Day 183: Isaiah 31- God Keeps Crazy Promises

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord! 2 And yet he is wise and brings disaster; he does not call back his words, but will arise against the house of the evildoers and against the helpers of those who work iniquity. 3 The Egyptians are man, and not God, and their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out his hand, the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall, and they will all perish together. 4 For thus the Lord said to me, “As a lion or a young lion growls over his prey, and when a band of shepherds is called out against him he is not terrified by their shouting or daunted at their noise so the Lord of hosts will come down to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill.

5 Like birds hovering, so the Lord of hosts will protect Jerusalem; he will protect and deliver it; he will spare and rescue it.” 6 Turn to him from whom people have deeply revolted, O children of Israel. 7 For in that day everyone shall cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you. 8 “And the Assyrian shall fall by a sword, not of man; and a sword, not of man, shall devour him;
and he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be put to forced labor.


9 His rock shall pass away in terror, and his officers desert the standard in panic,” declares the Lord, whose fire is in Zion, and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
 
Meditation
Do not blink or you miss it- God makes a crazy promise in this passage. God’s promises are spoken, not screamed. If we are not careful God’s promises will get lost. We can miss the power in God’s promise if our hearts are not tuned by grace.
 
God took Judah’s biggest threat, Assyria, and promised they would be defeated without God’s people needing to fight. (8). God promised the strongest empire in the world would fall by a Heavenly sword. This is preposterous! But it is exactly what happens. In Isaiah 37:36 we see OVER 185,000 Assyrian soldiers killed by the Angel of the Lord. The survivors flee. God wins. God is faithful to every word of His promises.
 
The steps for the people of Judah to access the promises of God are our steps too:
 
Remember God’s promises and trust His faithfulness! Like the prodigal son who needed to come to his senses so we must get up, shake the dust off our faith, and remember the depth of the Love of God for us!
 
Repent from turning to places other than the Lord for Help and Hope (1-3). These can be physical places like Egypt OR spiritual strongholds like idols (7).
 
Return to the Lord who fights for us (4-6). The Lord will protect and deliver! And He will do it in a way that demonstrates it is ONLY His grace and mercy.
 
Richly Dwelling
-Do you miss God’s promises, distracted by other details of life? How can you grow in remembering?
 
-What do you need to repent of, physical or spiritual strongholds, that have kept you from trusting God and His promises?
 
-Return to the Lord. In prayer, take your heart and put it in the hands of the Lord. He cares for you! And will fight for you. He is faithful to every word of His promises!!
 
Key Verse
8 “And the Assyrian shall fall by a sword, not of man; and a sword, not of man, shall devour him; and he shall flee from the sword…