10:7 he meaneth not so. Here is a striking example of God’s sovereign direction of man’s personal choice. The Assyrians deliberately decided of their own volition “to destroy and cut off” Israel and other nations, and this was an evil decision, for which they were held responsible by the divine Judge (Isaiah 10:12). Nevertheless, God in some inscrutable way had influenced them to do this very thing, in order to punish His sinning people. See notes on Acts 2:23; 4:27-28; and Romans 9:18.