Woe to Those Who Rely on Egypt
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD. Yet He too is wise and brings disaster; He does not call back His words. He will rise up against the house of the wicked and against the allies of evildoers. But the Egyptians are men, not God; their horses are flesh, not spirit. When the LORD stretches out His hand, the helper will stumble, and the one he helps will fall; both will perish together.
For this is what the LORD has said to me: “Like a lion roaring or a young lion over its prey—and though a band of shepherds is called out against it, it is not terrified by their shouting or subdued by their clamor—so the LORD of Hosts will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and its heights. Like birds hovering overhead, so the LORD of Hosts will protect Jerusalem. He will shield it and deliver it; He will pass over it and preserve it.” Return to the One against whom you have so blatantly rebelled, O children of Israel. For on that day, every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold that your own hands have sinfully made. “Then Assyria will fall, but not by the sword of man; a sword will devour them, but not one made by mortals. They will flee before the sword, and their young men will be put to forced labor. Their rock will pass away for fear, and their princes will panic at the sight of the battle standard,” declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, whose furnace is in Jerusalem.”
When Isaiah wrote his prophecies, he didn’t divide them up into chapters; that was done later. Today’s verses are a continuation of yesterday’s. God is still warning the Israelites that they should trust in Him and not in their own military might or in that of Egypt. Sometimes people have very short memories, and the Israelites have conveniently forgotten how God wiped out the entire Egyptian army at the Red Sea crossing.
“But the Egyptians are men, not God; their horses are flesh, not spirit. When the LORD stretches out His hand, the helper will stumble, and the one he helps will fall; both will perish together.” Not only has God wiped out powerful armies before, but later, God wipes out an army of 185,000 enemy soldiers camped at the walls of Jerusalem, possibly with a cholera epidemic. (2 Kings 19:35 – 37) God is perfectly capable of sending plagues that can eliminate herds of war horses. When necessary, God can send events such as earthquakes and storms that will disrupt any military plans.
“Then Assyria will fall, but not by the sword of man; a sword will devour them, but not one made by mortals. They will flee before the sword, and their young men will be put to forced labor. Their rock will pass away for fear, and their princes will panic at the sight of the battle standard,” declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, whose furnace is in Jerusalem.”
Why don’t the people of Judah trust in the God who has saved them so many times before? The Israelites have two problems: a sin problem and a belief problem, and the two are intimately connected. Refusing to believe in the power of the One True Living God results in people struggling to find other sources of power in which to trust. These struggles will lead to idolatry. The longer people persist in idolatry, the less likely they are to believe in the power of God.
Despite the persistence of unbelief by the people of Judah and Jerusalem, God promises that He will protect Jerusalem. “Like birds hovering overhead, so the LORD of Hosts will protect Jerusalem. He will shield it and deliver it; He will pass over it and preserve it.” Return to the One against whom you have so blatantly rebelled, O children of Israel. For on that day, every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold that your own hands have sinfully made.”
APPLICATION: Recent archaeological studies have revealed that many modern forms of warfare had their beginnings in ancient times – huge Egyptian battleships capable of destroying harbor barriers and launching huge missiles, steam – launched missile launchers, etc. Reliance on military might is as old as Cane and Abel. But God is the One who spoke the universe into existence, and He is far more powerful than any military weapon ever conceived.
In Isaiah’s time, the Assyrians were one of the most powerful empires in the ancient world, but here God is promising that the Assyrians would be wiped out completely. “At the end of the seventh century, the Assyrian empire collapsed under the assault of Babylonians from southern Mesopotamia and Medes, newcomers who were to establish a kingdom in Iran.” (https://metmuseum.org/toah/hd/assy/hd)
Where are we placing our trust? Are we trusting in God or are we being as foolish as the ancient citizens of Judah and Jerusalem? If the recent COVID pandemic has taught us nothing else, it should have taught us that there is no business, no government, no investments that cannot crumble overnight. Only God is eternal.
When I was little, one of my favorite stories was the story of the Three Little Pigs. The first pig built his house of straw, and the Big Bad Wolf simply “huffed and puffed and blew the house down.” The second little pig built his house of sticks with the same result. Only the third little pig was smart enough to build a brick house that could withstand the onslaught of the Big Bad Wolf. Are we as foolish as the first two little pigs?
Psalm 125:1 tells us “They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth forever.” Why not trust in the God who has defeated empires and who continues to rule the universe?
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, let everyone who reads these words put their trust in You, the One eternal God. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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