Verse

Isaiah 10:26

ESV And the Lord of hosts will wield against them a whip, as when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb. And his staff will be over the sea, and he will lift it as he did in Egypt.
NIV The Lord Almighty will lash them with a whip, as when he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb; and he will raise his staff over the waters, as he did in Egypt.
NASB The Lord of armies will wield a whip against him like the defeat 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.
CSB And the Lord of Armies will brandish a whip against him as he did when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb; and he will raise his staff over the sea as he did in Egypt.
NLT The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will lash them with his whip, as he did when Gideon triumphed over the Midianites at the rock of Oreb, or when the Lord’s staff was raised to drown the Egyptian army in the sea.
KJV And the Lord of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and as his rod was upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt.
NKJV And the Lord of hosts will stir up a scourge for him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; as His rod was on the sea, so will He lift it up in the manner of Egypt.

What does Isaiah 10:26 mean?

God is telling His people not to be afraid of the Assyrians (Isaiah 10:24). This is despite the invading nation's destruction of Israel and Judah. The Lord has promised that His anger toward His people will end in a "very little while (Isaiah 10:25)." Then He will focus His anger on the Assyrians for the arrogance of their king (Isaiah 10:12).

The Lord now promises to use His supernatural power against Assyria. He compares it to the time when He struck Midian at the rock of Oreb (Judges 7:25). This is a reference to the story of Gideon in Judges 7. At that time, it was the Midianites who were oppressing Israel. The Lord broke their oppression and sent the Midianites fleeing for their lives. One of the Midianite leaders, Oreb, was killed at a place that became known as a the "rock of Oreb" (Judges 7:19–26).

Isaiah also quotes The Lord, reminding the people of their deliverance from Egypt. That was when God told Moses to stretch out his hand over the sea so that the waters would come crashing back down on the Egyptians as they pursued the Israelites. Moses did so, and not one of the host of Pharaoh survived (Exodus 14:15–31). His defeat of the Assyrian king will be like the fate of the Pharaoh.

God wanted His people to remember that He had been willing and able to save them from oppressors in the past. He could and would do so again. The Lord kept this promise in 701 BC, when the angel of the Lord killed 185,000 Assyrians in one night when they were holding Jerusalem in siege (2 Kings 19:35).
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