ISAIAH LESSON 35
We will begin this lesson in Isaiah 31:1 "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!"
We saw in the last lesson that, God is terribly displeased, when
they look to Egypt for help, instead of to Him. As we have said so
many times, Egypt is a type of the world. Notice, this stresses more
than ever that their trust is in the horses and chariots that the
Egyptian army can bring against Assyria. They have turned away from
God, and sought help from the world. The world does not have answers
to problems. They are good at making problems, but they have no
solutions. This seems to be a totally separate prophecy against God's
people trusting in the world {Egypt}. They not only trusted Egypt, but
the did not trust God at all. They had no faith in the Living God.
Isaiah 31:2 "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."
God is not also wise, He is Wisdom. There are no wise who have
not received their wisdom from God. Wisdom is a gift from God.
Worldly wisdom is folly in God's sight. God is not only Wisdom, but is
Truth and Life, as well. When God speaks something, it is established.
He will not retract His Words. He regards His Word above all else. We
have spoken over and over of the blessings for those who obey and
follow God, and the curse that comes against those who rebel against
God. "The house of the evildoers", here, is the Israelites. The help
of them that work iniquity is Egypt.
Isaiah 31:3 "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."
These children have chosen the world over God. They are placing
their trust in things of this world. They have chosen to follow flesh,
instead of spirit. The battle for the will of mankind is between the
flesh and the spirit. In this particular case, they have given their
will over to the flesh. They are trusting in the flesh of horses,
rather than in the Spirit of God. The flesh is weak and cannot save
anyone. We see the judgement God speaks, here, is failure for the
flesh of His children, who cry out to the flesh of the world to help
them, and the flesh that tries to help them. They will both fail. Just
as there were no worldly answers to their problems then, there are no
earthly answers to our problems now. Alcohol and drug problems cannot
be solved in the flesh. They are spiritual problems, that only God
can cure. People who are born of the Spirit of God overcome fleshly
problems, because their hearts are changed. They no longer need drugs
and alcohol to help them face the day, they have the love of Jesus
instead.
Isaiah 31:4 "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 noise of them: so shall the
LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill
thereof."
We know the problem will not go away with the multitude of
worldly counselors. The shepherds have no control over the devil,
except in the use of the name of Jesus. There is no flesh strong
enough to take the prey away from the captor. Only Jesus Christ can do
that. The Lord of hosts will fight for Jerusalem and for His church.
The Lord of hosts will win. The devil is no match for Jesus. Jesus is
the powerful Lion of Judah.
Isaiah 31:5 "As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend
Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver [it; and] passing over he
will preserve it."
This help comes from the sky as a bird that flies. A bird will
hover over its young and protect them. We see that in this. God
protects His own. We see in other Scriptures where the wings hover
over God's people. The bird shows the tender care of the Lord for His
own. God has always protected Jerusalem. His presence in the
wilderness wanderings taught us that. God fights for Jerusalem. His
presence brought victory to His people against their enemies. We can
see a similarity in the passing over and preserving Jerusalem, here,
with the night in Egypt when the Hebrews were protected by their God,
and their first born were spared. God always watches over His own,
whether they are His Hebrew children, or whether they are the
Christians of today.
Isaiah 31:6 "Turn ye unto [him from] whom the children of Israel
have deeply revolted."
The children of Israel were almost constantly falling away from
God, and being forgiven, and restored. He never left them. All they
had to do was repent, and turn to Him, and He would forgive them, and
take them back. II Chronicles 7:14 "If my people, which are called by
my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn
from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive
their sin, and will heal their land." This was a constant promise to
them.
Isaiah 31:7 "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."
Their biggest sin was making false gods out of silver and gold
that they worshipped. God is not something created. He is Creator of
all. Just as they made a golden calf when Moses was on the mount
getting the 10 Commandments, they were still making idols they could
touch and see to worship. God is not something material that you can
touch with natural hands, God is Spirit. John 4:24 "God [is] a Spirit:
and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth."
They will throw away those idols {nothings} made with hands, because
they will realize their error and turn to the One True God.
Isaiah 31:8 "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 from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited."
Assyria will not fall by the efforts of man. God will fight the
Assyrian. They will fall at the Word of God {Sword}. Who can fight
God? No one. God is a consuming fire. It would be no problem to get
the enemy to flee from this Fire of God. This really appears, to me,
to be the Word of God that defeats the enemy, here. Possibly, the
young men shall be captured and held by these sons of God.
Isaiah 31:9 "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."
Zion is Jerusalem, but it is, also, the church of the Living God.
The presence of God in a fire has always been with God's people. He
was a fire by night and a smoke by day. This is speaking of the
presence of God. Elijah called down the fire of God and destroyed the
prophets of Baal. This is the same thing here. The sign is from God.
They are afraid, not of Israel, but of the God of Israel.
Isaiah 35 Questions
1. Woe to them that go down to __________ for help.
2. ________ is a type of the world.
3. They had no faith in the ________ ___.
4. God is not also wise, He is _________.
5. Wisdom is a _______ from God.
6. God regards His ________ above all else.
7. What do those who rebel against God have to look forward to?
8. Who is "the house of the evildoers" mentioned here?
9. The Egyptians are ____, and not God.
10. Their horses are flesh, and not _______.
11. Who will fall, when the LORD stretches forth His hand?
12. The battle for the will of man is between what two things?
13. Alcohol and drug problems are ____________, not fleshly.
14. Who is the only One who can stop those problems?
15. Who overcome fleshly problems?
16. Why are they able to overcome?
17. The only power the shepherds have to overcome is the _______ of
________.
18. Who fights for Jerusalem?
19. Who is the powerful Lion of Judah?
20. What is meant by the bird in verse 5?
21. What similarity is in verse 5 to the night in Egypt, when the
Hebrews were protected?
22. Quote 2 Chronicles chapter 7 verse 14.
23. When was this promise good?
24. What had been their biggest sin?
25. God is not something created, He is _________.
26. Quote John chapter 4 verse 24.
27. What is the meaning of idols?
28. How will the Assyrian fall?
29. What does the sword symbolize?
30. What is Zion?
31. Who destroyed the prophets of Baal?
32. Who are the Assyrians afraid of?
Home