I will send him to a deceitful nation, and I will give him a charge against the people of my wrath, to take away the spoils, and to lay hold on the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
בְּג֤וֹי חָנֵף֙ אֲשַׁלְּחֶ֔נּוּ וְעַל־עַ֥ם עֶבְרָתִ֖י אֲצַוֶּ֑נּוּ לִשְׁלֹ֤ל שָׁלָל֙ וְלָבֹ֣ז בַּ֔ז ולשימו וּלְשׂוּמ֥וֹ מִרְמָ֖ס כְּחֹ֥מֶר חוּצֽוֹת׃
5 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Due to the rebellion of the people, He declares, I will send them against the wicked and the people under My anger; I will instruct them to loot and seize spoil, and to trample upon them as dust in the streets. Although these actions were clear indicators of the lawlessness of those nations, He states, I directed them to gather such plunder.
God, who is eternally focused on His glory, is profoundly displeased when He witnesses individuals disregarding what pleases Him and striving to engage in the most disgraceful acts. The beloved David illustrates this when he notes, ‘With reins and bridles thou shalt grip their jaws, those who come near thee. Many are the wounds of the sinner’ (Psalms 31:9, 10). The Lord administers justice to the unrighteous, channeling His anger as if handing a rod to those lacking compassion, empowering them to execute punishment upon the wicked. Yet, those chosen for such tasks can mistakenly inflate their own importance concerning those they punish and even regarding the One who has delegated authority to them.
They fail to recognize that any perceived dominance over the punished stems from God's allowance and His sovereign decision for them to endure such trials; instead, they conceive that they have outstripped Him, who desires their salvation. Consequently, He justly directs His wrath toward them. Since He resists the arrogant, He brings low their haughtiness, and through the just penalties they face, He aims to instill the understanding that triumph over the punished results not from their might but from His decree. This was exemplified in the fate of the Assyrian king. After conquering Judea and laying waste its towns, he grew proud and believed he had seized the holy land against the will of God, who both governs and promises salvation for it. For this reason, he confesses that the divine anger remains unabated and that ruin awaits the Assyrians. What is the basis for this? He affirms, ‘the rod of my fury is given into their hands, signified by me, that they may strike those who are ungodly against me; for I have commanded my own people to be made prey and captives, to trample down the cities, and to lay me in the dust.’ If I had not withdrawn my saving hand from them and withheld my usual assistance, they would have remained free from captivity, continuously victorious over their foes. The Assyrian, however, did not think this way in his heart; rather, he believed he would subdue numerous nations, convinced no one could withstand his might and that he would effortlessly dominate all nations without resistance. If someone challenged him, urging him to consider whether he was the sole sovereign, claiming dominion over the entire world, he would claim that from the farthest eastern reaches, where ancient towers once stood, he had established the borders of his empire and conquered regions like Damascus and Samaria, which their gods failed to protect. Rabsak, while conveying the Assyrian king’s words to those on the wall, warned them not to let Hezekiah deceive them with empty promises of rescue, nor to believe that God would save them, questioning how the gods of the nations could deliver anyone from the king of Assyria. ‘Where is the god of Emath and Arphath? And where is the god of the city of Seppharim? Is it possible to deliver Samaria out of my hand? Which of all the gods of these nations is able to rescue their lands from my power, as the god of Jerusalem will deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’ (Isaiah 36:14, 18-20). Therefore, God declares that He will punish the Assyrian for his arrogance and insolence toward divine wrath. We, too, must reject the vice of pride; should it rise up defiantly against divine glory, truly woe awaits those who would dare to do so.
I will unleash My anger upon the sinful tongue. I will discipline those who refuse to abide by the law set before them. I will instruct My people to seize opportunities for gain. The benevolent God, even amidst humanity, claims His wayward people as His own. Despite their wrongdoing, He sends forth His wrath. Yet, because He had previously chosen them, owing to the heritage of their forefathers, He does not disown His inheritance. Thus, He proclaims that He will orchestrate both rewards and captivity, and that He will lay waste to the cities and reduce them to ashes, so that we may understand that the trials we endure are by divine decree.
For God does not surrender us to wickedness and retribution but instead sets the limits of our chastisement, mindful of the strength of those who are being judged. The term "vile" refers to all that belongs to the slain in combat, including arms, garments, and other adornments. Captivity signifies the partitioning of the spoils of war, corresponding to the merit of the conquerors. Hence, the Assyrians were commanded to profit and take captives in Israel, to ravage their cities, and to leave them in ruins.
Alas for the Assyrians, I will unleash the instrument of my anger and direct my fury toward the immoral tongue and the wrathful people that I will command to depart. The Lord designates the king of Assyria as the instrument of His indignation, a tool of His wrath employed to chastise those who provoked Him, sending him against the Jews, a nation marked by lawlessness and rage. The Jews' transgressions before God led them to treat their brethren with cruelty and disdain. I will decree that I will bring about gain and captivity, which signifies the instrument of my wrath. The Assyrians will seize and loot the possessions of the shameless Jews.
God's righteousness frequently employs evil rulers and corrupt leaders as tools to teach the faithful the virtue of endurance and to chastise the wicked for their iniquities. Throughout history, we observe numerous instances where the Lord manifests His benevolent purpose through the malicious actions and desires of sinful individuals, allowing their wrongdoing to execute His just judgment upon the guilty. Just as a loving father may discipline his children with a rod for their wrongdoings, but ultimately embraces them after their correction and discards the rod, God similarly engages with those who have sullied their morals through sinful actions.
For instance, through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord threatens the sinful nation of Israel with devastation by the Assyrians, declaring, "O Assur, the rod of my wrath, and the scourge in his hand is my indignation. I will send him against the people of the wicked and against the people of My wrath; I will give him a command to plunder with plunder and booty and trample on him like dirt in the streets. But he shall not so think, nor shall his heart so think; he shall have it in his heart to ravage and destroy many nations" (Isaiah 10:5-7). Here, the Lord makes it clear that it is not the intent of the Assyrian king, but rather His divine purpose, that is accomplished through the Assyrians. They are identified as the instrument of His wrath and the scourge of His anger against the sins of the Israelites, thus attributing their punishment to Himself: "I sent them," He states, "to take their spoil, and to subdue them that disobey Me, and are greatly mocked in their minds; for they have rejected faith in the one God, and honored the idols of the heathen with foolish and cruel rites and sacrifices."
However, the Assyrian king, while enacting God's decree, will perceive it differently, believing it to be his own volition. He will remain unrepentant, determined to kill and obliterate nations, yet he will ultimately fulfill My will. When I punish My people and bring about their reform through the Assyrian conflicts—oh! Woe to that rod, woe to the Assyrians, for I will cast them aside as superfluous instruments to be consumed in the fire. Likewise, we should consider other just punishments that God imposes on us due to our unrighteousness. A poignant example is the Roman Emperor Titus during the siege of Jerusalem; as he circled the city walls and witnessed the ditches filled with corpses and the rivers of blood from wounded and slain individuals, he sighed deeply, raising his eyes and hands to heaven, exclaiming: "Good God! This is not my business!"
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS