Isaiah 28 to 33 has Six “Ah” or ”Woe”s addressed to:
Samaria, capital of Israel, also referred to as Ephraim (“Ah the proud crown of Ephraim”, Isa 28:1)
Jerusalem, capital of Judah (“Ah Ariel, the city”, Isa 29:1)
Judah’s leaders adopt worldly strategies in secrecy, the threat of Assyria (“Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel”, Isa 29:15)
Judah’s leaders plans an alliance with Egypt (“Ah, stubborn children”, Isa 30:1)
Judah makes a military alliance with Egypt (“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help”, Isa 31:1)
Assyria (“Ah, you destroyer, you traitor”, Isa 33:1)
In the previous study, Isaiah 30:18-33 tells us of a God who waits to be gracious to his people. He promises to hear their cry, reveal himself, guide them, bless them with abundance, renew creation, heal their wounds, and defeat their enemies. Judah is threatened by Assyria, and the issue at hand is who will Judah turn to for help? What is Judah going to rely on?
The LORD is the sole help for his people, nothing else (Egypt, horses, chariots) compares to Him. He promises to be their protection, and rescue from Assyria. They only need to repent and trust in Him.
What is your “Assyria” today? What do you rely on to deal with a crisis? Think of the last time you felt worried or anxious. What did you do, what steps did you take?
(A)The Wise LORD Brings Disaster to Those Who Go Down to Egypt (Isa 31:1-3)
Judah looks to Egypt for military power — chariots, horsemen (Isa 31:1). Judah sees that they have numbers and strength in their military. Thus, it would seem that getting into an alliance with Egypt is the smart thing to do against the Assyrians.
What is so bad about Egypt in the context of Isaiah? In doing so, they “do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the LORD” (Isa 31:1b), which is similar to what has been said before in Isaiah 30:2. The point is the turning away from God to Egypt. Judah have ignored God, the LORD (the very name revealed to Moses in Exodus), the one who is faithful to keep covenant. They have not sought God’s direction, nor thought of him at all in their crisis. Their real faith was in the human military power of Egypt.
Remember the reference to Egypt in the wider biblical context. Egypt is precisely where God brought them out from, out of slavery. Thus, to return to Egypt is returning to slavery. In Psalm 81:10, we read — “To those who go down to Egypt” vs “brought you up out of the land of Egypt” (Ps 81:10). God has already defeated the chariots and horsemen of Egypt (Exo 14:26-28). They even sang about God’s defeat of “the horse and his rider” (Exo 15:1, 21). Egypt is so bad because they do not look to the Lord! They are a people who have turned away from God and have ignored God. And the Lord they have ignored is the LORD!
What do you turn to in the face of “Assyria”, a crisis that you face? Do we look to the God who has saved us completely in Christ? Do we start by praying, pleading him to help us and to show his grace and mercy towards us? Do consult him in our times of trouble? How often do we find ourselves looking away from him? Looking to God today is not natural to us. As you read this passage today, reflect on your own response to crises, and see how natural it is for you to depend on yourself and your own works.
We need to fight the sin of returning to our slavery to sin every day. Turning away from God is adding “sin to sin” because God has already saved us out of slavery to sin today (c.f. Isa 30:1). We do not need to trust in “Egypt, horses, horsemen, and chariots”: our resources, our abilities, our strength, our smarts, our work ethic, other humans, etc for our security because we have God. Even if we were able to deal with the crisis, do we give thanks to God for all things come from him?
We all must trust in something; it is either God or not. Beyond the crises of our lives, will the real crisis be our lack of faith and unbelief when we face them?
Isaiah 31:2 begins with the words, “and yet”. Despite his people’s rebellion and turning away from him, God is wise and brings disaster. God is wise to be able to deal with their sin and rebellion of going down to Egypt. God brings disaster to confront their sins. He will arise against the evildoers and helpers of those who work iniquity: God will judge sin for sin. There is no good ending to sinning against God because he is a God of justice. No sin will be left unpunished.
We go on to read of how Egyptians are man — created beings and not God (Isa 31:3). Their horses are flesh, and not spirit. God alone is God. Nothing compares to him. He does not call back his words: God doesn’t need to change course or decide based on new information.
God confronts Judah in their sin by bringing disaster. Have you ever looked back at a crisis in your life and thought of how gracious God was in that moment? Not because he took away the disaster immediately or your problems were all solved but because that crisis made you realise how far you’ve been from God. How you have looked away, ignored him, and lived life apart from him. God confronts us in our sins and even that is his grace that he didn’t just leave us to sin freely. This is similar to what’s written in Romans 1, with a three-fold repetition of the phrase “God gave them up”.
To deal with Egypt and Judah, the LORD just needs to stretch out his hand, a mere hand movement (Isa 31:3b). The same “mighty hand and outstretched arm” that saved them powerfully out of Egypt will come against them (c.f. Deut 5:15). The helper (Egypt) will stumble, and he who is helped (Judah) will fall. They will all perish together. If we cling onto sin, we will perish together with it
(B) The LORD of Hosts Who Promises Protection, Deliverance, Mercy, and Rescue (Isa 31:4-5)
Isaiah uses two similes in Isaiah 31:4-5 to describe what God will do for his people. The first simile is: “As lion or a young lion growls over his prey, and when a band of shepherds is called out against him”. This speaks of the LORD of hosts, the God of heavenly armies in all his power and might. God is like a lion over his prey (Judah) and is not terrified by the shepherds’ — likely referring to Assyria or any other enemy’s — shouting or daunted at their noise. God is not afraid of any enemy. God is not going to let any noisy or daunting enemy have his prey (Judah). He has come down to fight on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, the capital of Judah and on its hill.
The second simile is: “like birds hovering”. God’s defence of Jerusalem is as a mass of birds hovering over the city protecting it as its nest. Nothing gets past God and nothing can get past God’s protective wings. He seeks to protect Jerusalem and secure the city. He protects, delivers, spares and rescues them.
Do you see how good God is to his people? This is a God so protective of his people despite their rebellion. He promises to fight for them, spare them and rescue them. What kind of God will promise these things to a people who have rejected him?
(C) Our Response Must be to Turn to the LORD (Isa 31:6-9)
Having told them what God will do for them, Isaiah calls them to repentance (Isa 31:6-7). They are to return to seeing the Holy One of Israel, to the LORD. Judah has deeply rebelled against the LORD and deeply rejected God (“whom people have deeply revolted”, Isa 31:6a). This isn’t some superficial turning away, but a persistent, deep rooted rebellion against God. Isaiah calls them children; rebellious children who have turned away.
In Isaiah 31:7, we read of that day, the day of the LORD, a day of judgment where all idols will be rendered worthless and useless. Everyone will cast away their idols as rubbish. These idols are human-hands made, they were made sinfully made (apart from God and in rebellion towards him). This is what it means to repent; to cast off our idols. We let go of our idols of self-security, self-strength, self-fulfilment, self-righteousness, self-sufficiency, etc. to depend on and trust in God. The day of God’s judgment will find out our idols, do not wait till then to cast off your idols
What are your idols today of “chariots, horses and horsemen” and “silver and gold”? What do you need to let go of to turn back to God? Are you persistently clinging onto idols to save you and fulfil you? If you are not consciously clinging onto God, there is a good chance you are holding onto some idols.
What are you looking to to satisfy? Or to refresh your soul? What have you been hoping in? It is not to say God cannot bless us with good things, but these things we look to can never replace God. As we pour energy into our own pursuits, we are “deeply” revolting against God. What must you repent of today?
What is the result for Assyria? The Assyrian shall fall by a sword, not of man (Isa 31:8). It is not Egyptian swords that will defeat Assyria. They will be devoured, fleeing away, and be prisoners of war to do forced labour. His rock (the king of Assyria) will pass away in terror. The king of Assyria is nothing compared to the Rock of Israel (cf. Isa 30:29). The officers of Assyria will abandon their standard and give up the fight in panic
Who is the actor here? It is the LORD, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem (Isa 31:9b). God’s presence is in Jerusalem, with his people. But his presence is not something to take lightly for our God is a consuming fire. His holiness burns against sinners and all his enemies
To cite Isaiah 30:15, “in returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength”. God promises to save us today and be our sole help in times of trouble and crisis. He has given us his Son that we need not depend on ourselves to be secure. In his grace, God sends his Son, Jesus Christ who became a curse for us (Gal 3:13). He took God’s ultimate and fullest disaster that we may be spared and rescued from our sin.
Will you turn away from your Egypt and cast away your idols today? Will your strength be in quietness and trust in Christ?