Isaiah Part XXXII – Michael Bunker Commentary

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CHAPTER 31

In these chapters we see the conclusion of the 4 chapter mini-book prophecy concerning the fate of the professing “church” in the last days, and the promise of God’s protection over His elect few whom He has separated out from that false church and from the world.  In the beginning of the last chapter, Isaiah mentioned that mere professors in Jerusalem, those who only gave lip service to God and who reject His counsel and who refuse to hear the law of the Lord, were guilty of being united in the spirit with God’s perennial enemy, Egypt.

The 3 previous chapters of this special message to Jerusalem and Judah have each started with a “woe”, and this chapter is no different.  The four woes of this extended message to the Church of the last days should be noted and heeded by the diligent student.

1.     Chapter 28 begins, “Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim” – which was a judgment pronounced upon the 10 tribes in the northern kingdom of Israel.  The 10 northern tribes had taken the name of the whole, just as the Catholic Church has taken the name of the “Universal” Church, considering herself to be the true Church of Jesus Christ.  The woe of destruction is pronounced upon Ephraim specifically for its spiritual drunkenness, pride and wicked display and misuse of wealth.

2.     Chapter 29 begins, “Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt!” – which we learned was a specific “woe” of judgment pronounced upon the city of Jerusalem, typifying the professing Church in the southern kingdom (nominal Protestantism).  This woe of destruction would come about through several invasions and sieges of Jerusalem, culminating with the total destruction of that city by the Roman army in 70 a.d.  The punishment is brought about specifically because of the false profession of faith, the spirit-less sacrifices, the spiritual adultery and the idolatrous practices of those in Jerusalem.

3.     Chapter 30 begins, “Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD” – “rebellious children” are those who profess to be God’s children, but who rely on Egypt and on the world for protection, sustenance and safety.  The prophet pronounces a “woe” upon light professors and hypocrites in this chapter.

4.     Our current chapter, Chapter 31 begins, “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!” – We will get into the details of this “woe” very shortly, but we should note that there are now added charges against those in Judah and Jerusalem who rely on the world for help.  This woe will specifically lay out the folly of trusting in the world, and will identify the sin which has been committed by those who trust in the world as that of idolatry.

It cannot be emphasized enough that the greatest sin identified by the prophet in this message is that of idolatry through syncretism with Egypt.  If holiness, sanctification and separatism are the guiding principles in understanding God’s desires for His people, then their exact opposite, syncretism, is the commanding and identifying principle of Antichrist in the world, and is that principle which draws God’s professing Church into idolatry.

I want to give you a special, working definition of the word Syncretism in the context of how we will be using the word in this study.

Syncretism is a noun that literally means, “Reconciliation or fusion of differing systems of belief, as in philosophy or religion, especially when success is partial or the result is heterogeneous” (The American Heritage Dictionary, 4^th edition).  Using this definition of syncretism in relation to it being an antonym for God’s ordained system of holiness and separatism, we will expand the usage of the term for the purposes of clarity:

Syncretism:  the unlawful, unreasonable and unbiblical marriage or fusion of the people of God with a world around them that hates them; or any combining of the holy and the profane; or any rebellious and sinful reliance by the people of God on God’s enemies for protection and help.

The sin of syncretism is once again specifically highlighted in this Chapter, because the Prophet desires to make God’s heart and will concerning this subject well known to those who will be judged severely based on it.

Verse 1 - 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!;  As we have mentioned in the earlier chapters, many of the children of Israel were seeking help and alliances of protection from Egypt.  Those who called themselves Israel were relying on God’s enemies for protection and salvation.  The “church” that calls itself by the name of Christ has done the same thing, and so have many individuals who would convince themselves that they are the Israel of God, but who cannot separate from the world around them, nor can they rely on the true God of heaven for sustenance and protection.  They rely on the flesh, on what they can see, and on what is apparent to their five senses.  They trust in the horses and chariots of Egypt, which is to say that they rely on Egypt to protect them from evil and to save them alive in the battles of the world.  They have no faith, and therefore they do not seek the Lord for His protection and help.

Verse 2 - 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; God is ultimately, completely and perfectly wise, and He will most certainly bring about the calamities, judgments and destructions that He has promised will fall upon the house of evildoers and upon those that work iniquity.  When it says that God will “bring evil” we should recognize that this is not speaking of moral evil, but of those disastrous and calamitous things that bring terror in the heart of men when they begin to fall.

Verse 3 - 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; Why is it that we who are spiritual can reject the help of Egypt?  Because, the Egyptians are mutable, changeable, weak and pitiful compared to the strength and ability of almighty God.  Whereas God is all-powerful and infallibly brings His will to pass; the Egyptians are only strong in an earthly sense, and are under the overriding decree of God, and are subject to disaster, destruction, judgment and annihilation – just like everything and everyone else in the creation.  The strength of Egypt is flesh-strength and not spirit-strength.  Those who rely on the world will fall with the world, when the world is judged by God.  If you are relying on the world today, you will be coupled with the world, and you shall all fail together.

Verses 4-5 - 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. As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it; When the Lord has set Himself upon a prey, the strength and power of earthly vessels will not sway Him from it.  Like a lion who, when consuming a prey, emits a growl or a roar to let everyone round about know that He will not be deterred from consuming it; so, in like manner, will the Lord not be distracted from His intention to destroy Egypt and those who rely on Egypt for strength.  Let all the true pastors, prophets and preachers (the shepherds of the Lord) plead for Him to have mercy on you, and their pleas will not be heeded.  Let false teachers, false prophets and worldly shepherds promise you good and not evil; let them preach unto you smooth and comfortable things, and yet will He not spare you in His judgment.   He has determined to come down to help and fight for those who rely on Him, and He will lump all those who have relied on Egypt in with Egypt in the judgment.

Verses 6-7 - Turn ye unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. 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; This is a very interesting passage in scripture.  God says through the prophet that His elect should turn unto Him, but he curiously adds “from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted”.  This phrase has several interesting meanings:

1.     The “children of Israel” here can mean those in the northern kingdom who called themselves by the name Israel, but are in this prophecy called “Ephraim”.  In this case it would appear that God is calling on those who are the elect out of the southern kingdom to reject the revolt of the northern kingdom.

2.     The “children of Israel” here can mean all those (in both kingdoms) who call themselves the children of God, in which case these here are a small remnant who are expected to turn to the true God of Israel and reject the false worship apparent in both nations.

Now, God commands His people to “turn” unto Him, and then prophesies that every man who is of the elect will one day have cast out his false gods and his own sinful idols.  Jeremiah shows us the fountainhead of this “turning”:

“I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God. Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth” (Jeremiah 31:18-19).

This prophetic imagery can be understood through the anti-typical fulfillment in the last days.  The elect of God have rejected the idolatry and false ceremony of the sinful Antichrist Roman Catholic system (the northern kingdom), therefore many of them live among those in the southern kingdom of nominal Protestantism (Judah and Jerusalem).  God has called us to repent, reject all false religious systems, throw down the idols of our hands and our minds, separate from Egypt and turn unto Him.  He also shows us that we cannot “turn” of ourselves, but we must be turned by Him.  We are like young bullocks, unaccustomed to the yoke; we will only turn when we are turned by God.  After He has turned us, we will have repented, and then will be instructed.  We will then be ashamed, even confounded for our previous errors, idolatries and sins.  Now, this is what should have happened among those who have rejected the false religious systems of the day, and who believe themselves to be the remnant of God.  God must turn us, but we will be turned.  If you have not abandoned the false religious systems that God is judging (Antichrist Romanism and False Prophet Protestantism), and if you are not abandoning your reliance on Egypt (the world), then you are in serious trouble and you may not even know it.  The Word of God has come to you through the Prophet Isaiah, and it has been interpreted for you in a way that applies that Word of healing properly to your sickness.  If you repent, then God has turned you and you are His.  If you repent not, then you very likely are heading to judgment with the Antichrist and False Prophet.

Verses 8-9 - 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. 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; When the people of God have repented and have thrown down their idols, then shall the enemy (here represented by the Assyrian; the most immediate enemy of Judah during the time of this prophecy) which encamps round about the elect be destroyed.  That enemy would not be destroyed by the hand of the armies of Jerusalem (by Hezekiah or his generals), but would be destroyed by God Himself through the agency of His angel.  We should not expect that we will triumph over our spiritual enemies by the sword, or that they will hear the Word of God preached unto them, or that they will bow to the Word of God (the Sword) preached from our mouths.  The spiritual enemies of God that encamp around the elect, and who infiltrate God’s Church with false teachings and false dogma; these will be destroyed by God and by the judgments that fall from His decree through the agency of His angels.

The enemies of the Church will fall, and they will fall very soon.  God’s warning in this chapter is a “woe” to those who have made a covenant with Egypt, and who still stiffen their necks against God’s command to forsake those false covenants.  We are commanded to throw down our idols, refuse false worship, reject Egypt and turn unto God alone; in doing so we show that He has turned us, and that we are His.

This four chapter mini-book has been a stern warning to the professing Church, and to the elect who believe themselves to be His saved and separated people.  Do not let the fire of this warning cool merely because we pass from it and begin to examine the rest of the book.  If you have not received a supernatural revelation or vision from God concerning the hazards and dangers of our time, then you have much to fear concerning the promises and threats contained in this prophecy.  These four chapters contain great threatenings and great promises for everyone that hears them in our own day.  Just as the seal of the King’s ring is engraved into hot wax on a message of royal importance, I pray that you will ask the Lord to seal His Word in your hearts while they are still enflamed with the message He has sent to you by His prophet Isaiah.

I am your servant in Christ Jesus,

Michael Bunker

 
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