Iron & Altar

Shall the axe boast against the one who hews with it, or the saw exalt itself above him who wields it? - Isaiah 10:15a

Assyria had been given a real mission - to discipline a faithless people. The rod was legitimate. And then Assyria forgot that it was a rod. By my own power I have done it, by my own wisdom, for I am shrewd. The mission became the achievement, the instrument became the agent, and the boasting began. And God turns to address the axe directly.

The axe that exalts itself above the hewer is eventually addressed by the hewer. The instrument that forgets whose hand holds it will be corrected by the hand.

All things have been handed over to me by my Father. The Son who speaks this is the anti-Assyria. Everything received is acknowledged as received. The authority is real - all things - and the source is named immediately: my Father. This is the posture of the little one to whom the Father reveals what the wise and learned miss.

By my own power I have done it. Name the specific achievement, capacity, or position that you have been claiming as your own - where the axe-boasting has been happening in your life. Name it by its actual source: the hand that is wielding. And carry [name]: Lord, let him hold his gifts as handed over - all things delivered by the Father. Let him be the anti-Assyria.

Lord, let me hold every gift and capacity as a tool in your hand. Let the achievement be yours, the wisdom be yours, the power be yours. I receive all things as handed over. Precious Blood of Jesus, save us. Amen.