Isaiah 31:1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,
who rely on horses,
who trust in the multitude of their chariots
and in the great strength of their horsemen,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel,
or seek help from the Lord.
Woe to those who rely on America.[1] Egypt was the regional superpower south of Isaiah's country in Isaiah's day; America is the global superpower south of us today. This passage could easily read:
Woe to those who go down to the States (or anyone else) for help,
who rely on armies,
who trust in the multitude of their tanks, airplanes, WMD
and in the great strength of their military,
but do not look to the Holy One,
or seek help from the Lord.
Verse 2: Yet He [GOD] too is wise and can bring disaster;
He does not take back His words.
He will rise up against that wicked nation
against those who help evildoers.
Verse 3: But the Egyptians [Americans] are mere mortals and not God;
their horses are flesh and [their armour is steel and depleted uranium] not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,
those who help will stumble,
those who are helped will fall;
all will perish together.
I think this is applicable today and still important on a global scale. I remember when Canada defied international law in order to help the US invade Yugoslavia - I was working at Defence Research at CFB Esquimalt at the time. I remember when Canada pretended that we weren't helping the US during the second Iraq War but our navy was firing on Iraq from the gulf. Canadians can sometimes get a little smug claiming to be better than the Americans but since the 1990s regardless of who has been in power here and regardless of who has been in power there we have been faithful contributors to their war efforts. We are a loyal colony. Like Israel supported and relied on Egypt their regional superpower so too Canada supports and relies on the States today.
This passage is speaking about international affairs and the futility of relying on the international powers[2] but I am not going to spend much more of our time here speaking about global politics. I think what this passage has to say also contains a warning or two to us as individuals.
- Woe to those who rely on others for help rather than the Lord (Verse 1)
- Woe to those who support the powerful in doing evil (Verse 2)
The need to rely on the Lord is integral to this pericope;[3] it is a constant refrain in both the New Testament and the Old Testament; the Pentateuch and the Gospels. What are some of the ways that we may find ourselves failing to do this? What are some of the ways we can be tempted to rely on someone or something instead of God?
Do we ever get bullied or pressured by a family member or a friend? Do we ever know what God wants us to do but someone close to us cajoles or castigates us so much that we give into them? Do we ever know what is the right thing to do, but get led astray to do something other than that? (Interestingly enough after I had drafted my talk and when I was reflecting on my topic for today I received a note in a cookie that said just about that...) Do we ever know what is the right thing to do, but get led astray to do something other than that? I think of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3). Eve was led astray by the serpent and then Adam (who was told directly by God and did know better) gave into the suggestion or implied pressure from the snake and/or his wife – she just handed him the fruit and he ate it! He knew what was better but he chose what was worse. I think of Jezebel who helped Ahab stray (1 Kings 16-21; 2 Kings 9) and Solomon’s wives who walked with him down the aisle of Sin (1 Kings 11). These men are without excuse because they did know better but they chose worse.
Do we ever have classmates who cajole or bully us to skip class, not study for a test, procrastinate working on an assignment and come out and play with them instead?
How about workmates? The same question: Do we know that we shouldn’t go out partying the night before work but succumb to cajoling or pressure and so choose worse even when we know better. I know in my own life there have been times when I know that God has given me the time to get work done but I gave in to others and failed in my responsibilities.
Also at work do we know that we shouldn’t leave early but ‘everyone else does’ or we know that we shouldn’t take longer or more than the allowed break ‘but everyone else does’ or we want to work faster but everyone else works slower? I remember being an independent contractor at different government jobs once upon a time and being castigated because we did too much work! We finished our task too quickly! We needed to take more breaks! Work or (non-work!) at the same pace as everyone else! Do we ever give into the temptation to not do what the Lord would say is best but instead let ourselves be led astray by the power and influence of others in our lives? Edouard Nsiku reminds us that we often assume that joining the majority or large numbers are a sign of success but God is not impressed by numbers. In this case it is just more people led astray![4]
Do we sometimes doubt what we know to be true and get led astray that way? Do we sometimes think that, ‘well… that person must know more than I do they are so confident’ and it turns out that they were completely incorrect!? Do we know better, convince ourselves otherwise, and then do worse?
Do we sometimes know what is right and still do what is wrong? Do we sometimes act, feel, and make ourselves powerless to do what is right, relying instead on the power, influence, enticement or nagging of our spouse or friends? Do we bow to those we ascribe power in our lives - or do we remember that the Lord is more powerful and serve Him alone? When we know better, do we choose worse?
Do we make our decisions based on our cheque books? Do we know that we should tithe, give to a good cause, or help someone out but decide instead that we need the money for ourselves? Do we know better and choose worse? Are we controlled by our money?
Do we ever need to keep up with the Jones’? This can relate to letting money make our decisions for us but it can also just speak again to peer pressure. The power of our peers - are we overpowered by it?
Do we make our decisions based on fear or insecurity? God is more powerful than whatever we are afraid of. Are we afraid of being broke or out on the street? Are we afraid of breaking the law, social conventions, or offending someone if it is right to do otherwise? Are we insecure in our opinions, beliefs and actions? If we are, do we turn to others for security or do we turn to the Lord?
This is some of what God is saying through Isaiah here. Judah is insecure in her military might; so instead of turning to the Lord for help she turns to Egypt.
Canada as recently as 1967 publicly recognized the role of God in our society with the establishment of the Order of Canada, citing Hebrews 11; in 1982 we further affirmed the role of God in Canadian society in our constitution. But just two years later in 1984 we joined Egypt/America in the first of our successive and ever-growing Free Trade Agreements that have been drawing us closer and closer to US society at the same time as we are seemingly drifting further and further from the Lord in our society. That might be a coincident. It might not.
Even if the US is a great country and even if they do follow God, if we rely on them instead of on God, we are making a fatal mistake.
Judah in our text is both:
- Relying on the powerful for help rather than the Lord (verse 1)
- Supporting the powerful in doing evil (verse 2)
As a nation we do need to seek the Lord first and thus not support even powerful nations if they are doing bad things even if those powerful nations occupy our own country militarily and even if those powerful nations are our closest friends and family.
As a church and a congregation we do need to seek the Lord first and not support even powerful churches or movements if they are doing bad things or supporting bad things even if those powerful religious movements occupy our own media feeds and even if members of those powerful religious movements are our closest friends and family.
As individuals we do need to seek the Lord first and not support even influential people in our own lives if they are doing bad things even if those people occupy an important part of our heart and even if they are our closest friends and family. We need to rely on the Lord and not get swept up into self-reliance or relying on anything or anyone else in place of the Lord. No one else can save us.
Verse 4: This is what the Lord says to me:
“As a lion growls,
a great lion over its prey—
and though a whole band of shepherds
is called together against it,
it is not frightened by their shouts
or disturbed by their clamor—
so the Lord Almighty will come down
to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.
Whatever the struggles in our lives – and there are real struggles in our lives: loneliness; grief; anxiety; depression; nightmares, flashbacks, sadness; finances; interpersonal strife; worries; physical ailments, pain, and fatigue… - whatever the struggles in our lives; God is able to handle them. Do you believe that? God is more powerful than the lion who can hold off a whole flock of shepherds! God is more powerful than any person or problem in our life! Whatever we are struggling with in this world we can turn to God and He can help us. He is able, more than able to handle what concerns us today.[5]
Verse 5: Like birds hovering overhead,
the Lord Almighty will shield Jerusalem;
He will shield it and deliver it,
He will ‘pass over’ it and will rescue it.”
Like birds hovering overhead, the Lord Almighty will shield us in our times of struggle, He will deliver us through our times of struggle; He will Passover our struggles like the Angel of God passed over the Israelites in Egypt and He will rescue us.
So if there are any of us here who have been trying to deal with some real difficult things all on our own or by relying on something or someone else other than the Lord and if you are struggling, God wants you to know that you can turn to Him, He knows your name, He loves you and He will help you through whatever struggles you have today.
Let us pray.
[1]Gene M. Tucker, NIB VI: The Book of Isaiah 1-39, (Abingdon Press, Nashville, Tenn: 2001), 262
[2] Gene M. Tucker, NIB VI: The Book of Isaiah 1-39, (Abingdon Press, Nashville, Tenn: 2001), 259
[3] Edouard Kitoko Nsiku , 'Isaiah', Africa Bible Commentary, (Nairobi, Kenya: Word Alive Publishers, 2010), 857
[4] Cf. Edouard Kitoko Nsiku , 'Isaiah', Africa Bible Commentary, (Nairobi, Kenya: Word Alive Publishers, 2010), 858
[5] Cf. Walter Brueggemann, WBC: Isaiah 1-39, (Louisville, Kentucky, USA: Westminster John Know Press, 1998), 251.
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