Isaiah 10:12-19: a reflection

12Therefore it will happen that when the Lord has performed his whole work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the willful proud heart of the king of Assyria, and the insolence of his arrogant looks. 13For he has said, “By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding. I have removed the boundaries of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures. Like a valiant man I have brought down their rulers. 14My hand has found the riches of the peoples like a nest, and like one gathers eggs that are abandoned, I have gathered all the earth. There was no one who moved their wing, or that opened their mouth, or chirped.” 15Should an ax brag against him who chops with it? Should a saw exalt itself above him who saws with it? As if a rod should lift those who lift it up, or as if a staff should lift up someone who is not wood. 16Therefore the Lord, GOD of Armies, will send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory a burning will be kindled like the burning of fire. 17The light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame; and it will burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day. 18He will consume the glory of his forest and of his fruitful field, both soul and body. It will be as when a standard bearer faints. 19The remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few, so that a child could write their number.

God had used Assyria as an instrument to discipline his people; but the Assyrian king boasted as though the achievement were his own: By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding. He credited his conquests to his own strength and cleverness, forgetting that he was only a tool in God's hand. And God rebukes the arrogance with a pointed question: Shall the ax boast against the one who chops with it? Shall the saw exalt itself above the one who wields it?

Notice the folly God exposes: the instrument boasting against the one who wields it. An ax has no power of its own; it is only a tool in the hand of the one who chops. For the ax to boast, as if the work were its own doing and not the woodcutter's, would be absurd. And this, God says, is what the Assyrian king did: he took pride in conquests that were really God's doing, boasting as though he, the mere instrument, were the true author of them. The tool exalted itself against the hand that used it.

That folly is one we can share, taking pride in what we are only instruments of. Whatever we accomplish, we do by strength and gifts and opportunities that are God's gift; we are, in a sense, instruments in his hand. To boast as though our achievements were our own doing, forgetting that we are only the tool, is to be like the ax boasting against the woodcutter. When you accomplish something, do not take pride in it as though it were your own doing, forgetting the God whose instrument you are. Whatever you achieve, you achieve by what God has given; give him the credit, rather than boasting like the ax against the one who wields it. Remember that you are an instrument in God's hand; hold your achievements humbly, giving glory to the God who works through you, rather than exalting yourself, as the Assyrian did, against the One whose tool you are.

Lord, you had used Assyria to discipline your people, but the Assyrian king boasted, by the strength of my hand and my wisdom I have done it, taking credit for what was really your doing; and you rebuked him: shall the ax boast against the one who chops with it? Show me the folly you expose, which I can share: the instrument boasting against the one who wields it. Whatever I accomplish, I do by strength and gifts and opportunities that are your gift; I am, in a sense, an instrument in your hand. To boast as though my achievements were my own doing, forgetting that I am only the tool, is to be like the ax boasting against the woodcutter. When I accomplish something, keep me from taking pride in it as though it were my own doing, forgetting you, whose instrument I am. Whatever I achieve, I achieve by what you have given; help me give you the credit, rather than boasting like the ax against the one who wields it. Help me remember that I am an instrument in your hand, holding my achievements humbly, giving glory to you, who work through me, rather than exalting myself, Lord, as the Assyrian did, against the One whose tool I am.