# Isaiah 31 📖: Do Not Rely on Egypt
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]]
> [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]]
> [[#💬 Discussion Questions]]
> [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#📂 Internal Notes]]
## 📜 Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
### Egypt Will Disappoint
[[#Verse 01.]] Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead;
those who rely on war horses,
and trust in Egypt’s many chariots
and in their many, many horsemen.
But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel
and do not seek help from the Lord.
[[#Verse 02.]] Yet he too is wise and he will bring disaster;
he does not retract his decree.
He will attack the wicked nation,
and the nation that helps those who commit sin.
[[#Verse 03.]] The Egyptians are mere humans, not God;
their horses are made of flesh, not spirit.
The Lord will strike with his hand;
the one who helps will stumble
and the one being helped will fall.
Together they will perish.
### The Lord Will Defend Zion
[[#Verse 04.]] Indeed, this is what the Lord has said to me:
“The Lord will be like a growling lion,
like a young lion growling over its prey.
Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it,
it is not afraid of their shouts
or intimidated by their yelling.
In this same way the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will descend
to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill.
[[#Verse 06.]] Just as birds hover over a nest,
so the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will protect Jerusalem.
He will protect and deliver it;
as he passes over he will rescue it.”
[[#Verse 06.]] You Israelites! Return to the one you have so blatantly rebelled against!
[[#Verse 07.]] For at that time every one will get rid of the silver and gold idols your hands sinfully made.
[[#Verse 08.]] “Assyria will fall by a sword, but not one human-made;
a sword not made by humankind will destroy them.
They will run away from this sword
and their young men will be forced to do hard labor.
[[#Verse 09.]] They will surrender their stronghold because of fear;
their officers will be afraid of the Lord’s battle flag.”
This is what the Lord says—
the one whose fire is in Zion,
whose firepot is in Jerusalem.
## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Egypt was famous for its horses and chariots, the most advanced military technology of the time.
2. The law warned Israel's kings not to multiply horses or send people back to Egypt to acquire them (Deuteronomy 17:16).
3. God is pictured as a lion that is not frightened by a band of shepherds (31:4).
4. The word translated passing over (31:5) uses the same Hebrew root as the Passover in Exodus 12:13, 23.
5. Isaiah predicts that Assyria will fall by a sword not of man (31:8). This came true when the angel of the Lord struck Sennacherib's army (37:36).
6. The chapter has only nine verses.
7. Throwing away idols of silver and gold (31:7) is a sign of true repentance.
8. The fire in Zion and furnace in Jerusalem (31:9) refers to God's presence at His altar and temple.
9. Isaiah's warnings against an Egyptian alliance run through chapters 30 and 31.
10. The contrast between flesh and spirit in 31:3 anticipates the New Testament contrast between human strength and God's Spirit.
## 🧠 Chapter Summary
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the Lord who hovers over Jerusalem like a protecting bird (31:5). Jesus longed to gather Jerusalem's children as a hen gathers her chicks (Matthew 23:37), and He is our Passover who shields us (1 Corinthians 5:7).
## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## 💬 Discussion Questions
1. Judah trusted in Egypt's horses and chariots instead of looking to the Holy One (31:1). What are the horses and chariots of our day?
2. The Egyptians are human, not God; their horses are flesh, not spirit (31:3). Why do we find it easier to trust what we can see?
3. God calls His people to return to Him (31:6). What would returning to God look like in your life this week?
## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember
- 📖 verse 1: Woe to those who rely on horses and chariots but do not look to the Holy One.
- 📖 verse 5: Like birds hovering overhead, the Lord will protect Jerusalem.
- 📖 verse 6: Return to the One you have so deeply rebelled against.
## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference
- 🔗 [[Matthew 23#Verse 37.|Matthew 23:37]] - Like a hen gathering her chicks.
- 🔗 [[1 Corinthians 05#Verse 07.|1 Corinthians 5:7]] - Christ our Passover lamb.
- 🔗 [[Psalm 20#Verse 07.|Psalm 20:7]] - Some trust in chariots, but we trust in the Lord.
- 🔗 [[Jeremiah 17#Verse 05.|Jeremiah 17:5-8]] - Cursed is the one who trusts in man.
- 🔗 [[Zechariah 04#Verse 06.|Zechariah 4:6]] - Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit.
## 🙏 Devotional Reflection
📝 SOAP: [[Isaiah 31 - SOAP|God Has Hope For Us]]
## 📂 Internal Notes