"A Faithful, Frustrated Father" May 18 Readings: Isaiah 28-32

Today's Reading - Isaiah 28-32

Background

The oracles of Isaiah scan the globe and announce God's judgement all around. But now God is turning to the sins of his own people, primarily of the soon-to-be destroyed Israel and the idolatrous Judah.

Devotional

If God had demonstrated anything to Israel throughout the years, it was that he always had a plan and could be counted on when things got rough.

When the Hebrews were in bondage in Egypt, God had a plan. It was an odd one. He sent a felonious fugitive, one who had been on the lam for 40 years as a shepherd in Midian, armed with nothing but a staff. It seemed like a foolish plan but it worked.

When the next generation of Hebrews was beside the raging waters of the Jordan at flood stage, God had a plan. Again, it was unusual, calling for four men to hoist the ark on their backs and step into the river. But his plan was good again. As soon as the men stepped into the river, the flood waters were dammed and the people went through on dry ground. God's plan worked.

Not long thereafter, Israel was confronted with a problem - the walled city of Jericho in the Jordan Valley. Wouldn't you know it, God had a plan. It was not the kind of plan a military genius might recommend, of course. God told Israel to march around the city once a day for six days and seven times on the seventh day and voila, the walls came a-tumbling down. God's plan worked.

God always had a plan. He sent Gideon out with 300 men against a vast Midianite army. He sent David against Goliath with a slingshot. It didn't much matter who the enemy was, God had always had a plan and his plans always worked.

As Isaiah gave his prophecies, a new threat was descending from the north - Assyria. Evidently, whatever repentance God brought to their capital of Nineveh was now history and this mighty army was bent on conquest. The people of Israel - the northern kingdom comprised of ten tribes - would be overwhelmed and scattered into the four corners of the world. Next on the list was Judah.

What do you think Judah did at this point? Of course, with a millennium of God's faithfulness to the Hebrews to bank on, they turned to God, called out for his help and cast themselves upon his mercy. Right? Uh...well...no.

They looked to the south for help against the enemy from the north. God's people sought out the Egyptians and pleaded with them for protection.

And that frustrated God. Look at Isaiah 30:1-2 and try to feel the anthropomorphic emotion God is expressing here.

Woe to the rebellious children!

This is the Lord’s declaration.

They carry out a plan, but not mine;

they make an alliance,

but against my will,

piling sin on top of sin.

Without asking my advice

they set out to go down to Egypt

in order to seek shelter under Pharaoh’s protection

and take refuge in Egypt’s shadow.

Why would his people, to whom he had been so good, seek an alliance with Egypt, without his permission? Why would they make their own plans instead of God's? None of their plans had ever really worked out, but all of God's plans had borne fruit. Why would they go to Egypt for help when they could go to God? 

He made it very clear, in verse 3, that this appeal to Pharaoh would accomplish nothing. 

But Pharaoh’s protection will become your shame,
and refuge in Egypt’s shadow your humiliation.

What a shame it was that God's people turned to Pharaoh who could not or would not provide a lasting solution when the God of heaven was not only capable of leading his people but will to deliver them, as long as they repented and returned to him. 

I wonder if it frustrates God today when we do the same? He is not only able but also willing to lead us in his ways, when we walk under the Lordship of Christ. He will set our feet on solid paths, guide us in the narrow ways, protect us from all enemies and lead us to glory. And yet, so often, we seek the help and wisdom of others instead of God's, we rely on human wisdom instead of the divine, we seek refuge in what this world can offer instead of the power and plan of God. 

It was foolish in the days of Isaiah, and it is still foolish today.

Just how good does God have to be before we trust in him? 

Father, forgive me for when I have relied on man instead of on you, when I have listened to human wisdom instead of divine revelation, and have failed to trust in you. You have always been good, even when I have been a fool. 

Think and Pray

Do you trust your Heavenly Father or do you look to human solutions when he has already provided a way?