Gloriographs by Rick Reynolds

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord! Isaiah 31:1

Isaiah addresses here an issue I’ve long struggled with, even in light of many “miraculous deliverances” from high stress conundrums over the years. I’ll tend to throw everything I’ve got at a problem until I’m at my wit’s end, or, I’ll desperately seek out a way of escape or lean on the assistance of others, only to yet again realize—that is, come to my senses—I should have consulted “the only wise God” (Romans 16:7) in the first place!

Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster and does not retract His words, but will arise against the house of evildoers and against the help of the workers of iniquity. Isaiah 31:2

Actually, there is more danger in relying on other sources of help than the problem itself ! We read on.

Now the Egyptians are men and not God, and their horses are flesh and not spirit; so the Lord will stretch out His hand, and he who helps will stumble and he who is helped will fall, and all of them will come to an end together. Isaiah 31:3

Many times I’ve learned the hard way that God will cause that which is sought for help to fail, and he who seeks help from any other source than Him to falter.

“As the lion or the young lion growls over his prey, against which a band of shepherds is called out, and he will not be terrified at their voice nor disturbed at their noise, so will the Lord of hosts come down to wage war on Mount Zion and on its hill.” Isaiah 31:4

The hopelessness of our position when we act in our own strength is illustrated by Isaiah’s imagery of a lion clutching his captured prey. No amount of calling out or cajoling will draw the beast away from it. But this is also to illustrate how fixated our God is on righting wrongs that impact His children. He’s unflinching, unyielding, and unbending in his resolve to protect his flock. Be assured God will have his say, and, He will have his way.

Yet, why is this is so hard to learn this so that it becomes instinctive? Take Hezekiah, for example, who had tried to fend off the marauding king of Assyria, Sennacherib, with a potential alliance with Egypt.

Then Rabshakeh (Sennacherib’s representative) said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, what is this confidence that you have? You say (but they are only empty words), ‘I have counsel and strength for the war.’ Now on whom do you rely, that you have rebelled against me? Now behold, you rely on the staff of this crushed reed, even on Egypt; on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him.” 2 Kings 18:19–21

Egypt was not an option even with its horses, horsemen, and chariots, because they were not God nor were their horses His Spirit. (Isaiah 31:3)

Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. 2 Kings 19:14

In the end, when Sennacherib had issued his final written ultimatum to the king, Hezekiah took it to the temple and physically laid it out before the Lord and prayed.

“Now, O Lord our God, I pray, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O Lord, are God.” 2 Kings 19:19

Remember, the Israelites had already been taught a lesson in their exodus from Egypt. Chased by strong men on chariots drawn by powerful horses, still they were no match for the all powerful God of the universe who parted and closed the sea behind them. I can look back and fail to have enough fingers to count how many times my God, the same God discussed here, extricated me from literal and figurative “destruction.”

I’d venture to guess it’s high time we all learned this lesson!

5 Like flying birds so the Lord of hosts will protect Jerusalem. He will protect and deliver it; He will pass over and rescue it. 6 Return to Him from whom you have deeply defected, O sons of Israel.Isaiah 31:5–6

Is God your “go to?”