He is come to Aiath, he hath passed through Migron; at Michmash he layeth up his baggage.
The verse reads like a travel log, following the invader from the north town by town as he closes in on Jerusalem. Why would God record an enemy's route in such detail, and how far does this march reach beyond Isaiah's own day?
The first name is a place with a long memory. Writers identify it with the city Joshua once burned:
Royal city of Canaan. It was known to Abraham, who pitched his tent between Hai and Bethel (Genesis 12:8). Joshua conquered it by a trick, after an earlier defeat caused by the sin of Achan. The city was burned and left as a "heap" (Joshua 7:2-5; 8:1-29; 10:1-2). It lay near Bethel, in the land given to Benjamin. It seems to have been rebuilt, since it appears again in Ezra 2:28 and Nehemiah 7:32. It is likely that the Aiath of Isaiah 10:28 and the Aija of Nehemiah 11:31 are the same as Ai, judging by the places named alongside them.
Migron has just one earlier mention in Israel's history. The invader's march puts it on the map again.
Place near Gibeah where Saul camped (1 Samuel 14:2). It appears again in Isaiah 10:28, as on the Assyrian's line of march against Jerusalem.
Older translations say he "laid up his carriages" at Michmash. That wording can mislead a modern reader. The word points to what an army hauls with it:
In the Scriptures this word never seems to carry the modern sense. It means "the thing carried," "baggage" (Judges 18:21; 1 Samuel 17:22; Isaiah 10:28; Acts 21:15).
The march is not an accident of politics. Earlier in the chapter God calls the invader a rod in His own hand. The man marching on Jerusalem has no idea whose work he is doing.
In verse 5 of this chapter we learn why God allowed this powerful and destructive nation to attack His people. They were proud of their great victories. Yet they were only the rod of God's anger. The power they used was only the instrument to show God's indignation. God sent the Assyrian to discipline His people for their sins. The Assyrian himself had no idea what God was doing. His heart was full of pride, and he was bent on destroying nations and bringing them under his power.
So why list the towns? God is telling His people in advance how near the terror will come, and where it will stop.
The Lord would comfort the godly by telling them in advance what would happen. Every step of the Assyrian is traced in his march south through the land. It runs from the moment "He has come to Aiath" until he shakes his hand at the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem (Isaiah 10:28-32). His triumph over the ten tribes led to their captivity; but there was a divine limit set, as we have seen, to his power against Judah and Jerusalem.
The towns named lie in one small tribal area. That area already had a long history of famous battles.
Many famous battles were fought on the soil of Benjamin. There was the battle of Ai. There was the battle of Gibeon, followed by the chase through Beth-horon — both under Joshua. There was Jonathan's battle with the Philistines at Michmash (1 Samuel 14). All of these were fought inside the territory of Benjamin. And when Sennacherib approached Jerusalem from the north, the places thrown into panic as he came near were in this tribe.
How much of this route belongs to history, and how much still lies ahead? One writer sees layers of fulfilment:
The same chapter gives the whole route of the Assyrian (Isaiah 10:28-32). It runs from Aiath in the north of the land until he stands outside the city of Jerusalem. No doubt there was a partial fulfilment when Sennacherib's army came. There may be another fulfilment when the king of the north comes against the false king in Jerusalem, as foretold in Daniel 11:40-41. The advance of the armies of Gog may give the final and complete fulfilment. Yet there is no sign that his armies get near the holy city: they "fall upon the mountains."
The march that begins at Aiath comes to nothing. The proud invader falls, and the next chapter turns to the King.
The chapter closes with a most vivid description of the Assyrian's march down from the north right up to the edge of Jerusalem... In vain, however: he shall come to his end, and none shall help him... The image used here fits perfectly. It prepares the way for Messiah, introduced in the next chapter, which is closely linked to this one: the shoot from the stump of Jesse, the fruitful sprout that grows from his roots.
- Rod — the invader advancing from Aiath is God's rod against His people's sin, and he never knows God is using him.
- Route — Aiath is likely the Ai of Joshua's day. Migron and Michmash lie on the same road, in a region already thick with old battles.
- Baggage — the old word "carriages" means what the army carries, and at Michmash he leaves it behind.
- Limit — God names every step in advance, so the godly know how close the terror comes and where He halts it.
- Ruin — the march ends with the proud invader brought to his end, and that makes room for the shoot from the stump of Jesse.
They are gone through the pass; they make their lodging at Geba Ramah trembleth, Gibeah of Saul is fled.
An invading army has crossed the pass, a few hours' walk from Jerusalem, and the towns of Benjamin empty out ahead of it. Who is this invader, why does God record where he spends the night, and how far will God let him come?
These names are real places. They sit on the northern approach to Jerusalem, in the tribal land of Benjamin, and the army meets them in the order given. That ground had seen fighting before:
Many famous battles were fought on the soil of Benjamin. Joshua fought the battle of Ai there, and the battle of Gibeon, followed by the chase through Beth-horon. Jonathan fought the Philistines at Michmash (1 Samuel 14). Twelve men of Saul and twelve of David fought their duel at Gibeon (2 Samuel 2:15-16). Every one of them took place within the territory of Benjamin. And when Sennacherib approached Jerusalem from the north, the places thrown into panic as he came near were in this tribe.
None of this took God by surprise. He knew the whole march before it began.
The Lord knew all that would happen, and verses 28-32 record His intense interest in every detail, tracing the Assyrian's progress from Aiath until he shakes his "hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem."
The invader looks like the strong one here. He is in fact a tool in God's hand, and a tool God will break.
God employs the pride and wickedness of the wicked to chastise His people; and afterwards He destroys the instrument. The Assyrian, God's rod to strike Israel, glorifies himself against God, who breaks the rod. So in the early part of the nineteenth century Napoleon Bonaparte struck all the peoples of the Roman empire, but, being in the wrong, was struck down himself afterwards.
Ramah shakes and Gibeah runs. The city they are running toward gets the opposite word.
So again, in verses 24-34, there was the plain assurance to the people of Jerusalem that they need not fear the Assyrian. He would afflict them as with a rod, yet God would destroy him in the end. This came to pass, as we have seen, though he would come to the very gates of the city and "shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem."
The advance builds — and then it stops dead.
The chapter closes with a vivid description of the Assyrian's march down from the north, right up to the closest possible point to Jerusalem… But it is all in vain. He will come to his end, and no one will help him. The Lord of hosts will cut off the branches with terror. The tall trees will come down, and Lebanon will fall before a mighty one… This image fits perfectly. It prepares the way for Messiah, brought in by the next and connected chapter as the shoot from the stump of Jesse, and the fruitful sprout that grows from his roots.
Sennacherib may not be the last army to take this road.
The same chapter follows the Assyrian's march from Aiath in the north of the land until he stands outside the city of Jerusalem (Isa. 10:28-32). No doubt there was a partial fulfilment when Sennacherib's army came; there may be another fulfilment when the king of the north comes against the false king in Jerusalem, as foretold in Daniel 11:40-41; and the advance of the armies of Gog may give the final and complete fulfilment, though there is no sign that his armies get near the holy city: they "fall on the mountains."
- The march. Geba, Ramah and Gibeah are real villages on the northern road to Jerusalem. The prophet names them in the order an army would reach them.
- The rod. God uses the pride of the wicked to correct His own people, and the Assyrian is the rod in His hand.
- The record. God traces every stage, down to where the army sleeps, because nothing in it escapes His notice.
- The limit. The towns panic, but God tells Jerusalem not to fear. The rod reaches the gates and no further.
- The end. God breaks the rod that boasted, and the felled forest of this chapter opens straight onto the shoot from Jesse's stump — Messiah.
Lift up thy voice, daughter of Gallim! Hearken, O Laish! -- Poor Anathoth!
This verse names three small towns. They belong to a roll-call of places along the route of an army sweeping down from the north toward Jerusalem. Two questions press. Who is this invader, whose route God maps village by village? And why does the cry of small towns like Gallim and Anathoth belong in Scripture?
Gallim, the first name in the verse, is one of a cluster of towns in the tribal land of Benjamin.
Apparently a city of Benjamin, associated with Laish, Aiath, Migron, and others, also in Benjamin. 1 Samuel 25:44; Isaiah 10:30.
Anathoth, the last town named, was a priestly town. It was also home to a prophet whose own neighbours turned on him.
A city in the territory of Benjamin, assigned to the priests. Abiathar the high priest had his own "fields" there, and Jeremiah was born there. Its people persecuted the prophet.
The detail is not decoration. God names the stages of the march long before a soldier sets out.
The Lord knew all that would happen. Verses 28-32 record His intense interest in every detail. They trace the Assyrian's progress from Aiath until he shakes his fist at the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. It was a prophecy when first written. Only part of it has come true so far, for it marks the progress of the last Assyrian, and it also describes his end... The Lord who used, and will use, the Assyrian, Himself humbles the proud nation and its king (verses 33-34).
The march is terrifying, but it sits inside a promise. The towns cry out; the city hears that it need not fear.
Again, verses 24-34 give the people of Jerusalem a plain assurance: they need not fear the Assyrian. He would afflict them as with a rod, yet God would destroy him eventually. This came to pass, as we have seen... His progress through the towns, as he approached, is very graphically described. He would seem like a great cedar of Lebanon, stretching his mighty bough over the city. But the LORD of hosts would cut down his bough with terror.
The chapter does not end in defeat. The picture of a great tree cut down hands straight over to the picture that opens the next chapter.
But it is all in vain. He will come to his end, and no one will help him... The image used here prepares the way perfectly. The next chapter, joined to this one, introduces Messiah: the shoot from the stump of Jesse, and the fruitful sprout to grow from his roots.
Commentators read this march as having more than one fulfilment.
God used the Assyrian enemy to punish His people... God addresses him as the rod He uses in anger against His people. All this had a past fulfillment. But a similar invasion of the land of Palestine will happen before the times of the Gentiles close and the King of Kings appears. The Assyrian of the end time comes from the North; therefore he is called in Daniel's prophecy "the King of the North."
Writers differ on how the later fulfilments line up.
No doubt there was a partial fulfilment when Sennacherib's army came. There may be another fulfilment when the king of the north comes against the false king in Jerusalem, as foretold in Daniel 11:40-41. The advance of the armies of Gog may give the final and complete fulfilment, although there is no indication that his armies get near the holy city: they "fall upon the mountains."
- Route. The towns named here are real places in Benjamin. Their cry maps an enemy's actual approach.
- Foreknown. God named every stage of that approach before it happened. He knew all that would come, down to the detail.
- Rod. The invader is God's instrument of discipline, not an accident — "the rod He uses in anger against His people."
- Limit. The same chapter that traces his march tells the city not to fear him. The great cedar has his bough cut down.
- Shoot. The great tree falls, and a shoot from the stump of Jesse rises. The chapter's terror ends by handing the reader Messiah.
Madmenah is fugitive; the inhabitants of Gebim take to flight.
This line sits in a fast list of villages north of Jerusalem. Each one is named as an invading army sweeps past and the people run. Why does the prophet name such small towns, and where does the panic end?
Verses 28-32 trace an advance, town by town, until the enemy is within sight of the city. The march ends in the invader's own downfall, and the chapter that follows turns to the Messiah:
The chapter closes with a vivid description of the Assyrian's march down from the north until he stands right beside Jerusalem… But it is all in vain. He will come to his end, and no one will help him… The picture used here prepares the way perfectly for the next chapter, which belongs with this one. There the Messiah is introduced: the shoot from the stump of Jesse, and the fruitful branch that grows from his roots.
Madmenah and Gebim were real places in the land of Benjamin. That stretch of country had a long military history, and the invader's route ran straight through it:
Many famous battles were fought on the soil of Benjamin… And when Sennacherib approached Jerusalem from the north, the towns that panicked as he came near were in this tribe.
The names are not filler. They show how closely God follows what happens to ordinary people caught in an invasion:
The Lord knew everything that would happen. Verses 28-32 record His intense interest in every detail. They trace the Assyrian's progress from Aiath until he shakes his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. When it was written it was a prophecy. It has been fulfilled, but only in part, because it also marks the progress of the last Assyrian and describes his end.
One writer sees the ancient invasion as only the first of several fulfilments:
The same chapter follows the Assyrian's march from Aiath, in the north of the land, until he stands outside the city of Jerusalem (Isaiah 10:28-32). No doubt there was a partial fulfilment when Sennacherib's army came. There may be another fulfilment when the king of the north comes against the false king in Jerusalem, as Daniel 11:40-41 foretells. And the advance of the armies of Gog may give the final and complete fulfilment.
Some readers treat this march as a vivid piece of imagination rather than real prediction. One writer answers that bluntly:
There is no need to force the words of Isaiah 10:28-32 to fit Sargon or Sennacherib, as well-meaning men do. The same holds for everything from verse 12 onward. Still less should we accept the doubting alternative, that the prophet only means to paint a striking imaginary picture of the danger threatening Jerusalem… God does not inspire false prophecy or baseless fancies.
The people of Gebim scatter, but the chapter has already told the city not to be afraid. The invader who looks unstoppable is himself a tree marked for the axe:
So again, in verses 24-34, the people of Jerusalem were plainly told that they need not fear the Assyrian. He would strike them as with a rod, yet God would destroy him in the end. This is what happened. He came right up to the gates of the city and shook his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. The chapter pictures his advance through the towns in vivid detail. He would look like a great cedar of Lebanon, stretching his huge branch over the city. But the LORD of hosts would cut that branch off with terror.
- Route. Verse 31 is one stage in a march. The enemy comes down from the north, town after town empties, and he stops within sight of Jerusalem.
- Record. The named villages were real places in Benjamin, thrown into panic. God notes each one. He takes an interest in every detail of what His people suffer.
- Rehearsal. Sennacherib's invasion fulfilled the march only in part. It set a pattern. The king of the north may repeat it, and the armies of Gog may complete it.
- Reality. This is real prophecy, not an imagined picture of danger. God does not inspire baseless fancies.
- Reversal. The advance stops. The invader spreads like a cedar over the city, and God cuts his branch off. The felled forest opens the way for the shoot from the stump of Jesse.
Still a day of halting at Nob; he shaketh his hand [against] the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. ...
The Assyrian army has marched down through town after town, and at Nob it stops in sight of Jerusalem. The raised fist is a threat — and this chapter answers whether that hand will ever fall.
The verse names the spot where the advance stops. Commentators place Nob just north of Jerusalem:
The triumphant march against Jerusalem will halt at Nob, just north of the city. At that point he "will shake his fist at the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem."
Nob carried its own history long before the Assyrian reached it:
A city in the tribe of Benjamin, where Ahimelech the priest lived with the tabernacle of the Lord. David visited it when he fled from Saul, and he and his men ate the holy bread. The priest also gave him the sword of Goliath. Through the treachery of Doeg, this led to the death of Ahimelech, his father's house, and all the inhabitants of the city of Nob. 1 Samuel 21:1-9; 1 Samuel 22:9-19; Nehemiah 11:32; Isaiah 10:32.
The long list of place names in verses 28-32 is not filler. It shows God tracking the invader village by village before a single soldier moved:
The Lord knew all that would happen. Verses 28-32 record His intense interest in every detail, tracing the progress of the Assyrian from Aiath until he shakes his fist at the mount of the daughter of Zion. When it was written it was a prophecy, but it has been fulfilled only in part. It marks the progress of the last Assyrian, and it also describes his end. This book later describes the destruction of the Assyrian armies and the death of Sennacherib. The Lord who used, and will use, the Assyrian, Himself humbles the proud nation and its king (verses 33-34).
The raised hand is the same pride the chapter has already exposed. The invader believed the conquests were his own work, when he was only a tool being swung:
The Assyrian thought he was only doing his own will in punishing Samaria and Jerusalem. He said, "By the strength of my hand have I done it, and by my wisdom, for I am prudent… I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man" (Isaiah 10:13). He did not understand that he was only the rod of God's anger, carrying out God's judgment on His rebellious and idolatrous people. So the Lord said to him, "Shall the axe boast against the one who cuts with it… as if the rod should shake itself against those who lift it up" (verses 5, 15). This proud boasting of the Assyrian only brought God's judgment upon them (verse 12).
The Assyrian expected an easy conquest. God turned the gesture back on him:
We know very well that the Assyrian shook his hand at Zion, and expected an easy conquest. But God now answers back for His despised city. "The daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at you. Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel." The Assyrian had no idea of that.
Why Zion and no further? God set that limit Himself, and not because Zion deserved it:
God looks at Zion as something the Assyrian's foot had never defiled. It was a virgin daughter of Zion, and God never meant that the Assyrian should tread there. He had allowed him to ravage elsewhere. But Zion, however faithless Zion might be, was not reserved for the hand of the Assyrian. Zion might fall even under wars, but the Assyrian must fall himself.
The chapter does not end with the raised hand. It ends with an axe:
He would look like a great cedar of Lebanon, stretching his mighty branch over the city, but the Lord of hosts would lop off his branch with terror.
That felling opens into the promise of the King:
But it is all in vain: he shall come to his end, and none shall help him… The image used here is the perfect preparation for the next chapter, which belongs with this one. That chapter introduces Messiah — the shoot from the stump of Jesse, and the fruitful sprout to grow from his roots.
- Rod. The Assyrian is only the rod of God's anger against His people. He is never a power in his own right, whatever he claims.
- Reach. God traced the route in advance, town by town, from Aiath to Nob. The invader walks a road God has already mapped.
- Raised hand. At Nob, just north of the city, the Assyrian shakes his fist in sight of Jerusalem. It stays a gesture and nothing more.
- Rebuke. Zion shakes her head back at him. God defends the city He never meant the Assyrian to tread.
- Removal. The Lord lops the towering cedar. From that ground rises the shoot from the stump of Jesse — judgment on the proud opens the way to Messiah.