c. The distant invader is God’s instrument (5:26-30)

God has called a great nation from the ends of the earth, and it is coming swiftly. The powerful description of its approach is a classic one. The nation is Assyria. But the nature of the prophetic word is such that seldom is it exhausted by one historical situation. The vitality of Isaiah’s word would enable a passage such as this one to be seen later in 588/87 b.c. in the context of the Babylonian invasion as well. While the specific historical event was of penultimate importance, of ultimate importance was the reality that Yahweh was the one in whose hands the nations are but instruments to do his bidding.