Isaiah Chapter 31
Showing all 9 verses for Isaiah Chapter 31.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"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! "
"Disaster is coming for those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they're many and in horsemen because they're very strong - but who don't look to the Holy One of Israel or seek the LORD."
Before you count up your resources and options, ask the more basic question of whether you've actually sought real guidance at all. Planning carefully means nothing if it's built entirely around what you can see and control while ignoring what matters most.
"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. "
"Yet he too is wise, and he will bring disaster, and he won't take back his words - he will rise up against the household of evildoers, and against the help given by those who do wrong."
You can't out-strategise consequences with cleverness alone - real wisdom sees further than tactical calculation, and its word holds. Build your plans on something deeper than clever manoeuvring.
"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. "
"The Egyptians are human, not God; their horses are flesh, not spirit. When the LORD stretches out his hand, the helper will stumble and the one being helped will fall, and they will all perish together."
Human help has real value, but it was never meant to bear the full weight of your deepest security - that's simply not what it's built for. Know the difference between what people can genuinely offer you and what only something greater than any of us can provide.
"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. "
"For this is what the LORD has told me: like a lion or young lion growling over its prey, undaunted even when a whole band of shepherds is called out against it, unafraid of their shouting or noise - so the LORD of Heaven's Armies will come down to fight for Mount Zion and its hill."
The real protection available to you was never about assembling enough outside resources - it's already fierce, already committed, already unafraid on your behalf. Stop scrambling for reinforcements you don't actually need.
"As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it. "
"Like birds flying overhead, so the LORD of Heaven's Armies will defend Jerusalem - defending it, he will rescue it; passing over it, he will preserve it."
Real strength isn't only fierce, it's also tender - I can be both fully committed to fighting for you and gentle enough to hover over you with care. You don't have to choose between being protected and being cared for; both are on offer.
"Turn ye unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. "
"Turn back to him, you children of Israel, from whom you have deeply rebelled."
However far you feel you've wandered from what's true and good, the invitation to turn back is still open - the depth of the distance doesn't cancel the offer. Come back; that's the whole point of everything that's been said.
"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. "
"For on that day, everyone will throw away their idols of silver and idols of gold, which your own hands made for yourselves as a sin."
Some of what holds you back, you built yourself, often without realising it at the time - and real freedom starts with honestly recognising that, not blaming it entirely on outside forces. Take responsibility for what you've made your own security, and you gain the power to let it go.
"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. "
"Then the Assyrian will fall by a sword, but not one wielded by a mighty man; a sword not of a mere human will devour him - he will flee from the sword, and his young men will be put to forced labour."
Sometimes the resolution to what threatens you comes from a source you never anticipated, in a way you couldn't have engineered through your own effort. Stay open to being helped in ways that don't match the plan you were so sure you needed.
"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. "
"His stronghold will melt away from fear, and his officials will be terrified at the sight of the battle standard, says the LORD, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem."
The real source of strength and protection in your life isn't something you have to go and fetch from far away - it can already be present at the very centre of where you stand. Look there first, before you go searching anywhere else.