HILLDALE BAPTIST CHURCH Virtual Bible Study Notes FOR THE LESSON ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2020 (Phone Call Class 10/9/20) ISAIAH 31 NOTES* (based on NASB) “God Protects” Isaiah 31:1-9 (BACKGROUND TEXT: Isaiah 28:1—33:24) INTRODUCTION: • The Book of Isaiah o There are many prophets in the Old Testament, one of which is Isaiah. Some of these are prophets who simply spoke the Word of God. Others not only spoke the Word of God, but they wrote the words down in the Hebrew language, which was the language of their day. The Old Testament records some of the words and actions of prophets such as Elijah, Elisha, Micaiah, and other prophets, who were the non-writing prophets. Other prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Hosea, and several others wrote their messages into books, and we call them “literary” or “classical” prophets. o We have talked about the fact that the literary prophets fall into different categories. The main categories have to do with whether the prophets preached before the Babylonian exile, during that exile, or after the exile. Today we will talk about the two prophets who preached in the northern kingdom of Israel before the exile. We call them the “pre-exilic prophets to Israel.” They are Amos and Hosea both of whom preached during the 8th century BC. o Amos was perhaps the first of all the written prophets. Amos was a shepherd who lived in Tekoa, a village not too far east of Jerusalem, perhaps preaching about 760 BC. Besides shepherding, he dressed sycamore figs. But God called him as a prophet to leave his home kingdom of Judah and go to the northern kingdom of Israel to preach judgment. His messages were eloquent and directed and he was persecuted because of his preaching. o The other pre-exilic prophet to Israel was the prophet Hosea. Hosea was the only prophet who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel and preached there. Evidently his prophecies expanded as long as about 40 years since he preached during the reigns of three different kings in Israel. Hosea’s prophecy was based on the symbolism of Hosea showing love to his wife Gomer who became a harlot, representing God’s love to his people Israel despite their unfaithfulness. Next week, we will talk about the pre-exilic prophets in the southern kingdom of Judah. • General Outline of Isaiah: o Rebuke of Judah and Promise of Immanuel (1–12) o Judgment on the Nations (13–39) o God’s Greatness (40–48) o God’s Gift of Peace (49-66) • Lesson Background: o In previous lessons we saw how God commanded Isaiah to preach repentance to the people. He is bringing Messiah to be born as a baby. However, he will pour out great judgment on the nations and overthrow them, but he has power to save his own people. o In today’s lesson Isaiah sounds a sober warning for trusting in the defenses of men and not in God. On the other hand, God can shield and protect his people. Preceding chapters in the background text: Isaiah 28 – Isaiah cries “Woe” to the nation of “Ephraim,” the northern kingdom of Israel for their sins, and the southern kingdom of Judah. Isaiah 29 – Isaiah cries “Woe” to the city “Ariel,” the city of Jerusalem for its sins. Isaiah 30 – Isaiah cries “Woe” to God’s people of Judah, an obstinate nation in turning away from Him. FALSE HOPE: (Isaiah 31:1-3) Verse 1: • Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help And rely on horses, And trust in chariots because they are many And in horsemen because they are very strong – Verses 1 through 5 begin a section in which Isaiah is contrasting the futility of trusting Egypt with the great wisdom of trusting God. He begins by saying “Woe” which is a strong term indicating the deadliness of what he is saying. The NET translates the first phrase as “Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead…” From chapters 28 through 32 Isaiah decrees six “woes” and this is the fifth. Egypt was well known for its great military prowess with many horses and chariots. • But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the LORD! – It is a travesty because Israel will trust in their former captors rather than trust in the Lord who rescued them. The “Holy One of Israel” is used 26 times in Isaiah, but only 6 times in the rest of the Old Testament. Verse 2: • Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster, And does not retract His words. – The people tended to be impressed with the military wisdom of Egypt, but Egypt could reverse their commitment and change plans. However, the Lord was wise and would never take back his words. • But will arise against the house of evildoers, And against the help of the workers of iniquity. – The second statement is also translated “against those who help evildoers” (NIV) and “against the allies of evildoers” (CSB). This is saying God will not only arise against the wicked, but he will also arise against his own people if they help the wicked. Verse 3: • Now the Egyptians are men and not God, And their horses are flesh and not spirit – The people were losing sight of the truth that the Spirit of God is infinitely powerful as opposed to the physical and fleshly efforts of men and horses. • So the LORD will stretch out His hand, And he who helps will stumble, And he who is helped will fall, And all of them will come to an end together – When the Lord moves against his enemies, both the militarily powerful will fall as well as the weaker people they are protecting. Both will meet defeat and doom. TRUE FAITHFULNESS: (Isaiah 31:4-5) Verse 4: • For thus says the LORD to me, "As the lion or the young lion growls over his prey, Against which a band of shepherds is called out, And he will not be terrified at their voice nor disturbed at their noise – Some interpreters believe the lion was used as a symbol for Assyria and the band of shepherds the marching generals. Either way, the fierceness of a lion provoked fear in the hearts of men. In the same way, God said he would become a frightening force against Judah’s enemies and defeat them. • So will the LORD of hosts come down to wage war on Mount Zion and on its hill – Isaiah says that God will fight his battles from the very heart of the land of his people, from Jerusalem itself, promoting respect for the City of David. Verse 5: • Like flying birds so the LORD of hosts will protect Jerusalem, He will protect and deliver it; He will pass over and rescue it. – Not only will God fight for his people as a lion, but he will protect his people like birds flying over their nests and fledglings in protecting them. REPENTANCE DEMONSTRATED: (Isaiah 31:6-9) Verse 6: • Return to Him from whom you have deeply defected, O sons of Israel. – A cry by the prophet for God’s people to come to their senses and return to Him. “Defected” is translated “rebelled” in the CSB, and “revolted” in the NKJV, ESV, and NIV. Verse 7: • For in that day every man will cast away his silver idols and his gold idols, which your sinful hands have made for you as a sin.– A literal rendering of the Hebrew is “the idols of their idols of silver and their idols of gold which your hands made for yourselves [in] sin.” There is an intense emphasis on the terms “idols” and “sin” indicating that the idols and sin of the heart will be what is eradicated. Verse 8: • And the Assyrian will fall by a sword not of man, And a sword not of man will devour him. – The prophet explains that there will be a terrible and frightening sword that will slaughter the Assyrians, but it will not be a man-made sword, but the judgment of God. • So he will not escape the sword, And his young men will become forced laborers. – God’s destruction by sword will be certain. The young men of Assyria will be forced into slavery. Verse 9: • His rock will pass away because of panic, And his princes will be terrified at the standard – The word “rock” is translated “stronghold” in the NIV. The term literally means “rocky cliff” but it denotes a fort of defense and security. The stronghold of Assyria was the well-fortified city of Nineveh. “Standard” refers to a “banner” or “flag.” In other words, Nineveh will be frightened when they see the flag of the Lord’s armies. • Declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem – This is a “decree of the Lord.” He is saying that his glory resides in Jerusalem in the center among his people, and his fire of judgment goes forth from that point. Following chapters in the background text: Isaiah 32 – The Messiah will come and reign in righteousness. Complacent women will be disappointed, but God will bring peace to his people. Isaiah 33 – God will destroy Assyria and bring judgment on Judah, but he will rescue the faithful. OUR LESSON NEXT WEEK: God Listens Isaiah 37:14-20, 30-35 * The following study Bibles are sometimes used to obtain information for these notes: The NIV Study Bible, Revised.