“In a very little while,
My indignation
Will come to an end.
My anger will be directed
To their destruction.
Yahweh of hosts
Will wield a whip against them,
As when he smote Midian
At the rock of Oreb.
His staff will be over the sea.
He will lift it
As he did in Egypt.
In that day,
His burden will be removed
From your shoulder.
His yoke will be destroyed
From your neck.’”
Yahweh speaks directly via Isaiah about his love for Israel. His indignation at them will be short lived. In his anger, he will destroy the Assyrians with a whip. He will do this, just as he had helped the Israelites under Gideon against Oreb and the Midian people at the rock of Oreb in Judges, chapters 6-7. Then there is also an allusion to Yahweh’s staff at the parting of the Red Sea when the Israelites escaped from Egypt in Exodus, chapter 14. At that point, the burden on their shoulders and the yoke on their necks will be lifted.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 