Isaiah 30 Footnotes

30:28 How is it just for God to deceive people? The Assyrians were brought by God to carry out his judgment against Judah (10:5); they were likened to a destructive torrent of roaring flooding water from God’s mouth (Assyria was pictured as a mass of water, see 8:8; 28:2,15,17). But the Assyrians did not follow God’s plan; instead, they acted in pride (36:4-20; 37:21-29). In a picturesque image, Isaiah compared the results of God’s action against the people of Assyria to putting a bridle in the mouth of a horse to lead it astray. This implied that God was leading Assyria on a path that would result in its own destruction because of its sins (1Kg 22:22-24).