20 Now in that day the remnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped, will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.
21 A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.
22 For though your people, O Israel, may be like the sand of the sea,
Only a remnant within them will return;
A destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.23 For a complete destruction, one that is decreed, the Lord [r]God of hosts will execute in the midst of the whole land.
24 Therefore thus says the Lord [s]God of hosts, “O My people who dwell in Zion, do not fear the Assyrian [t]who strikes you with the rod and lifts up his staff against you, the way Egypt did. 25 For in a very little while My indignation against you will be spent and My anger will be directed to their destruction.” 26 The Lord of hosts will arouse a scourge against him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; and His staff will be over the sea and He will lift it up the way He did in Egypt. 27 So it will be in that day, that [u]his burden will be removed from your shoulders and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be broken because of fatness.
28 He has come against Aiath,
He has passed through Migron;
At Michmash he deposited his baggage.
29 They have gone through the pass, saying,
“Geba will be our lodging place.”
Ramah is terrified, and Gibeah of Saul has fled away.
30 Cry aloud with your voice, O daughter of Gallim!
Pay attention, Laishah and [v]wretched Anathoth!
31 Madmenah has fled.
The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge.
32 Yet today he will halt at Nob;
He shakes his fist at the mountain of the [w]daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.33 Behold, the Lord, the [x]God of hosts, will lop off the boughs with a terrible crash;
Those also who are tall in stature will be cut down
And those who are lofty will be abased.
34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe,
And Lebanon will fall [y]by the Mighty One.
Naturally, there is a theme throughout this chapter, though it comes through in different ways. In the previous section, we saw Assyria commissioned by God, but arrogant in thinking they had done it of themselves. In this, we see further description of their conquest, but also of God’s wrath to be turned upon them for that pride.
He uses the picture of trees and forests to describe the armies of Assyria, which was fitting for all their host. Yet God is able to lop off their boughs and cut down the “thickets” with a single iron axe. Backup a little bit, and we see this idea of a staff in vv. 24-26, and how it was raised against Egypt. What is that all about?
Here the prophet speaks of what we would typically call the “staff of Moses”. God told Moses to use it in various ways, from bringing plagues upon Egypt, to the final stroke at the Red Sea where the waters were parted. Subsequently, the waters were brought back down with the same staff, upon the heads of the Egyptians who pursued Israel.
Later on, Moses would strike a rock to bring forth water, which is apparently a trick shepherds knew for tapping into hidden springs. God had said to speak to the rock, but Moses figured using the staff would be fine. As a result, Moses was prohibited from entering the promised land and died without ever seeing it. Now, don’t feel too bad for Moses, because he was taken away by God and is with Him even now.
At any rate, the point is that the staff was what God used to show His glory to the Israelites. It was never about Moses, or even really the staff, but that staff became a symbol of God rescuing His people. We may see God work in our lives, and then get caught up thinking He will always work that way. Or we may simply think we know exactly what needs to happen, so we ask God for that, without ever asking Him what His plan is.
Instead, when we pray, we need to remember to stop talking a bit so He can speak into our lives. Ask God what He wants to do, or where He wants you to go. It may be the opposite direction from what you wanted, like the prophet Jonah. If you insist on your own methods, you might end up missing out on God’s promise, but surrender your ideas to Him, and see what He has in store for your life.