Isaiah 30:1 - Meaning and Application

It was often the fault and folly of the Jewish people that, when one neighbor insulted them, they looked for help from another neighbor instead of turning to God and trusting him. Against the Israelites they turned to Syria (2 Kings 16:2-3). Against Syria they turned to Assyria (2 Kings 16:7). Here, against Assyria, they turned to Egypt, and Rabshakeh, an Assyrian commander, mocked them for it (2 Kings 18:21).

Notice, first, how this sin is described, and what made it so offensive to God. When they were in danger and distress, they would not seek God’s guidance. They acted on their own, even though they had a clear and certain way to ask God through the Urim, a priestly means of guidance, or through the prophets. They trusted their own plans so much that they thought it was unnecessary to ask God. In fact, they did not want to be answered by him.

They took counsel from each other, but they did not ask God. They made their own shelter, hoping to protect themselves from the storm, but not from the Spirit of God, speaking through the prophets. So their covering would be too short, and their refuge would prove false. They also could not rely on God. They did not think it was enough to have God on their side, and they were not concerned to make him their friend. Instead, they strengthened themselves in Pharaoh’s strength. They saw Egypt’s protection as a shield, though it was only a weak shadow.

Second, see how evil this sin was. It showed that they were rebellious children, and a woe is spoken against them under that name (Isaiah 30:1). They were called God’s children, but because they would not trust him, they rightly showed themselves rebellious. If we distrust God’s care, we are, in effect, turning away from our duty to him.

They also added sin to sin. Their trouble came because of sin, and instead of repenting, they kept sinning against the Lord (2 Chronicles 28:22). Those who have misused God’s kindness by feeding their own desires also misuse their troubles by turning them into excuses for distrust. In that way, they make their guilt worse. They add sin to sin, and as they load up their own burden, it is just for God to make their punishments heavy.

What made their sin worse was, first, how much effort they put into securing Egypt as an ally. They walked and traveled far to arrange this plan, but they never asked whether God approved it. Second, they spent a great deal to make it happen (Isaiah 30:6). They loaded the beasts of the south, that is, animals carrying treasures south toward Egypt, with their riches. Like people who are frightened, they thought they were safer anywhere else than where they were.

Or they may have sent their wealth there as gifts to Pharaoh’s officials, to win their support, or as payment for soldiers. God would have helped them freely, but if they chose Egyptian help, they would have to pay dearly for it. And wealth spent that way would not serve them well. They carried their goods through a land of trouble and anguish, that great wilderness between Canaan and Egypt, where lions and fiery serpents lived (Deuteronomy 8:15). They were willing to risk that danger to bring their riches to Egypt.

Or the phrase may refer to Egypt itself, which had once been a house of bondage and therefore a land of trouble and anguish, full of dangerous creatures. See what dangers people run into when they abandon God, and what dangers they will face when they cling to worldly trusts and creaturely help.

Third, consider the result. The Egyptians received their messengers kindly and were willing to negotiate (Isaiah 30:4). Their princes were at Zoan, Pharaoh’s court, and they were given an audience with the king, who encouraged them to rely on his friendship and the help he promised. But Egypt would not meet their expectations. It could not help them (Isaiah 30:5). And when God says it will not help them (Isaiah 30:6), that settles it, for every created thing is only what he makes it to be.

The troops Egypt was to send may not have been ready in time. Or, if they were gathered, they may not have been fit for battle. Or Egypt may not have been willing to send its best soldiers. Or the journey may have been too long for aid to arrive when needed. Or the Egyptians may not have been loyal, but secretly leaned toward Assyria for some reason. In the end, Egypt’s help would be useless, vain, and pointless (Isaiah 30:7). It would hurt instead of helping.

So these people, who were now so eager for Egypt’s friendship, would later be ashamed of both Egypt and their own confidence in it (Isaiah 30:3). Pharaoh’s strength, which they boasted in, would become their shame. Their neighbors would mock them, and they would blame themselves for trusting it. Egypt’s shadow, that land described as shadowing with wings (Isaiah 18:1), would end in confusion. It would not only fail them, but also weaken their other supports and bring harm.

God later threatened Egypt’s ruin for this very reason, because it had dealt treacherously with Israel and become like a broken reed for them (Ezekiel 29:6-7). The princes and messengers of Israel, so eager to make an alliance, would see Egypt’s weakness, or rather its baseness, and be ashamed of a people that could neither help nor profit them, but only bring reproach (Isaiah 30:5).

Those who trust God, his power, his care, and his promises are never put to shame for hoping in him. But those who rely on any creature will sooner or later find that trust to be a disgrace. God is true and can be trusted. Every man is a liar and must be watched carefully. The Creator is an everlasting rock, but the creature is a broken reed. We cannot expect too little from man, and we cannot expect too much from God.

Fourth, here is the lesson and warning from all this (Isaiah 30:7). “Therefore I have cried out about this matter, this plan of theirs. I have made it known so all would notice it. I have pressed it hard, as one who means what he says.”

Their strength is to sit still, to depend humbly on God and his goodness, and to submit quietly to his will. They should not run around in distress, putting themselves to great trouble to seek help from one person or another. If we stay still in a time of trouble, hoping in the Lord’s salvation and waiting quietly for it, while using only lawful and proper means to protect ourselves, that will strengthen our souls for both duty and suffering. It will also bring God’s strength to our side.

We weaken ourselves, and make God withdraw from us, when we make human strength our support, because then our hearts turn away from the Lord. After we have worn ourselves out by looking for help from created things, we will find it best to recover by resting in the Creator. Then we can say, “Here I am, let him do with me as he pleases.”