Isaiah 30 (HCSB)
Condemnation of the Egyptian Alliance
1 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.
2 They set out to go down to Egypt without asking My advice, in order to seek shelter under Pharaoh’s protection and take refuge in Egypt’s shadow.
3 But Pharaoh’s protection will become your shame, and refuge in Egypt’s shadow your disgrace.
4 For though his princes are at Zoan and his messengers reach as far as Hanes,
5 everyone will be ashamed because of a people who can’t help. They are of no benefit, they are no help; they are good for nothing but shame and reproach.
6 An oracle about the animals of the Negev:
Through a land of trouble and distress, of lioness and lion, of viper and flying serpent, they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people who will not help them.
7 Egypt’s help is completely worthless; therefore, I call her: Rahab Who Just Sits.
8 Go now, write it on a tablet in their presence and inscribe it on a scroll; it will be for the future, forever and ever.
9 They are a rebellious people, deceptive children, children who do not want to obey the Lord’s instruction.
10 They say to the seers, “Do not see,” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy the truth to us. Tell us flattering things. Prophesy illusions.
11 Get out of the way! Leave the pathway. Rid us of the Holy One of Israel.”
12 Therefore the Holy One of Israel says: “Because you have rejected this message and have trusted in oppression and deceit, and have depended on them,
13 this iniquity of yours will be like a spreading breach, a bulge in a high wall whose collapse will come in an instant—suddenly!
14 Its collapse will be like the shattering of a potter’s jar, crushed to pieces, so that not even a fragment of pottery will be found among its shattered remains—no fragment large enough to take fire from a hearth or scoop water from a cistern.”
15 For the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “You will be delivered by returning and resting; your strength will lie in quiet confidence. But you are not willing.”
16 You say, “No! We will escape on horses”—therefore you will escape!—and, “We will ride on fast horses”—but those who pursue you will be faster.
17 One thousand will flee at the threat of one, at the threat of five you will flee, until you alone remain like a solitary pole on a mountaintop or a banner on a hill.
The Lord’s Mercy to Israel
18 Therefore the Lord is waiting to show you mercy, and is rising up to show you compassion, for the Lord is a just God. All who wait patiently for Him are happy.
19 For you people will live on Zion in Jerusalem and will never cry again. He will show favor to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears, He will answer you. 20 The Lord will give you meager bread and water during oppression, but your Teacher will not hide Himself any longer. Your eyes will see your Teacher, 21 and whenever you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.” 22 Then you will defile your silver-plated idols and your gold-plated images. You will throw them away like menstrual cloths, and call them filth.
23 Then He will send rain for your seed that you have sown in the ground, and the food, the produce of the ground, will be rich and plentiful. On that day your cattle will graze in open pastures. 24 The oxen and donkeys that work the ground will eat salted fodder scattered with winnowing shovel and fork. 25 Streams flowing with water will be on every high mountain and every raised hill on the day of great slaughter when the towers fall. 26 The moonlight will be as bright as the sunlight, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter—like the light of seven days—on the day that the Lord bandages His people’s injuries and heals the wounds He inflicted.
Annihilation of the Assyrians
27 Look, Yahweh comes from far away, His anger burning and heavy with smoke. His lips are full of fury, and His tongue is like a consuming fire.
28 His breath is like an overflowing torrent that rises to the neck. He comes to sift the nations in a sieve of destruction and to put a bridle on the jaws of the peoples to lead them astray.
29 Your singing will be like that on the night of a holy festival, and your heart will rejoice like one who walks to the music of a flute, going up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel.
30 And the Lord will make the splendor of His voice heard and reveal His arm striking in angry wrath and a flame of consuming fire, in driving rain, a torrent, and hailstones.
31 Assyria will be shattered by the voice of the Lord. He will strike with a rod.
32 And every stroke of the appointed staff that the Lord brings down on him will be to the sound of tambourines and lyres; He will fight against him with brandished weapons.
33 Indeed! Topheth has been ready for the king for a long time now. Its funeral pyre is deep and wide, with plenty of fire and wood. The breath of the Lord, like a torrent of brimstone, kindles it.
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verses 1-2): Father, I so often do things in this life without asking for Your advice; often leading me to doing things against Your will. Please forgive me for not leaning on You and Your wisdom daily in the decisions I make. Help me to align my actions with Your will, always asking for Your advice before proceeding with those actions, Lord.
PROMISE (verse 18): Such an amazing promise You make here, Father. You promise us that You are always patiently waiting for us so You can show us mercy, compassion, and that You are just. You promise us that those who patiently wait for You are happy. Thank You so much for this undeserving and unending mercy and compassion You give to me, Father.
ATTITUDE (verses 9-10): Please help me to change my attitude of self-righteousness and impatience. Help me to grasp and embrace an attitude that always wants to obey Your instructions and listen to Your truth. Help me to patiently embrace Your will and Your timing, God.
COMMAND (verse 21): Quite simply, You command us that “this is the way; walk in it.” Help me to follow this command, Father, so that I am always doing my walk with Jesus in Your way and not my own. Help me to understand Your way and Your will for me, Father, so that I may glorify You in this journey.
EXAMPLE (verses 18-22): Father, You give a great example here of how we are to live in Your will and Your mercy so we can live a happy life glorifying You. Help me to live more patient, help me to pray to You often, help me to see You and Your great works, help me to hear You over the enemy always, and help me to only worship You and none of the false idols the world suggests we worship/treasure.
*DAILY NOTE: I give in to the world and the enemy so often, Father, yet You are always patiently waiting for me. Thank You for having never-ending patience and grace, Father, because I have exhausted the world’s level of patience and grace by far. Without Your unceasing patience and grace, I would be lost forever, so thank You so much for always being there for me and always allowing me to come back into Your loving arms no matter how often I’ve failed.
*GENERAL NOTE: I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
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