Isaiah 31:1-9

We all have a choice to make every day when we wake up in the morning.  Are we going to trust in God or trust in man?  It sounds like an obvious choice, but when we come right down to it, the choice is not as simple as it sounds.  Our problems are usually related to men, so we have a natural tendency to look for solution amongst men.  None of us have ever seen God so it is much harder to trust that which we have not seen.  This is why faith is so crucial to being able to please God.  He asks us to trust that which we have not seen based on His Word and that which we have observed of Him in the past.  It all comes down to recognizing the power and sovereignty of God and the assurance we have of His love for us as well as His faithfulness to us. 

GOD DENOUNCES THOSE WHO TRUST IN MAN: Israel is under the threat of attack from the Assyrians.  The problem is man related so Israel follows her natural inclination and looks for man related solutions.  God denounces this misplaced trust and promises that if they go through with this intention that both Egypt and Israel will fall in battle and the beasts of the field along with the birds of the air will devour their bodies.  God makes it clear that Israel must choose between trusting in man or trusting in Him.  God points out that the horses of the Egyptian army are made of flesh, which is vulnerable to human attack but that He is spirit and impervious to the attacks of men.  The choice of trusting God should be obvious but if we are honest we have a hard time resting and trusting in the Lord when we are under duress.


GOD DEFENDS THOSE WHO TRUST IN HIM: God is not intimidated by the size of human armies and does not worry about a lack of resources.  The Assyrian army may have been ten times the size of the Israeli army but that makes no difference to God.  He is like a Lion defending His own.  The idol threats of those who think themselves powerful do not influence Him in the least.  God promises to defend Israel from the Assyrian invader if they will simply trust Him to do so.  He promises that the Assyrians will fall from the sword but not the swords of Israel.  God will stretch out His sword and the Assyrians will run in terror and in the process begin killing one another.  Those who try to fight against the Lord will find themselves fighting one another in confusion.  God is in complete control of our lives, the events of this universe and all who would come against us.  We can trust Him completely and allow Him to work through us to accomplish His will.  He is more than worthy of our complete trust. 

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