Isaiah 31
COMMENTARY:
: 1 Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD! (8159 “look” [sha’ah] means respect, gaze, pay attention to, or accept.)
DEVOTION: We live in a beautiful country. My wife and I have had the wonderful opportunity to visit Alaska on many occasions. It is a beautiful state. Someone asked if it was only good to go in the summer and I said no. I have taken trips in the winter and as I traveled the countryside to visit a missionary the scenery was beautiful. The light of the sun was just different than in New York. I love to sightsee in all the states that I visit. The memories are great.
Here we find the children of Israel looking in the wrong direction. They spent time in Egypt as slaves and yet they thought that they could get help from Egypt that would defeat the Assyrians.
We sometimes think that a human army is better than God. If we can see it in front of us we think we have a chance to win a battle. The children of Israel couldn’t see the spiritual army that was around them. The servant of Elisha saw an army surround them and was afraid. Elisha prayed and the LORD opened his eyes and he saw “the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”
Our eyes have to be open to the fact that there is a spiritual army around the servants of God. The book of Hebrews informs us that each of those who are heirs of salvation have a guardian angel.
We have a negative example in this chapter of God’s people looking to human means to end a battle. Our responsibility is to seek the LORD in every battle. We are never outnumbered when the LORD is on our side. One angel is enough to fight any of our battles.
CHALLENGE: Daily we need to turn our battles over to the LORD. Worry never wins a battle. The LORD always does!!!
: 2 Yet HE also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back HIS words: but will arise against the house of evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity. (7489 “evildoers” [ra’a’] means to treat badly, to do or be evil or bad, someone who does evil deliberately, especially someone who deserves to be punished for their acts, or do wickedness.)
DEVOTION: Too often the children of Israel and even today we find that Christians will go to the wrong source for help. Too often we think we can handle things ourselves without looking to the LORD for help.
The problem is that we can’t do it without the help of the LORD. All of our efforts are not worth too much because our strength is weak because of our sins. It is hard for those who are sinners to win battles against the devil and his angels because only the LORD has the strength to defeat our enemies.
God wants us to depend on HIM alone. However, our sinful heart, even of believers, try to handle our problems on our own and we lost and feel defeated and still don’t repent and turn to the LORD for strength.
We are not learning for the failures of the children of Israel. We seem to think we are not as sinful as them. Yet, we are and need to repent and turn to the LORD alone for our help.
Then we can thank HIM for our victory and give HIM the glory HE deserves in our life. Our strength in in the LORD alone. If we can learn that lesson then we can move forward in our walk with the LORD and have many victories.
CHALLENGE: Are we willing to learn from the failures of the children of Israel? Are we willing to learn from what we see happening today even in the lives of believers who try to correct themselves without the help of the LORD? The LORD wants us to trust HIM alone!
: 3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not Spirit. When the LORD shall stretch out his hand, both he that helps shall fall, and he that is helped shall fall down, and they all shall fail together. (3615 “fail” [kalah] means bring to an end, come to an end, complete, finish, to waste away, be exhausted, be used up, perish, or be destroyed.)
DEVOTION: Isaiah is dealing with the issue of trust in many chapters. He wants the children of Israel know that if they trust in anyone or anything other than the LORD, they are in trouble.
This verse states that the Egyptians are just human beings. He informs them that horses are just flesh and blood also. Then he informs them that the LORD is not flesh and blood. The LORD is omnipotent. HE can do anything.
HE can defeat any enemy. HE will fight for those who trust in HIM. HE will chasten those of HIS children that trust in others. HE is going to defend Jerusalem. The rest of the chapter instructs the children of Israel that they have to turn in the direction of the LORD.
They had deeply revolted against the LORD. They trusted more in idols made with their hand then in the LORD. When HE stretches HIS hand out against someone, they are going to perish.
All these chapters are messages of Isaiah to the children of Israel to change the direction they were going. These were the people of God. These were people who should have listened to a prophet of God. However, they didn’t.
We are supposed to learn from the Old Testament. We are supposed to be ones who trust in the LORD alone. However, we find that we trust in our education, friends, and ourselves before we trust in the LORD. We are not learning from their example.
Why does he repeat so much?? Because they are hardheaded and so are we. Let us start trusting the LORD and not leaning on our own understanding. HE is working in our lives. LISTEN!!
CHALLENGE: Failure is going to happen to all those who look in the wrong direction for help. Success comes to those who turn all their burdens over to the LORD. Failure should not be something we appreciate.
: 6 Return to Him against whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982). מַק [ʿamaq /aw·mak/] – to be deep, be profound, make deep.
DEVOTION: What does it take for people to give up their idols and rebellious attitudes toward the God that has saved them? As Isaiah spoke to Israel not to trust in Egypt and the riches and power that it displayed so he speaks to us today not to trust in the prosperity and economic and military might that is demonstrated around us. Under the Bush administration it was proclaimed that the United States was the only superpower in the world. Shortly after that came the economic downturn that shocked many and made skeptics of the power of the United States. Since then there has been a dramatic increase of monetary and military influence from nations like China, Russia and some Middle Eastern countries. What was considered a lopsided power structure seems to have corrected itself. The same was true in Isaiah’s time, Assyria was the dominant world power but Egypt was threatening and Israel was looking for support. Yet they were looking in the wrong place! Instead of looking to the Lord they were looking to man. Instead remembering where their help had come from repeatedly, they searched for new sources of corrective power.
Their deep revolt had caused them suffering, sorrow and untold pain but they still were rebellious! They were looking for the golden and silver trinkets to save instead of the creator of gold and silver. He stands and waits for their return.
CHALLENGE: The depth of our revolt also causes God to go to extreme measures to get our attention. He loves us and is willing to demonstrate that repeatedly. Is gold or silver stopping you from returning to Him today? Just another dollar or another promotion and then I will return. Another ballgame, another event and then I will be finished? Return to Him and throw away that idol, truthfully it isn’t satisfying your deepest needs. (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
: 9 And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, says the LORD whose fire is in Zion, and HIS furnace in Jerusalem. (8574 “furnace” [tannuqr] means oven, an enclosed chamber in which heat is produced for various reasons, fire-pot, stove, or of God’s wrath.)
DEVOTION: The LORD wants the children of Israel to know that HE is in control of what is happening in the nation. HE is the one who allows the enemy to win battles and HE is the one who wins the battles for the children of Israel.
The LORD is going to make sure that the fire on the altar is going to continue to burn even when there is an enemy near that seems to be able to defeat the children of Israel but it doesn’t happen.
Our protection comes from the LORD even today. The enemy is real. He wants to defeat us and cause us to fear. However, the LORD is on our side to help us even when we are not as faithful as we should be. HE wants us to depend on HIM just like the children of Israel were to depend on HIM in the Old Testament.
HE has promised to never leave us or forsake us. That doesn’t mean that HE will not send judgment at times to get our attention just like HE did to the children of Israel wen they were not serving HIM properly.
It would be nice if we would be faithful to HIM all the time but for some reason it seems that just like the children of Israel were prone to wander, we seem to follow in their footsteps.
CHALLENGE: Faithfulness is necessary for continual blessings from the LORD. Our prayer should daily be that we would be faithful to HIM today!
DONATIONS:
Remember that all donations to Small Church Ministries are greatly appreciated. The treasurer will send a receipt, at the end of the year unless otherwise requested. Please be sure to make check out to “Small Church Ministries.” The address for the treasurer is P.O. Box 604, East Amherst, New York 14051. A second way to give to the ministry is through PayPal on the website: www.smallchurchministries.org. Also, if you can support this ministry through your local church please use that method. Thank you.
Visit our Facebook page for Small Church Ministries – please invite others to join us on Facebook. Thank you. Look for the logo from the devotionals.