Isaiah 31: 1 – 0
He Chose Poorly
1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the LORD! 2 Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster, and will not call back His words, but will arise against the house of evildoers, and against the help of those who work iniquity. 3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; And their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD stretches out His hand, both he who helps will fall, and he who is helped will fall down; They all will perish together. 4 For thus the LORD has spoken to me: “ As a lion roars, and a young lion over his prey (When a multitude of shepherds is summoned against him, he will not be afraid of their voice nor be disturbed by their noise), so the LORD of hosts will come down to fight for Mount Zion and for its hill. 5 Like birds flying about, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem. Defending, He will also deliver it; Passing over, He will preserve it.” 6 Return to Him against whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. 7 For in that day every man shall throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold—sin, which your own hands have made for yourselves. 8 “ Then Assyria shall fall by a sword not of man, and a sword not of mankind shall devour him. But he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall become forced labor. 9 He shall cross over to his stronghold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the banner,” Says the LORD, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
You can tell your friends that today you read a whole chapter in the Bible. Make sure you do not have to tell them that it is only nine verses long.
I believe probably the biggest sin next to pride is our failure to ‘trust’ our Heavenly Father. For most of us our position towards Him is, ‘what have You done for me lately.’ He has never forsaken us nor has failed to care for us, yet when the pressure hits we look to other sources for relief instead of resting and trusting in our Lord’s deliverance.
That is why the Bible is so alive today. Sure it was penned thousands of years ago, but its descriptions of human defects are as applicable today as it was in the past. It is for our learning and application.
1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the LORD!
In the book of Proverbs chapter 3 we are instructed in how and why we need to cast all our cares on Him, “ 1 My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; 2 For length of days and long life and peace they will add to you. 3 Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, 4 And so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
In this small chapter we read of a big decision that the Israelites needed to make – trust. On one hand there are those in the majority of decision makers who fatally placed their trust in Egypt because of their horses and chariots. And on the other hand you have the prophet of God beseeching the people to trust Yahweh Elohe Yisrael – The Lord God of Israel.
It all come down to this simple choice – God’s Deliverance or Man’s Delusions
I love the Indiana Jones movies especially the first and third ones which deal religious artifacts. The third one was in pursuit of the Holy Grail. Towards the end of the movie Indiana Jones comes into a room where an old knight is protecting the Grail. On a table there a numerous cups and you have to pick the right one. If you pick the right grail then you, as the movie proclaims, will have eternal life. If you select the wrong chalice then life will be taken from you. The evil guy took this jewel laden chalice from this pretty German woman and took a drink. I love the words of the old night when the evil guy just disintegrated. He said, ‘He chose poorly.’
Without choosing our God all the time we become like the guy in the movie, ‘we choose poorly’ and wind up also suffering the consequences.
2 Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster, and will not call back His words, but will arise against the house of evildoers, and against the help of those who work iniquity.
As a reminder the enemy who was about to attack Israel were the Assyrians. They had powerful chariots and horsemen. Taking this military might into consideration, the leaders thought that the only army who could face off with them were the Egyptians.
His wisdom is revealed in His Judgment. Look at what is revealed – ‘2 Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster’
His words can be trusted. He said it, so it will be so - 2 Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster, and will not call back His words.’
He will work against all the evil doers - 2 Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster, and will not call back His words, but will arise against the house of evildoers, and against the help of those who work iniquity.’
Our Precious Holy God puts down His word for us to reference when the pressure cooker temperature goes up. We should go to His Word and see how He Faithfully delivered us His people under the various circumstances. This way we look to Him to do it again.
3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; And their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD stretches out His hand, both he who helps will fall, and he who is helped will fall down; They all will perish together
Our Supreme Maker knows all things. He knows that the Egyptian military is nothing but a deception. The apostle Paul speaks about how we as sinful people will migrate from trusting our Precious Holy Spirit to trusting in our own plans, “ 1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? 4 Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?5 Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.’
Can you see how throughout the Scripture our Lord places us in situations to turn to Him or turn to others?
The deliverance will come only from Him. Those who grasp this truth end up the winners
4 For thus the LORD has spoken to me: “ As a lion roars, and a young lion over his prey (When a multitude of shepherds is summoned against him, he will not be afraid of their voice nor be disturbed by their noise), so the LORD of hosts will come down to fight for Mount Zion and for its hill. 5 Like birds flying about, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem. Defending, He will also deliver it; Passing over, He will preserve it.”
Just like a lion going for the kill there is also no fear of our Lord regarding any other - 4 For thus the LORD has spoken to me: “ As a lion roars, and a young lion over his prey (When a multitude of shepherds is summoned against him, he will not be afraid of their voice nor be disturbed by their noise), so the LORD of hosts will come down to fight for Mount Zion and for its hill.”
Isaiah instructs the Israelites that their Living God is not afraid of the ranting of the Assyrians. He reminds them of past history in regards to how He took care of the Egyptians during the Exodus. As the Angel of Death killed all the firstborn throughout the land of Egypt, the prophet likens our Lord as a giant bird that is hovering over the people to protect and deliver them if they will only trust Him to do so.
I always say that if God Is on your side you do not have to worry. You will always be the victor. -4 For thus the LORD has spoken to me: “5 Like birds flying about, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem. Defending, He will also deliver it; Passing over, He will preserve it.”
Our Holy El Roi – The Lord, The Strong One Who Sees – continues to encourage us even after we have sinned and turned away from Him to come back. To repent.
6 Return to Him against whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. 7 For in that day every man shall throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold—sin, which your own hands have made for yourselves.
When a believer ‘repents’ he/she turns away from the evil and ‘returns’ to God. We read in the book of 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, “8 For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. 9 For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.’
We need to flee those things which caused us to walk away from God. Once we get rid of those things [idols] we are now free to walk again with our Lord.
8 “ Then Assyria shall fall by a sword not of man, and a sword not of mankind shall devour him. But he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall become forced labor. 9 He shall cross over to his stronghold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the banner,” Says the LORD, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
When you have turned away from God you trust more in human beings who always let you down. You also wind up serving your own interests. Since you are now on a downward spiral life, even though your conscious tells you to repent and come back to God, you to not want to pay the price of looking again to God and forsaking the wrong path.
We need to control our thoughts not let our thoughts control us. We need to believe everything God has declared. It was recorded that God had selected Jerusalem as His Own. He would defend it as He has promised.
