DAY 204: Isaiah 31–34

Judah’s False Refuge in Egypt

Welcome to 5-Minute Bible, your daily guide for your daily reading. Today's July the 23rd and we'll be looking at Isaiah 31 through 34. Now yesterday, Isaiah exposed Israel's false refuges. Jerusalem's leaders trusted political schemes and religious appearances in an alliance with Egypt instead of resting upon the cornerstone that God had laid in Zion.

From Egyptian Strength to the Righteous King

Well today, Isaiah continues that warning. Judah is still looking southward towards Egyptian horses while Assyria threatens them from the north. And these chapters move from a fleshly help to the righteous king, from barrenness to the outpouring of the Spirit, from trembling sinners to a secure Zion, and finally to judgment upon the nations.

Now Isaiah 31 begins with a woe against those who go down to Egypt looking for help. They're trusting in horses and chariots and horsemen because they appear to be numerous and strong, but they don't look to the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah states the contrast plainly. The Egyptians are men and not God, and their horses are flesh and not spirit. And when the Lord stretches out His hand, He promises that both the helper and the one seeking the help are going to fall.

And yet the Lord Himself will defend Jerusalem like a lion that doesn't retreat before the shouting shepherds and like birds hovering over their young. He will protect and preserve Zion. Assyria will fall, but not by the sword of man.

The Spirit-Poured Kingdom of Isaiah 32

Then in chapter 32, Isaiah looks beyond the immediate crisis that's going on to a king who's going to come and reign righteously. Justice is going to replace corruption under his rule. Eyes will see, ears will hear, and foolishness will no longer be praised as apparent wisdom.

Isaiah then confronts complacent women who feel secure while judgment approaches. The land becomes desolate until the Spirit is poured out from on high. Then the wilderness becomes fruitful and righteousness produces peace.

Zion’s King, Judge, and Savior

And then in chapter 33, you see Isaiah pronouncing woe upon the destroyer. Assyria may be plundering other nations, but the plunderer is going to be the one who is ultimately plundered. The people who are crying for grace are going to see the Lord rise and fill Zion with justice and righteousness and protection.

Sinners tremble before His consuming holiness, but the faithful behold the King in all of His glory and beauty. Jerusalem becomes secure. The Lord is her judge, King, and Savior, and the guilt of His people will be forgiven.

Judgment Upon Edom and the Nations

Finally, chapter 34 widens judgment to all nations, focusing especially upon Edom. The Lord's sword descends, proud opposition is brought low, and the certainty of judgment is written in His unbreakable Word.

So as you read today, I want you to ask the following question. What happens when God removes every human refuge and reveals the King that His people truly need? Isaiah 31 through 34 shows that flesh cannot save flesh.

Military power, political alliances, earthly rumors, they all fail beneath the hand of God. But the Lord doesn't merely expose the false protections, He also promises a righteous rule. He promises one who's going to pour out the Spirit, one who's going to establish justice and forgive His people and secure Zion beneath His own reign.

Fleshly Refuge Versus the Spirit-Established Kingdom

And in that way, the central tension in these chapters is between looking for help in fleshly ways in the Spirit-established kingdom of God. Judah looks at Egypt and he sees horses and chariots and soldiers and wealth and visible strength, but Isaiah looks at the same nation and says, they are but men.

Their horses are flesh and not spirit. And that distinction cuts through every false religion, idolatry, and refuge, because numbers cannot create strength. Weapons cannot guarantee victory. Alliances can't overturn providence.

Flesh cannot carry the weight of saving us, not from physical tragedies or eternal ones as well. And this is not only a problem for ancient Judah, this is our problem as well, because we likewise trust whatever looks measurable in our eyes.

We trust in money and institutions and leaders and plans and governments, but Isaiah asks the whole people of God, past, present, and future, whether we've actually looked above all of those things to the Holy One of Israel.

Righteousness Produced by the Spirit

At the same time, chapter 32 shows that God's answer is not merely destroying bad rumors, but He's going to promise to bring a righteous one who's going to transform His people by the Spirit. The wilderness becomes fruitful because the Spirit is poured out from above.

Justice is going to dwell in the fruitful field. Righteousness is going to produce peace, and God's people are going to inhabit secure dwellings because of this coming King. And that order matters because lasting righteousness is not manufactured by human power.

It grows out of the gracious work of God's Spirit beneath the rule of God's appointed King. Then Isaiah 34 reminds us that this kingdom is going to advance through salvation and judgment. The Lord is going to protect Zion, but He's going to judge those who harden themselves against Him.

Jesus Christ as the Righteous King

And in all of that, Isaiah 31 through 34 points us directly to Jesus Christ as the only righteous King, the true refuge, the true giver of the Spirit, and the true judge over all the nations. Isaiah promises a King who's going to reign righteously, and that's Jesus.

Unlike Judah's rulers, Christ never seeks security through compromise. Unlike Egypt, He's not seeking fleshly means in order to accumulate or procure for Himself salvation. He's the Son of God who took on flesh and even went to the cross in order to save us.

And Christ also fulfills the promise of the Spirit. He pours out the Spirit from on high. After His death and resurrection and ascension, He's the one who pours out His Spirit upon the church. Through the gospel, barren hearts become fruitful, blind eyes become open, deaf ears hear, and the righteousness spreads throughout the household, churches, and nations by His Spirit.

Christ’s Rule Over Every Nation

Isaiah 33 declares the Lord is judge, lawgiver, King, and Savior, and these glories perfectly meet together in one person, and that's Jesus. Isaiah 34 reminds us that Christ is not merely Savior but judge, that Edom represents the proud world set against God and His people, and yet we see in the New Testament how every nation and kingdom that is posed to Christ are going to be placed underneath His royal feet.

1 Corinthians 15 25. The King is beautiful, Zion is secure, sin is forgiven, the Spirit is poured out. What Egypt could never provide, Jesus Christ establishes forever. So as you read Isaiah 31 through 34 today, I want you to notice the movement from Egypt and trusting in Egypt and their horses to the righteous King, the outpoured Spirit, and Zion secured by the Lord Himself forever.

And while this section today ends with the wilderness of judgment, tomorrow we're gonna see the deserts will bloom, weak hands will be strengthened, and the redeemed will walk the highways of holiness, and then Assyria will stand outside of Jerusalem and demand to know whether the Lord can truly save.

Spoiler alert, He does. Now with that, read your Bible carefully, devotionally, and joyfully, and may the Lord use His Word to sanctify you completely, and we will continue our journey tomorrow. God bless you.