Isaiah 31

1 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 who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, Nor seek the LORD!
2 Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster, And will not call back His words, But will arise against the house of evildoers, And against the help of those who work iniquity.
3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; And their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD stretches out His hand, Both he who helps will fall, And he who is helped will fall down; They all will perish together.God Will Deliver Jerusalem
4 For thus the LORD has spoken to me: “ As a lion roars, And a young lion over his prey (When a multitude of shepherds is summoned against him, He will not be afraid of their voice Nor be disturbed by their noise), So the LORD of hosts will come down To fight for Mount Zion and for its hill.
5 Like birds flying about, So will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem. Defending, He will also deliver it; Passing over, He will preserve it.”
6 Return to Him against whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.
7 For in that day every man shall throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold—sin, which your own hands have made for yourselves.
8 “ Then Assyria shall fall by a sword not of man, And a sword not of mankind shall devour him. But he shall flee from the sword, And his young men shall become forced labor.
9 He shall cross over to his stronghold for fear, And his princes shall be afraid of the banner,” Says the LORD, Whose fire is in Zion And whose furnace is in Jerusalem. Isaiah 31

Man's Help

• Horses
• Chariots
• Horsemen
  

God's Fights for Mount Zion & its Holy Hill

• He Defends it
• He Delivers it
• He Preserves it

Outline

• Man's Wisdom vs. 1
• God's Wisdom vs. 2
• How God views man's strength vs. 3
• How God views His strength vs. 4-5
• Call to repentance vs. 6
• When Christ reigns vs. 7
• Finial Destruction vs. 8-9

Isaiah 30:19-33

19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; You shall weep no more.
He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; When He hears it, He will answer you.
20 And though the Lord gives you The bread of adversity and the water of affliction,
Yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, But your eyes shall see your teachers.
21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “ This is the way, walk in it,”
Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.
22 You will also defile the covering of your images of silver, And the ornament of your molded images of gold. You will throw them away as an unclean thing; You will say to them, “Get away!”
23 Then He will give the rain for your seed With which you sow the ground, And bread of the increase of the earth; It will be fat and plentiful. In that day your cattle will feed In large pastures.
24 Likewise the oxen and the young donkeys that work the ground Will eat cured fodder, Which has been winnowed with the shovel and fan.
25 There will be on every high mountain And on every high hill Rivers and streams of waters, In the day of the great slaughter, When the towers fall.
26 Moreover the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, And the light of the sun will be sevenfold, As the light of seven days, In the day that the LORD binds up the bruise of His people And heals the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD comes from afar, Burning with His anger, And His burden is heavy; His lips are full of indignation, And His tongue like a devouring fire.
28 His breath is like an overflowing stream,
Which reaches up to the neck, To sift the nations with the sieve of futility; And there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, Causing them to err.
29 You shall have a song As in the night when a holy festival is kept, And gladness of heart as when one goes with a flute, To come into the mountain of the LORD, To the Mighty One of Israel.
30 The LORD will cause His glorious voice to be heard, And show the descent of His arm, With the indignation of His anger And the flame of a devouring fire, With scattering, tempest, and hailstones.
31 For through the voice of the LORD Assyria will be beaten down, As He strikes with the rod.
32 And in every place where the staff of punishment passes, Which the LORD lays on him, It will be with tambourines and harps; And in battles of brandishing He will fight with it.
33 For Tophet was established of old, Yes, for the king it is prepared. He has made it deep and large; Its pyre is fire with much wood; The breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, Kindles it. Isaiah 30:19-33

Even though God's chosen people, the children of Israel, are going into captivity, God shows us in these verses what He is doing:

• Gracious vs. 19
• Hears vs. 19
• Gives bread of adversity vs. 20
• Leads vs. 21
• Gives rain vs. 23
• Binds up the bruise vs. 26
• Heals vs. 26

God brings us through a cycle so we will praise Him for the work He is doing.

Adversity -> I hear/seek God -> Repentance -> Praise