Isaiah 30:6-7 – Cling to God, no matter what

In the first five verses of Isaiah 30, Judah was warned of the folly of seeking the help of Egypt to deal with the threat from Assyria. Instead of placing confidence in their faithful God who had delivered them in the past, they chose to trust in a force that was spent and was far less superior. God warned His rebellious children concerning their foolish intention of going into an alliance with Egypt. In the following verses, Isaiah then elaborated on the warning God had given and gave added insight into the matter.

 

Isaiah told them how foolish it was for them to ferry their tributes to Egypt hoping to obtain their help. Here he envisaged caravans of donkeys and camels carrying treasures going through the Negev, the stretch of desert land south of Israel leading to Egypt. The journey, he stressed, would not be free from hazard. They would encounter ferocious animals such as the lion, lioness, viper, and flying serpent in the journey. These wild animals showed how hazardous their journey would be just to secure the help of Egypt. What was sad was that the perilous journey they undertook to secure the help of Egypt would not profit them. It would be a worthless exercise of futility.

 

In verse 7, Isaiah spoke about “Rahab that has been exterminated.” Who was the prophet referring to? The Rahab is not the harlot who hid the spies in the book of Joshua. This Rahab is referring to a mystical sea creature with power. Clearly, Isaiah was referring to Egypt as the creature whose power was removed. The implication was that Egypt would have no capacity to ensure their security. The tributes they sent to her would be of no benefit.  

 

God has no self-improvement plan for the flesh. If we try to advance God’s design for our life by pandering to our flesh, we will be woefully disappointed. There is no substitute for cultivating a passion to walk with God. Nothing can replace a careful searching out of God’s direction for our life and then walk the discovered journey obediently. There are no short-cuts to victorious living but to cling tenaciously to the Lord. We must stay rooted in Christ. He is the ONLY sure security!