Isaiah 10:1-4, Decrees and Those Who Write Them (1)

It is always helpful and much more meaningful if I can take time to meditate on what I read.  Such was the case yesterday as I was reading in Isaiah 9-10.  In the NKJV 10:1 says,

Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees,

who write misfortune, which they have prescribed.

Who are these people?  And what does it mean, the “write misfortune”?  The result is a couple of word studies plus some time with my two favorite men of God when I am in Isaiah: Victor Buksbazen and Albert Barnes.  (It will be a while before we get to these men.  First, I want to do the simple word studies.  Decree is the verb (haqaq, 19x in 19 verses) and decrees the masculine noun (heqeq, 2x in 2 verses).  Those who decree apparently write out these decrees which they have come up with.

·       Gen. 49:10: Jacob blessing his sons; the scepter shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people.  First use is always important.  The “lawgiver” is not the Messiah as “Shiloh” is the only possible reference to Him.  So Judah will always have one who “decrees decrees” until Shiloh comes.  They are “normal.”

·       Num. 21:18: Praise when the LORD provided water in the desert, when a well was dug by the leaders of the nation.  Moses might be the lawgiver but others participate.

·       Deut. 33:21: Moses, blessing the tribes before his death, said this of Gad.  The “lawgiver’s portion” refers to Gad’s prime real estate, east of the Jordan and with the entirety of the Jordan River from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea.  A haqaq should be honored.

·       Judges 5:9,14: Deborah and Barak bless the “rulers” of Israel who offered themselves willingly (volunteered) with the people.  Specifically, “rulers” came from Machir, the area of East Manasseh in Gilead, the modern Golan Heights.

·       Job 19:23: Job wishes his words were “inscribed” in a book.  It would seem he wants them more than just recorded but recorded as significant (decrees).

·       Psalm 60:7; 108:8 (identical): Of the tribes the Psalmist agrees with Genesis 49: Gilead and Manasseh are the LORD’s, Ephraim is His helmet, Judah His lawgiver.

·       Prov. 8:15: By wisdom kings reign and rulers “decree” justice.

·       Prov. 8:27,29: Wisdom was there when God drew a circle on the face of the deep.  The KJV says He set a compass, determining directions.  That was decreed by God, as were the foundations of the earth which He “marked out.”  Amazing!

·       Prov. 31:5: Rulers ought not be given over to wine lest they forget the “law.”  That should be set alongside Isa. 10:1, which is where we begin in the next post.