On the brink of defeat, Isaiah encouraged Israel to go back to God
Go back to God. That’s one of the predominant themes throughout scripture. Isaiah returns to this message once again, because the Jewish people just weren’t learning their lessons. The prophet often told them that Assyria would attack them. Those warnings were intended to nudge the rebellious people back to the Lord they had abandoned.
The Bible is a very repetitive text. That’s because humanity is a stubborn bunch of proud individuals who don’t easily learn tough lessons. That fact is shown as especially true when we read through books like “the Book of Judges,” in the Old Testament. The people of Israel sinned and fell away from the Lord. Their enemies conquered them and enslaved them. God raised up a judge to help Israel come back to God and punish their enemies. That same cycle repeated in Israel for approximately 400 years. You would think it would get old after a while. But, people being as they are, don’t easily learn without going through hard times.
Let’s see what the prophet had to say this time.
Isaiah 31:1 Leave Egypt. Go back to God.
“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!”
Isaiah warns Israel not to trust in the military might of Egypt. Their horses and chariots will be of no value in the coming war with Assyria. The prophet points them back to “the Holy One of Israel,” but they are not inclined to trust God. That is a common trait amongst all of humanity.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
The Egyptian alliance was, of course, the absorbing topic of the time, and Isaiah returns to it yet again. As in Isaiah 30:16, the princes of Judah were attracted by the prospect of strengthening themselves in their weakest point, and reinforcing the cavalry of Judah, which could hardly be mentioned by an Assyrian ambassador without a smile (Isaiah 36:9), with an Egyptian contingent. Isaiah once more condemns this as trusting in an “arm of flesh “instead of in the “Holy One of Israel.”
Isaiah 31:2 The Lord won’t soften his words, go back to God
“Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words. But will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity.”
Isaiah gives a somber warning about God’s intention and determined will. When the time comes for judgment, the Lord will not waver from his decision. He won’t take back or “call back his words.” “The house of evildoers” is that of the children of Israel. They have continued on their path. Their leadership (see here.) has led them away from God and now the general population is fallen away from the path the Lord intended.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 2. – Yet he also is wise. Intense irony. “Wisdom is not wholly confined to the human counselors whose advice Judah follows (Isaiah 29:14). He (Jehovah) is ‘wise’ too, and could give prudent counsel if his advice were asked.” As he is not consulted, he will bring evil upon his people, and will not call back, or retract, his words of threatening, but will give them accomplishment, by rising up against the house of the evil-doers (i.e. the Jews), and their help (i.e. the Egyptians).
Isaiah 31:3 Earthly help is foolish, go back to God
“Now the Egyptians are men and not God, and their horses are flesh and not a spirit.”
The Egyptians have a fatal flaw. It’s literally fatal, as in, they will die if they try to defend Israel against Assyria. As I stated in a previous article, (here), the time of Egyptian domination ended when Isaiah is penning these words. Israel was foolish enough to trust them.
Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Now the Egyptians are men and not God,… Be it that they are mighty, they are not mighty, as God is; and indeed they are but frail, feeble, mortal, and mutable men, and therefore not to be trusted in, and depended on; or to be put upon an equality with God, and even to be preferred to him, as they were by the Jews; and of what use and service could they be unto them, seeing God was against them?
Isaiah 31:4 The Lord is as a lion among sheep, go back to God
“For thus has the Lord spoken unto me, like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey. When a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them. So shall the Lord of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.”
The king of the jungle is afraid of nothing. Isaiah likens the Lord to a mighty lion, unafraid of pesky defenders when he is determined to strike. It’s alarming to note where the Lord’s judgment is focused on. He’s focused on Zion or Jerusalem. We’ve been led to believe the Lord will protect Jerusalem at all costs and against all enemies. But what if the enemy is within? This is the case for Israel. They were misrepresenting the Lord’s Law. They were poor examples of God’s children and were poor stewards of the temple sacrifices. The Lord intended to judge them. He would be delayed at times, such as when King Hezekiah prayed, but God would not be put off forever.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
To fight for Mount Zion.–The preposition has been differently rendered as for, on, against. The lion in the last case is claiming the sheep as his own prey, and will not suffer interference from without. Jehovah, using the Assyrian armies as His instruments, will fight against Jerusalem, and will not allow the Egyptian allies to interfere with His chastisements. (Comp. Isaiah 29:7-8.) The second clause simply marks Jerusalem as the scene of the conflict but agrees in substance with the first. Looking to the verse that follows, the idea of protection seems more natural than that of hostility. The thought of supreme ownership, however, includes both; Jerusalem belonged to Jehovah to protect or to chastise.
Isaiah 31:5 He defends his own: go back to God
“As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem, defending also he will deliver it. And passing over he will preserve it.”
This verse reminds us why we should read carefully and slowly through the text of God’s Word. That’s if we hope to understand the writer’s meaning and the Lord’s purpose in the words.
A fiction author is strongly encouraged to keep his or her point of view clear so the reader will understand what takes place in the story. If the writer misses this, the reader can be easily confused. The Bible isn’t fiction, despite what some would argue, and the writers rarely adhered to the point-of-view admonitions. The Bible is confusing if you’re not reading it carefully.
When we read the Bible we find the point-of-view can and will change often. So we must read slowly and carefully so that we understand what God’s true intent is. Isaiah has just compared the Lord to a fearsome lion ready to pounce on his prey. His prey was Israel, and in particular, Jerusalem. Now the prophet switches back to the more common understanding of God’s protective position over Jerusalem.
In the end, God will protect Israel, but as we’ve seen often, he will allow their enemies to overwhelm them when it’s appropriate.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 5. – As birds flying; rather, as birds hovering, or fluttering, ever their young, to protect them. A second simile, expressive of tenderness, as the former one was of power and strength. Defending, also, etc. Translate, defending and delivering, passing over and preserving. In the word “passing over” there seems to be a reference to the institution of the Passover, when the angel, sometimes identified with Jehovah himself, “passed ever” and spared the Israelites.
Isaiah 31:6 Many will not, but you can go back to God
“Turn you unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.”
This verse strengthens the argument I made in the last verse. God will judge Israel as a lion on his prey. Then he will protect him as a mother bird hovering over her young. Now, this verse switches the metaphors again. The prophet warns onlookers to turn to the Lord who is bringing judgment. The children of Israel have turned from him. Don’t make the same foolish mistake they made.
Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Turn ye unto him,… From the Egyptians, to whom they sought for help, unto the Lord, they had neglected; from evil ways and practices, idolatry, and impiety, by repentance and reformation; to the true worship of God, to his word and ordinances, statutes and commands. The Targum is,
“turn to the law;”
which they had rejected and broken. These are the words of the prophet, a call of his to the people to repentance, to which they might be induced by the gracious declaration of the Lord unto them, in the preceding verses, promising them preservation and safety:
Isaiah 31:7 Turn from idols and go back to God
“For in that day, every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin.”
In this verse, the prophet begins to turn the attention toward the good end to which God is always focused. During Isaiah’s book of prophecy, we see him warn Israel about four future judgments. Those four judgments get mixed up in the reading and the interpretations.
The four judgments are Assyria, Babylon, Rome, and the Ten Nation Confederacy led by the Antichrist. The last judgment is the primary focus of God’s prophetic scriptures. Everything points to that eventual end. Every judgment is in some ways a type of the last day’s judgment.
I say that because God is not solely interested in Israel but in all of humanity. The last judgment will bring rebellious Israel back into good standing with God. It’s the Lord’s desire that all of humanity will return to him. Rebellious Israel serves as a type for each individual who lives in rebellion against God. We are all prodigals until we return to our Maker.
He knows the future, and so he knows most will refuse his offer of grace and eternal life. (see here.) But the offer is made nonetheless.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) In that day every man shall cast away… .–The act is the same as that of Isaiah 2:20, but with a marked difference of motive: there it springs from the terror of despair, here from the repentance which is the ground of hope.
Isaiah 31:8 When the enemies fell, they went back to God
“Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man, and the sword, not of a low man, shall devour him. But he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited.”
Isaiah mentions the Assyrian, referring to the first judgment. They would desolate the ten northern tribes but fail to destroy Jerusalem. That’s partly because of the humble prayer of King Hezekiah. The Assyrian army would see defeat but not at the hands of a soldier or sword. The angel of the Lord would afflict them and send them back to their country in defeat.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 8. – Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; rather, and Assyria shall fall by the sword of one who is not a man Assyria’s destruction will not be by the visible swords of human enemies but by the invisible sword of God (comp. 2 Kings 19:35). And the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him; rather, and the sword of one who is not a mortal shall detour him – an instance of “synonymous parallelism.” He shall flee; more literally, betake himself to flight. His young men shall be discomfited; rather, as in the margin, shall be for tribute. They shall become the vassals of a foreign power.
Isaiah 31:9 Their enemies ran so Israel returned back to God
“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.”
With their tails between their legs, the great Assyrian army will run back home in fear.
The following is a summary of their stunning defeat.
‘For I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’” Then it happened that night that the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home, and lived at Nineveh…
So, as we can see from history, trusting in any army is futile. Even if they have nice horses like Egypt boasted in. That seems ludicrous now. The same fate awaited Babylon and Rome. The prophets tell us clearly if we read carefully, the future ten-nation confederacy will face the same crushing defeat.
Choose your sides. The prophets told us the winner in advance so your choice should be easy.
Let me know what you think.