Slices
Prepare
Today’s reading speaks of God hovering like a bird over Jerusalem, shielding it with his wings. Picture yourself sheltered under the wings of the Lord Almighty, protected from all harm. Let him quieten your fears.
Bible passage
Woe to those who rely on Egypt
31 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.
2 Yet he 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.
3 But the Egyptians are mere mortals and not God;
their horses are flesh and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,
those who help will stumble,
those who are helped will fall;
all will perish together.
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 clamour –
so the Lord Almighty will come down
to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.
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.’
6 Return, you Israelites, to the One you have so greatly revolted against. 7 For in that day every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold your sinful hands have made.
8 ‘Assyria will fall by no human sword;
a sword, not of mortals, will devour them.
They will flee before the sword
and their young men will be put to forced labour.
9 Their stronghold will fall because of terror;
at the sight of the battle standard their commanders will panic,’
declares the Lord,
whose fire is in Zion,
whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
Explore
A small, beleaguered nation faces a far stronger enemy and turns to a neighbour for help. Egypt has a multitude of chariots, horses and muscle-bound horsemen. An alliance would give the Israelites a fighting chance of survival. Horses, chariots and strong men seem like a safe bet. They can be experienced through the five senses. They seem a good match for the scale of the threat. What could be wrong about that?
What is wrong is that Israel is choosing Egypt over God (vs 1,6). In trusting Egypt they are explicitly disbelieving that divine power can defeat the strength of ‘mere mortals’ (v 3) and disobeying God’s clear and very specific instruction that they never return to Egypt for horses (Deuteronomy 17:16).
The lesson from this historical episode is not that we must choose between taking out an insurance policy and trusting God. Or that nations shouldn’t form alliances as they did in the First and Second World Wars. Trusting God means obeying him on those things he has made clear to us, including discarding idolatry (31:7), regardless of whether we want to or understand his reasoning.
Respond
Where in your life are you knowingly disregarding God’s commands because you think there is a better way to handle things? What would it look like to really trust him?
Deeper Bible study
What is the most trusting relationship in your life right now? What makes it so?
It would be easy to read this passage and think, ‘There they go again, trusting Egypt instead of God; won’t Israel ever learn?’, but let’s make this personal. What’s your biggest worry right now? The biggest threat to your security and way of life? Lost job? Health problem? Family conflict? A lawsuit? Climate crisis? No doubt you are praying about your biggest concern – but are you really trusting God to solve it?
If a weak faith in God’s power to save was Israel’s only failing, perhaps the message of judgement would not have been so harsh (v 1), but there was something else: Israel had rejected God and turned to idols for help (vs 6,7). That was the real problem. Think again of the biggest threat to your security; is there something other than God that makes you feel safe and secure? Isaiah is challenging his hearers and us to trust God in the face of any problem. He’s more than able to remove the Assyrias from our lives (vs 8,9).
Why does God do it? Why does he continually rescue his people (vs 4,5) despite their habit of turning away from him? Recently I heard a radio interview with the author of Beautiful Boy, a book written by a father who goes to incredible lengths to rescue his son from an addiction to methamphetamines. Time and again, the son lies, steals, relapses and crashes. The father was exasperated, overwhelmed, angry at times, but never gives up and in the end saves him. I had tears in my eyes by the end, because it was a picture of God. Humans are addicted to sin and our only hope is that we have a Father who wants to save us. That’s why we should trust him first, foremost and for ever.
List the things that threaten your sense of security. Circle the one that worries you most. What will it take to trust God first, foremost and for ever in that?
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Daniel 8,9; 3 John
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for SU’s partners in the gospel using the words of Philippians 1:3–6: I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
