saved from victory.

one can argue that the bible could hinge on Isaiah 10.32.
true, it's not the biggest hinge, but it's a crucial verse.
i read that chapter this week and was struck by its importance--
one which, to be quite honest, most people gloss right over.
but i do in fact believe that it was put there for a reason,
and i am so very thankful for it.

"yet today he will halt at Nob; he shakes his fist at the mountain of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem."

why, you might ask, is this so special? what's Nob, who's shaking his fist, and why does it matter? well i'll tell you why, so hold on and here we go:

Nob is a small city just north of Jerusalem--this "person" has been following the trail through the Central Benjamin Plateau, passing other cities, mentioned in geographical order north to south in verses 28-31. this is arguably one of the most prime spots in the land of Israel because of both its political location and economical resources, and therefore, it's always under attack. it also leads straight to the gates of the capital, Jerusalem. whoever controls the CBP (and Jerusalem) controls the country as a whole. the "person" to whom Isaiah is referring is actually a nation, but not Israel. no, it's Assyria, the powerful giant to the north of struggling little Israel, led by a terrible general named Sennacherib. he's on the loose, and is aimed at eating Israel alive without mercy. look back at verses 29-31: the people of these cities are terrified, they've fled, and they desperately cry aloud (notice they cry aloud with their voice, but it doesn't say they cry to God). you would be terrified too, if you were part of a small, weak nation, destined because of your disobedience and unfaithfulness to be swallowed by the most powerful country in the world. read the first part of the chapter--God chooses to teach Israel a lesson by allowing the Assyrians to conquer the land (not just the CBP, but practically every other square foot of dirt as well). they deserve this punishment, this judgment for their abandonment of God and His law.

"yet today he will halt at Nob; he shakes his fist at the mountain of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem."

just before reaching the capital, Sennacherib stops.
just before he's about to tear apart the Temple Mount on that hill in Jerusalem, and claim "victory" over the hebrew God, the Lord intervenes.
because He promised He would.
and Sennacherib and his Assyrian army "shook their fists", but to no avail.

if they wouldn't have been stopped (for it was really God who stopped them, not their choice), the land would've been completely run over by this nation, and Israel may very well have ceased to exist. but God had promised to save a small remnant of people. and He continued that lineage of the remnant (at times quite slim in numbers), until it reached a King. a King that was born in the most humiliating circumstances and shunned and mocked by everyone around Him.

but that King changed history like no one had ever done before or would ever do again.

and so...one can argue that the bible could possibly hinge on Isaiah 10.32.

[a view of the northern walls of jerusalem.]