Isaiah 10:14
14 And my hand [yad] hath found [matsa'] as a nest [qen] the riches [chayil] of the people: [`am] and as
one gathereth ['acaph] eggs [beytsah] that are left, [`azab] have
I gathered ['acaph] all the earth; ['erets] and there was none that moved [nadad] the wing, [kanaph] or
opened [patsah] the mouth, [peh] or peeped. [tsaphaph] KJV-Interlinear
14 And my hand
reached to the riches of the peoples like a nest, And as one gathers abandoned
eggs, I gathered all the earth; And there was not one that flapped its wing or
opened its beak or chirped." NASB
The Assyrians looked at
their adversaries as birds, and their lands as empty nests for the taking.
Their attitude is that
they can and did move in with ease. They
destroyed any and all they attacked, and they took what they may, at their
will.
As a predator collects
eggs from an abandoned nest, when the bird has left and is nowhere to be found,
so too, the Assyrians moved in and took at their leisure.
People had either run
away, or were captured or killed and therefore posed no threat, and certainly
no barrier to taking the loot left behind.
There was no opposition, not even a peep.
But the underlying
current of this thought pattern is that the Assyrians presumed that it was they
who made this opportunity for themselves.
That it was they who destroyed their enemies. That it was they who managed and controlled
all of their success in the invasion and battle.
But that is not the case.
God saw these events in
eternity past. God brought to bear all
who would be born, all who would grow up, all who would participate. It was God who directed these events even through
the decisions of men.
It is God who gives life. It is God who removes life.
It is God who gives
success. It is God who removes success.
God controls history, not
you.
God placed you and every
individual into history at a time of His choosing, not yours.
God provided for all
circumstances, not you.
God gave every person
free will and free volition, and the right to decide for themselves. And God allows everyone to drive their own
life.
But it is God also, who
knows your heart and your course, and it is God who will allow you to proceed,
or who will derail you.
All things work together
for good. Good is the ultimate outcome
of everything, regardless of the temporary setbacks that seemingly come along
from time to time.
You can either work within
Gods plan, or you can fight it through your own opinions and attitudes and
whining complaints or indifference.
Even nations and empires
have invaded and taken and enslaved at their leisure. Who in this world or throughout history has
greater power than an empire? No one. And yet they are all gone.
Technology does not make
empires of today any greater than the empires of old.
Philosophy does not make the
politics of today any greater than the rulers of old.
Economics does not make
the business of today any greater than the powerful traders of old.
God has foreseen
everything. God has planned for
everything. God has made provision for
every possibility.
And man, and especially
you, have none of these things at your disposal.
The big question for you
is, are you going to presume your superiority or eliteness because of that
which God did and does? Or, will you use
your success or talent or ability or circumstances, whether they are good or
bad, to do Gods bidding, because it is He who gave you that opportunity, great
or small, to serve His plan and will, and not your own?
