“Therefore
when the Lord has completed all His work [of chastisement and purification to
be executed] on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, it shall be that He will inflict
punishment on the fruit [the thoughts, words, and deeds] of the stout and
arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the haughtiness of his pride. For [the Assyrian king] has said, I have done it solely by the power of my
own hand and wisdom, for I have
insight and understanding. I have
removed the boundaries of the peoples and have robbed their treasures; and like
a bull I have brought down those who
sat on thrones and the inhabitants.” - Isaiah 10:12-13 AMP
God
promised Israel that if they obeyed the Law they would be blessed and would prosper,
but if they did not obey that he would send other nations to attack/chastise
them (Deut. 28:15, 25; Is. 9:9-11). Assyria was one such nation which God sent, even though
they did not know that God had sent them (Is. 10:7). The king of Assyria was God’s instrument of
chastisement for Israel,
or God’s “vessel” of chastisement, if-you-will.
But with all his attacking and conquering the neighboring nations He
started to think of himself as all powerful.
He said, “I have done it…I have insight and understanding, I have removed
boundaries…I have brought down…” yet with those very declarations he
brought the very same form of chastisement down on himself that he administered
to Israel.
“Therefore
will the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send leanness among [the Assyrian's] fat
ones; and instead of his glory or under it He will kindle a burning like the
burning of fire. And the Light of Israel shall
become a fire and His Holy One a flame, and it will burn and devour [the
Assyrian's] thorns and briers in one day. - Isaiah
10:16-17 AMP
God
knows that if we do not give Him the credit then it will cause us to sin. It reminds me of another sinful act in line
of taking the credit where credit was not due!
“How art thou
fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the
ground, which didst weaken the nations!
For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides
of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the
clouds; I will be like the most High.” -
Isaiah 14:12-14 KJV
Although
this part of Isaiah’s prophecy was spoken of the king of Babylon, it is well accepted by theologians
that it “Lucifer” and “son of the morning” represent satan. In this we see that satan would not only
steal God’s credit by stealing His attributes and throne. We know that God will also deal with satan
with this promise:
“Then the
devil who had led them astray [deceiving and seducing them] was hurled into the
fiery lake of burning brimstone, where the beast and false prophet were; and
they will be tormented day and night forever and ever (through the ages of the
ages).” - Revelation
20:10
Let
us look at this in another way. Let us
say that you and your co-worker complete a special project at work. On the day you are to present the finished
project you child becomes ill and you have to stay home and care for him,
trusting your co-worker to present it for both of you. When you return to work the next day you find
that not only did he present the project but also took full credit for it and
has now received a promotion as well.
How would you feel? I would feel
robbed to say the least. Consider then
how God feels when we try to take credit for what He enables us to do? When we take credit for His working through
us, then we no longer are the vessels He created us to be. How much better to be like King David and
give credit to Whom credit is due!
“It is a
good and delightful thing to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises [with
musical accompaniment] to Your name, O Most High, To show forth Your
loving-kindness in the morning and Your faithfulness by night, With an
instrument of ten strings and with the lute, with a solemn sound upon the
lyre. For You, O Lord, have made me glad
by Your works; at the deeds of Your
hands I joyfully sing.” - Psalm 92:1-4
