When God’s People Shop for Security in All the Wrong Places
What’s Isaiah 31 about?
Isaiah delivers a scathing critique of Judah’s leaders who are looking to Egypt’s military might instead of trusting God’s protection. It’s a timeless warning about where we place our ultimate security and what happens when we trust in human strength over divine faithfulness.
The Full Context
Picture Jerusalem around 701 BC. The Assyrian war machine is steamrolling through the ancient Near East, and Judah’s leaders are panic-shopping for allies. Egypt, with its legendary cavalry and chariots, looks like the perfect security plan. Isaiah watches this political maneuvering with the kind of horror you’d feel seeing someone try to stop a freight train with a paper umbrella.
This chapter sits right in the heart of Isaiah’s “Woe” oracles (chapters 28-35), where he systematically dismantles every false foundation his people are building their hopes on. The literary structure is masterful – Isaiah contrasts human strength with divine power, earthly alliances with heavenly protection, and temporary solutions with eternal security. The prophet isn’t just critiquing foreign policy; he’s exposing the deeper spiritual crisis that drives people to seek ultimate security anywhere but in God.
What the Ancient Words Tell Us
The opening word hoy (woe) hits like a funeral bell. This isn’t just disapproval – it’s the sound of inevitable judgment. When Isaiah says “those who go down to Egypt,” the Hebrew verb yarad carries the weight of spiritual descent. They’re not just traveling south geographically; they’re going down spiritually, morally, existentially.
The phrase “they do not look to the Holy One of Israel” uses the verb nabat, which means to gaze intently, to examine carefully. It’s the kind of looking you do when you’re trying to read fine print or spot something in the distance. Isaiah is saying they’ve become spiritually nearsighted – they can see Egypt’s horses clearly but can’t make out God’s face.
Grammar Geeks
The Hebrew word for “horses” (susim) and “chariots” (rekeb) appear together throughout Scripture as symbols of military might. But here’s the kicker – the root of sus connects to ideas of swiftness and skipping, like a horse prancing. Isaiah might be subtly mocking their “prancing” confidence in what amounts to elaborate parade horses when facing the Assyrian war machine.
What Would the Original Audience Have Heard?
To Judah’s leaders, Egypt represented everything impressive about human civilization. Egyptian engineering had built the pyramids. Egyptian medicine was legendary. Egyptian military technology was cutting-edge. When you’re a small nation caught between superpowers, aligning with Egypt feels like the smart money bet.
But Isaiah’s audience would have also heard echoes of their own history. Egypt wasn’t just a potential ally – it was the place of their slavery, the land God delivered them from. Turning back to Egypt for salvation is like an abuse survivor running back to their abuser for protection from a new threat. The irony would have been devastating.
The prophet’s words about God “coming down to fight” would have evoked memories of Mount Sinai, where God’s presence literally descended to meet Moses. When Isaiah says God will “hover over Jerusalem” like birds protecting their young, he’s using imagery every parent could viscerally understand – the fierce, instinctive protection of a mother bird shielding her nest.
Did You Know?
Archaeological evidence shows that during this period, Egyptian military technology was actually becoming outdated. Their bronze weapons and lighter chariots were increasingly ineffective against Assyrian iron weaponry and heavier cavalry. Judah’s leaders were essentially betting on last generation’s iPhone to compete with the latest model.
But Wait… Why Did They Choose Egypt?
Here’s what’s genuinely puzzling about this whole scenario: Why Egypt? Judah had other options for alliances, and Egypt had a track record of being an unreliable ally. The Egyptians had a habit of making big promises and then failing to deliver when their partners needed them most.
The answer reveals something profound about human psychology under pressure. Egypt offered something the other potential allies didn’t: visible strength. You could see the horses, count the chariots, measure the army’s size. Faith in God, by contrast, requires trusting in invisible realities. When you’re scared, tangible trumps transcendent every time.
There’s also a status element at play. An alliance with Egypt carried prestige in the ancient Near East. It was like getting invited to sit at the cool kids’ table. Trusting in God might be theologically correct, but it doesn’t give you the same diplomatic bragging rights at the royal court.
Wait, That’s Strange…
Isaiah describes God’s protection using bird imagery – hovering, protecting, delivering. But the Hebrew word ganan (to hover protectively) is typically used for eagles, not the gentle doves we might picture. Eagles don’t just nurture; they’re fierce predators. God’s protective love isn’t soft and sentimental – it’s powerful and potentially dangerous to anyone threatening His people.
Wrestling with the Text
The hardest part of this chapter isn’t understanding what Isaiah means – it’s accepting how accurately it diagnoses our own tendencies. We live in an Egypt-trusting culture. We instinctively look to visible, measurable, controllable sources of security: bank accounts, insurance policies, political alliances, military strength, technological solutions.
Isaiah forces us to confront an uncomfortable question: What are the “horses and chariots” we’re trusting in? What visible securities are we clinging to instead of cultivating deeper faith? The prophet isn’t advocating for irresponsible living – he’s challenging misplaced ultimate trust.
The promise in verses 4-5 is particularly striking. God doesn’t promise to remove the threat (the Assyrians are still out there). Instead, He promises to be present in the threat. Like a lion that refuses to be scared away from its prey, God will not be intimidated by the size of the enemy or the scope of the crisis.
How This Changes Everything
This chapter reframes how we think about security and strength. Real security isn’t found in accumulating more resources or forming better alliances – it’s found in aligning ourselves with the God who controls all resources and stands above all earthly powers.
But notice how Isaiah describes what authentic trust looks like. It’s not passive resignation. In verse 6, he calls for active repentance: “Turn back to him you have so greatly revolted against.” Real faith requires turning away from false securities and actively reorienting our lives around God’s priorities.
The chapter’s climax comes when Isaiah describes what will happen to the “horses and chariots” they’re trusting in: they’ll stumble and fall together. Human strength has an expiration date. Even the most impressive earthly power is temporary. But God’s protection endures because it’s rooted in His unchanging character, not shifting political circumstances.
“We think security comes from having more options, but Isaiah suggests it comes from choosing the right option.”
The transformation Isaiah envisions isn’t just personal – it’s communal. When God’s people stop trusting in earthly powers and start trusting in divine protection, it changes how they relate to their neighbors, their enemies, and their own futures. They become people who can afford to be generous because they’re not hoarding resources against an uncertain future. They can risk loving their enemies because their ultimate security doesn’t depend on defeating them.
Key Takeaway
True security isn’t found in multiplying our options or strengthening our defenses, but in trusting the God whose love is both powerful enough to protect us and faithful enough to never abandon us.
Further Reading
Internal Links:
External Scholarly Resources:
- Isaiah 1-39: An Exegetical Commentary by John Oswalt
- The Message of Isaiah by Barry Webb
- Isaiah: The NIV Application Commentary by John Oswalt
Tags
Isaiah 31:1, Isaiah 31:4-5, Isaiah 31:6, trust, security, idolatry, Egypt, horses and chariots, divine protection, repentance, false security, faith, deliverance
