Adult Class
December 2006-May 2007
Isaiah
Lesson 14: False Help, Real Hope
When Syria and Israel joined forces to invade and attack Judah, in panic Ahaz appealed to Assyria for help. He sent a great fortune to bribe Assyria to attack his northern enemies. Assyria took the money, attacked and subdued the northern alliance, then turned its attention to Judah. The appeal to Assyria became a disaster for the southern kingdom of Judah. And now, with the prospect of conquest by Assyria looming, Hezekiah is about to repeat the catastrophe by appealing to Egypt for help against Assyria! Truly, one sin leads to another. The leaders of Judah, from the king down, should have appealed to God, not Egypt, for deliverance.
Isaiah 30:1-7: A foolish appeal to Egypt for help
The central problem for the people of Judah is their obstinate rebellion. They ignore God’s will and devise plans for themselves that have nothing to do with God. The people who had escaped from the overwhelming power of Egypt because of God’s intervention, the people who had expressly been told not to return to Egypt, have decided that they will plead for Pharaoh to come and rescue them. They have sent their ambassadors to the capital of Egypt to form an “alliance” with that nation.
Any alliance with Egypt will be a hopeless endeavor. That country and its leaders and its army will be perfectly useless to the Jews. In fact, God provided an “oracle” to the poor animals forced to carry the bribe to Egypt! They are forced to carry heavy loads, across dangerous wasteland where there are various hazards, to deliver to a nation that will do absolutely nothing to defend Judah. In derision, God renames Egypt after a fearsome monster (Rahab), but in this case the fearsome monster is surnamed “Do-Nothing.” It is all reputation, no action at all. In point of historical fact, when Judah appealed to Egypt for help against Assyria, the Assyrians easily defeated the Egyptian expeditionary force that never even reached Judah. Egypt quickly retreated to defensive positions and Judah was betrayed by its “ally.”
Isaiah 30:8-17: The truth will be established
In a rare command, God instructs Isaiah to write down this word so that it will be preserved forever. The truth is, these people are not at all interested in knowing or performing God’s will. To those who are actually sent by God with important messages, men like Isaiah and Micah, the leaders give no audience. In fact, they try to shout down the prophets and demand that they say nothing more. The leaders are not interested in hearing what is right; they want to hear only pleasant things.
It is always an occupational hazard for preachers of God’s word that some want never to hear truths that contradict their own lives. They prefer to hear messages of hope, love, acceptance and grace, but never messages of responsibility, obedience, service and repentance. Truth demands a proper balance of God’s teaching. In this case, what the people of Judah most needed to hear was a message of repentance, of reformation of life. Instead, they demanded an end to hearing the message of God. They wanted only the soft message, even if it were a lie.
But staking your life on a lie is an intentional disaster. These people had determined that their only option for help was to appeal to Egypt, not to God. And God reveals to them that their strong wall will collapse like mud in a heavy rain and there will not be one usable part of it.
What they should have done is to humble themselves and appeal for God’s help. Unfortunately, too often the thing that will actually help our situation often looks passive and useless. We prefer action! We want to do anything rather than nothing! These people were called to repentance and trust, which would have issued in their salvation. “But you would not,” God finishes in 30:15, just as Jesus mournfully concluded over Jerusalem in His own time in Matthew 23:37.
The people had a plan—flee on horses! But God noted that they would indeed flee. They thought they would be saved by speed! But God showed that their pursuers would be swift. There was no help for them in a military or natural solution. Only God could help them now, and although He was more than willing, they “would not.”
Isaiah 30:18-33: A message of grace
In fact, God promised that He would help Jerusalem—when they finally cried out for help to Him. He promised a glorious future for them when they returned to Him. There are five promises contained in this declaration of God’s grace:
In light of all that is said in this chapter, the people of Judah must not depend on Egypt for help. Their only hope is in God.
Isaiah 31:1-9: Appealing to Egypt is futile
Again, God notes that approaching Egypt for help is worse than useless, it is actually harmful. The problem with the army of Egypt is that it is only human and subject to all human weaknesses. The person who depends on this ally will be taken down with it when it fails—and it will certainly fail.
God is not afraid of the Assyrians; He has plans for them and they will fulfill His plans. The only hope for Judah, and especially for Jerusalem, is a full return to the covenant with God. Although Egypt is no help, Assyria is not inevitably victorious. God will overthrow that nation and all that it has inflicted on others will be returned upon its own citizens.