Isaiah 10:5–6: “Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger / And the staff in whose hand is My indignation. / I will send him against an ungodly nation, / And against the people of My wrath / I will give him charge, / To seize the spoil, to take the prey, / And to tread them down like the mire of the streets.”

August 4th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

God was telling Israel and Judah, through Isaiah, that He would use Assyria as an instrument of discipline against them. It is interesting that God called the pagan, idol-worshiping nation of Assyria, His rod and staff. God sometimes uses the pagan world to discipline His children, even though the pagans don’t have a clue that God is doing it. In Jeremiah 27:6, God called the ruthless King Nebuchadnezzar: “My servant.” Could God still use a pagan employer to discipline one of His children at work?

King David wrote about God’s discipline (His rod and staff) in Psalm 23:4 when he said, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, / I will fear no evil, / For You are with me; / Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” David found comfort in God’s rod and staff because he understood that they belonged to and were used by God for his benefit. God’s discipline keeps us and actually protects us in life. God uses ways and means we often fail to see or understand until the lesson is learned, and then we look back and see what He was doing.

“Thank You, LORD, for Your unchanging love toward us. And thank You for Your loving discipline that helps conform us into Your image.”