomplished these things;”
for the Lord is a jealous God, (Exo 20:5,)
and does not permit his glory to be given to another! (Isa 42:8.)
We must attend to those comparisons by which he likens men to instruments; and we must not view it as referring to the universal providence by which all creatures are governed, as some do, who acknowledge that all the creatures are moved by God, because they cannot deny it, but add, that each of them is driven according to its nature, as the sun, the moon, the heavens, and such like. Thus they imagine that man is driven hither and thither by his own choice and by free-will; because God does nothing more than continue that power which he once bestowed at the beginning. Their false explanation amounts to this, that the whole machinery of the world is upheld by the hand of God, but that his providence is not interposed to regulate particular movements. Thus they ascribe to God the rain and the fair weather because he is the Author of nature, but contend that, strictly speaking, God commands nothing, that the rain is produced by vapours, and that fair weather also is produced by its natural causes. But this confused direction, which they leave to God, is hardly the thousandth part of that government which he claims for himself. Justly therefore, does Isaiah show that God presides over individual acts, as they call them, so as to move men, like rods, in whatever way he pleases, to guide their plans, to direct their efforts; and, in a word, to regulate their determinations, in order to inform us that everything depends on his providence, and not on the caprice of wicked men.
It is objected, that it would be absurd to call men axes and swords, so as to take away from them will and judgment, and everything that distinguishes them from inanimate creatures, and to make them, not men, but stocks and stones. But the answer is at hand. Though God compares men to stones, it does not follow that they resemble them in all respects. No one thing is exactly like another, but they agree in some points; for as a staff cannot move itself in any direction, and yet is fit for inflicting blows, so wicked men have something which belongs to them by nature, and yet they cannot be moved hither and thither, without being directed by the providence and secret decree of God. This fitness of things, if we may so call it, is no reason why the action should not be ascribed entirely to God alone.
But the question about the will of man is unseasonably introduced on the present occasion. If God controls the purposes of men, and turns their thoughts and exertions to whatever purpose he pleases, men do not therefore cease to form plans and to engage in this or the other undertaking. We must not suppose that there is a violent compulsion, as if God dragged them against their will; but in a wonderful and inconceivable manner he regulates all the movements of men, so that they still have the exercise of their will.
In this passage Isaiah chiefly shows that all the efforts of men are fruitless, if God do not grant them success; and therefore that the Assyrian, even if he had attempted everything, would not have succeeded, if the Lord had not bestowed the victories; and, consequently, that he had no reason for laying claim to the praise of those things in which his success was owing solely to God. This is confirmed by another metaphor, that the lifting up of a staff proceeds from the will of him who moves it, and not from the nature of the wood. (165)
(164) As if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up. Margin, or, as if a rod should shake them that lift it up. — Eng. Ver. Our translators were uncertain whether את ( eth) was the sign of the accusative or a preposition. — Ed
(165) “ לא עף, ( lo gnetz) ‘the no-wood;’ that which is not wood like itself, but of a quite different and superior nature. The Hebrews have a peculiar way of joining the negative particle לא ( lo) to a noun, to signify in a strong manner a total negation of the thing expressed by the noun. “How hast thou given help ללא כח ( lelo choach) to the no-strength? “ And saved the arm, לא עז (lo gnoz), of the no-power? “How hast thou given counsel ללא חכמה ( lelo chochmah) to the no-wisdom? “That is, to the man totally deprived of strength, power, and wisdom. (Job 26:2.) So here לא עף ( lo gnetz) means him who is far from being an inert piece of wood, but is an animated and active being; not an instrument, but an agent.” — Lowth
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(15) Shall the ax boast itself . . .?The words spoken by the prophet as the mouthpiece of Jehovah remind us of the way in which Christian writers of the fifth century spoke of Attila as the scourge of God. There was comfort in that thought for the nations that were scourged. The mans lust for power might be limitless, but there was the limit of the compassion and longsuffering of God.
As if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up.Better, As if the rod should shake them. The plural is used either as generalising the comparison, or more probably as suggesting the thought that Elohim (God) is the true wielder of the rod. (Comp. Isa. 10:5.)
As if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.The multiplied italics show that the translators found the clause difficult. Better and more simply, As if the staff should lift that which is not wood, i.e., the living arm that holds it. Was it for the king of Assyria to assume that he could alter and determine the purposes of Jehovah? Did the man wield the rod, or the rod the man?
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
15. The representation next given is that of a most foolish sin. The Assyrian’s bragging is like that of an implement, such as an axe, saw, or stick, against him who uses it.
Him that shaketh it “It,” is the saw.
The verb is Hithpach, and denotes, “moving to and fro.”
No wood One word, not-wood, which is man. God stands to the man as the not-wood, or man, stands to the wood. The boasting Assyrian forgets that he, a small cause, a small power, is placed in a small sphere of free action by Him who is the Cause of all causes, the Power of all powers. Assyria shall certainly fall some day by the sword of Not-man, that is, of one who is very different from man. Deu 32:21; Jer 5:7.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 10:15. Shall the axe boast itself, &c. The prophet here refutes the Assyrian, in a grave discourse, adapted to humble his pride. He teaches what he had before declared, that in all his counsels, motions, works, he was the minister of the divine providence; incapable of doing any thing without the divine will and permission; and therefore his boasting was to be considered no otherwise than as if the axe and saw should magnify themselves against those who handle them, and claim to themselves, as instruments, that effect which was only due to the mover, as the cause. See Isa 10:5 and Vitringa.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Isa 10:15 Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? [or] shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake [itself] against them that lift it up, [or] as if the staff should lift up [itself, as if it were] no wood.
Ver. 15. Shall the axe boast itself. ] Is not God the architect and chief agent – the Assyrian only the instrument in his hand? What a madness, then, is it for him thus to vaunt and vapour? is the man in his right mind, think ye? How much better that victorious emperor, Charles V, who, instead of Caesar’s Veni, vidi, vici, I came, i saw, I conquered, wrote Veni, vidi, sed Christus vicit! I came, I saw, but Christ conquers, Christ is the only conqueror.
As if the staff should lift up itself.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Isa 10:15-19
15Is 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.
16Therefore the Lord, the GOD of hosts, will send a wasting disease among his stout warriors;
And under his glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.
17And the light of Israel will become a fire and his Holy One a flame,
And it will burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day.
18And He will destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, both soul and body,
And it will be as when a sick man wastes away.
19And the rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number
That a child could write them down.
Isa 10:15-19 YHWH responds to the boasts of the King of Assyria by questioning.
1. Is the power in the axe or the one who used the axe?
2. Is the power in the saw or the one who wields the saw?
3. Is the power in the club or the one who swings the club?
4. Is the power in a scepter or in the one who lifts the scepter?
YHWH will judge him and his army in one day (Isa 10:17). This refers to (1) Tiglath-Pileser III or (2) specifically to Sennacherib (701 B.C.), recorded in Isaiah 36-38; 2Ki 18:17 to 2Ki 21:11; 2Ch 32:9-24, where 185,000 soldiers die before the walls of Jerusalem in response to the arrogance of the king of Assyria and his military leaders (#2 fits best, but did not happen until decades after Tiglath-Pileser III took Samaria). There is a difference between the God of Israel and the idols of the nations!
Isa 10:16 YHWH is in control of history. This is the basic premise of monotheism linked to an involved Deity. He is present and active in His creation. In the OT all causality is attributed to YHWH (cf. Deu 32:29; Job 5:18; Isa 45:7; Hos 6:1; Amo 3:6). It was a way to affirm monotheism. Exactly how, when, where He acts is unknown, but there is
1. an eternal redemptive plan
2. a covenant people
3. a coming Messiah
4. a heart for the nations
History is not cyclical, but teleological!
Isa 10:17 Light (see note at Isa 9:2) and fire are symbols of Deity (cf. Isa 9:19; Isa 29:6; Isa 30:27; Isa 31:9; Isa 33:11-12; Isa 33:14). See Special Topic: FIRE .
Isa 10:18 both soul and body Mankind has both a physical component and a life force. We as humans are prepared for life on this planet and for fellowship with a non-corporeal Deity! We share planet-life with animals, but we are creatures of eternity!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
boast itself. Hebrew. pa’ar. Not therefore peculiar to the “latter” portion of Isaiah (Isa 44:23, &c), as alleged.
shake itself against = brandish.
lift up itself, as if it were no wood = raise him that lifteth it up.
no wood: i.e. the user of it (who is flesh and blood, not wood).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the ax: Isa 10:5, Psa 17:13, Psa 17:14, Jer 51:20-23, Eze 28:9, Rom 9:20, Rom 9:21
the rod should shake itself against them: or, a rod should shake them. itself, as if it were no wood. or, that which is not wood.
Reciprocal: Exo 8:9 – Glory over me Exo 9:17 – General Jdg 3:12 – and the Lord 1Sa 17:36 – seeing 1Ki 20:11 – Let not him 2Ki 18:35 – that the Lord 2Ki 19:22 – exalted thy voice 2Ki 19:25 – Hast thou not 1Ch 10:14 – he slew 2Ch 32:17 – to rail Psa 55:12 – magnify Isa 17:13 – but Isa 30:31 – which smote Isa 37:26 – how I Isa 45:9 – Shall the clay Isa 54:16 – I have Isa 57:4 – Against Jer 46:22 – and come Jer 47:6 – thou sword Jer 48:26 – for he Eze 28:14 – and I Eze 30:24 – and put Mal 1:4 – They shall build 1Co 1:29 – General 2Ti 3:2 – boasters Rev 13:7 – and power
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE WORKER AND HIS TOOLS
Shall the axe boast itself against him that beweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.
Isa 10:15
The subject before us is
I. The real connection of human industry with God.
II. The disconnection of industrial pursuits from God in the minds of men generally.
I. Let us learn to separate human handiwork from human sin. Cain sinned in refusing the Divinely appointed sacrifice, but he embodied a Divine idea in building a city. Egypt may construct pyramids if she will cease to make the lives of Israel bitter by exacting an unreasonable service in the building. Tyre may retain her navy if she will not make slaves of the children of God. Nineveh and Babylon shall find their walls a defence, and their palaces a glory if they will remember God their Maker. There is no more sin in palatable food prepared by the hand of man than in Gods finest wheat and sweetest honey.
II. The forms in which this evil of disconnecting God from human industry is developed are such as theseGods law is not applied to human labour. Work is not performed in a devotional spirit. Gods honour is not sought thereby. As a science, religion consists in the knowledge of the relations between God and man; as a living principle, in the exercise of the corresponding affections; as a rule of duty, in the performance of the actions which these affections prescribe. When the axe boasts itself against him that heweth therewith, there can neither be religious science, religious principle, nor religious life. And you have one of two thingsa man in appearance everywhere irreligious, or a man in appearance religious everywhere but in his business. And then what have you? A whited sepulchre, a man-lie, or a rebel, open and avowed, against God the Creator. Trace this to its results. Banish religion from human industry, and you remove the chief salutary restraint!
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Isa 10:15. Shall the axe boast itself, &c. How absurd is it for thee, who art but an instrument in Gods hand, to blaspheme thy Lord and Master, who has as great power over thee as a man hath over the axe wherewith he heweth? As if the rod, &c. See the margin; or, as if the staff, &c. Should forget that it was wood, and should pretend, or attempt, to lift up itself Either without, or against the man that moveth it. As if it were no wood Literally translated, it is, As if the staff should lift up no wood; that is, should lift up man, who is very different from wood: as if the staff should lift the man instead of the man lifting the staff. In this way does the prophet refute the vain boasts of the Assyrian, and teach him, that, in all his counsels, motions, and works, he was but the minister of the Divine Providence; incapable of doing any thing without the divine will and permission; and therefore his boasting was to be considered in no other light than as if the axe, or saw, or rod, should magnify themselves against him who handled them, and should ascribe to themselves that effect which was only caused by the mover.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
10:15 Shall the {k} axe boast itself against him that heweth with it? [or] shall the saw magnify itself against him that moveth it? as if the rod should shake [itself] against them that lift it, [or] as if the staff should lift [itself, as if it were] no wood.
(k) Here we see that no creature is able to do anything, but as God appoints him, and that they are all his instruments to do his work though the intentions are diverse, as in Isa 10:6 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
It is illogical, the prophet pointed out, for the impersonal instrument of judgment to exalt itself over the Person who wields it.