Fathering in Faith

“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses,who trust in chariots BECAUSE THEY ARE MANY and in horsemen BECAUSE THEY ARE VERY STRONG, but do not look to the HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL or consult the LORD.” – Isaiah 31:1 ESV

We right in it with the title and this odd verse! So let’s keep going.

Two of the most prominent things in the Old Testament are famine and war. In both circumstances, the Lord consistently appeals for His people to trust in Him. Here are some quick highlights:

Abraham left the promise land during a famine and then got himself into some deep trouble by saying Sarah was his sister 😬 He didn’t trust God IN the land… but God was gracious and had Abraham leaving with more wealth.

Then I always love that Isaac learned from his pops to LITERALLY DO THE SAME THING! I can imagine his dad telling him as he was growing up… “listen son, if you ever go down to Egypt, it’s a REALLY good idea to say your wife is your sister. Worked out for me. But this was during a famine as well.

Then you got wars. Moses holding up the staff ultimately was a symbol of trusting in God for the victory. Gideon taking 300 men instead of a great number was another.

At the end of the day, the point in each was to Trust in the Lord.

During Moses’ time, God made a covenant with His people. Take some time to read Deuteronomy 28:15-68 specifically as God details out the curses for disobedience. If you don’t go and read that, the recap is that famine and war are the top two things that will happen… oh and maybe a little exile here or there (verse 64).

I’m saying all of this because it leads us to Isaiah. Spending the majority of the first 30 chapters to tell Israel that the whole exile thing is coming right after Assyria comes in with a whip to destroy. The reality is that people were not seeing the “signs” of their disobedience. “Oh weird! There is a famine! I guess I’ll go down to Egypt.” Or more specifically in 31:1, war is coming from the north, so we will TRUST in Egypt.

Because they are many.

Because they are very strong.

So I’m finally ready to get practical here. Who are you trusting in? Yourself? Your job? Your bank account? Or the Lord?

The Lord has me in Isaiah the first of the year. That’s not usual for me as I traditionally read the Bible chronologically. But I think it’s for a very important reason.

See, it’s hard for even me to trust the Lord. Even when I’ve seen Him provide time after time. Even after seeing so much loss and pain the last 2.5 years. He has always provided. He is always faithful. But I often lack.

But I’m encouraged today and I hope you are too, that we don’t need to trust in the strength of something we view as more tangible. We can trust in the One who is the real provider. The One who holds all things together. The One who takes care of the birds and the flowers. Don’t go down to Egypt. Double down on trusting in God.