What is the meaning of Isaiah 10:9? Is not Calno like Carchemish? “Is not Calno like Carchemish?” • The Assyrian king surveys his past victories. Carchemish, a strategic city on the Euphrates, had already fallen (Isaiah 36:19; 2 Kings 18:34). If mighty Carchemish could not withstand Assyria, why should Calno (Calneh) expect a different outcome? • The comparison underlines the uniform success of Assyria’s campaigns. Every city, no matter how fortified, succumbed—fulfilling God’s word that He would use Assyria as “the rod of My anger” (Isaiah 10:5-6). • Like the earlier example of Babel’s empire in Genesis 10:10, Calno symbolizes human pride brought low. The boast anticipates the later prophetic warning, “Shall the axe boast over him who chops with it?” (Isaiah 10:15). • Cross references reinforce the pattern: Isaiah 37:11-13 lists conquered cities, calling them a precedent for future targets; Amos 6:2 cites Calneh and Hamath to remind Israel that judgment is impartial. Is not Hamath like Arpad? “Is not Hamath like Arpad?” • Hamath, a major Aramean capital on the Orontes, had long claimed independence (1 Kings 8:65). Arpad, a fortified neighbor, fell during Tiglath-Pileser III’s reign (2 Kings 18:34). Assyria lumps them together, erasing any distinction between great and small. • The taunt signals that distance or reputation offers no refuge. Jeremiah 49:23 later echoes, “Concerning Damascus: Hamath and Arpad are put to shame,” showing how God’s warnings span generations. • By pairing the two, the king implies an unbroken chain of triumphs, bolstering his belief that even Judah’s God cannot stand against him (Isaiah 36:18-20). Yet Scripture preserves the record to expose that very arrogance (Isaiah 10:12). • For believers, the lesson is clear: God may permit worldly powers to flourish for a season, but He remains sovereign (Psalm 33:10-11). Is not Samaria like Damascus? “Is not Samaria like Damascus?” • Damascus, capital of Aram, fell to Assyria when Tiglath-Pileser III deported its people (2 Kings 16:9). Samaria, capital of the Northern Kingdom, followed under Shalmaneser V and Sargon II (2 Kings 17:5-6). • By equating the two, the Assyrian boasts that covenant status grants no special protection. If Damascus, outside the covenant, was crushed, Samaria—once within the covenant—proved equally helpless because of its idolatry (Hosea 13:1-3). • The claim ignores God’s promise to preserve a remnant (Isaiah 10:20-22). Assyria’s confidence will be shattered when the “Light of Israel” burns them like thorns in a single day (Isaiah 10:17). • This contrast reminds readers that judgment begins with the household of God (1 Peter 4:17), yet also that God’s discipline serves His redemptive purposes. summary Isaiah 10:9 records Assyria’s boast, stringing together four conquered cities to argue that future targets are already foregone conclusions. The invader sees only military precedent; God is revealing that every conquest has unfolded under His sovereign hand, and the pride it breeds will bring Assyria’s own downfall. The verse challenges us to recognize that human achievements, however impressive, cannot thwart the Lord’s purposes. |
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