Isaiah 10:1-4

CHAPTER TEN
D. PRESERVATION IN IMMANUEL
1.

SOCIAL INJUSTICE

TEXT: Isaiah 10:1-4

1

Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers that write perverseness;

2

to turn aside the needy from justice, and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!

3

And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?

4

They shall only bow down under the prisoners, and shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

QUERIES

a.

How were the writers writing perverseness?

b.

What is meant by leaving your glory?

PARAPHRASE

Woe to the rulers that decree unjust decrees and woe to those who administrate them unjustly. These have taken away justice from the poor man. They have so perverted the law they are even robbing the fatherless and the widows. Now, what will you do in the day that the Lord of Justice visits you and sends desolation upon you from a distant land? To whom will you turn then for your help? Where will you hide for safekeeping all the things you glory in then? This people will be brought down. The haughty ones will fall among the slain. Even for all this Jehovah's anger is not turned away, but his hand is still stretched forth in judgment.

COMMENTS

Isaiah 10:1-2 ROBBERY: Through false and illegal decrees made orally by wicked judges and rulers, and through false and illegal documents written by perverse scribes, the poor and powerless people were being robbed. Those who most needed their human rights protected were the very ones being exploited. Those without political power and influence and without wealth were being skinned alive. The rich and the influential able to pay bribes were receiving all the civil judgments in their favor. Widows and orphans were at the mercy of the merciless. When a nation's courts and political officials become corrupt, the nation is in its death throes. A righteous and just God cannot allow such social and moral chaos to go uncorrected for long or constant civil upheaval would be the result.

Isaiah 10:3-4 RETRIBUTION: When the day of Divine retribution comes, where will they go for help? When the Holy God visits them in judgment who will protect them? Can they depend upon their idol-gods? Will their foreign allies be able to deliver them? Can they buy their way out of God's judgment with their wealth? All these things Israel has gloried in, but what will become of their glory when God's wrath falls upon them? The answer is, it shall fail them. Israel will be taken prisoner and the unjust rulers and judges will fall along with all the other dead and captured.

QUIZ

1.

How were the needy turned aside from justice?

2.

What two classes were especially being exploited?

3.

Why can God not allow social injustice to exist for any length of time?

4.

Where would Israel likely turn to for help when Divine judgment fell?

5.

What will happen to the rulers and judges when judgment comes upon Israel?