God loves justice (Micah 6:8). He commands us to pursue and chase after peace (Hebrews 12:14). There is a relationship between justice and peace. Without justice there would be no peace. Without peace, there is no righteousness. When we deny someone justice, we are inviting the judgment of God upon ourselves. Isaiah 10:1-4 is a continuation of what we were studying in Isaiah 9.

The rest of Isaiah 10 speaks about the judgment that God is going to mete out to His people through Assyria. Assyria was used by God to mediate justice to Israel.

Verse 1: “Woe to those who legislate legislations of wickedness, who write decrees of grief, which they have prescribed.”

Woe: This is a word of admonition. It is a warning, which means how awful something is going to be unless there is a change in behaviour. If the person/people continue in this way the outcome will be disastrous. Write decrees of grief: These letters were written and sent out to be read publically to the people. In a sense it was a proclamation, but these proclamations had consequences attached to them. They were proclamations that brought grief and trouble to people. They caused people to suffer.

The principle we can learn here is this: When we are part of something that denies someone else justice (receiving the right judgment), or when leaders deny their people justice, wickedness is going to flourish. This in turn leads to grief and trouble.

Verse 2: “Who rob the needy of justice, and who take what is right from the poor of My people. That widows may be plundered, and that they may take spoil from the fatherless.”

Rob: This is a word of distortion. Something which is twisted.

Needy: This is a synonym for the word ‘poor’. It is a word that refers to those who have meagre resources. Usually, the needy in a society have very little power within it. God’s nature is to be very protective over the helpless in a society. God watches over them. The Bible contains many warnings against those who deny justice to the poor. God gave His instructions and laws to regulate society. He expected more from those to whom He had given these laws to.

That widows may be plundered: They created situations where the assets of widows and the provision of orphans would be taken away. Plundered…take spoil: The language used here is the same language used for a victorious army who takes all the spoils or booty of war from those they have defeated. These individuals were abusing their powers, and they were exploiting those in the society. This was not the way that God’s covenant people were meant to behave.