Isaiah 30 Commentary
In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength. But not for Jacob! He has all the solutions in the world! Of course, none of them works. So the prophet mocks him about his wasted effort.
The mention of darting snakes, lions, and lionesses, the hardship, and distress experienced. Is the alliance with Egypt worth all this trouble and cost?
The scripture wants us to see the stupidity, and probably also the foolishness of our efforts – so much trouble for nothing!
Egypt may represent the many spaces we visit for solutions. When these spaces yield nothing, humanity turns to self and hopes they can escape by riding on intelligence, works, or special capabilities – speed, for example.
If only humanity can understand her real problem: A lack of repentance and a lack of rest. Yes, the same rest that the Torah repeatedly urged Israel to have through countless Sabbaths. It is the same rest we find in the invitation from the LORD Jesus Christ: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
But who cares? They actually don’t want any more sermons on righteousness! They want to hear pleasant things. Doesn’t that sound familiar?
In the midst of wickedness’ confusion, there is hope: “the LORD longs to be gracious to you.” It is a time when the repentant soul hears the voice of the LORD. “This is the way; walk in it.” Otherwise, the LORD comes from afar, with burning anger and dense smoke. Life won’t always be the same for wrongdoers.
Isaiah remains “an everlasting witness” against man’s rebellion. A man may want to sit down and look at the many failed solutions. Only in repentance and rest is man’s salvation.
“Rest”, appropriately translated as peace, isn’t an abstract object you go out to find. It is the person of the LORD Jesus Christ – the Prince of Peace. And He longs to be gracious!
Egypt and Assyria could be the envy of every weak soul. We have these entities whose place we wish we could occupy. But these places of comfort are nothing but our imagination. It’s a myth! But it’s worse. These “comfort” zones will also be destroyed by the LORD!
The LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him. Verse 18.
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