NOTES for Isa 10:1-34
The main theme of Isaiah's preaching offered to us by today's reading is the theme of the remnant (vv. 20-23). This concept later became key for the entire Old Testament messianic tradition. In fact, Isaiah already understood perfectly well that those who had preserved faithfulness to God, the Covenant, and the Torah were a minority in Israel. And all the disasters that befell the country and the people, including the Assyrian invasion about which the prophet warns his compatriots (vv. 5-6), were conditioned precisely by this.
The issue is not even whether the inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judah accept Isaiah's own words or not. After all, in essence the prophet demands nothing special of them. He only reminds them of the need to observe the Torah, including when public and political life are involved (vv. 1-4). But, as history shows, this is exactly what turns out to be practically impossible both in Isaiah's time and today. It is not that living in accordance with the law given by God is impossible in principle: God would hardly have demanded the impossible from His people through the mouth of His prophet. But in that case one would have to live in a completely different way, so different that a person accustomed to the present order of things is afraid even to think about such a life. So afraid that even the disasters and catastrophes that overtake him seem less frightening than this possible other life, and a person is ready to do anything at all just to avoid turning to God, to the only One who could help (Isa. 9:13).
This stubbornness is not accidental, because when one turns to God, one must be ready to answer His call and follow His law; otherwise all religiosity remains mere appearance. In peaceful and calm times it is still possible to remain in illusions, to speak about one's own religiosity without seriously thinking about following the Torah. But in times of disaster and catastrophe these illusions quickly dissipate, and outward religiosity disappears like smoke. Only those remain faithful who were faithful to God even in peaceful times, keeping the commandments He gave and following His law. The Assyrian invasion, like any other national catastrophe, does not essentially change anything in the spiritual state of the people. And certainly no military defeat or other social cataclysm can be the cause of a spiritual crisis; it can only be its consequence.
Isaiah, of course, understands perfectly well that the people of God are destroyed not by the Assyrians, but by apostasy, forgetfulness of God, and violation of the Torah. But the faithful who were among the people before the Assyrian invasion and defeat do not disappear anywhere; on the contrary, their faithfulness becomes still more visible against the background of general apostasy. It is no accident that Isaiah perceives the day of disaster as the "day of visitation," that is, as the day of God's judgment (v. 3), because precisely on the day of Judgment everything falls into place, all masks drop, and what is hidden becomes manifest. And without such judgment, the coming of the messianic Kingdom is impossible. That is the Kingdom whose coming completes earthly history.