Verse of the Day Devotion:  Isaiah 30:9

“For this is a rebellious people, false sons, Sons who refuse to listen to the instruction of the LORD.” – Isaiah 30:9

This particular verse is a prophecy that Isaiah receives from God regarding what Assyria will do and ultimately how Israel will respond.  The northern kingdom of Israel would soon be conquered by Assyria, and the people of Israel would be taken into exile. The Assyrians would then come against the land of Judah, and because of this threat the leaders of Judah looked to Egypt for protection against the Assyrian invasion.  “Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “Who execute a plan, but not Mine, And make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, In order to add sin to sin, Who proceed down to Egypt Without consulting Me, to take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh And to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!” Isaiah 30:1-2.  God tells them that the plan they have devised was not His and the alliance they were making for their protection was not with Him. 

However, this alliance will be a shame to them, causing humiliation because they thought they would be safer with Egypt than with God.  “Everyone will be ashamed because of a people who cannot profit them, Who are not for help or profit, but for shame and also for reproach.” Isaiah 30:5.  Egypt was not going to save them.  They were not going to protect them from the most powerful kingdom on the earth at that time.  They did not want to get involved, for they knew they could not defeat them, therefore they simply wanted to stay clear of the whole issue.  “For this is a rebellious people, false sons, Sons who refuse to listen To the instruction of the LORD.” Isaiah 30:9.  However, though they are rebellious, God is still gracious with them.  “Therefore, the LORD longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him.” Isaiah 30:9. However, they must call out to Him and no other, in this example, the kingdom of Egypt. 

Paul, in the book of 2 Timothy, writes to educate Christians by preaching His word to them.  “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”  2 Timothy 4:1-2.  And it is imperative that we do this today.  For we see the fulfillment of the prophecy spoken in the next two verses.  “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4.  This speaks of acting as the tribe of Judah did in not listening to God but doing as they desired. Does this sound similar to what Isaiah tells Judah they are doing?  “Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions”; And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy to us what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions.” Isaiah 30:10.

It is important that we listen to teachers who teach the truth of the scriptures, no matter what it says, and not what we desire to hear.  We see that today where people do not want to hear where they are wrong or where they need to stop engaging in activities that are pleasurable yet sinful.  They turn away from what is true to follow myths that make them feel good.  We need to learn what is good and follow it while turning away from what is not good and leads us away from Christ.  The people of Judah chose to ignore God, telling prophets and seers to tell them only what they wanted to hear and not what they needed to hear.  Let us not fall into this same error.

And because they did not listen to God and chose another

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.