Isaiah 30:1

No one knows exactly when Isaiah wrote this chapter; but it was evidently shortly before Sennacherib's invasion of Judah in 701 B.C. Barnes dated it at "the same time as the previous chapter,"[1] which was dated by Dummelow "on the very eve of Sennacherib's invasion."[2] Jamieson and other scholars move the date about a decade earlier, "probably in the summer of 714 B.C."[3] It is not at all necessary to know the exact date. That the era just prior to the Sennacherib invasion is the correct placement of this whole division is proved by the repeated references to the sudden end of the Assyrian threat, "between evening and morning," "without human hand," etc.

Barnes described the political situation in Jerusalem about the time of this chapter thus:

"It is evident that the chapter pertains to the times of Hezekiah when the Jews were alarmed by the looming invasion of Sennacherib. It was known that Sennacherib intended to make war on Egypt, and it was apparent that he could easily take Judah on the same campaign. In such circumstances, it was natural that the people should propose an alliance with Egypt, and seek to unite their forces with Egypt to repel the common danger. Instead of looking to God, who had promised to protect his people, and who had warned the people that both Egypt and her ally Ethiopia would fall to Assyria, Hezekiah pursued that sinful alliance with Egypt."[4]

This chapter may be divided in several ways; but we shall follow the practical paragraphing proposed by Dummelow: (1) warning against the Egyptian alliance (Isaiah 30:1-7); (2) the perversity of Judah (Isaiah 30:8-11); (3) the resulting disaster for Judah (Isaiah 30:12-17); (4) the glory for the righteous remnant (Isaiah 30:18-26); (5) Jehovah will destroy the Assyrians (Isaiah 30:27-33).

Isaiah 30:1-7

WARNINGS AGAINST A PROFITLESS ALLIANCE WITH EGYPT

"Woe to the rebellious children, saith Jehovah, that take counsel, but not of me; and that make a league; but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; that set out to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the refuge in the shadow of Egypt your confusion. For their princes are at Zoan, and their ambassadors are come to Hanes. They shall all be ashamed because of people that cannot profit them, that are not a help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach. The burden of the beasts of the South. Through the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the lioness, and the lion, the viper, and fiery flying serpent, they carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the humps of camels, to a people that shall not profit them. But Egypt helpeth in vain, and to no purpose, therefore have I called her Rahab that sitteth still."

In the first two verses here, there appears to be on God's part a certain amazement that rebellious Israel should prove to be so incredibly stupid as to follow the pattern of behavior they had chosen. Israel had already been shamefully defeated by the strategy of the Gibeonites (Joshua 9:14) on the occasion when they forgot or refused to consult the will of God regarding what they should have done; and here they actually decided to team up with a people who had traditionally been their worst enemies, and without seeking to know the will of God on such a matter! Furthermore, God had already prophesied the defeat of both Egypt and her ally Ethiopia, a prophecy that Israel did not even believe. The god of this world had indeed blinded their eyes!

Strengthening themselves in the strength of Pharaoh and taking refuge in the shadow of Egypt, in the light of all that Israel was supposed to know, appear incredible, even to us. Under God's law, rebellious children were to be put to death (Deuteronomy 21:18-20); and the charge here in the very first verse amounts to God's declaration that Israel deserved death.

Moreover, when God prophesied the placement of a king over Israel (Deuteronomy 17:14-17), he specifically commanded that, (1) the king should not go back to Egypt for the purpose of procuring horses, and that (2) "Henceforth ye shall return no more that way." And yet, despite all that, right here in this chapter, the princes of Judah are (1) again going right back through that terrible wilderness on their way to Egypt, and (2) boasting about the horses they shall ride (Isaiah 30:16)!

Our margin gives an alternate reading for "make a league" (Isaiah 30:1), "pour out a drink offering." Loth tells us that this is literally what the Hebrew text says. "Sacrifice and libation were ceremonies constantly used in ancient times by most nations in the ratifying of covenants ... and the word stands for both. The Septuagint (LXX) translation agrees with American Standard Version."[5] The significance of this is that "the league" mentioned here involved Israel's tacit recognition of Egypt's pagan gods and the offering of a sacrifice to such gods, the very same gods that God had so disastrously defeated in the events leading up to the Exodus!

The mention of the princes and ambassadors having already arrived at Zoan and Hanes shows the extent of Hezekiah's involvement in this sinful scheme to team-up with Egypt. "Both Zoan and Hanes were the seats of reigning princes at the time of Hezekiah, therefore delegations were sent to both."[6] Recent research on "Hanes," however has questioned this, "`Hanes' may be merely a Hebrew translation of a word that means `mansion of the king.'"[7] Another explanation supposes that `Hanes' might have been the headquarters of Egypt's ally, Ethiopia. None of these explanations has been proved.

"The burden of the beasts of the South ..." (Isaiah 30:6). This is a reference to, "The beasts of the ambassadors, burdened with the riches of Judah, presents for Egypt traveling southwards."[8] As Lowth pointed out, "`Burden' must be understood here in the ordinary sense of `a load.'"

"Therefore have I called her Rahab ..." (Isaiah 30:7). "This is not the same name as that in Joshua 2; it is spelled differently."[9] James Moffatt's Translation of the Bible (1929) rendered it "Dragon Do Nothing!" Leupold, as quoted by Hailey, translated it, "A Big Mouth that is a Do-nothing."[10] Payne stated that "Rahab was a mythical primeval monster defeated by the pagan god Baal, in Canaanite religious beliefs."[11] At any rate, it was God's warning through Isaiah that Egypt was not fit to be a panner with Israel.