Isaiah 31:1-9
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!
2 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.
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 helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together.
4 For thus hath 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 noisea of them: so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.
5 As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.
6 Turn ye unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.
7 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.
8 Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee fromb the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited.
9 And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.
Isaiah 31:1. Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help. This was a sin in open defiance of the law. Deuteronomy 28:68. It was a great revolt of unbelief, because it distrusted the Lord, and all his wondrous works, to trust in an arm of flesh. By consequence, the prohibition has a strong bearing on the christian church in times of trouble.
Isaiah 31:9. The Lord, whose fire is in Zion. He had promised to be about his church as a wall of fire, while the wicked have only a fire and sparks of their own kindling. Zechariah 2:5; Isaiah 10:17; Isaiah 50:11.
REFLECTIONS.
This chapter contains a portion of another prediction, during the time of the Assyrian invasion. It was written before Sennacherib had entered the boundaries of Egypt. We may here see that no nation can fall, till the invader first receives his commission from heaven. Then precaution is vain; and efforts of defence, by falling into the enemy's hands, encrease his power. Here the reliance on Egypt is rationally reproved, for the Lord was king in Jeshurun. He had ever defended his people, when they called upon him by sincere repentance; and the Egyptians being but men, could not deliver the Israelites, unless the Egyptians were first helped of the Lord. Let this teach the sick man not to trust in physicians, and the rich man not to confide in wealth; yea, let it teach the church of God not to put confidence in princes, for the whole of our earthly dependence is but an arm of flesh.
There is no need to trust in man, for the Lord will roar for the safety of Zion, as the young lion roareth for his prey; and come swiftly to succour her, as the bird flies to cover her young in the moment of danger.
God promises to defeat the Assyrian, but not with the sword; and yet he fled to his strong cities for fear of the sword. Seeing the flower of his army fall in one fatal night, he thought Hezekiah would pursue.
But there was an ensign or royal standard which he feared more than that of Hezekiah, or of Pharaoh. This was the flames of fire, which have ever surrounded the Lord as the banner of victory. Oh my soul, be careful to retain that token of the divine favour, and thou shalt not be afraid of Satan nor all his host. Only walk with God, and thou shalt be exalted in righteousness, and all thine enemies shall fall at thy feet.